Chapter 91: Girl, Are You Afraid?

Li Dagou’s tone was laced with menace as he strode toward Lin Hongzhe, bent slightly, and with a swift grip, seized Lin Hongzhe’s collar, hoisting him up with ease. Xia Yan could no longer stand by; she raised her leg and kicked toward Li Dagou.

To be fair, Li Dagou had some skill. As a child, his poor family had sent him to Shaolin to learn martial arts. When he returned to the town, he happened upon Landlord Zhao’s family bullying his parents. Without a word, he grabbed a stick and single-handedly took down more than ten men. Afterward, instead of seeking revenge, Landlord Zhao admired his abilities and recruited him. Before long, Li Dagou had become Zhao’s chief enforcer.

Recently, when Landlord Zhao was arrested by the authorities, Li Dagou emerged as the new leader of the town’s ruffians.

Li Dagou sidestepped easily, dodging Xia Yan’s kick. “Well, well, quite the spirited one. I like women like you!” he jeered.

Not far off, a military jeep approached slowly and stopped near the crowd of onlookers.

“Why did Xiao Wu stop?” the young soldier driving craned his neck to see what was happening, but the throng blocked his view. “Commander, the road ahead is blocked. I can’t see what’s going on.”

The man in the back seat put down his documents and glanced at the crowd. “Go down and see what’s happening. If it’s nothing serious, have the people disperse.”

“Yes, Commander.” The young soldier, called Xiao Wu, cut the engine, got out, and hurried over, squeezing through the crowd and calling out, “Excuse me, please let me through.”

Some of the onlookers, annoyed at being pushed aside, wore displeased expressions, but seeing Xiao Wu’s military uniform, they obediently made way. A woman grabbed his arm, pleading, “Comrade soldier, please help. Someone’s causing trouble right in the street.”

It was the woman with the green headscarf who spoke.

At the words “causing trouble,” Xiao Wu’s brows furrowed. He pushed his way through, quickly recognizing Li Dagou. He saw that Li Dagou was holding a child by the collar, while a woman stood protectively in front of two more children.

“Stop!” Xiao Wu shouted at Li Dagou.

“Who dares meddle in my business—” Li Dagou started, irritation plain in his voice. But when he turned and saw Xiao Wu’s military uniform, he swallowed his words. He remembered well that it was the combined effort of the police and the military that had brought down Landlord Zhao’s household.

Li Dagou immediately set Lin Hongzhe down, forcing a smile as he nodded and bowed obsequiously to Xiao Wu, his earlier bravado vanished.

“Li Dagou, you’re bullying people again? You barely behaved for a while before causing trouble again. Are you looking to end up like Landlord Zhao?” Xiao Wu shielded Xia Yan.

Li Dagou hurriedly waved his hands. “Comrade, you misunderstand. I wasn’t bullying anyone. This woman damaged my sister’s bicycle, and I just wanted an explanation.”

“That’s nonsense! She crashed into me!” Lin Hongzhuo jumped out from behind Xia Yan, pointing at Li Sanxia and showing Xiao Wu the scrape on the back of his hand. “She did this to me.”

“Hello, comrade. I am the wife of Lin You, captain of the mountain garrison. I brought three children out to play, and one of them ran ahead and collided with her,” Xia Yan explained simply.

Hearing she was Lin You’s wife, Xiao Wu smiled. “So it’s you, sister-in-law. I’m Xiao Wu, Commander Peng’s driver. Whenever Captain Lin comes down the mountain, I’m the one who picks him up.”

Li Dagou broke out in a cold sweat as he listened, his face turning pale. He hadn’t expected this woman to be a military wife—her husband a captain—and she even knew the commander…

No wonder the kid had spoken so boldly earlier. He’d thought the boy was bluffing, but the family’s background was formidable.

“Um… comrade, it was all a misunderstanding just now,” Li Dagou stammered.

“Oh? Just now you claimed my son broke your bike, your sister demanded compensation, and you came to back her up. How is it now all a misunderstanding?”

“No, no, my sister was riding without looking and crashed into someone. I’m here to apologize,” Li Dagou said urgently. He turned and glared at Li Sanxia. “What are you waiting for? Apologize to the boy.”

Li Sanxia, cowed, hung her head. “S-s-sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Li Dagou fished two large bills from his pocket. “Here, miss, buy the children some sweets…” Before he could finish, several policemen in uniform arrived on bicycles. Their leader recognized Xiao Wu and greeted him warmly.

Seeing the police, Li Dagou tried to escape, but the crowd pressed in on all sides, leaving him no path.

Xia Yan briefly described the incident to the police.

“Li Dagou, you really don’t learn. Apparently, the lesson from Landlord Zhao’s arrest wasn’t enough. Still causing trouble in the street? Cuff him and take him away,” the policeman ordered.

The crowd cheered at the news.

With Li Dagou’s arrest, the town was rid of another menace.

As the crowd dispersed, Xia Yan thanked Xiao Wu a few more times. If not for his intervention, she feared there would have been much more trouble today.

“So, the man in the jeep is Commander Peng?” Xia Yan looked toward the vehicle, catching a glimpse of the figure seated in the back.

“That’s right,” Xiao Wu nodded automatically.

With confirmation, Xia Yan turned to Lin Hongzhe. “Xiao Zhe, look after your brother and sister. I’m going to say hello.”

In the jeep, Peng Zhenguo was still reading his documents when he heard a knock on the window. He looked up to see Xiao Wu standing with a young woman behind him, who greeted him with a cheerful smile.

He rolled down the window, glancing at Xiao Wu. “Is it resolved?”

“Yes, Commander. It was just a local troublemaker, and the police have taken him away. This is Captain Lin’s wife. She heard you were here and wanted to greet you.”

Peng Zhenguo let out a surprised “oh,” turning to Xia Yan. “You’re the fiancée from Lin You’s hometown?”

“That’s right, Commander Peng. My name is Xia Yan…” Though she knew Peng Zhenguo was aware of her name, she introduced herself nonetheless.

“And where is Lin You?”

“At Commissar Zhou’s house.”

“I thought he’d wait a few more days before having you come. Didn’t expect him to be so eager. Since we’ve met, come with me—I’d like to have a word with you.”

Xia Yan was taken aback. She only meant to express her gratitude, not expecting Peng Zhenguo to invite her into the car directly.

Seeing her hesitate, Peng Zhenguo smiled. “Are you afraid, young lady?”