The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 228: Courtesy Before Force

"How could my potion have a problem?" Xu Yong mumbled to himself.

"Uncle, they say the medicine you concocted ruined the corn," said a member of the Xu family.

He was anxious to death, wondering why Xu Yong wasn’t hiding. Those people might show up any minute.

Upon hearing that the medicine Xu Zaohua made had ruined the corn, Xu Yong stopped drinking his egg tea and harshly scolded Xu Zaohua.

Only then did he regret listening to Xu Zaohua.

"Uncle, stop scolding and hide quickly," urged the anxious Xu family member, scratching his cheeks.

There seemed to be the sound of chaotic footsteps and shouting coming from the village entrance.

Xu Yong became fearful.

Hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer, he didn’t know what to do.

"What are you standing there for? Run! Climb over the wall from the outhouse, hurry!"

Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Tian, who was inside doing needlework, put down the half-completed shoe sole, grabbed her dress and powder box, rushed into the yard, threw the items to Xu Yong, and pointed to the outhouse in the back yard.

Climbing over from the outhouse led to a hidden path.

This path led straight to the fields, where the corn was growing well. Hiding in the cornfield would make him hard to find. Going through the cornfield led directly to the mountain, where no one would find him if he hid in Xu Jin’s kiln.

Xu Yong took the clothes and powder box and quickly dashed into the outhouse in the back yard.

"Quick, lock the main gate for me. Brace it with something, hurry!"

Mrs. Tian and a nephew from the clan locked the main gate and propped it up with two wooden stakes.

The clan nephew casually grabbed a table from the yard and leaned it against the door.

Mrs. Tian tied a wolfdog to a stake by the door.

Villagers from the nearby villages of Qinghe Bay, led by the villagers from Guazhou Bay, swarmed to Xu Yong’s doorstep.

The main gate of Xu Yong’s house was tightly shut.

From inside came a few dog barks.

Tong Huaqiong, who had always been at the forefront of "eating melon" (spectating gossip), naturally also came along.

However, this time, spectating was secondary.

The most important thing was for her to see how this matter would be resolved, as she was the first to use and promote the insecticide. She was afraid Xu Yong would sneakily shift the blame to her.

Knowing Xu Yong, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t dare do, including harming farmers.

If that bastard Xu Yong dared to do it, he’d end up like Xu Si, waiting to be exiled.

"Open the door!"

"Xu Yong, you bastard son of a turtle, if you have the guts, come out."

The villagers from Guazhou Bay were at the forefront.

They were determined to settle both new and old scores together.

Besides a few dog barks, there was no movement from Xu Yong’s house.

Just as they were about to smash the door, Village Chief Hu of Guazhou Bay stopped them.

Village Chief Hu signaled to the villagers to knock on the door. Two young and strong men stepped out from the crowd, swiftly moved to Xu Yong’s main gate, and knocked on the door with a loud bang.

Inside, the dog barked fiercely, but there was no other sound.

"Village Chief Liu, first courtesy, then force. We’ve knocked on the door, and if Xu Yong doesn’t open up, you can’t blame us for being rude to Qinghe Bay," said Village Chief Hu to the arriving Liu Tieshan.

Liu Tieshan, who was appointed by County Magistrate Liu as the village chief of Qinghe Bay, had to give some face.

Village Chief Zhang of Moon Bay chimed in, "We’re only here to get an explanation from Xu Yong; it has nothing to do with Qinghe Bay."

At this point, Liu Tieshan had nothing to say.

Xu Yong ruined the crops and should take responsibility.

Tong Huaqiong thought they should hurry and break open the door; that bastard Xu Yong was probably trying to escape at this moment.

With such a big group publicly announcing they wanted to settle accounts with Xu Yong, the Xu family could not possibly have missed the news.

Why go through the pretense of being polite? Isn’t it redundant as taking off pants to fart?

With this thought, Tong Huaqiong looked at Gu Dashu.

Gu Dashu, standing in the crowd, frowned and muttered, "The door is so tightly locked in broad daylight; Xu Yong must have escaped."

Being Tong Dajiao’s son, Gu Dashu understood Tong Huaqiong’s intention with just one look.

Gu Dashu’s mumble reminded everyone.

What are they waiting for? If they don’t kick in the door, he might escape.

The two young and strong men from Guazhou Bay kicked open the door.

A surging crowd flooded into Xu Yong’s house like a tide.

Tong Huaqiong saw a table kicked over next to the door, two firewood sticks broken in half, and a dog barking at the top of its lungs.

