Not all the men in Xu Family Village had the surname Xu.
For example—Ge Xiaotian.
Ge Xiaotian's home was diagonally across from Xu Hengbing's, with only a drainage ditch two or three meters wide separating them.
At this moment, Ge Xiaotian was gathered with several friends under the poplar trees on this side of the ditch, staring at the commotion across the water. With his own eyes, he watched Xu Tongdao—only two years older than him—beat Xu Hengbing to the ground until he couldn't get back up.
The sight made Ge Xiaotian extremely excited.
Because under normal circumstances, Xu Hengbing was someone he only dared to avoid.
In fact, because Ge Xiaotian had been slow-witted since childhood, not very sharp upstairs, there were quite a few people in the village who bullied him.
But among them, people like Xu Hengbing—who would casually kick him—were relatively rare.
So seeing Xu Hengbing beaten to the ground by Xu Tongdao made Ge Xiaotian so excited he almost wanted to pee himself.
Just then, his sister's voice suddenly rang out from home.
"Xiaotian? Xiaotian! What are you doing over there? Come back! Come back and sweep the yard!"
"Coming, coming!"
Ge Xiaotian answered reflexively, but he was still reluctant to leave just like that. Dragging his feet, his eyes remained glued to the spectacle across the ditch.
A moment later, his sister's voice rang out again from home.
"Ge Xiaotian! Did you hear me telling you to come back? Get your ass back here right now!"
"Coming, coming…"
With a miserable expression, Ge Xiaotian turned back home, looking over his shoulder every few steps toward Xu Hengbing's place.
Then disaster struck his ears.
A fair, jade-like hand reached out, grabbed his ear, and twisted hard. Ge Xiaotian yelped in pain, rising onto his tiptoes as he hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Ow, ow, ow… Sister, sister, sister… stop twisting, stop twisting! I was wrong, I was wrong…"
His dark little face scrunched into a pitiful ball as he turned toward his sister, tears almost spilling out.
Judging by appearances, Ge Xiaotian didn't look much like his sister Ge Xiaoyu.
The first difference was their skin tone.
Ge Xiaotian was dark-skinned, while Ge Xiaoyu was very fair—so fair she hardly looked like a rural girl.
Their heights were also completely different.
Fifteen-year-old Ge Xiaotian was barely over 1.4 meters tall, while eighteen-year-old Ge Xiaoyu was already tall and graceful, full-figured and grown—at least 1.7 meters tall, taller than many men in the village.
As for looks…
Ge Xiaotian's features could only be described as not ugly.
But Ge Xiaoyu was very beautiful.
In the eyes of many villagers, Ge Xiaoyu was without a doubt the prettiest girl in Xu Family Village—red lips, white teeth, bright expressive eyes, and a single long braid reaching her waist.
Because she didn't share the Xu surname, nearly all the boys around her age in the village had feelings for her. Even some who were several years older were always trying to flirt with her.
Put simply—
Whenever Ge Xiaoyu stepped outside the gate, she wouldn't get far before boys or men would come over to strike up a conversation.
This had to do with her looks, her surname, and also her diligence.
Her looks were self-explanatory.
As for her surname—it was because Xu Family Village had an old ancestral rule: people of the same surname were not allowed to marry.
Whether or not they were within the fifth degree of kinship didn't matter—the village rule stood. As a result, adolescent boys subconsciously avoided thinking about girls with the same surname.
Ge Xiaoyu, with the surname Ge and such beauty, naturally became the focus of their attention.
On top of that, Ge Xiaoyu was very hardworking.
Every day she washed clothes, rinsed rice, and cleaned vegetables at the ditch in front of the house. The home itself was kept spotless, and she worked quickly and efficiently.
That alone made her very likable.
After all, who didn't like a hardworking woman?
The only thing that made those boys hesitate was…
Ge Xiaoyu didn't have a good temper.
She was downright fiery.
No matter who tried to chat her up, she never gave them a pleasant expression. Compliment her beauty—she told you to get lost. Offer to help her work—she told you to get lost. Try to get a little closer and take advantage—she'd start swinging.
Like a rose with thorns—tempting to pick, but too dangerous to touch.
Back when Xu Tongdao's father hadn't disappeared yet, Xu Tongdao himself had also been interested in Ge Xiaoyu and often tried to hang around her.
Because of that, he'd been scolded plenty of times—and had even been kicked twice by Ge Xiaoyu.
…
Letting go of her brother's ear with an unhappy expression, Ge Xiaoyu glanced at the villagers watching the excitement outside and frowned.
"What's going on out there? Why are so many people watching?"
In the end, she was still curious.
Ge Xiaotian rubbed his sore ear while going to the corner to grab a broom. As he walked, he said, "Xiao Dao went to mess with Xu Hengbing. Just now he beat Xu Hengbing up—beat him really badly. Heh heh."
Mentioning Xu Hengbing getting beaten immediately cheered Ge Xiaotian up again.
Seeing the person who bullied him the most get beaten felt unbelievably good.
"What? Xiao Dao beat Xu Hengbing? For real? Can he even beat Xu Hengbing? That's impossible, right?"
Ge Xiaoyu was shocked. She subconsciously walked to the front gate and looked toward Xu Hengbing's house.
Ge Xiaotian walked up beside her with the broom, grinning as he looked over as well.
"Who says he can't? When Xiao Dao was beating Xu Hengbing just now, Xu Hengbing didn't even get a hit in—he just took the beating…"
Ge Xiaoyu blinked her large, clear eyes, staring in surprise at the scene across the way.
Her feelings at that moment were complicated.
She disliked both Xu Hengbing and Xu Tongdao.
To be precise, she disliked all the young men in the village.
Xu Hengbing was nine years older than her, yet whenever he saw her, he wanted to take advantage.
Xu Tongdao was a year younger than her and had been her classmate since childhood—but she disliked him too, because he also harbored improper intentions toward her.
That said, comparatively speaking, she definitely disliked Xu Hengbing more.
Not only because he was nine years older, but because he was ugly, fierce-looking, and even more so because he was a drifting thug who didn't walk the right path.
So when she heard her brother say Xu Tongdao had beaten Xu Hengbing, aside from shock, she also felt secretly pleased.
There was a certain joy in watching dogs bite dogs.
Just then, she finally saw Xu Tongdao.
He emerged from Xu Hengbing's gate carrying a sack over his shoulder—a woven plastic sack.
At the same time, she heard her brother say excitedly, "Great! Great! Xiao Dao really carried a sack of rice out of Xu Hengbing's house. Heh heh—Xu Hengbing has really lost face this time…"
Before the words even finished, both siblings' eyes widened, shock flashing across their faces.
Because they suddenly saw Xu Hengbing, covered in mud, charge out from the kitchen beside his main house, brandishing a cleaver and roaring as he rushed toward Xu Tongdao, who had just stepped out of the gate with the sack of rice on his shoulder.
"Watch out—!"
Ge Xiaoyu cried out instinctively in alarm.
At the same time, many people in the crowd watching also shouted in shock.
No one had expected Xu Hengbing to be this reckless—actually daring to grab a cleaver.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup