Upon hearing Diao Yi's words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
Some envious people echoed Diao Yi's words, saying, "I also feel something's not right. Why should Jiang Bai get the best one with just a random draw?"
"Given how good her relationship with the village chief is, could the village chief have sided with her and helped her cheat?"
"Hey, does that mean the village chief and she are having an affair?"
Opinions varied, and some less discerning individuals began to believe that there was indeed something fishy about Jiang Bai drawing such a favorable lot. Otherwise, why didn't Diao Yi step forward when others also drew good lots?
There must be a reason why Diao Yi is so angry. Flies don't land on eggs without cracks.
Hearing the slanderous words from those around her, Aunt Wang was furious. She took a deep breath and asked loudly, "You say there's something fishy about this? What evidence do you have?"
Diao Yi opened his mouth, about to say that the crumpled shape of this piece of paper was different from the others, but when his gaze turned to Jiang Bai's hand, the paper in his hand had already been smoothed out and was clean, and there was no trace of how it had been crumpled before.
Jiang Bai showed the note in his hand to everyone.
The paper looked no different from the others, and when someone who was close by touched it, the texture was not special.
Diao Yi, with his neck stiff, said, "There's something wrong with this draw. I suggest we redraw."
"You say there's a problem, so there's a problem?" Jiang Bai scoffed. "Since this lot exists, there must be someone who draws it, so why can't that person be me?"
"If you can't get what you want, then you'll slander others. In my opinion, there's no point in holding a lottery; just give you the land directly."
A barrage of questions left Diao Yi speechless.
The villagers who had drawn good spots also glared at Diao Yi angrily; they were unlikely to agree to a re-draw.
Diao Yi clenched his fist, hesitated for a few seconds, and then couldn't help but say, "I received a message before, saying that someone might use tricks to fold the note into different shapes in order to get the land she wants..."
"You knew about this, why didn't you say so sooner?" Jiang Bai asked.
Diao Yi's eyes darted around: "I deliberately didn't say anything because I wanted to catch this person."
"Is it to catch that person, or is this all made up?" Jiang Bai raised his eyebrows and stared straight at him. "I'm very curious, who is the person who told you this news?"
Diao Yi stammered, realizing that it wouldn't be appropriate for him to say anything at that moment.
The person who helped him cheat was a relative of the village chief's wife, a woman in her fifties or sixties.
This person also had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Diao Yi. After Diao Yi learned that the village chief's wife was preparing the lottery bucket, he used sweet words to deceive her and bewitch her. Only then did this person agree to pretend to go and help the village chief's wife, and take advantage of the chaos to forge the lottery slips.
Hearing that things had developed to this point, the woman became frightened. Unlike Jiang Bai, who was an orphan and widow, she had her husband and son standing by, watching her intently!
Putting everything else aside, none of these men felt that this matter had anything to do with them. They were secretly listening to the gossip with great interest!
At her age, and with her eldest daughter-in-law about to give birth in a few days, if her relationship with Diao Yi were exposed now, it would be a death sentence for her.
Thinking of this, the woman shouted, "Everyone knows you're a scoundrel. How could anyone possibly give you any information? I think you're just jealous of Jiang Bai's good luck and deliberately trying to frame her, aren't you?"
After speaking, she glanced at her man's face out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that he nodded in agreement and did not question her interruption, she breathed a sigh of relief.
When Diao Yi saw that she had turned her back on him, he almost gritted his teeth. Heaven knows how much money he had spent and how many things he had secretly sent to her in order to please her. He didn't expect her to side with him, but she shouldn't kick him when he was down, right?
He pointed at the woman and said, "This is the message you gave me!"
“You’re like a mad dog biting people indiscriminately,” the woman’s three sons stepped forward, unable to bear anyone slandering their mother’s reputation. “My mother has never had any dealings with you, so where would she get any information from you?”
Jiang Bai watched from the side, noting that her three sons were all burly and strong, no less so than Diao Yi. Their arms were even thicker than her waist.
Seeing this, Diao Yi was also frightened. He always knew how to assess the situation and immediately shut his mouth.
The village chief then stepped forward.
He also suspected that Jiang Bai had used some underhanded methods in this lottery, so he tacitly allowed Diao Yi to interfere. But after such a long stalemate, there was no evidence, just empty talk.
He cleared his throat, put on a stern face, and said, "Stop making a fuss. Since there are no objections, let's continue with the drawing of lots."
Jiang Bai drew a place that was neither good nor bad in her second draw. However, she was already very satisfied with the treasure land she had drawn the first time. If she drew good land twice, it would arouse jealousy, which would not be a good thing.
Aunt Wang only needs to draw once, and waits for her on the side, the two of them walking back together.
Jiang Bai expressed his gratitude to Aunt Wang, who was the only one who spoke up for him during the incident.
Aunt Wang smiled and said, "There's no need for formalities between us. I should thank you for taking good care of my health."
After she discovered the changes in her body, she clearly realized that she had to get along well with Jiang Bai. With such great abilities, he was bound to be someone extraordinary in the future.
Her heart condition has completely stopped flaring up, but she still continues to eat Jiang Bai's medicinal meals. She has never been stingy with money when it comes to things that are good for her health.
She had already decided that she wouldn't say stop unless Jiang Bai told her to.
The two slowly walked to their front door, and Jiang Bai heard the child crying before he even entered.
Her expression changed, and she immediately rushed into the house.
The one wailing loudly was Zhao Xile. Zhao Ping'an held her, helplessly trying to comfort her. Sitting casually opposite them were her adoptive mother, Wang Xiufen, and her younger brother, Jiang Cheng.
When Jiang Cheng saw her return, he put down his cup—he actually rummaged through drawers and found some hidden brown sugar, and made himself a cup of brown sugar water without any hesitation.
Wang Xiufen said impatiently, "Stop making this little brat cry, it's so annoying."
"What are you doing here?" Jiang Bai asked calmly.
When asked about her purpose, Wang Xiufen gave a perfunctory smile, but the shrewdness and greed in her eyes were unmistakable: "I heard that your village distributed land today. Which piece did you draw?"
"Which part you get assigned to is none of your business," Jiang Bai replied bluntly.
Wang Xiufen didn't expect Jiang Bai to dare to contradict her, and stood up: "I'm still your mother, what's wrong with me caring about you?"
"Sister, this is unfilial of you," Jiang Cheng added coolly from the side.
Jiang Bai took Zhao Xile from Zhao Ping'an's hands, hugged her and comforted her, without saying a word.
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