CLANG! The iron basin in Auntie Sun’s hands fell to the ground. She nearly fainted on the spot.

Luckily, the auntie beside her was prepared and quickly pinched her sharply under the nose, keeping Auntie Sun from passing out completely.

As she came to her senses, she stared at the auntie who had brought the news and violently grabbed her by the clothes.

"What did you say? My second son was beaten to death by Leng Yuan?"

The auntie nodded. "That’s right. They say his head was smashed open and there was a lot of blood. The brigade leader and village chief have already gone over. You should go take a look too!"

Auntie Sun was about to faint again at this, but the other auntie’s next words stopped her.

"Don’t you go fainting now! Your son is waiting for you!"

Hearing this, Auntie Sun let out a wail and burst into tears.

"Oh, my poor Yecheng! You poor, poor boy! Don’t you worry, Mom will get justice for you."

With that, she shot to her feet and ran outside.

Seeing this, the auntie who had delivered the news was afraid something would happen and hurriedly followed her. After running a few steps out the door, she turned back to lock the Sun family’s gate.

Auntie Sun cried, ran, and shouted all at the same time. Her shrill wails attracted the attention of many villagers. At first, they didn’t know what was happening, and by the time they realized something was up, Auntie Sun was already far in the distance, leaving them to wonder what was going on.

But none of them could run as fast as she could.

It was strange, considering Auntie Sun was just over five feet tall with typically short legs. No one knew what had happened today to stimulate such a burst of human potential.

The crowd looked at each other, utterly bewildered.

Fortunately, the auntie who brought the news came running up just then, and everyone immediately stopped her to ask what was going on.

The auntie didn’t hold back and repeated the story.

"Leng Yuan smashed Sun Yecheng’s head open. He beat him to death."

"What? Beat him to death? How could Leng Yuan do such a thing? A life for a life... He’s not going to get the death penalty, is he?"

Hearing this, the auntie just waved her hand. "You all can stand here and discuss it. I’m going to go see what’s happening."

With that, she pushed through the crowd and ran off.

The remaining people looked at each other, then they too ran after her.

The fastest among them were members of the Wang Shengli and Lin Jiandong families. They held a grudge against Leng Yuan and were rushing to gloat over his misfortune.

On the frozen river, Leng Yuan and Sun Yecheng agreed on the rules of the competition. Each of them stood before the ice hole they had chiseled open.

The hole in front of Leng Yuan wasn’t one he had made himself, but Chen JianShe had happily offered up his own.

He even leaned in and whispered, "Brother Leng, you have to win later!"

’Please don’t lose.’

’He really didn’t want to marry that woman, Sun Yeshu. If her mother tried to force him, he’d rather go become a monk.’

’Either way, he would absolutely not marry Sun Yeshu.’

The onlookers had all come to fish, but now they weren’t interested in their own lines. They formed a line, standing before the two competitors and watching them intently.

A few of them were even chosen as judges to help count the number of fish caught.

Sun Yecheng wasn’t as good a fighter as Leng Yuan, but he was a genuinely skilled fisherman. Everyone knew he had his own special tricks. Normally, Sun Yecheng would never reveal them, but today, he didn’t mind showing off a little.

Sun Yecheng cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the crowd gathered before him, then spoke with a smile.

"Haven’t you all been wondering why I always catch so many fish? Today, I’m going to tell you the secret."

The crowd was stunned for a moment, then looks of wild joy spread across their faces.

Food was scarce in the village, and fish was a rare delicacy. The problem was that the fish were incredibly clever and hard to catch. If they could master this technique, they could catch a fish to eat every now and then.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze fixed on Sun Yecheng, burning with anticipation.