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Chapter 4: The Tyrant Apologizes

  That evening, as soon as I returned to the fish farm, my father was already flustered—frantically scooping a basket full of fish and secretly handing me 100 yuan, telling me to go to the vilge store to buy a crate of milk.

  I asked him, "What do we need milk for?"

  And then, to my shock, he said—he was going to Erban’s house to apologize!

  The moment I heard that, I was dumbfounded. Why should we apologize?

  We were the ones who got beaten up, and yet we were supposed to apologize?

  Where is the justice in that?!

  I grabbed the basket of fish, my forehead veins bulging with rage.

  "You’re not going!" I snapped. "Even the police said Erban was in the wrong! Why do you always bend over backward like this?!"

  "Yangyang, you don’t understand," my father muttered, his head lowered in submission. "Things aren’t as simple as you think. The Jin family is powerful—we can’t afford to provoke them."

  "To hell with their power!" I clenched my teeth, lifted the basket, and threw the fish straight into the pond.

  I was 21 years old.

  I was two heads taller than my short and frail father.

  I had grown up.

  And I refused to live under his spineless, submissive way of thinking any longer.

  Ten years ago, the Jin family trampled on us.

  Ten years ter, were we really going to make the same mistake again?

  Then what was the point of everything I had worked for?

  Wasn't it all for this moment?

  For the right to stand tall and fight back?!

  I gred at my father, my voice firm:

  "I know you feel powerless. I know you want to avoid trouble.

  But have you ever thought about what that teaches me—your own son?

  If you keep bowing your head, all it does is break my spine too!

  The more you apologize, the more they’ll walk all over us.

  Dad, this is NOT how things should be done."

  My father’s head hung even lower.

  That was the first time I ever defied him.

  And I didn’t know it yet, but it would also be the st.

  In the end, my father gave in.

  But all night, he was gloomy and silent, squatting by the pond, smoking one cigarette after another.

  But I knew—I was right.

  Human nature is simple—if you let people take advantage of you, they’ll keep pushing further.

  You have to fight back, show them you’re not to be messed with.

  Only then will they respect you.

  The next morning, the vilge chief came to visit.

  My father immediately served him tea, lit him a cigarette—acting like a servant.

  The reason for his visit?

  He had come on behalf of the Jin family to "mediate" the situation.

  That just showed how powerful the Jin family really was—

  Erban was the one who attacked us, but instead of his father coming to apologize, the vilge chief came to smooth things over instead.

  The chief put on a kind smile, his voice dripping with fake sincerity:

  "We're all neighbors—this isn’t worth fighting over.

  And you, Yangyang, you're a top university student, so well-educated.

  Is it really necessary to go after your fellow vilgers like this?"

  I ughed.

  I stared him dead in the eyes and threw his words back at him.

  "Where was this ‘neighborly kindness’ when the Jin family was stepping all over us?

  Where was this ‘we’re all from the same vilge’ talk when Jin Changsheng was bullying people left and right?

  And let me tell you this—I've already started preparing for the civil service exam.

  By this time next year, I'll have a government position in the city.

  If anyone dares touch even a single hair on my father, I will make sure they regret it!"

  The chief's face immediately changed.

  He knew my potential.

  I was the only person in our vilge who had ever gotten into a top university.

  Seeing that the situation was turning against them, the vilge chief awkwardly got up, patted my father’s shoulder with a forced smile, and said:

  "You’ve got a great son, brother H??ng. Yangyang is going to have a bright future!"

  After he left, my father’s expression finally eased.

  For the first time, he looked at me with hope.

  "Son... are you really going to become a big official?" he asked hesitantly.

  In truth, I had no pns of taking the civil service exam.

  I only said that to scare them.

  For the next few days, my father and I focused on selling our fish.

  Because our farm produced high-quality fish, many seafood vendors came directly to us for supply.

  By the end of the year, we had sold out completely.

  But the Jin family remained quiet.

  Most likely because they heard I was aiming for a government position and got scared.

  Plus, at the time, the government was cracking down on organized crime.

  If things escated, they would be the ones to suffer.

  This only confirmed what I had always believed—

  "People bully the weak and fear the strong."

  If you show you’re tough, people will respect you.

  But my father would never understand this.

  With the fish farm taken care of, my father and I started preparing for Lunar New Year.

  We hung spring couplets, bought festival goods, and paid respects to our ancestors.

  For the first time, our home felt full of festive spirit.

  That night, my father secretly told me—

  Over the past few years, our fish farm had earned over 100,000 yuan.

  He was saving it for my future marriage.

  I was still overwhelmed by this news when, unexpectedly—

  Jin Changsheng himself came to our house.

  Jin Changsheng.

  Erban’s father.

  The vilge’s most feared man.

  Whenever the vilge chief couldn’t handle something, Jin Changsheng was the one who settled it.

  So if he came to your house, it meant one of two things:

  He was giving you a huge honor.

  You were in deep trouble.

  That day, he walked in smiling.

  He wore a gold-trimmed jacket, a cigarette in hand, his balding head reflecting the light.

  Despite his friendly expression, his sharp eyes radiated authority.

  My first instinct was to grab a broomstick.

  His son was locked up because of me—

  So why else would he come here?

  For revenge, obviously.

  But to my surprise—

  He brought no one with him except a young woman around my age.

  Seeing him enter, my father’s face went pale with fear.

  I forced myself to stay calm and stepped forward. "What do you want?"

  Jin Changsheng ughed.

  He walked up, patted my arm, and said warmly:

  "Yangyang, you've grown so tall—so handsome! And such a bright student!"

  He then gestured to the girl beside him.

  She pulled out a thick stack of cash and, with an awkward smile, handed it to me.

  I froze.

  Because the girl was stunning—

  Fair-skinned, well-dressed, and she smelled incredible.

  Most importantly—

  She was absolutely stacked.

  I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

  Jin Changsheng’s voice interrupted my daze:

  "This is 8,000 yuan.

  6,000 is for the fish Erban stole from you.

  The other 2,000 is for your father’s medical bills.

  Today, I’ve come to sincerely apologize on Erban’s behalf."

  Then—

  He bowed.

  For the first time ever—

  Jin Changsheng, the vilge tyrant, bowed to my father.

  That was the moment I knew—

  For the first time, our family had finally lifted its head high.

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