"Or are you planning to take it all for yourselves?"
As soon as he said this, the other families who hadn't gone along also echoed his sentiments:
"Yes, Miss Lin, although we appreciate your kindness in helping us get the grain back, what do you mean by having people stop us from taking the grain?"
"You just want to keep it all for yourself! You're so selfish!"
"It was because of you that our food was stolen, so it's only right that we take it back, isn't it?"
At the time, when Lin Qixia hadn't returned for several hours, they all assumed that the group had died at the hands of the bandits on the mountain.
But soon, they saw Chen Jin leading his team back with the grain, and they were all astonished.
Unfortunately, when they tried to reclaim their share of the grain, they failed because of the obstruction of village chief Chen Weizhong and Chen Jin.
Left with no other option, they had to confront Lin Qixia directly.
"You people are utterly shameless!" Chen Jin cursed them angrily.
He even considered hitting someone, but at the crucial moment, Lin Qixia stopped him and advised, "Calm down."
Chen Jin remained agitated: "Miss Lin, don't try to persuade me. You have no idea how outrageous those people were back then."
"Because my grandfather wouldn't let them steal the grain, they made him faint from anger!"
At this point, Chen Jin felt an urge to beat all of them up on the spot.
If it weren't for his grandfather and the men who stopped them, the grain would have been looted long ago.
This is grain that they risked a lot to get back. Why should these people who just stayed in the village and did nothing get it for free?
"Get back! Anyone who dares to step forward and steal the grain, I'll kill you on the spot!" With that, Chen Jin simply drew his knife and made a threatening statement.
His shout silenced everyone around him.
The people behind Zhao Dazhuang finally became afraid.
However, they still did not intend to give up and continued to covet the grain they had brought back.
"Where is your grandfather?" Lin Qixia wasn't worried about Zhao Dazhuang and his gang, but asked Chen Jin with concern after hearing his words.
While keeping a watchful eye on Zhao Dazhuang and his group, Chen Jin replied to Lin Qixia, "He's alright for now. I had my family send him home first."
"That's good." Lin Qixia was relieved, but when she turned to look at Zhao Dazhuang and the others, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
Zhao Dazhuang shuddered when she glanced at him, inexplicably recalling the painful memory of being personally dealt with by Lin Qixia.
"What...what do you want?" he asked nervously.
The others beside him said, "Miss Lin, we don't mean anything by it, we just want the grain back."
"You just want the grain back?" Lin Qixia scoffed, then said to them all, "Sorry, this grain is ours now, since I led my men to seize it."
"If you people want it, you'll have to pay for it."
As she spoke, she casually raised her hand and patted the cart full of grain behind her.
Lin Qixia's words left Zhao Dazhuang and the others dumbfounded.
Then, like a powder keg that had been lit, they instantly became noisy and anxious.
"What? You want us to pay for it? Why should we?"
"That's right! Why should we get to eat that!"
"How are you any different from those bandits? You're simply being unreasonable!"
"Give us back our grain!" Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhao Dazhuang threw a stone at Lin Qixia.
His action clearly caught the other beggars off guard, and they all gasped in shock.
Chen Jin, Li Shufen, and the others exclaimed, "Watch out!"
In the chaos, Lin Qixia subconsciously raised her hand to block, and the stone did not fall on her.
There was a loud "thump".
Then, Zhao Dazhuang's scream rang out from not far away.
When Lin Qixia looked again, Huo Yanqing was standing in front of him, while Zhao Dazhuang, not far away, was clutching his head and screaming in pain, his head covered in blood.
Huo Yanqing slapped the stone back, hitting Zhao Dazhuang squarely on the head.
"Ahhh! Murder!"
"Lin Qixia, you're not returning our food! And you want to silence us?"
He then lay down on the ground and rolled around, throwing a tantrum.
The others who had originally been begging for food with him fell silent.
Many people knew in their hearts that the grain was indeed obtained by Lin Qixia and her group, and that they were not in the right to demand it now.
But these days the economy is bad, and they are not wealthy.
Naturally, we cannot let go of this opportunity to get the grain back.
But now Zhao Dazhuang is clearly at a disadvantage, and he's being beaten up and is resorting to cheating.
Seeing that he couldn't handle Lin Qixia, they were all at a loss.
"Miss Lin—" Someone was still unwilling to give up and wanted to continue pleading with Lin Qixia.
At this moment, Lin Qixia interrupted the man and said, "I said, we risked our lives to get this grain back. If you who didn't go with us want the grain, you'll have to pay for it."
"If all else fails, you can make me bamboo weaving or other embroidery handicrafts for free. I can use these as payment for the work." She added at the end.
I know that many of these people come from very poor families, and it's truly not easy for them.
Lin Qixia did this to teach them a lesson, since they insisted on following Zhao Dazhuang and opposing her.
"You wish!" Zhao Dazhuang was the first to object, turning to the others and saying, "You absolutely mustn't agree! She's just using you!"
But those people completely ignored her.
They were initially extremely nervous because of Lin Qixia's words, but when they heard her say that they could work to pay off their debts, they all looked as if they had been granted a pardon.
"Really? That's great!"
"Can those things really be used as collateral?"
"Don't worry, Miss Lin. As long as you're willing to return the grain to us, we'll do as much of what you asked us to do as you want!"
Seeing them all like this, Zhao Dazhuang was so angry that he forgot about the injury on his head.
Instead, she jumped up and yelled at them, "You bunch of idiots! How could you agree to her so easily?"
"What if she's a con artist? She's up to no good!"
Li Shufen, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. "Lin girl, look at him! This Zhao Shao is simply—"
However, when she turned her head, she saw that Lin Qixi looked very calm, which surprised Li Shufen.
She herself was furious at the situation, but Lin Qixia remained so calm.
"No rush," she replied casually.
At the same time, she crossed her arms and quietly watched Zhao Dazhuang jump up and down, adopting a spectator's posture.
She knew very well that she had done enough.
Sure enough, without her having to lift a finger, those who had been instigated by him to deal with Lin Qixia were now filled with hostility towards Zhao Dazhuang.
They surrounded Zhao Dazhuang, accusing him: "You clearly had ill intentions! Why did you insist that we go after Miss Lin?"
"Exactly! You even said that if all else fails, we should just take it by force. Aren't you just using us?"
"Miss Lin is so kind, she gave us a chance to earn back the grain without holding a grudge, so why are you still stirring up trouble, Zhao Dazhuang?"
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