It was just a quarter past four o'clock.

Not far away, in the cave where Village Chief He Qiang lived, there was another noisy scene.

"Village chief, do you think Yu Qingshu's family has secretly run away? When will he give us the money he promised?"

A thin and frail man in the village had lost his father to wolf meat. He was worried about Yu Qingqing's family and refused to give them the money, leaving himself empty-handed.

"That's right! Village chief, if you ask me, I shouldn't have let them go in the first place. I said we should find the person first and then give them the money.

Those people are so vicious, if they really find her, who can be a good person? In my opinion, Yu Qingqing might have been raped by them long ago, and what will happen if her family regrets it then?"

A middle-aged woman with a gray cloth bag on her head, with a sarcastic look on her face, kept chattering in front of Village Chief He Qiang. Before Village Chief He Qiang could respond, someone else started talking.

"Village Chief, have Yu Qingshu and his family changed their minds and decided to stay in the village on their own?

I tell you, none of us will agree to this, don’t you agree?

With evildoers like Yu Qingqing around, who knows what kind of troubles will happen to the village in the future."

An old woman with wrinkles on her face also started talking nonsense there.

"Village chief! Village chief! Please say something! Did this family really hide?"

When everyone saw that the village chief didn't say anything, they began to feel anxious.

Village chief He Qiang lowered his head in thought, always feeling that this was unfair to Yu Qingshu and his family.

But at that time I had no choice but to agree to their demands.

But now, listening to these people say this, He Qiang became more and more angry. Why was he so foolish in the first place and let these people threaten him?

"Shut up, all of you! Look at what you're talking about.

No one is begging you to eat the wolf meat, it is you who are licking others' faces and begging them.

Now, when something goes wrong, you think it’s someone else’s fault. Think about it, don’t you have any problems yourself?”

Village chief He Qiang was so angry that he was puffing his beard and glaring, his hands couldn't help but tremble, and his feet stomped hard on the ground.

Seeing these people's relentless faces, I can't help but regret it.

"Village chief! Aren't we afraid they might run away? Even though the medicine has been brought to us, this could be life-threatening, so we can't be careless!"

Besides, their daughter was kidnapped, and their reputation has long been ruined. Even if they gave her to our family, we still can't afford such a daughter-in-law."

A woman nearby didn't see the village chief, her face turned ashen, and she started to slander Yu Qingqing again.

"That's right! That's right! If I were kidnapped, I might as well die instead of staying here and suffering."

A woman who also had a son at home also joined in the conversation.

They all thought that their sons were amazing and would marry better women in the future, and they absolutely could not allow a woman with a bad reputation to corrupt the morals of the village.

"If you don't shut up, I'll be the one to report you to the police. I can't just let you do this. You're just talking crap here."

Village chief He Qiang took a deep breath, feeling that if they continued talking nonsense, he would probably be angered to death by them.

"Okay! Okay! Let's not talk about it anymore, it's just the village chief! It won't take long for those people to catch the bandits!

We have been eating tree roots for a long time. If this continues, we will probably starve to death!

Have you received any news about when those officials will be able to arrest them?"

A tall middle-aged man next to him asked the question that concerned him most.

When will they be able to get the food back? They don’t expect to get all of it back, but at least they can keep some food.

“I’ve also thought about this question, but I haven’t heard any news yet.

I heard this news from Yu Qingshu before, but I don’t know the details.”

Village Chief He Qiang pursed his lips, feeling really sorry for Yu Qingshu and his family. He hadn't protected them and was now causing trouble for them. He was speechless with himself.

"Village chief, did you say that Yu Qingshu said that? Then he didn't say anything else. Is what he said true? Village chief, you wouldn't be fooled by him, would you?"

When the people around heard that it was Yu Qingshu who said this, they all had a look of suspicion on their faces.

How could Yu Qingshu be so kind? How could a peasant like him get such important information?

The person who spoke was filled with jealousy towards Qingshu.

"Believe it or not, they don't owe you anything. Stop talking nonsense outside. They mean well.

Whether you believe it or not, it is your business. No one else has any obligation or responsibility to be responsible for you.

If I hear any of you gossiping again, don't blame me for being rude and unsympathetic."

Village chief He Qiang heard the irrelevant words these people said.

He really resisted the urge to hit them, but he just couldn't understand why they had agreed but then changed their minds.

In fact, he didn't know that this was done by his good son He Qiuyi. Yu Linger complained in front of He Qiuyi.

Because Yu Ling'er still holds a grudge against her mother for being beaten last time, she thinks Yu Qingqing and her family are the culprits behind all this.

He Qiuyi was fanning the flames among those people in order to win the beauty's smile, which was why he drove Yu Qingshu and his family out.

"Yes, village chief! We all know it and won't tell it."

When those people saw the village chief's face turn extremely ugly, they were also worried about being caught in a trap.

So I could only suppress the resentment and anger in my heart and didn't say anything more.

Just when Village Chief He Qiang was about to return to his resting place, an accident happened.

"Village Chief! Village Chief! Something bad has happened in our village... in our village...

A young man ran hurriedly in front of the village chief. Maybe because he was running too fast, he was out of breath when he spoke.

He was stuttering, and everyone's eyes were on him. He didn't finish what he said, which made people feel anxious.

"Hu Zi, tell me what happened? Don't be so hesitant. Why don't you say anything? What happened in the village again?"

The people around him were also very anxious after hearing this. Seeing Hu Zi sweating profusely and speaking hesitantly, they felt very uncomfortable.

"Yes! Hu Zi, tell me quickly! No matter what happens, I will take care of it for you. Tell me what happened in the village."

Village chief He Qiang also heard half of it and had a vague bad feeling in his heart, always feeling that things were not that simple.

Just as Hu Zi was about to speak, a voice suddenly came from the cave entrance, "Help! Village chief, help!"