Chapter 10: Touch My Forbidden Scales, and You Shall Be Punished!

As before, Liu Jun once again became relentless. Wang Xiaoli was genuinely annoyed, while Chai Fang, feeling somewhat inferior, wished she could step in to shield Wang Xiaoli from this man's persistent pestering. Yet she was afraid of bringing more criticism upon her own family.

Chai Jin, standing nearby, saw through his sister's thoughts. In his past life, after his sister had been sold, Wang Xiaoli was the only one who called him every year, asking after her. But this girl, like many beautiful girls, had not been favored by fate. She met only scoundrels, divorced three times, and after hearing of his sister's death, never reached out again.

Because of this connection, Chai Jin straightened up, frowned, and said, "Sister Li isn't interested in you. What's the point of your endless pestering?"

His voice was abrupt, and the atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

Liu Jun suppressed his anger and kept speaking to Wang Xiaoli, "Lili, I know you look down on me for not being successful, but soon I'll be working at the factory too. Believe me, I’ll work really hard."

Just as Wang Xiaoli was about to respond, Chai Jin interjected coldly, "A grown man—can't you have a bit of dignity?"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Liu Jun, unable to win her over, finally exploded. He turned and snapped, "What does this have to do with you? Quit your yapping, and don't think just because your family paid off its debts you can act all proud now. The whole lot of you are garbage! What business is this of yours, anyway!"

"Liu Jun, are you out of your mind? Why drag Fangfang’s family into our issues?" Wang Xiaoli’s big eyes glared, clearly furious.

Liu Jun, still fuming, retorted, "It's true! Lili, tell me, did that bitch say something to you about me?" He pointed at Chai Fang, who was too timid to speak.

At this, it was no longer a matter between just two people.

Chai Jin, holding a sickle, walked over and slapped Liu Jun across the face. The smack was sharp, leaving Liu Jun’s head spinning and his parted hair in disarray.

"I—smack—"

"Chai Jin, you—smack!"

Smack, smack, smack. Without stopping, Chai Jin landed four or five slaps in quick succession, sending Liu Jun stumbling into the nearby irrigation ditch, covered head to toe in mud, utterly humiliated.

If it wasn’t for Chai Fang holding her brother back, afraid he’d go too far, Chai Jin might have leapt into the ditch to beat him further. It wasn’t reckless anger—after having endured the pain of losing loved ones in his past life, Chai Jin had changed. When faced again with past regrets, people transform.

To insult his family was to touch his most sensitive nerve.

Terrified, Liu Jun struggled in the ditch for a while before climbing out. Yet, recalling how Chai Jin had assaulted him, a strange fury surged again. Anyone in the village could hit him—but not the Chai family. They had no right.

He pointed at Chai Jin, snarling, "You brat, I used to beat you up when you were a kid—I still can now. Don’t think you’ve gained anything from catching me off guard. Just you wait."

He turned to Wang Xiaoli, "And you, Lili, you’d best stay away from that family. Their reputation in the village is notorious!"

Furious, Wang Xiaoli shot back, "Who I spend time with is none of your damn business. And let me make this clear, Liu Jun: do you know why I like being with Fangfang? It's because I like Chai Jin. Give up already."

Her words left everyone in the field stunned. Even Chai Xiaoshan covered her mouth in surprise. Chai Jin, on the other hand, remained calm. With the mind of a man in his forties or fifties, how could he not see through the thoughts of a teenage girl? Her so-called affection was just a ploy to stop Liu Jun’s pursuit—her silence was telling.

As expected, this sent Liu Jun into a fit of rage. He stomped his feet, pointed at Chai Jin, and shouted, "Fine, just you wait!" His face twisted with hatred, he stormed off.

Carrying baskets, Chai Mingguo walked over, glanced at the cursing Liu Jun as he left, and asked, "What happened here?"

Chai Xiaoshan, quick-tongued, raised her little face, "Dad, Sister Lili just said she likes my brother."

"I—" Wang Xiaoli’s face flushed red. She hurried to explain, "Uncle, it’s not like that. I just had a spat with Liu Jun, that’s all. It’s a misunderstanding." She glanced at Chai Jin, who was quietly working, "Chai Jin, I’m sorry, I just—"

"It’s alright, I understand why you did it," Chai Jin offered a small smile. "In fact, I should be thanking you. My sister is fortunate to have you as a friend."

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, back to work," he replied, growing distant.

Chai Mingguo looked at his son with deep meaning, said nothing, and returned to work.

Wang Xiaoli, seeing Chai Jin’s change in demeanor, felt something was off. Though she was Chai Fang’s friend, she was only a couple of months older than Chai Jin and, because she always played with his sister, had always treated Chai Jin as a younger brother. Now, his sudden maturity and coolness unsettled her.

She pulled Chai Fang aside: "Fangfang, doesn’t Chai Jin seem different? He never used to be like this."

Chai Fang glanced worriedly at her brother, "I don’t know what’s gotten into him either. But no matter what, he’ll always be my brother. Lili, you... don’t really like my brother, do you?"

"Oh, stop it—I already explained, I just wanted Liu Jun to leave me alone. Anyway, I’m off to catch some crayfish. Come find me later if you have time."

"Okay," Chai Fang replied with a gentle smile, two sweet dimples appearing on her face.

But after walking some distance, Wang Xiaoli couldn’t help but look back at Chai Jin, busy among the rice stalks. Scratching her head, she muttered, "He really seems like a different person."

With that, she picked up her bucket and went off to the distant pond.

...

She waited there the entire day. It wasn’t until after seven in the evening that word finally came from Zhang Aimin’s side: the leader from the State Assets Commission had arrived at their factory. Chai Jin was summoned to meet him. The message didn’t say whether things would work out or not.

With no other choice, Chai Jin called for Liu Qingwen, bought a pack of premium cigarettes at the village store, gathered some wild produce from the fields, and headed to the factory.

This minor official was named Kong Xiangdong—a shrewd and cunning man. At first, upon seeing Chai Jin, he was visibly disappointed, doubting he had the means to contract the distillery. However, once Chai Jin offered him cigarettes and a red envelope, Kong Xiangdong’s demeanor shifted entirely.

Sipping his wine, his belly protruding, he adopted a patronizing tone: "It’s good for young people to have ambition. Reforming state enterprises is the trend of the times, a policy that benefits the nation and the people. We should give more opportunities to the young. Old Zhang, come by my office tomorrow and I’ll put the seal on it."