The young girl was none other than Kevin Bolton’s child bride, Lucy Cloud, who had been with the The Bolton Family for five years. In the prime of her youth, she had the tall and full figure typical of northern girls, exuding youthful energy from head to toe. Her chest was full, her waist was slender, and her hips were round—her figure was in no way inferior to that of famous models of later generations.

Moreover, she was honest and capable, filial to her mother-in-law, and took care of her younger sister. When Kevin Bolton fell ill, Lucy even tended to his every need, feeding him and giving him medicine without the slightest complaint. Yet every time Kevin Bolton thought of those first few days after he had just transmigrated, when the young girl had to help him change clothes and empty his chamber pot, he couldn’t help but blush.

Mrs. Sullivan hugged Lucy Cloud tightly and asked with concern, “Lucy, where did you just go? Mother was worried sick!”

The girl lowered her fair neck and said, “Mother, I went to fetch firewood, but then I saw Sam Thompson and the others coming, so I ran to find Uncle Johnson!”

Hearing this, both Mrs. Sullivan and Kevin Bolton looked up, and saw a middle-aged man standing at the door, draped in an old sheepskin coat, with thick eyebrows and big eyes that radiated honesty. Hearing Lucy mention him, he quickly smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, Lucy is a clever girl. She ran to tell me that Sam Thompson was here to cause trouble, so I rushed over right away. By the way, where did Sam Thompson and his lot go?”

Emily Bolton laughed and said, “Uncle Tieshan, all the bad guys were chased away by Second Brother!”

The middle-aged man was stunned, looking at Kevin Bolton in disbelief. He had watched this boy grow up—timid since childhood, and after studying, even more like a shy girl. To say he could fight? Wasn’t that a joke?

Thomas Johnson looked at Mrs. Sullivan in confusion, but Mrs. Sullivan couldn’t hide the proud smile on her face. “Kevin has finally grown up—he’s a real man now!”

Hearing this, Thomas Johnson suddenly became excited, slapping Kevin Bolton heartily on the shoulder and laughing heartily. “Good, very good! I knew my big brother’s son wouldn’t be lacking—he’s a good kid! Come on, tell Uncle Johnson, what reason did that rascal Sam Thompson have to cause trouble? Uncle won’t let him off!”

Kevin Bolton knew that Thomas Johnson was a man of passion. Over twenty years ago, his own father and Thomas Johnson had fought together in the Wanli Three Great Campaigns, even going to Korea to fight the Japanese. His father had saved Thomas Johnson several times, forging a life-and-death bond between the two families. After his father passed away, Thomas Johnson had helped the The Bolton Family many times.

“Uncle Johnson, here’s what happened, they…”

Before Kevin Bolton could finish, there was a sudden rush of hurried footsteps outside, and a raspy voice shouted loudly, “Young Eric Bolton, get out here! Third Master is back again!”

“It’s Sam Thompson!”

How did this guy come back again? And it sounded like he brought even more people!

Thomas Johnson glanced at Kevin Bolton and said, “Second Nephew, are you afraid?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? A man dies but once—if I’m scared, I’m not a man of the The Bolton Family!”

“Well said! That’s the spirit. Let’s go out and see!”

As soon as Kevin Bolton pushed open the door, more than a dozen hooligans and loafers swarmed in like bandits, kicking both courtyard gates off their hinges. There wasn’t much of value in the yard, but one guy even knocked over the sauce jar by the door. Brown soybean paste spilled out, filling the small courtyard with its rich aroma.

Northern farming families all have the tradition of making soybean paste—a big jar is enough to feed the whole family for a year! In winter, when poor families have no vegetables, just mixing some paste with food makes a meal.

Without the paste, they could only make do with salt water. The hardship of survival was beyond anything people of later generations could imagine.

Kevin Bolton still remembered how, for the sake of that jar of paste, Mrs. Sullivan and Lucy Cloud would get up at the crack of dawn and work late into the night. The soles of their shoes stacked up half a meter high before they could sell them to buy soybeans. That jar was filled with sweat and the taste of home, and now he could only watch as it spilled onto the filthy ground.

“Animals!”

Mrs. Sullivan stood at the door, covering her face with both hands as tears streamed down through her fingers. Kevin Bolton was even more furious, grabbing the iron shovel by the door. They had been bullied right at their doorstep—what more was there to say!

Thomas Johnson’s eyes were blazing with anger too, but he still held tightly onto Kevin Bolton’s arm. “Second Nephew, don’t be rash! Do you see that sickly-looking young man in the middle?”

Kevin Bolton glanced over and sure enough, there was a thin young man with a sallow, waxy face, protruding cheekbones, sunken eyes, dark circles to rival a panda, bloodshot eyes crusted with gunk, and breath reeking—he looked every bit the picture of overindulgence.

Thomas Johnson continued, “His name is Andrew Walker. His father, Charles Walker, is a hereditary centurion, with power and influence at home. Didn’t you see how he brought over a dozen thugs? Listen to your uncle—don’t go head-to-head with them!”

A hereditary centurion wasn’t much of an official, but to ordinary people, it was as lofty as the heavens. Kevin Bolton could only suppress his anger and nod.

“Young Master Walker, we’re all neighbors here. Everyone knows the The Bolton Family are honest folks. You brought so many people, smashing and beating—don’t you think that’s going too far?”

Andrew Walker curled his lip and sneered, “Honest? Owe me over forty taels of silver and refuse to pay, and even injured my men—shouldn’t I settle this account?”

Hearing it was about debt, Thomas Johnson secretly groaned. Earlier this year, the The Walker Family had forced a tenant who owed money to drink brine and commit suicide. Once you got involved in something like this, it was never easy to resolve.