Chapter Seven: Li Lao Cai

  "Is the old uncle at home?" Liu He was in the yard looking at the seeds he had planted, when he suddenly heard a voice coming from Dog Egg's yard. He wasn't intentionally eavesdropping, but the sound just happened to carry into his ears.

  "What's wrong, my young master Li, what brings you to me again?" Dog Egg replied, and from here Liu He could tell that this was the Li Lao Cai who had been entrusted with grazing cattle.

  "Be more polite to our master." Suddenly, there were voices outside the door. Liu He didn't see them, but they were two house servants brought by Li Lao Cai, and they even had guns on their backs. However, whether they would fire or not was still a question.

  "You, put down your guns, don't you know this is my old uncle?" Li Lao Cai spoke up, and this was indeed a mix of soft and hard tactics. "Old nephew, I'm not someone who can be intimidated, what's the matter, speak quickly, I still have things to attend to." It was clear that Dog Dan's father didn't like Li Lao Cai's tone.

  "Look, old uncle, how can you treat me like this? Didn't I let your brother Dog Egg take care of the cattle for me? And yet you still give us so little food." "That's a lot, giving you twenty kilograms of grain for taking care of the cattle for a whole year."

  "I'm telling you, Uncle, 20 kilograms is not a small amount, how much can a little kid eat? By the way, Uncle, I came to tell you today that if no one buys my land, I'll sell it to Old Wang from the neighboring village. Don't say then that I didn't favor our own village."

  "Old Wang, you're joking, right? Old Wang would buy your land? How much would you sell it to him for? You know that every year the bandits from East Mountain come down to collect grain, Old Wang would be scared out of his wits. You might as well give it to him for free. I'm telling you, nephew, why don't you just rent those lands to the old masters in our village instead? Honestly, no one can afford to buy your land anyway. And besides, renting it to them would still bring in some rental income, wouldn't it?"

  "It's impossible, I'd rather give it to Old Wang or the bandits for free than give it to those mud-legged villagers in our village." Li Lao Cai shouted out loud. "You're saying that about me too, Uncle," he said. "Uncle, how could I say such a thing about you? You're my uncle, and if I'm going to scold someone, it's not myself, but rather you."

  "Then, you'll just give me the land and that's it." "I'm telling you, Uncle, you won't take advantage of your nephew, will you? You must be joking. Don't worry, I'll give it to Old Wang for free, and I definitely won't let your reputation be damaged."

  This Lao Li is really cunning, one sentence and he shut Dog Egg's father up, it's better to deal with external enemies than internal slaves, I don't know what kind of grudge this Lao Li has against the whole village.

  "That old nephew of mine, what else do you have to say to me? Hurry up and leave, our family's soil will dirty your feet." Perhaps Dog Egg's father was using something to hit Li Lao Cai's legs.

  "Oh dear, oh dear, Uncle, how did you end up like this? In this village, only you are from the same family as me. We are the closest relatives who haven't parted ways in five generations."

  "When something happens, you think of coming to our house, but when good things happen, why don't you think of old uncle me? Aren't you just afraid that the villagers won't let you live a peaceful life?"

  "Sell land." Suddenly, Liu He thought of something and then pulled out a gold bar from the mouse hole, "Can I also buy some?"

  "Haha, so this is Dog Egg's master, you really are selling land, I wonder how much money you need." Liu He weighed the gold bars in his hand, "Who are you, get out of the way." Suddenly, Li Lao Cai's two bodyguards raised their guns.

  Perhaps Li Lao Cai wanted to see the excitement, but Liu He was not someone to be trifled with. With a swift motion, he pulled out his gun from his waist and fired at one of the servants' feet. "Bang." The two subsequent sounds were caused by the guns in the hands of the other two servants falling to the ground. "Ah, grandfather spare our lives, grandfather spare our lives." The two immediately knelt down.

  The gunshot didn't even shift Li Lao Cai's gaze away, his eyes were still following the gold bar in Liu He's hand as it moved up and down.

  "Who is this little brother?" "This is a new resident in our village, surname Liu." Dog Egg Father replied casually, he was also stunned now, and didn't know that this little brother had such a dangerous thing. "Newcomer, good, my land and everything are sold to you, just for this gold bar."

  What a delight! I was originally going to give it away for free, but now I've got gold bars in hand, and I don't care if it's more or less. "Impossible, how much land do you have that could be worth so many gold bars?" Liu He said unhappily.

  "This, I also have a mountain in the east, and it's sold to you too." "The East Mountain, isn't it occupied by bandits?" "Then my mansion is yours too, my mansion is several times bigger than this one."

  "Alright, you can sell me a bullet from the gun in your hand." "But I still need them to protect me on my way south, my son is a regimental commander somewhere."

  "You don't have two, and besides, isn't there anything else at home?" Liu He continued to say, he understood that this Li Lao Cai had already set his eyes on the gold bar, and this deal was as good as done.

  "I told Laozhizhi, don't cheat people's children, those broken family properties are worth little money, and in Dongshan there are bandits who come down to rob at any time."

  "Alright, I'll sell you a gun, but there aren't many bullets." "You must have at least fifty rounds, or I won't buy it. You can just give those lands and whatnot to Old Wang instead."

  "Alright, alright, I'll do as you say." Li Lao Cai gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. "I'll add two more yellow cattle to the deal, that should settle it."

  "All right, young nephew, you wait here, I'll go call the village chief and Liu Xiucan." Dog Dan's father was delighted to hear that and ran out.

  "Ah, this is my old uncle, always in a hurry, no stable surname. You two, what are you doing kneeling there? Get up and go back to call your master's wife, let her bring the deed and other things. And you, go get 50 rounds of ammunition." "Yes, sir." One of the servants ran out like he was being chased by a vicious dog.

  "Hey little brother, let's go inside, this is my uncle's house, just like my own home. Oh, it's little sister! Where did you buy that dress, it looks great!" Li Lao Cai bumped into Da Ni as soon as he entered the room.

  "Hello, big brother." Danni was still very polite, calling out before turning around and heading back into the inner room.

  "Haha, this little girl is shy when she sees outsiders, don't mind her, just a little kid. Ah, Auntie, aren't you going to give your old nephew some water to drink? Ah, Auntie is wearing new clothes too?"

  "Hmph." Dog Egg Girl also turned around and went back into the house, "Hey, little brother, don't mind them, they're just ignorant women, we'll sit down. Oh dear, it's just that there's no water to drink. This old uncle of mine really isn't doing well, but where would he get the money to buy those women new clothes?" This Li Lao Cai is really shameless, actually treating this place like his own home.