Before Miao Yiya and Xiao Bao came downstairs, Mu Jingheng went back to his room.
Before it was time to start work, the village guards suddenly went on high alert and knocked on the doors of every household.
Meanwhile, Xu Xinning and the other three were having breakfast.
The staff on duty directed everyone to gather in an open area.
When everyone gathered together, confusion and fear were evident on everyone's faces.
"What happened?"
"Is another war about to break out?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? We've been liberated for so many years, why are we fighting a war? Be careful what you say."
"They're just making trouble. Our village is so poor, what's there to be afraid of? Thieves wouldn't want to come here anyway."
“Ayi’s relatives, you are educated people from the city, do you know what happened?” someone suddenly asked when they saw Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng.
Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng exchanged a glance. They probably already knew the reason, but they couldn't tell anyone else.
Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng both looked confused and scared, and shook their heads at the person who asked the question.
It's just acting, right? They're pretty good at it.
Miao Yiya immediately defended them, saying, "We were just having breakfast when we were called out. I have no idea why. They just arrived in our village and have no idea either."
Xiao Bao held Xu Xin Ning's hand tightly, and Xu Xin Ning could feel her nervousness.
Just then, everyone saw Zhong Ye and his daughter Zhong Ling arrive and gather around. Everyone focused their attention on them and surrounded them, which showed their status in the hearts of the villagers.
Xu Xinning, Mu Jingheng, and the other three also joined the others in surrounding Zhong Ye and the others.
"Teacher Zhong, what exactly happened?"
"Yes, Teacher Zhong, what exactly happened?"
"This has created a climate of fear and panic among everyone; it's terrifying."
Everyone started asking questions all at once.
Zhong Ye also looked confused, as if he didn't know what had happened either. But Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng knew he must know. The father and daughter had come with everyone to secretly find out something.
They are all good actors; it just depends on who performs better.
Zhong Ye: "We don't know either. Ling'er and I were having breakfast when we were brought out to the assembly."
"Oh my! Even Teacher Zhong didn't know, this is really scary."
"Exactly, it's like a simple life in a village."
"What nonsense are you spouting? You've got some nerve, haven't you?"
"What's going on? Why can't we even talk about our private time?" the man muttered softly.
At this moment, Zhong Ye saw Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng, turned around and asked them, "How are you? Were you scared?"
Mu Jingheng also started acting alongside Zhong Ye, looking at him with terrified eyes and saying, "Teacher Zhong, is this common in the village? We were eating when they banged on the door so loudly, and when we opened it, they all rushed in. It was really scary."
Zhong Ye carefully observed Mu Jingheng and Xu Xinning, who was clinging tightly to Xiao Bao, without revealing his expression, and then said, "The village is relatively safe. This is the first time I've encountered a situation like today. Something must have happened that threatens our village, otherwise they wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Our village has always been united, and we always put the interests of the village and the safety of the people in the village first."
“Teacher Zhong is right. Our village is usually the safest, unlike other villages where all sorts of terrible things happen one after another.”
"Yes! Yes! This is the first time something like this has happened in so many years."
"As expected of Teacher Zhong, we feel relieved after hearing what he said. We were so confused just now that we couldn't think straight."
Xu Xinning pretended to relax, patting her chest repeatedly, and said to Xiaobao, "Xiaobao, don't be scared. Teacher Zhong said it's okay."
Xiao Bao smiled, his eyes crinkling with laughter. He glanced at Zhong Ye, then looked up and nodded heavily to Xu Xin Ning, as if comforting himself and Xu Xin Ning at the same time, saying, "Xiao Bao, don't be afraid. Sister, don't be afraid either."
Xu Xinning stroked Xiaobao's braids and said with a smile, "Sister isn't afraid either."
Zhong Ye couldn't discern anything from Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng, so he started chatting with the others. Zhong Ling, however, remained with Xu Xinning and the others, her eyes occasionally glancing at Mu Jingheng.
Xu Xinning glared at Mu Jingheng unhappily. Mu Jingheng felt innocent and extremely aggrieved. He then turned his back to Zhong Ling, facing Xu Xinning and Xiao Bao, and stayed close to them.
Zhong Ling's gaze did not escape Miao Yiya's notice.
Although her husband and Zhong Ye seemed to have a good relationship before, she was a sensitive person and always felt that her husband and Zhong Ye were not as good as they seemed on the surface. She had tried to subtly inquire about it when they whispered to each other at night, but her husband said that it was a matter between men and told her not to interfere.
Later, her husband got into trouble, and Zhong Ye took good care of her and her daughter. Sometimes when there was gossip in the village, Zhong Ye would help resolve it. Miao Yiya was quite grateful to him, but she didn't know why she just couldn't get close to him.
For a while, people in the village secretly spread rumors that Zhong Ye had lost his wife and his husband, and since Zhong Ye treated them so well, they should soon form a family.
Miao Yiya was terrified when she found out, and from then on she avoided Zhong Ye.
Perhaps Zhong Ye knew she was avoiding him, so he wisely kept his distance from her and would have Zhong Ling relay messages when necessary.
Not long after, the leader on duty arrived with his men and the village chief.
Xu Xinning and Mu Jingheng then realized that the people on duty were called militiamen, just like the other brigades, and that the leader was naturally the militia captain.
That's a real tactic of twisting the facts!
What was unreasonable, they made reasonable.
If Mu Jingheng and Xu Xinning hadn't witnessed the conversation between the so-called militia captain and Zhong Ye that night, they might have actually believed it.
Which normal brigade would have this kind of militia formation?
Seeing the village chief and militia captain arrive with their men, the villagers seemed to have found their pillar of support.
"Chief, what exactly happened?"
"Yes! What happened to our village? Could a thief have broken in?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? With the militia captain here, not to mention thieves, even rats from other villages probably won't be able to sneak into our village."
"Hahaha……"
Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before.
The chieftain, the militia captain, and the militiamen all wore serious expressions, which did not ease even when they heard everyone laughing and joking.
At this point, everyone noticed something was amiss, and they all stopped joking and looked at the village chief and the militia captain, hoping they could give them an answer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
