Li Xingwang and Li Daniu came out from behind. Wang Tiezhu was surprised. What was Uncle Daniu doing here?

Wang Tiezhu was not familiar with Li Xingwang, but he knew Li Daniu.

Tian Xiaoqin instinctively looked at Wang Tiezhu: "Brother Tiezhu, you go back and get busy, I have something to do."

"You'd better stay and listen," Li Daniu said in a deep voice.

"Xiaoqin, who is he?" Li Xingwang looked at her and asked slowly.

Tian Xiaoqin remained calm and composed, saying, "This is Brother Tiezhu."

"Didn't you say he was your cousin?" Li Xingwang asked incredulously.

"When did I say that? Besides, I don't even know you, why would I tell you these things?" Tian Xiaoqin fearfully stepped back behind Wang Tiezhu and grabbed his arm.

"Brother Tiezhu, I really don't know them."

Li Xingwang's heart sank little by little. Just now, he had made countless excuses for Tian Xiaoqin in his mind, thinking that she must have had a reason for lying to him.

He could disregard the past as long as Tian Xiaoqin said a few kind words.

But now, Tian Xiaoqin is pretending not to know him...

Li Xingwang suppressed his sadness and anger, clenching his fists: "I've given you all the money I've earned in the past two years, and you don't even recognize me?"

Tian Xiaoqin burst into tears and hid behind Wang Tiezhu like a frightened little rabbit: "Brother Tiezhu, I really don't know him. They don't look like good people at all. Please help me."

Although Wang Tiezhu works in town and doesn't go back often, he is a bit older, and some of the older people in the village still know him.

How could Wang Tiezhu not know what kind of person Li Daniu was?

He immediately realized that Tian Xiaoqin was playing a trick on him.

Song Ning chuckled.

"Hey, Sister Xiaoqin, didn't you ask around when you were looking for people? Brother Tiezhu is also from Nanshan Village."

Tian Xiaoqin's expression immediately became awkward. She froze, unable to move, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do next.

Wang Tiezhu, his face dark, snatched the grain that he had just handed to Tian Xiaoqin.

"This is for my future wife."

Tian Xiaoqin lowered her head in embarrassment, but in her heart she regretted that she could no longer lie to these two people now that they knew, and she would have to find a new candidate.

"Uncle Niu, thanks to you all today, otherwise, I don't know how long I would have been fooled by this... by this Tian Xiaoqin."

Wang Tiezhu is now somewhat relieved. Fortunately, he didn't give much; he only gave her a little food sometimes, which was still acceptable.

"Tian Xiaoqin, as long as you return the money you asked Xingwang for, we will let this matter drop," Song Ningjing said quietly.

Tian Xiaoqin had already spent all that money after taking it home; there was no money left.

Besides, even if she did have the money, Tian Xiaoqin never intended to pay it back.

She still looked pitiful, biting her lip, her eyes glistening with tears: "What money? I really don't know. You say Li Xingwang gave me money, but who can prove it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Daniu and Li Xingwang felt their hearts sink to the bottom.

There was nothing that could be done; it was Li Xingwang's fault for misjudging people.

On the way back, Li Daniu remained silent, preoccupied with the cost.

Song Ning saw several more locusts fly past her. She had only seen one in the morning, but in such a short time, the number had increased considerably when she looked around.

They returned to Nanshan Village in silence. The irrigation canal from Dongyuan Village to Nanshan Village was almost at the village entrance.

Song Ning didn't buy much today, so she got off the oxcart early and walked the rest of the way back.

As soon as I got up the hill on my way home, I saw someone lurking suspiciously outside their house not far away.

Song Ning looked closely and realized it was none other than Zhao Yongfu.

This man used to be a notorious hoodlum in the village, often doing petty theft. Once, he was chased all the way to the next town for stealing something and didn't dare to go home for several days.

Are they targeting her family?

Song Ning quietly walked over and suddenly spoke up behind him: "Is there something you need?"

Zhao Yongfu was startled by the sudden sound, then immediately pretended to be nonchalant, trying to cover up the truth.

"I was just passing by."

She was looking around with those shifty eyes just now, did she think she was blind?

"Uncle Yongfu, you'd better watch where you're going. I just saw you almost step into my house."

Feeling guilty, Zhao Yongfu didn't refute, spat, and turned to leave.

Song Ning returned home and found that only Liu Yuelan was there.

Song Dahai and Zhu Shun dug irrigation ditches, Song Xiu'e made cold noodles, and there was still a lot of grain stored at home. Liu Yuelan was worried and dared not leave the house empty.

"When I came back just now, I saw Zhao Yongfu lurking around in front of our house. He was obviously up to no good. Mother, you should prepare some self-defense items when you're home alone from now on."

Liu Yuelan's eyes lit up instantly: "Don't worry, if he dares to come, I'll chop him up with a kitchen knife."

I don't mind suffering other grievances, but stealing her food is unforgivable.

At dinner time, Song Dahai and Zhu Shun came back, ate, and then left again.

The irrigation canal was almost finished, and people didn't want to wait until tomorrow, so they prepared to complete it overnight.

The men in the village split into two groups: one group was responsible for digging irrigation ditches, and the other group was responsible for lining the ditches with tiles.

As darkness fell, everyone lit torches, and the activity continued until late at night.

Although they were exhausted, no one complained, and everyone stayed up until the wee hours of the morning.

At this time, no one knew that it was because of the irrigation ditches they dug overnight that Nanshan Village was kept lit for most of the night, allowing them to successfully escape a catastrophe...

The next morning, news spread through the village that the neighboring village of Shanglin had been robbed the night before, and the village had been ransacked. The thieves were carrying knives and threatened to attack anyone who disobeyed them. Many people in Shanglin Village had died the night before.

They also abducted many young women and girls, carrying them directly into sacks.

That night, the entire Shanglin Village was looted, and most of the villagers were killed or injured. At first, the people tried to resist, but after many people died, they could only cry out for their parents. Later, they were so frightened that they could no longer make a sound.

After the thieves left, the villagers dared not make any rash moves until dawn, when they were certain that the group had left before someone went out of the village to report the news.

This incident caused a sensation throughout Shanhe Town, and even the county magistrate went there in person.

Last night, the gang of thieves originally came for Nanshan Village, but before they even entered the village, they saw the village ablaze with fire in the middle of the night. They assumed that the news had been leaked beforehand, so they turned to Shanglin Village instead.

The county magistrate went to Shanglin Village to treat the injured villagers first, bringing with him many doctors and setting up a medical tent in the village.

Then they took stock of the people who were still in the village.

There were a total of six or seven hundred people in Shanglin Village, but now, including the injured, there are less than five hundred left.

They were either dead or kidnapped.

Tian Xiaoqin was among those who were kidnapped.