"It's all your fault!" she said, both angry and anxious.
"Why blame me? Your cow ran off on its own, I didn't chase it away," Wu Tian replied with a smile.
"What are you standing around for? Go find my cow quickly," Zhao Xiaoli urged, pushing Wu Tian.
Wu Tian said, "I can help you find the cow, but let's pretend what just happened didn't happen, because I really didn't see anything."
"How dare you say that!" Zhao Xiaoli pinched Wu Tian's arm.
"Don't pinch, it hurts," Wu Tian said.
Zhao Xiaoli said, "Go find the cow quickly. If you find the cow, I'll forgive you."
"Okay," Wu Tian said, and then he quickly ran up the mountain.
Not long after, Wu Tian found the big yellow cow.
Seeing Wu Tian actually bring the cow back, Zhao Xiaoli also breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Tian handed the rope to Zhao Xiaoli and said, "Alright, you can continue herding the cow. I'm going back."
At this moment, Zhao Xiaoli said softly, "Wait a moment."
"What is it?" Wu Tian asked with a smile.
"You're not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today, or I'll never be done with you!" Zhao Xiaoli said, her face flushed red.
"Don't worry, I won't say anything," Wu Tian nodded.
After speaking, Wu Tian returned to Taohua Village.
Looking at Wu Tian's retreating back, Zhao Xiaoli stood still for a long time, her face as red as a ripe apple.
When Wu Tian returned to the village, he went directly to Bai Xue's house.
As he approached Bai Xue's house, he heard a noisy commotion.
He saw Village Chief Wang Damao, accompanied by five or six burly men, standing at Bai Xue's doorstep.
Wang Damao pounded on the door forcefully and shouted, "Bai Xue, I'm here to collect the money! Open the door and pay up!"
"Village Chief, please give me a few more days. I really don't have any money right now," Bai Xue's tearful voice came from behind the door.
"I don't care about that. If you don't pay me back, I'll tear down your house!" Wang Damao said.
Hearing Wang Damao's threat, Bai Xue quickly opened the door.
Her face was pale, and she trembled all over as she pleaded with Wang Damao, "No, please don't tear down my house. I'll find a way to pay you back."
To be honest, as a widow, if her house were torn down, Bai Xue would have to leave Taohua Village and return to her maiden home.
In rural areas, there was a custom that widows returning to their maiden homes were not well-received.
Therefore, if Bai Xue lost her home, given her personality, she wouldn't go back to her maiden family.
She would likely have to drift and work elsewhere for the rest of her life.
Wang Damao said coldly, "Debts must be repaid, it's only natural!"
"If I tear down your house, you won't have to pay the money."
With that, Wang Damao said to the burly men, "Tear it down!"
Hearing Wang Damao's command, the burly men, armed with hoes and sledgehammers, rushed into the yard, ready to start demolishing the house.
Just then, Wu Tian walked over and shouted, "Stop right there!"
Seeing Wu Tian approach, Village Chief Wang Damao said in surprise, "Wu Tian, what are you doing here?"
"Wang Damao, I forbid you from tearing down Sister Bai's house. Do you hear me?" Wu Tian said.
Sister Bai didn't want Wu Tian to offend Wang Damao because of her, and she called out worriedly, "Xiao Tian."
"Sister Bai, don't worry. With me here, Wang Damao can't tear down your house," Wu Tian said with a smile.
Hearing Wu Tian's words, Wang Damao felt a surge of anger.
He was furious that Wu Tian dared to call him by his name directly and boss him around in front of so many people!
It was as if Wu Tian didn't take him seriously at all!
Furthermore, Wang Damao's eyes were clouded with a shadow as he recalled what happened last night.
"Wu Tian, if you dare to interfere, don't blame me for being rude," Wang Damao said angrily.
"I'm interfering today," Wu Tian said coldly.
In fact, Wu Tian could have directly paid off Bai Xue's debt.
But Wu Tian disliked Wang Damao and intended to teach him a lesson, at least to curb his arrogance.
Wang Damao said angrily, "Good, Wu Tian. It seems you're not afraid of death."
Saying that, Wang Damao said to the burly men beside him, "Go and beat him up!"
The burly men hesitated. After all, they were all from the same village and would see each other around.
Especially since Wu Tian was the only rural doctor in Taohua Village, if they beat him up, they would have to go to the town hospital for any future colds or illnesses.
"Don't just stand there. Whoever takes this kid down, I'll reward them with a hundred yuan," Wang Damao shouted.
Seeing Wang Damao's generosity, the burly men were tempted.
One of the burly men was the first to charge at Wu Tian, and the others followed, surrounding him.
However, before they could even touch Wu Tian, he kicked them down one by one.
The burly men clutched their stomachs, curled up on the ground, and wailed.
Seeing such an absurd scene, Wang Damao began to panic.
He thought, wasn't this kid just a weak village doctor?
When did he become so powerful?
Originally, Wu Tian had intended to beat Wang Damao.
But Wu Tian also knew that if he really hit him in front of so many people, he would have completely offended him.
Wang Damao was the village chief, after all, and he had to show him some respect.
"Alright, I won't waste any more words with you."
Wu Tian said coldly, "I'll settle Sister Bai's debt with you today."
"How do you propose to settle it?" Wang Damao asked, somewhat at a loss.
In fact, he was already flustered from fear.
Although he hadn't fought Wu Tian, all the men he brought had been beaten down by Wu Tian. If he were to go himself, he would definitely lack confidence.
Despite his usual imposing demeanor as the village chief, he was afraid when faced with a tough opponent.
Especially someone as skilled in fighting as Wu Tian.
Wu Tian said, "Wang Damao, didn't Brother Fugui borrow twenty thousand yuan from you before he passed away?"
"Yes, that was five or six years ago," Wang Damao nodded and said, "With so many years of interest, twenty thousand has become fifty thousand."
Hearing Wang Damao's words, the surrounding villagers who had come to watch the commotion immediately felt indignant for Bai Xue.
"Village Chief Wang, you're even worse than a loan shark!"
"Yes, and this is a debt with a deceased person. The words are in your mouth, you can say whatever you want."
"That's right, doing this will shorten your lifespan..."
Hearing the villagers' words, Wang Damao hung his head, unable to think of a rebuttal.
Wu Tian thought that Wang Damao had lent Wang Fugui twenty thousand yuan back then. After so many years, it wouldn't be appropriate to only return twenty thousand.
Paying him an extra ten thousand would be considered very fair to him.
At this moment, Wu Tian said loudly, "I don't have fifty thousand. How about this, I'll take a loss and add another ten thousand, making it thirty thousand in total. This debt will then be settled."