One tael of silver might only be enough for a few pieces of clothing for Liang Lao Er's family, but for half the villagers, it would be half a year's expenses. From the matter of buying cloth, Sun Miao'er could feel the vast difference between prices in the city and the village.

At the peddler's stall, defective fabrics could be picked up for just a few coins, while in the city's cloth shops, even the cheapest fabrics cost several coins per bolt. In Fushui Village, anyone with a discerning eye would likely have some ulterior motives upon seeing such fabrics.

Liang Lao Er's wife walked to the outside of Sun's house, took out a gong from somewhere, and shouted, "Folks, come and see! The clothes I paid Sun's girl to make for me have gone missing for no reason. You all have to help me!"

The commotion was quite loud. Hearing the noise from Liang Lao Er's house, the neighbors from the east and west all came over from the fields to join in the fun. Some were carrying children, some were holding hoes, and some were even carrying spatulas while their meals were still cooking.

Seeing that things were developing as she had expected, Liang Lao Er's wife raised her voice several decibels, "I spent a lot of hard-earned money, but this girl hasn't even given me a single piece of cloth!"

Old Wei's wife, Lady Wei, rolled her eyes and said, "Quickly call out that girl from the Sun family and let her explain herself. I've heard she's no pushover!"

Sun Miao'er came out of the house, one hand on her hip, and pushed through the crowd to Liang Lao Er's house. "Aunt Liang, I told you, your cloth was stolen. Why don't you believe me!"

"Steal? You mean we've been robbed?" A woman's whisper came from the crowd, filled with tension and doubt.

Someone interjected, "Sister-in-law Liang, you should explain clearly what kind of clothes were stolen so that everyone can help you look for them."

If it were just a personal feud between the two of them, no one in the village would care. But as soon as they heard there was a thief, the villagers panicked, fearing that the thief would steal from their homes. Even though it was just a small amount of money, it was still enough to deter a thief from coming.

"A few days ago, I saw the Sun family girl wearing a bamboo-green dress. It looked really good on her, so I asked her where it came from. She said she dyed it herself. I liked it, so I gave her a silver ingot and asked her to get me a dress too. She promised me that day that she would definitely take care of it. But when I came to pick up the dress today, she told me that the dyed cloth was stolen last night!" Liang Lao Er's wife couldn't hide her anger. She remembered Miao'er's words very well. This matter had to be exaggerated, preferably to incite public outrage.

One silver ingot!

After a moment of murmurs from the crowd, a commotion erupted. "Sister-in-law is really generous! I've lived most of my life and I've never even seen what a silver ingot looks like!"

"That's right, we're all poor peasants, while Sister-in-law Liang's family are big landowners, how can we compare?"

"Could it be that the Sun family girl embezzled a silver ingot? This is no small amount; we need to investigate this thoroughly."

Immediately, opinions were divided: some were surprised, some questioning, some angry, and some envious...

Sun Miao'er received stares from all directions, but she was not anxious at all. On the contrary, she was quite satisfied with the way things were going. She put on a look of great grievance and said, "Aunt Liang, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I would not dare to embezzle a single tael of your silver. I took an oxcart to the city to buy cloth that day. Many villagers saw me!"

"Then tell me about my things!" Liang Lao Er was a full half a head taller than Sun Miao Er. Standing in front of her, under the blazing sun, he was sweating profusely and used a palm-leaf fan to cool himself.

Someone in the crowd chimed in, "Yeah, I saw that girl come back that day carrying a cloth, and she was with her little brother too!"

"You'd better shut up. I think that girl from the Sun family is cunning. Who knows if she's embezzled that cloth? One tael of silver is enough for our family to live on for half a year. And look at the Sun family, they're dirt poor. Who knows what might have happened!"

There were also whispers among the crowd.

There were all sorts of opinions going on. Jin Shi hid behind the crowd and listened for a long time. Seeing that people's hearts were gradually turning away from Sun Miao'er, she thought it was a good opportunity to add fuel to the fire. "Everyone, listen to me for a moment."

“Sun Lao Er’s wife, you’re this girl’s aunt, you know best what she does. You should talk to her.” Liang Lao Er’s wife was waiting for her to come, afraid that she would remain silent.

Madam Jin remained unfazed, glared at Sun Miao'er, and suddenly raised her voice, "This girl is lying! It's true she went to buy cloth that day, but I didn't see her dyeing the cloth or anything. Besides, we lock the doors every night, who could possibly get in?!"

Sun Miao'er curled her lips into a smirk. Just as she wanted, that was the sentence she wanted to hear. "Auntie, you can guard against thieves day and night, but it's hard to guard against thieves within your own family. If others can't get in, the only ones who can take action are naturally family members."

After saying that, she pointed to the Sun family's courtyard and said, "Fellow villagers can go and take a look. The iron pot in the yard is what I used for dyeing. There are still some materials left. If I wasn't genuinely working for Aunt Liang, why would I prepare these things? Wouldn't that be just a waste of my time?"

"You little slut, watch your mouth!" Jin said through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing. "What would I do with your rags!"

Liang Lao Er's wife chimed in, "Sister-in-law Sun, something's not right here. When I came here the other day, didn't you say you wanted me to give you some cloth to make a red jacket? Why are you denying it now?"

Upon hearing this, Jin realized she had been set up. No! Liang Lao Er's wife and this girl were in cahoots. But by the time she realized it, her words were already out, and everyone's attention was now focused on her, as if she were the prime suspect.

"In my opinion, it's the thief crying 'stop thief!' Auntie, you can't just destroy something because you can't have it, can you? Is it really that shameful?" Sun Miao'er slightly raised her chin, her sharp eyes seemingly wanting to expose Jin's vicious schemes in front of everyone.

"Who! Who stole my wife's things!" A burly man burst into the crowd. Liang Lao Er had just returned from slaughtering a pig when he heard that his wife had been bullied. He rushed over before he could even put away his butcher knife.

He was afraid that his wife would be wronged.

When the crowd saw that the butcher's knife was still stained with pig's blood, they were all terrified and scattered. The blade had no eyes; Liang Lao Er could kill a pig without any trouble, but what if it hit a person?

Liang Lao Er's family never expected to attract their own husband. They had calculated that he would be slaughtering a pig at this exact time, but why did he have to get involved in this mess?

Liang Lao Er is a straightforward, stubborn, and famously doting husband. Now that he heard that his wife's things were stolen, he couldn't wait to find the thief and give him a good beating!