Chapter 37: Pierced by a Stick

"Yes, why?"
Second Uncle replied softly, then picked up a wooden plank and began measuring it against the damaged chair.
"I accidentally put a hole in the basketball court. The village chief found out and demanded that I fix it."
"The village chief? What nonsense!" At the mention of the village chief, Second Uncle's face tightened with disdain.
"You're not on good terms with him?"
"We don't even have a real village chief. He calls himself Chen Long, always meddling in everything, and refers to himself as the chief!"
"Chen Long?"
"The basketball court and ancestral hall in our village were built because he applied for them with the brigade, and then everyone donated money to help construct them."
"So he did something good for the village. Why do you resent him so much?"
Second Uncle snorted, clearly irritated at the mere mention of Chen Long. "My vegetable garden is right next to his. He secretly shifted the boundary by half a meter into my land—I caught him. Wouldn't you be angry?
And tell me, what happened to your courtyard?"
Chen Anquan was surprised. "Does that have something to do with Chen Long as well?"
"Of course! Chen Long, that guy, used his ties with the brigade. When they built the basketball court, he knew perfectly well it was your courtyard, but without your consent, he took it over for the project. You know, a large plot behind the three-story house I built by the pond was also requisitioned by him!"
"And we didn't get any compensation?"
"Compensation? Not a chance! Any leftover funds from constructing the basketball court and ancestral hall went straight into his pocket."
"Damn! That Chen Long is truly despicable!" No wonder Chen Anquan noticed Chen Long's arrogant attitude—a textbook village bully.
"Forget the past. If he dares mess with us again, I'll make sure he regrets it!" Chen Anquan spat out the threat.
"What are you talking about..." Just then, Second Aunt walked in from outside, carrying a large bowl of noodles.
Chen An smiled and stood up, "I'll get the bowls and chopsticks."
At this moment, Second Uncle had almost finished repairing the broken chair. He set it down and looked proudly at Second Aunt. "Zhaodi, doesn't this chair look as good as new?"
Second Aunt rolled her eyes. "What good is your skill? Other families just buy brand-new, beautiful chairs. We still use ones that are over ten years old—how pointless!"

Second Uncle scratched his head. "Well, if you patch up the chair, it's still usable."
Second Aunt sighed, "When I was young, I admired your skills as a carpenter. But so many years have passed, and you still haven't figured things out. Carpenters in other villages have already built new five- or six-story houses. And you?"
Chen Anquan, holding three sets of bowls and chopsticks, paused. He remembered how expertly Second Uncle had repaired the chair—truly a seasoned hand.
He looked at his uncle and smiled, "Second Uncle, do you know how to make wooden swords?"
"Of course, that's simple!" Second Uncle replied with a grin.
But Second Aunt, hands on hips, scolded him, "Don't waste time on useless things!"
Chen Anquan smiled, understanding Second Aunt's concerns.
Second Uncle stood, walked over to the liquor cabinet, stepped onto a stool, and fetched a large bundle of wooden weapons from the top shelf.
There were swords, knives, staffs—each one with a flashy design. "See, Anquan, I wasn't exaggerating!"
Chen Anquan reached out and picked up one of his uncle's creations.
Ultimate swords, Dragon-slaying blade, Heaven Reliant sword, Frostmourne, halberds, Green Dragon Crescent Blade...
Though they were miniature, they were lifelike.
"Second Uncle, I have a piece of aged peach wood. I want to make a full-size peach wood sword. Name your price." Chen Anquan finally voiced his idea.
"Charging you wouldn't be right. I'll do it for free," Second Uncle nodded with a smile, happy to have his nephew's approval.
But Second Aunt protested immediately, "Jintang, don't you have to build a house for the Wang family? Making a peach wood sword takes time. Do you have that much free time?"
Her three-point barrage left Second Uncle speechless. He looked helplessly at Chen Anquan, "Maybe you should take it to the town for processing?"
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, don't worry! I know making a peach wood sword takes a lot of time. How about I pay you three hundred yuan for the work?"
Family or not, clear accounts were a must—Chen Anquan was never careless about such matters.
"Deal!" Second Aunt answered with a cheerful smile before he even finished speaking.
"..."
Chen Anquan looked helplessly at his money-loving aunt—so all his money would end up in their hands...

After their meal, led by Second Uncle, Chen Anquan carried the repair tools and materials to the basketball court.
On the court, several elderly women with buckets of urine and manure stood beside the pit.
"Who did this? Such a nasty thing, punching through the basketball court!"
"Punch through? You think this is TV? No one could really punch through it in real life!"
"Isn't there a young man in our village who practices martial arts? I saw him walking on his hands here yesterday."
"Walking on his hands—maybe he's a performer! But that wouldn't break the floor, would it?"
"Maybe he had an iron crotch and broke through with it... haha."
At that moment, Chen Anquan and his uncle arrived at the court.
Second Uncle stared in astonishment at the cracked floor and the deep hole. "Anquan, impressive! Your skills are top-notch!"
When the court was built, Second Uncle Chen Jintang hadn't been invited by Chen Long to help, but he'd seen it—the floor was ten centimeters thick, reinforced with steel and stone. He couldn't imagine what tool his nephew had used to cause such damage!
They mixed cement and mortar, filled the hole, and spent about half an hour on repairs.
Second Uncle specially brought over five or six small stones from nearby and placed them around the patched area. "Anquan, let's go. Time to build the Wang family's house."
"Thank you, Second Uncle." Chen Anquan nodded with satisfaction.
After the two left, the elderly women resumed their gossip. "See, that young man just now—he broke the floor with his crotch, haha."
"Be serious. He probably used a stick."
"Exactly. Either way, it's a stick."
...
A three-wheeled motorcycle, carrying the two of them, wobbled along until it reached Wang Family Village.
"You two are late," said Old Wang, a bearded man standing at the construction site, holding a black notebook in one hand and a ballpoint pen in the other, registering arrivals.