"So it was you who did this!"
Zhao Zhide raised his clenched right fist, about to swing it at Zhao Liuzhi's face.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Wujiu and Zhao Wuba quickly stepped forward to stop them.
One person grabbed Zhao Zhide's waist, while the other blocked Zhao Zhide's fist.
He kept saying nice things to everyone.
"Zhi De, let's talk this out, don't resort to violence."
“It’s Zhide, you have to trust the people in your own village. Don’t be fooled by outsiders. I saw them dig up Auntie last night and then bury her again.”
Zhao Zhide was persuaded by the brothers Wu Jiu and Wu Ba to waver, and slowly loosened his fists, his initial drive to charge forward and fight gradually dissipating.
Zhao Zhide looked calmly at Zhao Wuba and Zhao Wujiu and said indifferently, "What were you three doing here last night? And how did you find out?"
Zhao Liuzhi, who had been sweating profusely, also came to his senses and said, "The three of us got up to pee in the middle of the night and saw those three outsiders carrying hoes walking this way. We were worried, so we followed them out to check."
If you don't believe me, just consider it meddling in other people's business.
Zhao Zhide said with a forced smile, "Then I really misunderstood you."
Seeing this, the other villagers were at a loss as to whom to believe.
Lu Da was still thinking about when Lu Qiqi asked Zhao Liuzhi about Aunt Zhao's name. Zhao Liuzhi was able to answer the name without thinking, and his intuition told him that there must be something strange about it.
After observing Zhao Zhide's face and confirming that Zhao Zhide would not pursue the matter further, Zhao Liu wanted to leave.
Just as he took a step, he heard Zhao Zhide's faint voice behind him, "Six Fingers, before you leave, leave my mother's bracelet behind."
Zhao Liuzhi stopped in his tracks, paused for only a moment, and then turned to run.
Zhao Zhide wouldn't give him that chance. He lunged forward and tackled Zhao Liuzhi to the ground, pinning him down no matter how hard he struggled.
Lu Da's henchmen immediately arrested Zhao Wujiu and Zhao Wuba, who were trying to escape.
At this moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "Zhi De, what are you doing? Didn't you say it wasn't their business?"
Zhao Zhide glanced at the middle-aged man and said, panting heavily, "Brother Lian, they took my mother's bracelet. I can't sleep peacefully at night until they get it back."
Lian Ge was still a little confused and was about to ask when he heard a clear, melodious female voice, "The villagers of Tianxin Village have a custom of burying their dead with silver bracelets. If they didn't take Grandma Zhao's bracelet, how would they know Grandma Zhao's name!"
Zhao Liuzhi struggled and vehemently denied it, saying, "Stop spouting nonsense! I only saw the name engraved on the bracelet by chance. You are the demons, cutting open dead people to perform rituals!"
"Witch! Witch is performing magic!" Zhao Wujiu suddenly shouted.
Upon hearing the words "disembowelment," the villagers' gazes towards Lu Qiqi gradually changed.
Upon hearing the words "demoness" again, they all shrank back.
Lu Qiqi snorted coldly and said, "You've done petty theft and thievery, yet you still dare to try to confuse the public with theories of ghosts and gods!"
Lu Qiqi's sharp gaze went straight to Zhao Wujiu, and Zhao Wujiu's heart tightened suddenly. He couldn't understand why he was so intimidated by a little girl.
Lu Qiqi continued, "You three are all bachelors, and you want to dig up graves and exchange the villagers' burial bracelets for money to get married, and then pretend to be wild animals to cause trouble in the village."
"Aren't you afraid of retribution for doing this? You should also consider that these people died from illness, carrying the virus themselves. If you worsen your condition, you won't be able to enjoy your wealth even if you keep it."
After hearing Lu Qiqi's words, what else could Lian Ge not understand? It was clearly these three brothers who were not learning good ways and were trying to frame outsiders.
Brother Lian shook his head in disappointment and said, "Take them away, lock them up for now, and we'll discuss how to deal with these bastards later."
Zhao Liuzhi was unwilling to accept this. As he was being forced back into the village, he continued to sneer, "Zhao Zhide, you're blind! Someone broke your mother's womb, and you're still helping her. If your mother knew this in the afterlife, she would curse you for being unfilial in her dreams!"
"If you look at her belly, you'll know I wasn't lying!" Zhao Liuzhi shouted the last sentence.
After the three were taken away, Brother Lian asked again, "Zhi De, what should we do about this? Should we dig it up again?"
Zhao Liu and the other two spoke with such conviction that even Brother Lian was completely confused and didn't know who to believe. He could only ask the person in charge of the household.
Zhao Zhide glanced at Lu Qiqi, then stared at the mound of earth for a moment.
Li Changlong glanced at Lu Qiqi and felt anxious because his sister was still so calm and composed at this point.
Turning back, Li Changlong held his breath, afraid that Zhao Zhide would say "dig".
Zhao Zhide parted his lips slightly and said, "Let's go back. Not a single word of theirs is true."
Once the parties involved have made their decisions, it's not appropriate for outsiders to say anything more.
Thinking about it carefully, it's not surprising that Zhao Liuzhi and his two companions, who have never done anything good since childhood, resorted to framing others when cornered.
After Zhao Zhide left, the villagers gradually dispersed.
Lu Qiqi and the other two also left and returned to the courtyard.
Back in the main room, Li Changlong closed the door and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He took three bowls off the table and poured water into them as he said, “I was so scared. Luckily, Brother Zhide didn’t have anyone dig it up, or we would all be dead before we got out of the village.”
Lu Qiqi took the water from Li Changlong, thanked him, and then sat down, holding the bowl and sipping the water.
On Monday, he drank it all in one gulp.
After finishing his water, Li Changlong let out a sigh of relief, filled his bowl again, and raised it high, saying, "Let's use water instead of wine to calm our nerves."
On Monday, he put down his bowl without filling it, and said calmly, "Nothing was going to happen to us today, so why the commotion?"
Seeing Li Changlong's innocent look, Lu Qiqi explained, "Second Brother, where do you think those three hoes were borrowed from?"
Li Changlong put down his bowl, scratched the back of his head, somewhat puzzled. Then, seeing Lu Qiqi and Zhou Yi exchange a smile, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Brother Zhide!"
Who borrowed the hoe? At that critical moment, no one would have kept it a secret any longer; they would have definitely pushed all three of them out.
Only Zhao Zhide could have kept this a secret.
Li Changlong then asked, "Qiqi, how did you persuade him?"
That's my own mother's grave!
Anyone would fight to the death for this, so how could he agree so easily, especially since Zhao Zhide is a filial son known to everyone in Tianxin Village?
After hearing Li Changlong's words, Lu Qiqi's smile faded, and she said, "Zhao Zhide not only has a deceased mother, but also a sick wife and children. Just to prevent the Zhao family line from dying out, he has to make this choice."
"The process is painful, but as long as there is a glimmer of hope, we will never give up."
This is the subconscious hope of everyone, even if there is only a sliver of a chance.
However, it must be said that Zhao Zhide's act of sacrificing his personal interests for the greater good was undoubtedly a great achievement that benefited both himself and others.
This achievement is something that can never be spoken of, nor should it be spoken of.
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