"Uncle Gou, why are you always hanging out with us?" He Mu, who was a bit older, although displeased and greatly irritated by Zhao Ergou, didn’t show it all on his face.

"I’m just idle, watching you play. I’m curious about why you’re collecting so many round stones," Zhao Ergou asked.

"We’re making slingshots," He Mu said.

"Making slingshots, huh? Do you know how?"

"Tch!" He Yue rolled her eyes at him. "Of course we do, why are you even asking?"

"The slingshots you make surely won’t be sturdy," Zhao Ergou said. "The wood for slingshots is too thin and small. It’s best to use hawthorn or willow! You know, there’s a lot of this wood on the mountain in our village. Want me to take you there?"

"Are you kidding kids? There are trees everywhere here. We can just find two branches and make a slingshot!" He Mu said, frowning.

"If you don’t want to, it’s fine. I was just suggesting," failed with one suggestion, Zhao Ergou had another idea, "Listen, there are wild chickens on the mountain. Last time I climbed up and shot one with a slingshot. When roasted over fire, it’s particularly fragrant. Do you want to come with me?"

"I say, Uncle Gou, why do you always want us to hang out with you? Isn’t there some ulterior motive?" He Mu thought Zhao Ergou’s behavior was too obvious.

"Hey, kid! Do you know other kids like to go up the mountain with me! I just thought Chenguang hasn’t been up to shoot wild chickens, so I wanted to take you to see. If that’s how you feel, I won’t go and I’ll head home." Zhao Ergou got a bit annoyed and got up to go home.

Watching him walk further, He Yue laughed out loud, "With such shallow tactics, he wants to trick us? No way!!"

"I don’t think Zhao Ergou will let it go so easily." He Mu had actually noticed Zhao Ergou had been following them these past few days.

"I think so too. If this approach doesn’t work, he’ll surely find another way," Ning Chenguang said.

"What should we do? We can’t be on guard against him every day. What if one day we lower our guard and he causes harm? What about the sightseeing thing?" He Mu thought it’s better to come up with an idea right now and handle the situation clearly.

"You’re right. Brother He Mu, why don’t we just expose their matters and be done with it! It would teach that awful woman Liu Qiaoqiao a lesson," Ning Chenguang thought and said.

"Alright. But you need to make sure the whole village sees them as a joke. Once everyone knows, they won’t act rashly in the future," He Mu suggested.

"That’s what I mean too." Though He Yue was young, she never procrastinated, "That Zhao Ergou and Liu Qiaoqiao are both no good! Zhao Ergou even stole the sweet potatoes from your family’s field once."

"Alright, let’s do it. First, let’s give Zhao Ergou a taste of his own medicine!" He Mu clapped his hands and stood up.

Zhao Ergou lay on the bed at home, tossing and turning, trying to think of ideas. He even thought maybe, under the cover of fewer people at night, he’d just take a club and knock Ning Chenguang out in one go.