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Wang Jinhe quickly had buckets brought over, and everyone separated and collected the loaches, eels, and small crayfish.
By mid-morning, they had collected quite a lot.
Wang Jinhe looked at the contents of the buckets and said, “Take some of the loaches and eels back with you to eat.”
After all, it was meat.
For them, it was also a good choice.
“Alright.”
They each took a bucket back, and the rest was taken away by Wang Jinhe’s people, especially the small crayfish.
Back at home, Wang Jinhe used diluted spring water to clean the creatures, removing any mud and improving their texture.
In the evening, Wang Jinhe prepared a delicious meal for her family, and any leftovers were shared with the laborers.
In the afternoon, they dug up a lot more, so Wang Jinhe had several large tubs brought in to store the catch.
She also invited the villagers to come and take some of the catch for themselves.
Naturally, the villagers didn’t miss this opportunity and came with buckets to collect the catch.
Some families in the village, however, were discontented with the abundance of the catch and began to spread some unpleasant rumors.
Wang Jinhe simply smiled at this. They dared to speak behind her back, but they didn’t dare to confront her directly. This was the difference.
However, Wang Jinhe’s indifference didn’t mean that the village Chief and others were also indifferent. The village head sternly addressed those who were spreading rumors, “I know you’re not happy, but what can you do? This was purchased by Jinhe. If you have the ability, you can buy it yourself.”
“When Xiao He haven’t buy it, none of you were interested. Now that she has bought it and we’ve caught so many loaches and eels, you’re dissatisfied. Where were you before?” Before Wang Jinhe, no one had shown any interest in this place. In fact, they had avoided it like the plague. Now that they had caught a lot of loaches, they suddenly had something to say.
The few dissatisfied individuals were silenced by Xie Kui’s words and could only smile awkwardly, unable to say much more.
Seeing them like this, Xie Kui felt nothing but disdain. No wonder Xiao He was unwilling to earn money with these people. With their personality, if they did earn money with her, she would probably be blamed by them if they couldn’t make money in the future due to their own reasons.
Xie Kui had originally planned to discuss this matter with Wang Jinhe, but because of this incident, he decided to let it go. After all, no one owed them anything.
The few families in the village who had not joined Wang Jinhe in planting vegetables and melons now knew that Xie Kui would not help them. They might regret it.
However, this had nothing to do with Xie Kui.
“Village chief, I was just speaking casually, I didn’t mean anything else by it,” the villager said.
“However you want to speak, that’s your own business. It has nothing to do with me. You can do as you please,” Xie Kui responded indifferently.
“Village chief, didn’t you say before that you would help us talk to her about planting vegetables and melons together? Look…”
Seeing the people who had just been talking about Wang Jinhe now coming to ask this question, Xie Kui couldn’t help but chuckle.
He looked at them and sarcastically said, “You have the nerve to come and ask me?”
“When you were gossiping about Xiao He earlier, did you ever think about asking her to help you earn money?” Xie Kui sneered.
“We… we were just speaking casually. She wouldn’t lose anything, and besides, she’s the County Princess, right? She wouldn’t be so petty, would she?” the person mumbled.
They were completely unaware of their own wrongdoing.
Xie Kui chuckled at their nonchalant attitude.
“Do you even realize that Wang Jinhe is the County Princess? Speaking so casually about a County Princess could land you in jail. Just because Wang Jinhe doesn’t care doesn’t mean you can gossip freely. You only dare to say these things because Su Yu isn’t around. Where were you when Su Yu was at home?” Xie Kui continued, “Wang Jinhe is currently busy with other matters and can’t be bothered with you. If she were to take it seriously, none of you would be able to escape. You should know that Wang Jinhe deals with livelihood issues, and even the Emperor values her so highly. How dare you speak nonsense here. It’s really absurd.”
The individuals who had been speaking ill of Wang Jinhe frowned, not thinking it was as serious as Xie Kui made it out to be.
“Village chief, you’re making it sound too serious,” one of them said nonchalantly, not taking the matter seriously.
Seeing that they were completely unrepentant, Xie Kui decided to stop bothering with them. What a bunch of nonsense.
“If you don’t take it seriously, then so be it. But don’t come crying to me if Wang Jinhe or her people come after you later,” he warned. He felt that Wang Jinhe’s status was more significant than they realized.
Those individuals didn’t dare to say much more and just looked at the village head, asking, “Village chief, when will you help us speak up?”
“You don’t need to come to me about this matter. I can’t help you,” Xie Kui refused.
They became anxious upon hearing this. “Village chief, how can you do this? Weren’t we in agreement before?”
Seeing the rest of the village prosper while they were still struggling to make ends meet by selling their produce, they couldn’t help but feel anxious. They had finally managed to get the village chief to speak up for them, and now this?
Xie Kui frowned at them and said, “When you were speaking ill of Wang Jinhe, didn’t you have a lot to say? Now you want to rely on her to make money?”
“You really have a lot of nerve. I can’t afford to associate with people like you. You insult others while wanting to rely on them to make money. There’s no such good fortune in this world,” Xie Kui said bluntly.
Other villagers nearby agreed, “That’s right.”
“The swamp was bought by Wang Jinhe, and whatever is dug up from it belongs to her. If she’s willing to share some with us, it’s out of her kindness. You can’t insult her while taking advantage of her. It doesn’t work that way,” Xie Kui added.
“Who still wants to argue despite everything she has done? In fact, Wang Jinhe is very easy to get along with. If you treat her like this, it’s only natural that she won’t take you along to make money,” Xie Kui remarked.
Most of the villagers who had previously insulted Wang Jinhe and pressured her during her pregnancy had realized their mistake and sincerely apologized to her. After that, she had not held it against them and had even worked with them to earn money.
At this point, they finally realized that it was their fault from the beginning.
In reality, Wang Jinhe and her family are very easy to get along with.
“What does it have to do with you? Just keep quiet,” the frustrated individuals said.
“It really has nothing to do with us. We just can’t stand you,” Xie Kui responded.
“You… are you just trying to please Wang Jinhe and her family?”
“Believe what you want.”
What does it mean to please? Xie Kui really wished that Wang Jinhe would give them a good lesson, so they would stop spreading rumors.
The village’s affairs quickly reached Wang Jinhe’s ears.
The smile on Wang Jinhe’s face faded slightly.
Xie Kui had indeed mentioned to her about helping the remaining few families with some money. After considering it for a long time, she finally agreed, realizing that those people had truly changed.