All of this indicated that Xu Yong had been tipped off.

"Mother Dashu, look at the chaos this is causing. I’m just afraid someone might get hurt," Liu Tieshan said, unable to stop the outraged people from outside the village, looking worriedly at Tong Huaqiong.

Tong Huaqiong had no sympathy for Xu Yong and said to the village chief, "After all, this is Xu Yong’s own fault."

Greedy for using her Tong Huaqiong’s pesticide for profit, he ended up in trouble. It served him right.

The only pity was for the ruined corn and the affected farmers.

"Where is Xu Yong?" After the door was kicked open, Village Chief Hu of Guazhou Bay asked loudly.

Standing in the courtyard, Mrs. Tian, despite her inner panic, maintained the demeanor of the village chief’s wife and said to the visitors, "Are you here to raid my house with your clubs and knives? Village Chief Hu, is the water dispute from last year still in your mind? If you came to seek revenge and got the wrong target, my husband is no longer the village chief, so you’re barking up the wrong tree."

Tong Huaqiong took a look at Mrs. Tian.

She had no relationship with Mrs. Tian in the village. After all, Mrs. Tian was the wife of the former village chief, a suitable daughter-in-law of the big Xu family, who looked down on small householders like her who were quick to throw tantrums.

However, Tong Huaqiong wasn’t fooled by Mrs. Tian’s words. Mrs. Tian was clearly playing dumb.

Village Chief Hu didn’t respond to Mrs. Tian’s trap and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Your husband concocted pesticide that ruined our corn. Don’t think you can cover for Xu Yong; make him come out."

Village Chief Zhang from Moon Bay said, "Xu Yong, if you’re a man, come out. Hiding behind your wife, what kind of man are you?"

Mrs. Tian, holding her chest, angrily retorted, "What pesticide? What nonsense are you talking about? It’s one thing to speak freely, but you can’t slander."

That was more feigned ignorance.

Even Liu Tieshan couldn’t stand it and shouted at Mrs. Tian, "Xu Yong’s wife, whether you know or are pretending to be ignorant, your husband made pesticide that destroyed the corn in several villages in Guazhou Bay. It’s only right for them to come seek an explanation from Xu Yong now. Where is Xu Yong? Let him come out, or if they resort to force, even I can’t stop them."

Knowing that the feigning ignorance strategy wouldn’t work, Mrs. Tian gritted her teeth and said, "Xu Yong went to the Zheng Family in Pingchuan to visit his niece. If you’re looking for him, go to the Zheng Family in Pingchuan County to find him."

Tong Huaqiong detected the implication in Mrs. Tian’s words; that bastard Xu Yong must still be hiding at home.

Mrs. Tian was suggesting he run to the Zheng Family to take cover.

After all, none of these mud-legged peasants besieging Xu Yong’s house had the courage to demand someone from the Zheng scholar’s house.

As soon as Mrs. Tian finished speaking, the crowd indeed began to stir.

"I don’t care if it’s the Zheng Family or the ends of the earth; I will drag him out. Others may fear the Zheng Family, but not me. If necessary, I’ll risk my life. If the corn can’t be saved this year, I wouldn’t survive the winter anyway, let alone miss the chance to kill Xu Yong," shouted a villager from Guazhou Bay.

Mrs. Tian, clutching her kerchief, turned her eyes to Tong Huaqiong in the crowd.

With a plan forming in her heart.

Mrs. Tian pointed at Tong Huaqiong and said with grievance, "Everyone knows in our village that the pesticide was concocted by Widow Tong. If you want to blame someone, blame Widow Tong; the formula came from her."

How could women make things difficult for other women?

Tong Huaqiong cursed an herbal plant in her heart.

Since Mrs. Tian was full of bad intentions, she can’t blame her for not being polite.

Tong Huaqiong retaliated, "Shameless. Your family saw that the medicine I made was effective against corn blight and secretly made it to sell for money. To save some money, you concocted an incomplete medicine, causing everyone’s corn to wither. I haven’t even settled accounts with him for ruining my medicine’s reputation, that bastard child. I shouldn’t have been kind enough to give him medicine."

The villagers with their weapons became even angrier.

It turned out Xu Yong stole Widow Tong’s formula and deliberately used one less ingredient.

"Everyone, listen to me. Xu Yong is definitely still hiding at home now. Don’t let him off,"

Incited by Tong Huaqiong, the large group surged toward Xu Yong’s house.