It's hard for my elder sister. I rely on the mountains to farm and pay off my debts.

I only heard one of them say, "Uncle Min, are we really going to let Li Zhuangtou take all the children in the village to pay off his debts?"

"Let's go report this to the authorities! I heard from the people in town that the new county magistrate is a good official and will definitely make a decision for us!"

After a moment of silence, a deep voice sounded again, "Even if we report this to the police, I'm worried that the person won't be able to come back!"

"That day, in order to find out the whereabouts of the children, I specially invited Yongzi, who was close to Li Zhuangtou, to have some wine. But after he got drunk, he told me that the children were not in Li Zhuangtou's hands from the beginning."

The villagers were anxious, "Where is that? If not, I will go to the master to ask for mercy."

The villager seemed to be about to leave, but was grabbed by the others. After a commotion, the middle-aged man spoke again, "I told you not to rush. If you alarm those people and have them moved away, you'll never see them again in your life!"

When the man heard this, he sat down dejectedly, his rough hands tightly grabbing his hair, obviously in great pain.

"Uncle Min, what should we do? Where is that person now?"

"I heard from Yongzi that the person was taken away by the Chen family from the beginning. We still have to wait until we have confirmed information before we can say anything."

A villager exclaimed, "The Chen family? Are you talking about the Chen family from the neighboring village? They are relatives of the main family. Will the main family still be willing to step in on this matter..."

Time was limited, and after listening to the general idea, Song Zhi did not continue to inquire, but led people back the same way.

As Song Zhi walked back, she analyzed what she had just heard in her mind. It seemed that the problems on this farm were serious. It was not just that the people below were pretending to obey and secretly embezzling the master's property.

Moreover, the dispute within the Wang family is not just between the two branches, but may also involve the transfer of interests among in-laws.

Looking back now, it is very likely that the Chen family was involved in the usury incident.

After all, Chen is just a female leader, and she has some managers and shopkeepers under her.

If you don’t have enough manpower, how can you lend money at high interest rates?

The more Song Zhi thought about it, the more she felt that this was very likely, and the expression on her face became heavier.

The three of them turned back and found Wang Wanzhi already waiting at the foot of the mountain with his men.

As soon as the two parties met, Wang Wanzhi told Song Zhi what she had just heard.

"I didn't realize that the people below not only pretended to obey my grandfather's orders but actually disobeyed them and even dared to rob innocent people. How is this different from human trafficking?"

"Sister, do you think we should just capture that village head and ask him to hand over the people?"

Song Zhi shook her head. "We can't act rashly on this matter. The person is not in Li Zhuangtou's hands now."

So Song Zhi told Wang Wanzhi the news she had just heard in the valley.

Song Zhi said truthfully, "I'm now very suspicious as to why your family has repeatedly disobeyed the master's orders. It's very likely that these shopkeepers and stewards are deeply involved with the Chen family."

"If you want to uproot everything and save people, it's not as simple as just taking down the village head!"

Wang Wanzhi's eyes widened, obviously shocked by Song Zhi's words.

But she quickly calmed down and knew in her heart that what Sister Song said was right.

Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why, after my grandfather ordered the rent reduction, these managers continued to do as they pleased and even openly kidnapped people. How is this different from robbery?

Song Zhi stood by, watching Wang Wanzhi's expression change, and she said, "Sister Wang, make a decision when necessary. This matter could be big or small. If it's not handled properly, no matter how meritorious your Wang family has been in the past, the county magistrate will not forgive such a violation of the law!"

Wang Wanzhi closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had already made up her mind: "There must be someone close to the village head in the village. We are short-handed right now, and we should go back first and find a pretext to take the village head away. We can interrogate him later."

Song Zhi also felt that this method was more reliable. The two of them discussed how to bring the person back without attracting any attention, and then they set off to go back.

On the way back, the group encountered farmers fishing. Song Zhi glanced at the crowd but didn't see Li Zhuangtou. She stopped and asked casually, "Where is Li Zhuangtou? Miss has something to tell him."

When the farmer heard that the master was looking for someone, he quickly replied, "The head of the village was just hurriedly called away by Chen Da. I will go and call him back."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi became alert instantly, "Wait, who is Chen Da?"

"Chen Da is the head of the village next door."

Wang Wanzhi couldn't help but frown when she heard this. "Why did he come to our farm? Why did he send people away?"

The farmer shook his head, obviously not knowing the whole story.

Song Zhi had a bad feeling in her heart, but now was not the time to speak. She instructed the farmer, "Then wait for Li Zhuangtou to come back and ask him to come back. The young lady has something to tell him."

After saying that, Song Zhi pulled Wang Wanzhi back.

As Song Zhi walked, she lowered her voice and said, "Sister, I'm afraid this matter won't end well. There's no such coincidence in the world. As soon as you arrived at this village, the head of the Chen family village across the way came looking for you."

"Put yourself in my shoes. If I were a member of the Chen family, and someone kept trying to seize the power I hold and was going against me, I would definitely regard you as a thorn in my side."

"Of course, this is just my guess. If it's false, I'm just worrying too much. But if it comes true, I'm afraid we've already been targeted!"

After hearing Song Zhi's analysis, Wang Wanzhi couldn't help but tighten her grip on Song Zhi's hand.

"Sister, what do you think we should do next?"

Song Zhi suppressed her uneasiness and pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's make bold guesses and carefully verify. If we assume that my sister is indeed being targeted, then we must not act rashly. Firstly, we are outnumbered, and secondly, we don't know when the other party will make a move."

"I guess the reason they summoned Li Zhuangtou is to find out about us and our whereabouts. Although we are few in number, we still have more than ten of us. Without a complete grasp of us, they certainly don't want to make a big deal out of it and make things difficult to resolve."

"So, this is our chance. Now the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. We must first test the enemy before making a decision."

Song Zhi's analysis was very calm and objective. After listening to it, Wang Wanzhi's panicked heart gradually calmed down.

She pondered for a moment and said carefully, "Then wait until the head of the village comes back. I'll have the guards take him to a secluded place for interrogation."

Song Zhi nodded. "Whatever the other party wants to do, the only way to break through is from Lizhuangtou."

After that, she soothed him, "What I just said is only the worst possible outcome. We don't need to panic too much. Let's arrest the man and question him privately first."

Wang Wanzhi knew in her heart that this was probably true.

She looked at the two of them apologetically, "Sorry for dragging you down!"

"Let's not talk about this anymore. The most important thing is to get out of this predicament first!"

Song Zhi really didn't expect to be involved so deeply. She glanced at Zheng Hui and decided to find a way to send her away first.