Before the village chief could finish, Old Madam Wang stood up and objected. “No! Why should they get more meat? There’s only so much—if they take more, what will we eat?”
Although the others didn’t speak, their expressions showed they agreed with her.
Other things didn’t matter, but this was meat.
Seeing their ingratitude, the village chief was filled with anger. “Old Madam Wang, have you no shame? I took pity on your household—an old woman and a child—so I let you stay and eat while others took on the danger.”
“You only see the pile of snake meat. Do you know that all these snakes were killed by Ji’an and his wife? Without them, forget about eating meat—even the people who went might not have made it back alive.”
“Not only that, even the other food and water were thanks to them. Forget just some snake meat—even giving everything to them would be justified!”
After speaking, the village chief swept his gaze across everyone. His words weren’t just for Old Madam Wang, but for all of them.
Those who had gone up the mountain immediately stepped forward and confirmed that what the village chief said was true.
The others hadn’t known the full story before. Now they realized that all these supplies were due to Liu Ji’an and his wife.
Those who had been harboring selfish thoughts immediately gave them up and no longer dared to object.
But Old Madam Wang still refused to accept it. “They’re villagers too. It’s only right for them to contribute.”
“…”
The village chief wished he could knock some sense into her. “Fine. They’re villagers, so they should contribute. Then you’re also a villager—shouldn’t you contribute as well?”
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll go gather firewood with the others. At least ten bundles a day. If you don’t meet the quota, your family won’t receive any food collected by others in the future.”
“What?!” Old Madam Wang panicked. “Why should I gather firewood? I won’t go!”
The village chief questioned sternly, “Aren’t you a villager? Isn’t contributing your duty?”
“You were so righteous just now, but when it comes to yourself, you start asking why.”
“That’s right—how selfish.”
“She should gather firewood. Better bring her grandson along too, so he doesn’t spend his days idling and causing trouble.”
“…”
Old Madam Wang’s late husband had been a well-known kind man in the village. After his death, everyone took good care of her and her grandson.
Many tasks that required manpower were not assigned to them.
But over time, she began to take this care for granted.
Not only was she ungrateful, she often acted bossy, as if she were the landlady and everyone else her servants.
Her grandson had also become unruly and caused plenty of trouble.
Gradually, everyone had built up resentment.
Now that the village chief had spoken, they all voiced their agreement.
Seeing everyone turn against her, Old Madam Wang resorted to throwing a tantrum.
In the past, the village chief would have ignored her. But now, in these harsh times, he couldn’t allow her behavior to continue. If the villagers became divided, none of them would survive.
As the village chief, he had to ensure everyone reached Yong City safely.
“Old Madam Wang, your family will not receive any snake meat today as a lesson. Control your tongue. If there’s a next time, don’t blame me for ignoring your late husband’s memory and expelling you from the village.”
Hearing she might be expelled, Old Madam Wang immediately shut her mouth.
With the world in chaos, being driven out would mean certain death.
But she was still unwilling to accept it.
She glared fiercely at Liu’s mother and Shen Qingge.
Liu’s mother immediately glared back. “Old hag, what’s wrong with you?”
Shen Qingge glanced at her—just an ignorant old woman.
To make sure everyone understood, the village chief had those who went up the mountain recount everything that had happened.
They told the story truthfully, including how Gouwa fell and how Liu Ji’an tied a rope to rescue him.
When the villagers heard they had been surrounded by hundreds of silver-ringed snakes, their hearts jumped into their throats.
“We actually didn’t do much. It was all thanks to Brother Ji’an and Sister-in-law. Otherwise, we might not have made it back.”
The villagers knew how deadly those snakes were. A single bite could be fatal.
They looked at Liu Ji’an and Shen Qingge with gratitude and admiration.
Especially those whose family members had gone up the mountain—if anything had happened, their families would have been destroyed.
After hearing everything, no one felt it was wrong for them to receive an extra jin of snake meat.
Compared to a man’s life, a jin of meat was nothing.
That day, every household received a good amount of food and snake meat.
After being hungry for so long—barely having enough to eat, let alone meat—everyone returned to their shelters with wide smiles.
The Liu family, in particular, received an extra jin of snake meat and two extra jin of wild fruits because of Liu Ji’an and Shen Qingge’s contribution.
That night, the smell of meat filled every shelter.
Everyone ate to their heart’s content.
Except for Old Madam Wang’s family.
Her grandson, Jian, smelled the meat cooking in every household except theirs. Furious, he smashed his bowl.
Old Madam Wang didn’t care about the wasted food and hurried to check if her precious grandson was hurt.
“My dear grandson, don’t worry. It’s just meat—I’ll find a way to get some for you.”
Jian angrily shook off her hand. “What can you possibly do?”
A calculating look appeared in her cloudy eyes. “Don’t worry. I have my ways.”
“Your grandfather helped many people in the village. I’ll go door to door—I don’t believe they won’t give us anything.”
Thinking it wasn’t a good plan—even if she got some, it would only be a few bites—Jian lost interest.
Suddenly, he remembered what Ying Huan had told him not long ago.
If he could make it happen, he would have meat to eat all the time.