The Qin family’s actions naturally drew the villagers’ discussion and a crowd.
It was dinnertime, and Qin Junyao felt more and more people following them.
Grandma Qin led her family across half the village to a tiled house in the center, where Village Chief Hao was sitting in the courtyard, eating peanuts and drinking wine.
Qin Junyao, at the very back of the Qin family, saw Grandma Qin slide into the courtyard with a swift movement and collapse before Village Chief Hao, her posture as smooth and precise as if practiced a thousand times.
“Village Chief~~ you must be fair to us~~ our family can’t go on living~~ they’re trying to force us to our deaths~~.”
Mother Qin and Aunt Qin Er quickly followed their mother-in-law’s lead, collapsing onto the ground and crying rhythmically along with her words.
Someone pushed Qin Junyao from behind, and she stumbled, losing her balance and falling.
Before she could get up, Qin Xiaoyu ran over, hugged her, and cried out, "Sister," even wiping Qin Junyao's eyes with her small hands.
Qin Junyao’s eyes stung, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
This series of actions happened in an instant, startling Village Chief Hao so much that he dropped his cup of wine.
It wasn't over yet. Father Qin and Qin Sen went to help Mother Qin up, the Qin family’s three sons went to help Mother Qin and Aunt Qin Er, and Qin Xiaoyu cried heartbrokenly while hugging Qin Junyao.
A touching scene of filial piety and sisterly affection.
The Qin family’s good looks had an advantage at this moment. Some people, seeing the old woman and children crying so sadly, felt their hearts soften.
Considering how the eldest son’s family had helped the villagers with their work, and how the old lady Qin never charged for her soul-calling rituals, the tide of gossip began to turn.
“You, what are you doing? What are you doing here asking me for justice?” Village Chief Hao stood up, dodging Grandma Qin’s hand reaching for his pants.
Grandma Qin slapped the ground with one hand and wiped her tears with the other. “Village Chief Hao, please be merciful. If you don’t give us justice, our family will hang ourselves from the big willow tree.”
“A wrongly dead ghost cannot be reborn. Their features will be erased, leaving only a long, blood-red tongue that will visit the dreams of those who wronged them every night~~,” Grandma Qin said, wiping her tears again.
Xiaoyu, that girl, had used too many peppers. Her eyes stung so badly she couldn't open them.
Qin Xiaoyu was also wronged. She didn’t know her sister’s newly bought peppers were so spicy. Her eyes burned, and her hands were also burning, with chili seeds stuck between her fingers.
She was holding Qin Junyao, crying not from faking, but from real pain.
“Stop, stop talking nonsense. Who wronged you?” Village Chief Hao, scared by Grandma Qin's words, retreated repeatedly.
He hadn’t wronged the Qin family. He didn't even know where the rumors came from; he had only helped spread them.
The elders had said that anyone connected to Zhao Liangcai, especially close associates, should be watched carefully, and at the right time, some trouble could be created to distract Zhao Liangcai.
“Who wronged us? Sun Laiwang’s wife from the east end of the village, Gou Sheng’s mother, the west end of the village…” Grandma Qin named about ten people.
“If they talk about me, this old woman, I accept it. But to talk about my daughter-in-law, that’s their bad luck. Ah? My youngest son and grandson are unmarried, and you won’t even spare my seven-year-old granddaughter~~.”
“Reincarnation of a vengeful spirit, bringing misfortune to husbands and sons, niece having an affair with her uncle, sucking away luck, wealth, and human blood. Today, our Qin family is being annihilated, and you people are all murderers.”
Some of these things, when whispered privately, were just gossip. But Grandma Qin’s saying them all in front of everyone made many people uncomfortable and start speaking up for the Qin family.
Any one of these accusations alone could ruin a family.
Let alone all of them together.
“Old Mrs. Qin, what nonsense are you spouting? Who are the murderers? I never said those things.”
Sun Laiwang’s wife, whom Qin Junyao had heard spreading rumors that morning, squeezed into Village Chief Hao’s courtyard to retort.
“If you said those things, then you’re a dog born of a slutty fox, married to a cuckold, and giving birth to ungrateful children.”
“You old hag, you’re calling my family beasts! I’ll beat you to death!” Sun Laiwang’s wife lunged at Grandma Qin.
Grandma Qin was waiting for this. She quickly stood up, pulled Village Chief Hao to her side, and let him take the blow.
Sun’s family members weren't just Sun Laiwang’s wife; they had been paid by Madam Sun of the Zhao family to do a good job.
Even though it was the women fighting, Qin Er Niu and the Hou family members immediately joined in, and the women’s scuffle quickly turned into a mixed-gender brawl.
These were all familiar tactics; everyone knew the routine.
“Beat us to death~~.”
Grandma Qin’s shout seemed like a signal. The Hou family members and the Sun family members rushed into Village Chief Hao’s courtyard in a flood.
Qin Junyao held onto Qin Xiaoyu’s clothes, preventing her from biting anyone. With so many people, she could be trampled to death with just one careless step.
Qin San Niu stayed close to Qin Junyao, striking anyone who came near.
The chaos at the scene made it difficult for Qin Junyao to distinguish friend from foe. She could only hold onto her younger siblings, keeping them from getting involved, and occasionally help her father, who was being beaten.
The stone table in the courtyard was overturned, the water vat shattered, the windows broken, and the tiles on the eaves fell to the ground.
Village Chief Hao, his face bruised and swollen, shouted for them to stop, but it was no use. He could only watch his courtyard fill with dust.
The less physically capable Mother Qin and Aunt Qin Er helped the Hou family’s aunts control the Sun family women, holding onto legs and necks.
Qin Sen and Grandma Qin, mother and son, moved around the courtyard, their hands responsible for much of the damage to the courtyard’s property.
The Qin and Hou families, being more numerous, gained the upper hand. The Sun family also had friends and relatives who came to help.
At this point, those who had eaten noodles at the Qin family’s house joined in.
The fight spread from the courtyard into the house, from the house back outside, and some people took the opportunity to steal from Village Chief Hao’s home.
The scene was comparable to a water-grabbing battle during an escape.
“Sister, how did you get so strong? Let go of me. That woman being held by Aunt Hou Si, her son came to our house begging for food, and I head-butted her stomach.”
“Third Brother, Third Brother, tell Sister to let me go, ah~~ that auntie, don’t pull my mother.”
Qin Junyao, holding Qin Xiaoyu with one hand and Qin San Niu with the other, was struggling.
Qin Xiaoyu’s words mirrored her desires, wanting to go deeper in to grab more. Qin San Niu charged without warning, and Qin Junyao almost lost her grip several times. This child couldn't have a stress reaction.
“Sister Qin, lift your right foot.”
Axe’s voice suddenly appeared, making Qin Junyao instinctively lift her right foot. A tile scraped her sole and slid behind her; had she not lifted her foot, it would have hit her ankle.
Axe, perched on the wall, clapped his hands. “Sister Qin, you’re amazing!”
“Axe, how did you get here?”
When Grandma Qin left home, she had told Grandma Ma to look after Axe. How had this child ended up here, perched on the wall?
Before Axe could answer, there was a loud crash as Village Chief Hao’s door collapsed.
This sound silenced everyone. Legs of stools, Yan Bai, and Mr. Zheng, holding torches, along with several elderly people, appeared at the entrance. Su Dan Novel Network.
Most striking was Zhao Liangcai, standing at the front with a long-handled hammer.
Village Chief Hao’s initial anger at his open door being forced down now turned to fear.
What was happening? He hadn’t spread the rumors. Madam, why haven’t you returned yet?