Everyone's attention immediately turned to the snow fungus, which was a precious item worth a lot of money.

"Yunying, did you really pick a whole basket of snow fungus?"

"Tell your aunt where you picked it."

Mu Lianrong stood in front of her daughter, saying, "Go away, go away! What are you asking? If your family has any ways to make money, can you tell us?"

Besides Liu Ge's guilty conscience and fear, even Liu Ge's mother and He Hua wanted to find out about Xue Er.

Only Xiao Changxing, the village chief, remembered the important matter: "Stop arguing, Yunying, what do you want to do about today's events?"

Liu Ge's mother rolled her eyes and said, "What kind of question is that, Village Chief? What do you mean she wants to do? My son didn't do it on purpose. She beat my son like this, of course she has to pay compensation."

With Liu Ge's mother leading the charge, He Hua became bolder: "Yes, pay compensation."

Xiao Yunying nodded: "That's right, we should pay compensation. How about one tael of silver?"

"One tael? That's so little? You think you can get rid of us with just one tael of silver after picking a whole basket of snow fungus? Give us all the snow fungus, and I won't pursue the matter further."

Xiao Yunying was amused by the shameless old woman: "You must have misunderstood something. Why should I give you the snow fungus I picked? The one ounce I mentioned wasn't me paying you back, it was you paying me back. Since you think it's too little, then two ounces it is."

Liu Ge's mother jumped up on the spot: "Are you crazy? You beat my son like this, and you still want us to pay you money?!"

Xiao Yunying said, "It's fine if we don't have to pay compensation. Let's go to the county government office. It's no use for your son to say that it wasn't intentional. Only if the county magistrate determines that he is innocent can he be truly innocent."

Feeling guilty, Liu Ge had no chance of agreeing to go to the county government office. He pulled his mother aside and said, "Mother, just give her one tael of silver. My reputation is important!"

For the sake of her precious son, she decided to swallow her anger: "Fine, I'll give it to you. It's just an ounce, right? Wait here while I go get it for you."

"You're mistaken. Didn't you say one tael was too little? It's two taels now."

Liu Ge's mother wanted to jump up again: "Don't be so shameless..."

Xiao Yunying calmly fiddled with her nails: "Oh, I forgot to remind you, you may not understand, but as long as your son still wants to pursue a career in government, he cannot enter the county government as a defendant. Otherwise, regardless of whether he is found guilty or innocent, it will damage his reputation and cause bad rumors to spread in the city."

The saying "Three men can make a tiger" and "Many voices can melt metal" probably doesn't need me to explain it to you, right, sir?

Liu Ge's mother couldn't understand what Xiao Yunying was saying, but Liu Ge understood it.

Most intellectuals share a common problem, including himself: they consider themselves superior.

View money as dirt and do not associate with those who are morally deficient.

No matter what you really think, you have to pretend to be like this in order to fit in.

Once rumors spread that he was harassing women because of Xue Er, he really wouldn't be able to associate with the city's intellectual circles anymore.

Liu Ge held onto his mother to stop her from jumping up and down, and whispered, "Mother, for your son's sake, just give it to her."

The two whispered something to each other, and Liu Ge's mother gave in: "You wait here, I'll go back with my son to get it."

"Go back and tell him to wait here."

"My home is in the village, do you think I'll run away?"

"I'm not afraid you'll run away, I'm afraid you'll renege on your promise. What if everyone leaves and you don't give it to me, and then claim you did? Who will I ask to testify?"

"You...you wait here."

After saying this, Liu Ge's mother hurriedly went back to get the money.

He Hua tried to slip away, but Xiao Yunying stopped her: "This is the last time I'll tolerate you, He Hua. Don't waste my patience anymore. If there's a next time, I won't care about Brother Lin Shi's kindness to me."

He Hua was terrified by Xiao Yunying's eerie voice and ran home as fast as she could, as if a ghost was chasing her.

Seeing that the two families had settled the compensation issue on their own, Xiao Changxing said, "Everyone, go home. It's raining, why aren't you going home?"

The people around her were so interested in the snow fungus that they didn't want to leave. They kept asking Xiao Yunying where she had picked the snow fungus.

Few people go to West Mountain, and to avoid anyone going looking for snow fungus and having any accidents blamed on her, Xiao Yunying had to tell a frightening story:

"It took me more than two hours to find a cluster of snow fungus, and I managed to collect it all. I almost got bitten by a poisonous snake, and I also heard the cries of wild animals. It's fine for you to go, but if anything happens, just don't say that I sent you."

Someone nearby calmed down and said, "I heard that a while ago, someone heard the roar of a tiger at the foot of Xishan Mountain."

"The tiger eats people, so I'm not going."

It's uncertain whether we'll find it even after walking for more than two hours. If we encounter a wild beast like a tiger, we probably won't be able to come back.

Money may tempt you, but it's not as important as life.

The raindrops grew larger and larger. The women, having come to their senses, carried their buckets home. Soon, only the village chief remained as a witness.