The assigned personnel escorted Li Qiang and the other man to the threshing ground. Those who had finished their meal were responsible for guarding them, while those who had not had time to eat hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of food and rushed back to join the onlookers.
By the time Li Dagang, the village chief of Lijia Village, arrived, the threshing ground was already crowded with people talking about something.
However, because the village chief remained tight-lipped, the villagers still knew nothing about the specific circumstances of the incident.
Some people privately speculated that even if Li Qiang wanted to win Zhao Fangcao's heart, he would not cause such a big commotion, which made everyone's curiosity even stronger.
Li Qiang saw his father from afar and immediately called out at the top of his voice.
Li Dagang was summoned to resolve such a trivial family matter. He felt ashamed and didn't even want to glance at his eldest son. With a stern face, he walked straight to the head of Fengtai Village.
"Old Tian, it's just a young couple's romance, why bother with all the fuss?"
Li Dagang was not alone. He was followed by several capable assistants and family members in the village.
The people of Lijia Village are united because of their close blood ties. They have always been united in dealing with external affairs and do not easily come into conflict with the outside world.
However, regarding today's incident, the Fengtai Village chief has obviously made up his mind to fight hard, otherwise his position as village chief will become meaningless.
"Bah! Li Dagang, you are so shameless! This is not a simple love affair! Our village has finally seen a glimmer of hope for development, and we wanted to help you with our development. Not only do you not know how to be grateful, but you are also trying to trip us up behind our backs. If I had known this would happen, I would have been blind to cooperate with you!"
After the village chief's scolding, some onlookers were puzzled: "What on earth is going on? Why is it even related to cooperation?"
Upon hearing this, the village chief realized that he had not yet explained the situation in detail to the villagers. He quickly instructed Xu Qinghe, "You come and explain it clearly to everyone."
Xu Qinghe nodded in agreement and stepped forward to tell the whole story, from the time he first noticed Zhao Fangcao frequently wandering around the workshop, to overhearing Zhao Fangcao and Li Qiang's conspiracy in the bamboo forest, to every detail of setting the trap.
Everyone listened with extreme attentively, and when they learned that Zhao Fangcao had indeed stolen the formula, they all gritted their teeth.
Although the recipe is not complicated and can be imitated after reading it once, even if we catch them in the act tonight, they may still be able to successfully copy it after a few more tries, and there is still a risk of losing our business.
Fortunately, everyone finally found out that what Xu Qinghe gave was actually a fake recipe, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Dagang and Li Qiang were furious, their faces red and ears red. It turned out that even if they succeeded tonight, it would still be a false alarm. This Zhao Fangcao was truly a worthless waste! Zhao Fangcao stood there, the faint light that had flickered in her eyes completely extinguished by the impact of Xu Qinghe's expected words, like the last rays of sunset on a winter lake being swallowed by the cold wind.
Her heart was already like withered weeds, and now she felt even colder, as if the whole world was against her and she was isolated and helpless.
"Oh, this Zhao Fangcao, she really lives up to the old saying, 'her conscience has been eaten by a dog!' I thought Fengtai Village treated her well, yet she did these filthy things behind my back!"
An elderly villager shook his head angrily, his voice as loud as a bell, attracting echoes from those around him.
"That's right. We worked so hard to build our home, but she turned around and leaked our secrets!"
Another person followed up with a voice full of disappointment and indignation.
Everyone was talking about it, and Zhao Fangcao became the target of public criticism, but Li Dagang and his son could not escape the blame either.
They were regarded as accomplices by the villagers and shared the storm of public opinion.
Wan Qiang barely stood at the edge of the crowd, his ears filled with curses directed at the name "Li Qiang". He felt as if ants were crawling on every inch of his skin, making it itchy and tingling unbearably.
He felt a mixture of emotions and smiled bitterly to himself: How could he be so unlucky as to have the same name as this infamous fellow? Fortunately, his last name was Wan, otherwise he would have been overwhelmed by the angry villagers by now.
He looked around secretly, afraid that someone would discover his connection with Li Qiang.
Bai Xue's gaze was like a sharp dagger. With just a glance, she hit Wan Qiang's heart accurately. The cold snort that followed made his heart tremble.
"Why are you pretending? I'm not talking about you."
Bai Xue's voice was filled with disdain, and Wan Qiang heard it clearly.
The laughter and anger between them had long since vanished into thin air, and the indifference at this moment was even more unbearable for Wan Qiang.
He said nothing, but just turned his head silently, expressing his dissatisfaction and helplessness with this simple action.
When Bai Xue saw Wan Qiang's reaction, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and sneered at his reaction. She then changed her target and tried to strike up a conversation with Wang Song.
However, Wang Song's mind was completely elsewhere. All he could see was Xu Qinghe's shadow, and his heart was filled with complex emotions: "This woman is truly unpredictable. Where did I get the courage to confront her?"
Since that time, his life in the village has become much easier. No one deliberately makes things difficult for him. Although the "cooperation" model with Xu Qinghe makes him feel uncomfortable, it also brings him real benefits.
It has become a habit for him to occasionally call Wan Ruyi and urge her to transfer as soon as possible. As long as there is no direct conflict, he is happy and at ease.
Bai Xue didn't get a response, feeling unhappy. She pushed Wang Song and said coquettishly, "I'm talking, why are you ignoring me?"
However, Wang Song was absent-minded and just said lightly: "I'm just watching the fun, don't make a fuss."
This perfunctory attitude made Bai Xue lose interest instantly. Her eyes involuntarily drifted to Wan Qiang, who had given her endless attention, but she found that he seemed to no longer care about her at all.
This feeling of being ignored made the dissatisfaction in her heart rise rapidly. She thought stubbornly: If you don't want to pay attention to me, then don't pay attention to me. It's not like Bai Xue can't live without anyone!
Meanwhile, the argument at the front of the crowd escalated to a fever pitch.
Faced with the accusations, Li Dagang firmly denied the relationship between his son and Zhao Fangcao. Instead, he turned the tables and accused Zhao Fangcao of seducing his son.
The village chief had obviously lost his patience with this insincere quibble. He said in a deep voice, "It doesn't matter whether you admit it or not. Let's go find the commune leaders to judge the matter."
In his view, justice lies in the hearts of people, and there is no need to be afraid wherever he goes.
Li Dagang's face darkened. He glared at the village chief and practically yelled, "Old Tian, don't go too far! The kids are just playing around, are you making such a big deal out of it?!"
Faced with Li Dagang's tough stance, the village chief sneered and waved to the people around him: "Come here, take the man away first, and we will go directly to the commune to resolve this matter!"
His attitude was firm and unquestionable.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Dagang quickly grabbed the village chief who was about to leave, and his tone was a little more submissive.
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