At the entrance of Dashui Village, under the big locust tree.
The white-bearded, white-haired village chief stood with his hands behind his back, his face stern, before the villagers of Dashui Village. He beckoned to his eldest son and instructed, "Jiacheng, go and see which family hasn't had all their members arrive yet."
"Yes, Father. I'll go count the people right away," Jiang Jiacheng said respectfully.
Then he walked into the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fellow villagers, look around and see who hasn't finished sending their guests yet."
The villagers looked at each other, and soon they realized that Jiang Tietou and his three companions had not yet arrived.
"Jiacheng, Tietou, Dali, Dayong, and Daniu haven't arrived yet," someone shouted.
"Yes, why are Liu San Niang, Zhang Cuihua, and Feng Xiuer all here, but these four are nowhere to be seen?" Someone looked at Liu San Niang and the other two with suspicion.
A few people who knew the situation rolled their eyes and couldn't help but make some guesses in their hearts.
Could it be that the four of them were the ones who climbed over the wall into Old Jiang's house last night?
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been such a coincidence that when the village chief called all the villagers to gather, only these four people didn't show up.
They must be feeling guilty and dare not come back.
The more they thought about it, the more they realized it made sense, since only these three families in the village had a grudge against Old Jiang's family.
Given the way these three families operate, it's not impossible. They're probably envious of the Jiang family's current profits and have designs on the mosquito coil recipe.
"Hey, do you guys think this thief might be...?"
"It's not impossible that you think the same way I do."
Several villagers huddled together and discussed it quietly.
"Hey, what are you whispering about? Why don't you speak louder so we can hear you?" some curious villagers shouted.
"Go away, go away, you'll know when the village chief announces the news." The villagers, not wanting to cause trouble, quickly shut their mouths.
If those three families set their sights on you, you're doomed.
Jiang Dali and his gang couldn't really kill their own people, but they always managed to trip them up in secret, which was enough to give them a hard time.
The village chief raised his hand and loudly silenced the villagers who were still talking, "Fellow villagers, please be quiet. I have gathered you all here today because I have something important to announce."
Jiacheng, go find your Uncle Tietou and the others.
"Yes, Father," Jiang Jiacheng replied, and ran off in a flash.
The villagers whispered among themselves.
"Hey, what happened? Why is there such a big commotion?"
"Hey, you guys don't know yet, do you? I heard there's been a thief in our village!"
"What! A thief! Have they caught him? Could he have been stealing our grain?"
"The thieves weren't caught. I heard there were three thieves. They broke into Uncle Wu's house in the middle of the night last night, and Uncle Wu's family beat them up with sticks."
Three thieves? At Uncle Wu's house?
Those with a keen eye have already connected this matter with the four people, including Jiang Tietou, who were absent.
After all, in this village, the only families that consistently opposed Uncle Wu's family were Jiang Tietou's family.
Someone said mysteriously, "I think these thieves aren't stealing grain, they're stealing something else!"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone's expression changed, and they all knew exactly what this "other" meant.
Just then, Jiang Jiacheng ran back and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dad, Uncle Tietou and the others are here."
The villagers, who had been discussing intensely just moments before, immediately fell silent and looked up.
Jiang Tietou and his three companions limped over, their faces bruised and swollen, looking quite pitiful.
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