Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 44 He's fucking handsome!

That greasy, big hand was about to touch that stack of ten-yuan notes.

Niu Guihua was on edge, her heart pounding. Money was a good thing, but if she took it, a bullet would be pointed at her own head.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Niu Guihua used almost all her strength to slap Li Dabao's hand hard, making that greedy, dirty hand retract.

"What a spineless wretch! He can't resist money, he's got a death wish!"

Li Dabao was stunned by the beating. He covered the back of his hand and gasped for breath, looking at his mother with a wronged expression.

Niu Guihua didn't have time to deal with this fool. She turned her face, and her wrinkled old face instantly lit up with a smile, even brighter than a rotten tomato in bloom.

"Brother Zhang, why are you in such a hurry? The person is right here, they can't just grow wings and fly away, can they?"

While forcing a smile, she subtly moved two steps, her fat body blocking Zhang the butcher and Li Xianglian from that creepy gaze.

"Brother Zhang, please take the money back. Today... I'm afraid you really can't take this person with you."

The air froze instantly.

Zhang the butcher's fleshy face, which had been wearing a lewd smile, suddenly turned as black as an eggplant struck by frost.

"Can't you take it with you?"

He snorted coldly, his eyes, mostly white with little iris, fixed on Niu Guihua with a fierce glint that seemed to belong only when slaughtering a pig.

"Niu Guihua, you old woman, are you trying to mess with me? What? You think the money isn't enough? Trying to raise the price on the spot?"

Butcher Zhang took a step forward, and the stench of blood that came from years of killing assaulted Niu Guihua's brain.

"Why don't you go around asking around the surrounding villages? Do you think I, Zhang, am so easy to extort money from? Believe me or not, I'll burn this dilapidated house down and chop your whole family to pieces to feed the dogs!"

Before he finished speaking, his large, fan-like hand had already reached for his waist.

"Clang—"

The gleaming boning knife, with its dark red blood grooves, was pulled out, its tip gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Li Dabao was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he almost lost control of his genitals. He collapsed onto the millstone, not daring to utter a sound.

Niu Guihua was also trembling, but for the sake of long-term benefits and her own life, she swallowed back the scream that was about to come out.

"Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang, please calm down! I wouldn't dare to extort you even if you gave me a hundred lives! I'm doing this for your own good! I'm thinking of you!" Niu Guihua's voice cracked from fright.

"For my own good?"

Butcher Zhang sneered, brandishing his knife twice in the air, making a whistling sound. "Tell me then, how exactly are you doing this for my own good? If you can't answer, I'll make you bleed today!"

"You think about it!"

Niu Guihua swallowed hard and pulled out the line Li Xianglian had taught her earlier. To save her life, she was working her brains out quickly, embellishing the story with exaggerated details.

"That girl and Zhao Gang, they're officially married! What kind of world is this? A crackdown! Those corrupt officials in the commune are like mad dogs, arresting people everywhere, stuffing anyone they don't like into the fence!"

She lowered her voice and pointed to the sky outside, "That guy in town who ran an illegal workshop was paraded through the streets the other day, wasn't he? I heard he'll get over ten years in prison! If you take him back now, without proper paperwork, that'll be considered kidnapping! If the Zhao family files a complaint, saying you're defying the law, won't they throw you in jail?"

Butcher Zhang paused for a moment with his knife.

Although he was a muddle-headed man, he was also afraid of the word "law".

The situation has been tense lately, and his pig-slaughtering business isn't always clean. If he gets targeted by the authorities, it'll be like mud falling into his crotch—even if it's not excrement, it'll still look like excrement.

"Forget about a wedding night, you'll be going to jail! And eating peanuts!"

Seeing his hesitation, Niu Guihua quickly added drastic measures, "Is it worth ruining your life's reputation for just a few days?"

Butcher Zhang frowned, his thick black eyebrows furrowing into a knot.

"Didn't the Zhao family lose their person? They still dare to file a complaint?"

"Oh dear, they've gone crazy because they've lost face!"

Niu Guihua slapped her thigh. "That Zhao Cuifen is a mad dog. She's just looking for a place to vent her anger, so she's biting anyone she can get her hands on. We have to get all the paperwork done and force the Zhao family to get a clean divorce! Then you can marry her properly and take her away, and that'll be protected by law! Even the commune secretary will have to drink a cup of wedding wine for you! Don't you think that makes sense?"

Butcher Zhang remained silent.

He paced around the yard, his large rubber boots, stained with lard and mud, making a dull thud as they stepped on the yellow earth.

Suddenly, he stopped abruptly, turned around, and his fat body swayed violently with the movement.

He ignored Niu Guihua and walked directly to the base of the wall, standing in front of Li Xianglian.

That suffocating sense of oppression instantly enveloped us.

Li Xianglian pressed herself against the cold earthen wall, holding her breath. She could smell the nauseating stench of garlic and tobacco emanating from the man, along with the indelible odor of lard.

Butcher Zhang extended a short, thick finger, with black dirt embedded in its nail, and rudely lifted Li Xianglian's chin.

"Raise your head."

Li Xianglian's body was stiff, and she felt nauseous and her stomach was churning.

But she didn't dodge.

She knew that if she showed even the slightest reluctance, the knife might fall on her face.

She obediently raised her head, her eyelids lowered, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

The morning light shone on her face. Although half of her face was still red and swollen, and there were scabs on her forehead, her skin was as white as a freshly peeled egg, exuding a freshness that village women lacked.

Especially seeing that submissive, terrified little wife's appearance, Zhang the butcher's anger flared up instantly.

He's fucking handsome!

He's a hundred times better than that haggard old woman he beat to death with a few punches while drunk!

If only I could pin this woman down...

Butcher Zhang's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. His rough thumb rubbed hard against Li Xianglian's smooth chin twice, leaving a greasy mark.

Li Xianglian felt as if she had been licked by a poisonous snake, and goosebumps erupted all over her body. Her fingers, hidden in her sleeves, dug into her palms, using the pain to suppress the urge to vomit.

"OK."

Butcher Zhang withdrew his hand, put his fingers under his nose and sniffed greedily, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"This stuff is worth the price, and it's worth the wait of a few days."

Niu Guihua and Li Dabao were just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"but--"