108

Although it wasn't summer yet, the warm sun was scorching the earth. In the threshing ground of Daobei Village, people gathered, and the air was filled with tension and anger.

Sitting in the car, Tang Yue could hear the furious curses from afar. Her brows furrowed, and a bad premonition welled up in her heart.

Tang Yue was very dissatisfied with this feeling. Why was the village always uneasy every time she came back?

"Uncle Chang, what happened over there?" Tang Yue's voice carried a hint of unease. As she spoke, her consciousness was already projected outwards.

Chang Yin's expression was not good, obviously something must have happened in the village again.

"Xiao Yueyue, something must have happened over there. You just got back and don't know anything, so it's best not to go."

Tang Yue's small hands clenched tightly, her heart filled with anger. She had already seen what was happening at the village threshing ground. Those two were people she knew and wanted to help; how dare these people do such a thing? What had they done wrong?

"Uncle Chang, I want to go." Tang Yue's voice was firm. She wanted to see why these villagers were willing to bully people like this.

Chang Yin sighed, "Alright, I'll go with you. But you can't act impulsively, and you absolutely can't go up to help without knowing the reason."

Tang Yue jumped out of the car, ignoring Chang Yin's instructions. She moved swiftly, her steps quick. She wanted to see if those people had truly committed some unforgivable crime in treating Uncle Lu and the others that way.

On the threshing ground, a crowd formed a circle, with two people standing in the middle, namely Lu Zhanheng and Qian Ming, whom Tang Yue knew.

Lu Zhanheng and Qian Ming were pushed and shoved to stand in the center of the crowd. Their hands were tied behind their backs with rough hemp rope, and their clothes were covered with dirty marks left by things that had been thrown at them.

Their heads were bowed low, their faces filled with humiliation and helplessness. It seemed they had tried to explain, but those people hadn't given them a chance.

"You anti-government elements, don't you know what you did to deserve living in this cowshed? You came here and didn't even work properly. That was a fully grown pig! Tell me, how did you kill it?"

"Are you dissatisfied with our village? You can't take your anger out on pigs! You damned bastards!" A villager's eyes reddened with anger.

"China is too lenient, giving you a chance to reflect. I think they should just make you eat peanuts." The voice of one of the villagers was full of anger.

"That's right! Qian Ming, you're no better. You're eating the government's food and using those foreign gadgets to treat people's illnesses."

"Aren't the things passed down from our ancestors useful? You're so blindly worshipping foreign things, you've really disgraced our ancestors!" Another person joined in the insults, his voice filled with anger and disdain.

"Yes, tell me, did you feed the pig something weird? Otherwise, how could the pig have died?"

Lu Zhanheng and Qian Ming were pale, their eyes blank, as if everything around them had ceased to exist. They knew they were innocent, but they also knew that at this moment, any explanation would be futile.

After all, they had no evidence to prove that the pig was not actually killed by them.

If they speak now, it will surely provoke the villagers' anger, and things will become even more complicated. All they can do now is endure it and wait until everyone has vented their anger; perhaps then this farce will end.

However, the villagers' emotions were like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment, showing no signs of abating. The thought of losing a perfectly healthy pig made them grieve.

They brandished their farm tools, and some even picked up stones, preparing to punish the two "pig butchers."

Tang Yue stood at the edge of the crowd, her small hands clenched into fists, her eyes filled with anger. She had never experienced anything like this before. A pig had caused such a commotion. A strong urge welled up within her, an urge to rush forward and defend Lu Zhanheng and Qian Ming.

However, her steps were too heavy to move. She knew the importance of a pig to the village at this moment, and if she rushed out now, it might cause even greater chaos, or even make her the next target of the villagers, making the situation worse.

Even worse, the villagers might think she's in cahoots with them. She might even be an accomplice in the pig slaughter.

But she couldn't bring herself to do nothing. Her heart was filled with contradiction and struggle; she didn't know what to do. At the same time, she thought to herself that she never wanted to see something like this again. Wasn't it just because they lived in the wrong place that those villagers were so willing to falsely accuse them?

"Don't do this!" a weak voice rang out. It was a young woman, her face streaked with tears, her voice trembling slightly. "They've already suffered enough; you can't treat them like this. Maybe it's not..."

However, her voice was quickly drowned out by the angry villagers. No one was willing to listen to her explanation; their hearts were filled only with hatred for the "pig butcher."

Those around the woman who overheard her words tried to drag her out and reprimand her. Others, with a conscience, eventually gave up after some struggle.

Tang Yue's gaze swept across the crowd. She saw those familiar faces, those villagers who had once smiled at her, now so strange and frightening. A sense of powerlessness welled up inside her. She didn't know if she truly had the power to change anything.

"Lu Zhanheng, what else do you have to say?" A stranger's face mingled in the crowd and asked coldly, his eyes filled with disdain.

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