The villagers who were present had an animated discussion. Most of them were uneducated. Everything they knew about the law and how powerful the Xia family was told to them by the Zhao family members. None of them saw anything with their own eyes and there was no real proof.
When they heard Qian'e say that they would all die, all of them became afraid. After all, Qian'e was rich and they were really poor! They still had children to take care of!
"Village Chief… is what she said true?" one of the villagers asked fearfully.
Before Zhao Kuo could speak, Qian'e immediately shouted, "Do you still believe in the Zhao family members now! Look at what they've asked you to do! When you worked with us, all of you earned money! But now? Some families have been broken up and some families can't even afford to eat! I hear that you still need to bring up your children! Do you still believe in the Zhao family members?"
"Don't listen to this b*tch talking nonsense! She's lying to you! If not for the fact that they gave us fake seeds, we wouldn't have had any harvest! It's all their fault now. They're lying to us! Don't believe it!" Zhao Kai shouted to the villagers.
"What right do you have to say that we give you fake seeds? You are the ones who hide the seeds and breach the contract first. I'm guessing that everyone has bought the seeds at a high price from the Zhao family, right? Isn't it clear who's the culprit behind all this?" Xia He said.
Everyone looked at the Zhao family members fiercely. They had nothing now. After today, they would have no food left. It was hard to say if they could survive the entire month.
Zhao Kai waved his hands and said, "How can you believe these outsiders! They just want us to hand over the person to them! Don't believe them!"
"As long as you let me see Li Gui, we can sit down and discuss your conditions. However, if I don't get to see her today! You won't get anything! Let's see if you want her or the money!" Qian'e said.
Xia He said sternly, "If not, you won't get anything! We'll go to the police and ask them to search the village immediately! When the time comes, none of you can even think about staying alive!"
A few villagers were so frightened that they could not take it anymore. They knelt on the ground and shouted, "Li Gui has run away! She's not in the village anymore! Please let us live! I still have two babies to bring up!"
Xia He gave Luo Yu a look and Luo Yu immediately took out 10 dollars from his pocket and gave it to the villager together with a pound of rice.
When the others saw that the villager had benefited from speaking up, they started to tell everything they knew.
"I know that Li Gui was locked up in Zhao Ming's house yesterday!"
"I know that too!"
"There are also many people who came here with Li Gui! They're all locked up in the cellar of the village chief's house!"
"I know the place! I'll bring you there! Just give me more money and rice!"
"…"
Xia He and Qian'e looked at the chaos in front of them and laughed mockingly. These people could do outrageous things for their own benefit and they could also betray their companions for their own benefit.
Qiao Mei was the one who came up with this idea. Everything was under her control, but Li Gui had gone missing.
"Tell me! Where did Li Gui go! Or are you lying to me!" Xia He said agitatedly.
"We're not lying. She really ran away! Before she left, she even beat Zhao Liu to death! We saw it with our own eyes!" a villager said fearfully.
"Traitor! You bunch of traitors! You've confessed everything for such a small benefit!" Zhao Kai said angrily.
Xia He rushed forward and stood in front of Zhao Kai. "Is Li Gui really not in the village anymore? Release the rest of the people you captured!"
When Chi Ze and the others heard the commotion outside, they ran out quietly. When they saw that it was Xia He and the rest, they hurriedly ran over. All of them were dirty all over and some of them even stank!
They would rather carry out missions in the forest and eat rats and insects than stay in such a place for two days!
"Sister Xia He! They're telling the truth! We already checked all the other cellars just now, but we didn't find any trace of Auntie!" Mao Hang said anxiously.
Qian'e felt a chill down her spine when she heard the news. She did not imagine that things would turn out like this. If Li Gui had run away, she was definitely headed in the direction of her own house.