Chapter 37: A Baffling Victory

The Su family’s faces turned livid with rage.

This was hardly a choice. A single tael of tax for a small vegetable patch every month? If they didn't pay, they had to pack their belongings and get out! This was clearly a death sentence.

These people were making an example of them, using the Su family to intimidate the onlookers gathered outside. This was the consequence of defying their rules. And their rules were simple: if you want to survive, you must become their slaves, submit to their exploitation, and accept that there is no other way.

Outside the Su courtyard, a crowd had gathered, watching the scene in silence. They were all neighbors. A closer look revealed that their eyes were dimmer than before, filled with a profound sense of numbness and helplessness. It was just as they thought—there was no hope in this world. Those at the bottom were mere prey, with no path to survival. The new Su family and that vegetable patch, which had just begun to sprout signs of life, were destined to be crushed in the cradle.

Su Da, burning with fury, stepped forward to shield his family. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the thugs standing before him. "We were exiled here to reclaim wasteland! Since this is a place of exile and reclamation, there is no such thing as anyone’s territory! All land that can be cultivated here is ownerless! The one who tills the land is its master! Whether it is this courtyard or the vegetable patch behind it, it belongs to the Su family. You want us to pay taxes? Impossible! You want us to leave? Even more impossible! If you dare to push us further, I’ll fight you to the death!"

"You want to fight to the death?" The lead thug laughed, hands on his hips, followed by a thunderous roar of laughter from his henchmen, as if they had heard the most ridiculous joke. "You? With just you lot? Since you refused a polite offer and insist on doing things the hard way, fine. I’ll grant your wish and show you the consequences of offending the Twelve Wharves! Lads, tear this place apart!"

"Hold it!" Madam Huo pushed through the crowd, walked into the courtyard, and looked at them with a mocking smile. "What is going on here? It’s just a small vegetable patch. Is Chief Hu really so petty that he has to send you lackeys to smash and destroy?"

Seeing Madam Huo, the lead thug remained arrogant. He slanted his eyes and spoke in a shrill, mocking tone, "Madam Huo, I advise you to stay out of this. Your husband has a verbal agreement with the North and South Cities and the Twelve Wharves—mind your own business. If you break that agreement and interfere, don't blame us if your husband loses his peaceful life!"

"You!" Madam Huo’s expression shifted. She glanced at the Su family, then retreated to the side with a grim face, saying nothing more.

Seeing this, the lead thug sneered in disdain and waved his hand. "Smash it!"

The thugs swarmed forward, ready to wreck the place. Su Da and Su Er, no longer afraid and fueled by rage, grabbed their tools and charged. "Damn you! I’ll fight you! Dad, Mom! Take the others and get back!"

Su Er roared, swinging a wooden club and striking at anyone within reach. His eyes were bloodshot, burning with anger and despair. The rest of the Su family didn't listen; Old Man Su and his wife also charged at the intruders. Even the three women, Liu Yuelan, He Daxiang, and Su Xiu'er, joined the fray, pinning one man down and scratching at him. The three little ones, initially terrified, saw their family rushing in. After a moment of hesitation, under Su An’s command, they all lunged forward, baring their teeth and biting hard into the legs of the thugs.

The thugs howled in pain. The scene was chaotic and absurd.

Yet, none of the onlookers found it funny. They watched in a daze, something struggling in the depths of their eyes—like a seed long suppressed, finally finding the will to resist after extreme oppression. Whenever these thugs appeared in the past, their victims had only ever endured in silence. No one had ever dared to risk their lives to fight back.

The Su family had set a precedent. The screams of the thugs made the oppressed realize that these people were capable of feeling pain, and they were far less terrifying than they had imagined.

Seeing the Su family fight back, the lead thug was stunned, then turned livid with rage. "A bunch of death-seeking curs! Hit them! Beat them to death—ah!"

His roar was cut short, replaced by a shrill, piercing scream. The thug’s eyes widened as he clutched his wrist, staring in disbelief at the bright red blood seeping through his fingers. The sharp pain made his pupils constrict and dilate. Instinctively, he looked toward Madam Huo.

Madam Huo had moved to the door of the main room, holding the baby who had been hidden in a basket before the chaos began. Though she didn't want to get involved, a sliver of mercy had made her move the baby to safety. Feeling the thug’s gaze, she glared. "What are you looking at? I didn't do it!"

At that very moment, a rhythmic series of screams erupted from the thugs around him. The lead thug looked around and saw that every one of his men was injured; not only were they bruised, but each one had a wrist pierced by some unknown projectile. This realization cleared the thug of his suspicion toward Madam Huo—he had been watching her the whole time, and she hadn't made a move.

The realization made his heart sink. It wasn't Madam Huo; there was a master hiding here, protecting the Su family! Their mission was a failure, and continuing would only lead to further humiliation.

"Fine! Fine! I misjudged you this time! Lads, let's go!" With a sinister expression, the thug clutched his bleeding wrist and led his men away in a hurried, wretched retreat.

A moment later, a cheer erupted at the Su family’s gate. Those who had watched the entire ordeal felt the gloom in their eyes dispelled by a sudden light, and they laughed and wept with excitement.

"They left! They ran away!"

"The Su family won! The garden is saved!"

These were people whose spines had been broken by reality, raising their heads for the first time. Everyone knew that offending the Twelve Wharves would not end so easily. But for now, no one wanted to dwell on the final outcome. They greedily clung to this fleeting moment of hope, reveling in it. Life was too bitter and hard; they had to grasp at some light to keep moving forward, even if that light was faint and momentary.

The Su family stood gasping for air, their hands still trembling as they gripped their tools, unable to process the thugs' retreat. Looking at one another, they were stunned and bewildered. They had actually won—the house was safe?

Old Madam Su’s lips trembled. After several deep breaths, she dropped the firewood in her hand and hurried toward the main room. "My sweet baby—"