Chapter 51: Fearless of Anything

The purpose of throwing a tantrum and rolling on the ground was to make others lose face, but what the women of the Wang family never expected was that young Zhang Tiejun showed no fear whatsoever—in fact, he even started beating drums and banging gongs.

The Wang women froze in place, while the people at Qiao’s shop began whispering and pointing fingers.

The situation grew awkward, and just then, someone from the Wang crowd suddenly shouted, "Zhang Tiejun! You bastard! How dare your Zhang family covet our Wang family’s heirloom! Hand it over now!"

A buzz-cut man grabbed Zhang Tiejun by the collar, furious: "Say one more useless word and I’ll kill you!"

Seeing it was about to get violent, the onlookers at Qiao’s shop immediately shouted, "Stop!"

But Zhang Tiejun spread his hands wide, exposing his chest to the buzz-cut man. "Everyone here, witness this—if I end up in court, at least no one can say I was the one who started this."

"Where do you get all this nonsense!" The buzz-cut man raised his hand and swung hard at Zhang Tiejun’s face.

The heavy blow sliced through the air with a whistling sound, causing many timid villagers to shut their eyes.

Yet in the next instant, the outcome was completely different. Zhang Tiejun’s expression remained calm; the buzz-cut man’s face darkened because his attack was completely blocked.

Though young, Zhang Tiejun was used to trekking mountains and carrying heavy game weighing dozens of kilos back and forth—his strength far surpassed ordinary men.

Grasping the buzz-cut man’s wrist, he twisted lightly, and a blood-curdling scream akin to a slaughtered pig pierced the air.

The man bit his lip, veins bulging, sweat pouring down his face. Zhang Tiejun’s grip was like a vice, firmly locking his fist.

The Wang women, seeing this, immediately shut their mouths that had been howling. Only then did they realize Zhang Tiejun had been sparing them face all along. But if they backed down now, the next time they came, they wouldn’t dare utter a single word.

"Oh my god! Someone’s being killed! Can’t anyone intervene?"

The Wang women wailed like banshees, pounding the ground with their hands, resembling mourners at a grave.

"Hmph." Zhang Tiejun sneered dismissively and released his grip. The buzz-cut man, finally free, lost control of his strength as he stumbled backward and fell hard onto the ground.

Seeing this, the other Wang family members quickly grabbed the burly man.

At that moment, Zhang Yunduo came running over, only relaxing slightly when she saw the situation hadn’t worsened.

Having caused such a commotion, the Wang matriarch took a deep breath, showing no sign of backing down. Instead, she pointed at Zhang Yunduo and yelled, "It’s you! You took our family’s heirloom—I’m going to fight you for it!"

She lunged at Zhang Yunduo but was stopped by many villagers from Qiao’s shop.

Zhang Tiejun had given many gifts to the villagers recently; their hearts were made of flesh and blood, and naturally, they did not want to see Zhang Tiejun suffer.

"Let her go," Zhang Tiejun said, turning his head. "I appreciate the goodwill of all the uncles and elders here, but today I’m putting on a show for everyone. Let’s see how she performs next."

His words stunned everyone present.

A group of mountain villagers had no experience dealing with riots. Zhang Tiejun, having served in UN peacekeeping missions, had witnessed local armed forces handling such situations. Usually, there were two ways to manage this: the first was violent suppression using force to disperse the crowd, which was impossible here; the second was to escalate the conflict, stirring up public opinion.

Zhang Tiejun’s tactic was to feign retreat and not engage, leaving the Wang matriarch without any leverage.

But she was not one to be intimidated. Finding she couldn’t win by force, she turned her aggression toward an easier target.

"Zhang Yunduo, don’t think having your family’s backing means you can do whatever you want. Debts must be repaid—that’s the natural order!" The Wang matriarch rose from the ground, finger jabbing at Zhang Yunduo’s nose as she cursed loudly.

Zhang Yunduo’s voice was low and subdued. Years of suffering had tempered her temper somewhat.

Zhang Tiejun pulled his sister close behind him and snorted coldly, "I haven’t come to find you about my sister’s matters, but you came looking for me. Since that’s the case, let’s talk. Your Wang family kicked my sister out without a word after all these years."

"That was your sister’s bad luck!" the Wang matriarch immediately defended.

"Fine, if it’s bad luck, I won’t argue anymore. That so-called precious heirloom of your Wang family, our family has no interest in it. If I find it, I’ll return it to you. But from now on, I can clearly say my sister has nothing to do with your Wang family!"

With those words, Zhang Yunduo was stunned.

Her brother standing up for her so fiercely today was beyond anything she had imagined. She just lowered her head, trembling, too afraid to speak.

"What did you say?" the Wang matriarch asked in disbelief.

"Didn’t hear clearly?" Zhang Tiejun paused, then continued, "I’ll say it again: your Wang family is divorced from our Zhang family!"

The room erupted in uproar.

Though reform and opening up had come, some feudal remnants still lingered in remote mountain areas. Men divorcing wives was common, but women divorcing husbands was rare.

"Are you joking?" The Wang matriarch, having failed in her scheme, growled, "I’ll fight you to the death!"

"That’s right. This is Qiao’s village, not Wang’s hamlet. If you want to cause trouble here, you’ll have to ask the men, old and young, if they agree," Qiao Kangzhan strode forward.

Though he had always suppressed Zhang Tiejun, as the team secretary, he had to maintain some face; otherwise, villagers would secretly mock him.

With Qiao Kangzhan’s involvement, many villagers from Qiao’s shop prepared for a showdown, and Chef Cai even came out brandishing two kitchen knives.

The Wang matriarch had lost all her earlier bravado; the situation had become an unstoppable force.

Defeated and furious, trembling all over, she still hissed, "Zhang Yunduo, if you have guts, never come back here again!"

Zhang Yunduo glanced at Zhang Tiejun, who nodded slightly, as if giving her boundless courage.

"I will never return! Not in this lifetime!"

Now she saw clearly: only here could Little Tiger grow up safely.

She was no longer afraid of anything.