In the kitchen.
GURGLE, GURGLE...
An enticing aroma wafted from the boiling pot. Lin Li lifted the lid to check on the beef meatballs he was cooking, feeling they were just about done.
He picked up a spoon, scooped out a steaming hot meatball from the pot, and tasted it. "Mm, perfectly cooked. Theyāre ready."
Turning off the gas, Lin Li took a large bowl and filled it to the brim with meatballs for himself.
Earlier, back in that unknown Otherworld, Lin Li had planned to find a patch of woods, have a simple lunch, rest for a bit, and then continue on his journey to find a town of Indigenous People.
But because of that Giant Eagle Beast, he had been forced to return early.
āSince Iām back home, I might as well have a slightly more lavish meal. A couple of stir-fried dishes, plus a bowl of steaming hot meatball soup... Ah, this is the life!ā
Once all the stir-fried dishes were on the table, Lin Li dished up a large bowl of white rice for himself in the kitchen.
As he carried the rice out of the kitchen and into the dining room, just as he was about to sit down and eat, a clamor of voices came from outside the door.
āThat voice sounds a bit familiar! I think itās... itās that shameless sister-in-law of Xia Qingās who showed up before.ā
Lin Li listened intently for a moment, searched his memory, and immediately identified the source of the commotion outside.
āI just forced her to leave yesterday, and today sheās back again. Sheās got some serious nerve...ā
Lin Li got up, left the dining room, and walked toward the entryway. āIf I could force her to leave once, I can do it again!ā
...
After being stared down by Lin Li and forced to leave yesterday, Wang Haiyan went home and discussed it with her husband, Zhou Dazhuang. They ultimately decided to come back the next day to beg Xia Qing for help again.
And so, at twelve noon sharp, the couple arrived at Xia Qingās door, right at lunchtime.
First, they rang the doorbell. When no one inside responded, they started banging on the door with their hands.
BANG, BANG, BANG...
"Xia Qing, I know youāre home! Open up! I brought Zhou Dazhuang with me today so he can apologize to you!" Wang Haiyan shouted at the unresponsive Xia Qing inside, still banging on the door.
"Xia Qing, Iām sorry! I know I was wrong! I wasted your kindness, Iām the worst... Iāll never do it again! Please, Iām begging you, just help our family one last time!"
Zhou Dazhuang, who had gambled away the down payment for his sonās marital home, apologized while simultaneously begging Xia Qing for help.
Inside, Xia Qing had just finished lunch with her daughter and was about to wash the dishes. Hearing the commotion at the door, her brow furrowed instantly.
"Mama, Uncle and Auntie are at our door!" said Zhou Tongtong, who was about to go watch cartoons in the living room.
"Tongtong, go to your room for now," Xia Qing said to her daughter, taking off the apron she had just tied on.
"Okay." Zhou Tongtong nodded and obediently went back to her bedroom.
Xia Qing watched her daughter enter the bedroom and close the door, then strode to the entryway. She reached her front door and spoke to the two people banging on it.
"I made myself very clear yesterday. Donāt come here and bother us again..."
Hearing Xia Qing speak, Wang Haiyan immediately replied, "Xia Qing, this really is the last time.
You donāt understand. Zhou Qiangās girlfriend called him last night to ask about the house for their marriage. And she gave him an ultimatum... At this point, we have no other choice but to come beg you for help."
After the long-faced Wang Haiyan finished, the culprit standing beside her, Zhou Dazhuang, immediately added, "Xia Qing, just lend us the money! We can write you an IOU."
This time, the couple Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan were truly frantic that their sonās marriage was about to fall through, and they pleaded with Xia Qing with utmost sincerity.
But, while Xia Qing might have helped Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan in the past for the sake of her late husband, their shameless actions over the years had broken her heart.
Now that things had reached a desperate point, no matter how much they pleaded or persuaded, Xia Qing no longer felt any sympathy for them.
"Just leave! If you keep pestering us like this, Iām calling the police and having a Security Officer handle it."
Outside the door, when Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan heard Xia Qing threaten to call the police for a Security Officer, their wailing abruptly stopped. For a moment, they didnāt dare to make another sound.
"Sheās just bluffing. She wonāt actually call the police and get a Security Officer..." the conceited Zhou Dazhuang whispered in his wifeās ear, based on what he knew of Xia Qing over the years.
Hearing her husband say this, Wang Haiyan nodded immediately. She too felt that someone with Xia Qingās gentle nature wouldnāt do something so drastic.
And so, the two shameless people started banging on Xia Qingās door again, wailing and begging her for help.
The two of them wailed and cried for another two or three minutes, but there was still no reaction from Xia Qing inside.
Just as they were about to ramp up their efforts, the sound of a door opening came from behind them.
CLICK...
Hearing the door open behind them, Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan immediately stopped their wailing and turned to look.
Lin Li, wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon print, appeared before Zhou Dazhuang and Wang Haiyan.
"You again? And you brought someone with you to cause a scene this time... I made myself very clear yesterday. If you disturb the peace like this, Iāll call the police and have a Security Officer take you away. Youāll be locked up for a few days..."
Lin Li didnāt bother to be polite with these two thick-skinned scoundrels, speaking to them in a cold tone.
But Zhou Dazhuang wasnāt Wang Haiyan; he wasnāt going to be scared off by Lin Li and leave with his tail between his legs.
Seeing that Lin Li was young and looked like a college student still in school, he immediately threatened him.
"You little punk, mind your own damn business, or Iāll make you regret it..."
Not long ago, in an unknown Otherworld, he had easily slain an ice-blue python Mutant Beast that was over ten meters long.
Having also escaped from a Giant Eagle Beast the size of a fighter jet, Lin Li looked at the middle-aged man threatening himāall bark and no biteāand mocked him in a tone full of disdain.
"Oh? And how are you going to āmake me regret itā? Go on, show me. Iād love to see it..."
Zhou Dazhuang hadnāt expected the clean-cut young man before him to be so confrontational.
Faced with his vicious threats, not only was the kid completely unafraid, but he even threw a taunt right back at him. This made Zhou Dazhuang feel like heād lost face.
...