Jiang Wanwan suspected that the magistrate of Anhuai County had long been colluding with the mountain bandits.

However, she had no evidence.

The two chatted to pass the time on the way, and after about 15 minutes, they arrived at the village of Liu Xiaohua, the fish maw woman.

This small village is called Wanghai Village. Just as its name suggests, it is a village located by the sea.

Before even reaching the village, Jiang Wanwan could smell a familiar salty, damp odor from afar.

No wonder Liu Xiaohua, though still thin, didn't look as pale and emaciated as the refugees. It must be because of the seaside location; the villagers in this village can catch seafood like fish, shrimp, and crabs to fill their stomachs.

As soon as the carriage entered the village, a loud gong rang out. Immediately afterwards, many villagers rushed out of their homes, carrying hoes, kitchen knives, and other weapons, staring at Jiang Wanwan with hostile eyes.

Seeing this, Liu Xiaohua quickly jumped off the carriage, stood in front of Jiang Wanwan, and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, don't be nervous. This lady has come to our village to buy fish maw, she's not a bad person."

The burly man at the head of the group looked Jiang Wanwan up and down suspiciously, and said doubtfully, "Is that really true? As far as I know, many people, especially city dwellers, are not used to eating fish maw and would never spend money to buy it. Moreover, we are currently experiencing a famine, who would be willing to spend money to buy this fish maw that won't fill their stomachs? I think she's a bad person!"

They must be trying to find out about our village so they can take over our area by the sea, drive us out, and steal our livelihood.

As soon as the young man finished speaking, everyone in Wanghai Village stared at Jiang Wanwan with predatory eyes, ready to tie her up as soon as she made a move.

Jiang Wanwan was not surprised by this.

The people of Anhuai County are now beset by troubles on all sides. They are suffering from locust plagues in front and the county magistrate colluding with mountain bandits behind. It is not surprising that the people here are wary.

Jiang Wanwan didn't want to waste too much time; she just wanted to finish quickly and buy up all the fish maw from Linhai Village.

So, with a smile on her face, she said directly, "Brother, I think you are overthinking it. Look at me, a weak woman, how could I possibly be a match for all of you villagers?"

If I were truly a bad person, coming to gather information about your village, I wouldn't have come alone, would I? Wouldn't that make me an easy target?

It's normal for people to be wary of me. In order not to waste time, I will wait here at the village entrance. If any of you have fish maw, please bring it out and sell it to me.

I just bought fish maw from Sister Xiaohua's shop in the county town for five copper coins per pound, and I'm offering it to everyone at the same price.

"Wow, five coins a pound? Such a high price!" the villagers exclaimed in surprise.

You see, they had tried selling fish maw in the county town before, but they couldn't sell it at all, and nobody wanted it. How could the villagers not be shocked to suddenly get such a high price?

One of the women nudged the leading young man with her elbow and whispered, "Dacheng, why don't we let this lady wait at the village entrance while we go home and get the fish maw to sell to her? That way, she won't be able to enter the village, and the problem we're worried about won't happen."

"And if we sell the fish maw and get some money, we can at least have some security, right?"

The young man at the head of the group still hesitated, worried that there might be a trap involved. He stared warily at Jiang Wanwan and said in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, there might be a trap here."

Think about it, even when there's no famine, nobody wants to buy fish maw, let alone now that there's a famine. Who would be willing to spend a lot of money on fish maw?