CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: THE CRIME OF GENDER 55

The villagers’ thoughts were not off; the Qin Family indeed still had a lot of grain, and unlike the previous life where most of it was stolen by people from outside the village, this time the Qin Family truly still had plenty.

Even though they weren’t lacking food, when everyone else was in scarcity, the Qin Family didn’t dare to show they weren’t hungry. Just like the others in the village, they pretended to go out daily to gather some bark and roots. Of course, they wouldn’t eat them after bringing them back.

Every time Qin the Third went out to find bark and roots, he would wander far, find a spot to lazily take a nap, and after waking up, he’d grab some inedible dry grass, cover it with a cloth, and no one would know what he actually brought back.

One day, as Qin the Third found a secluded spot to sleep, he was caught by vagrants wandering around various villages looking for people who were alone. Naturally, Qin the Third’s family wasn’t short on food, so he had more flesh on him, making the vagrants very excited.

The vagrants discussed that since Qin the Third had a lot of meat, they might as well roast him to eat! Listening to such discussions, Qin the Third was so terrified that he lost control of his bowels on the spot!

The vagrants didn’t mind his soiled state, laughing heartily as they carried the tightly bound Qin the Third back, thinking they had plenty of water to wash him well when the time came.

Seeing he was about to be roasted, Qin the Third hurriedly shouted, "No, don’t eat me. I have grain. I can give you a lot, a lot of grain. Just don’t kill me!"

The vagrants ignored him and continued on. At such times, who would believe there was grain? Eating the meat in front of them was what mattered.

Seeing that they weren’t listening, Qin the Third grew desperate, "Trust me; I’m telling the truth. Didn’t you say I look plump with meat? If I didn’t have grain at home, how could I be raised like this? Trust me, my family once sold grain, but when things looked bad, we stopped selling most of it. As long as you don’t kill me, I can sneak and open the door at night. You can directly move the grain from my house, just don’t hurt my family..."

In a bid to save his life, Qin the Third threw caution to the wind, trying hard to persuade the vagrants not to kill him, assuring them his family had grain and promising to guide them and open his house’s doors to assist them.

This time, the vagrants believed him. Qin the Third’s one credible statement was if his family didn’t have grain, he wouldn’t be so well-fed and plump, as those without enough food would appear skeletal and emaciated.

At that time, grain was more attractive than silver. If a hundred taels of silver and a hundred pounds of rice were placed before someone, everyone would choose the rice over the silver.

The leader of the vagrants sent two people along with Qin the Third to identify the Qin family’s door, setting a time to come fetch the grain at night.

Before leaving, those two vagrants threatened Qin the Third again, scaring him almost to the point of wetting himself once more. Trembling and nodding continuously, he assured them he wouldn’t go back on his word, and then was released home.

The vagrants returned and gathered everyone, waiting not far from Qin Family Village for Qin the Third to meet them. However, when Qin the Third showed up, he changed his tune, telling them it wasn’t his family that had grain but that there was meat in the village.

Qin the Third swore and swore again that he wasn’t lying, saying the dried meat was stored in the village’s ancestral hall. As long as they followed him to the hall, they would see a room full of dried meat, enough to last everyone half a year.

Moreover, Qin the Third proposed an enticing idea: after occupying the village, not only could they get a room full of dried meat, but they could also use the entire village’s people as reserve food! This way, they wouldn’t go hungry for a long, long time!

It must be said, Qin the Third’s proposal thoroughly tempted them! The vagrants, who had grown accustomed to eating human flesh, saw nothing wrong with using living humans as reserve food.

With excitement, the vagrants charged into Qin Family Village, initially overwhelming everyone with their attacks, as no one was their match.

But soon, Qin Shuangshuang appeared, and just by herself, she turned the tide against them! At this moment, the vagrants hated Qin the Third to the core, believing he intentionally didn’t mention the super-skilled young girl in the village, clearly trying to set them up.

In fact, Qin the Third did not mention Qin Shuangshuang because he feared her reputation was too great, that once the vagrants knew of her, they wouldn’t dare come. If they didn’t come, he couldn’t escape them, so to save his life, he concealed Qin Shuangshuang’s existence.

But the vagrants, unaware of Qin the Third’s intentions, in an attempt to save themselves, shifted all hatred towards Qin the Third, embellishing everything he had said, with or without truth. This drove the villagers of Qin Family Village into an ever-increasing fury, pulses throbbing on their foreheads!

Everyone was maddened by anger. There was no dissent; all agreed that expulsion from the clan was necessary, to banish the whole family from Qin Family Village!

What Qin the Third did amounted to leading thieves in to harm his own people. If it were other villages or families, burning the entire Qin Family or drowning them would be seen as normal. It’s just that the Qin Clan didn’t have such harsh rules; the maximum punishment was expulsion.

However, at that time, staying in the village with kin’s protection was one thing, but once cast out, death was not far off! The unanimous sentiment in Qin Family Village to expel them somewhat hinted at wanting the Qin Family to perish outside.

Yet, they could not be blamed. That family was too malicious. If they continued living in the same village, everyone would be on edge!

It was said that Qin the Third was foolish, possessing a malicious heart but no brains, always committing foolish acts! He actually thought that by destroying Qin Family Village, the Qin Family could gain benefits from these cannibalistic vagrants!

Once the skin is gone, what can the flesh cleave to? Although the villagers of Qin Family Village were not fond of their family, they genuinely enjoyed the village’s protection.

Their family had grain that, in another village, might have long been stolen. Yet in Qin Family Village, they could hold onto their grain, watch others starve, and no one would rob them openly. This was something they should have been grateful for!

Speaking of grain theft, Qin Shuangshuang suddenly remembered that in her past life, the Qin Family’s grain being stolen might have been caused by Qin the Third leading this wave of vagrants to rob for his own survival! It’s just that in this life, when Qin the Third was released, it happened on the day Qin Shuangshuang handed over the dried meat to the village, leading Qin the Third to shift the misfortune eastward directly! This explains everything.

Qin Shuangshuang found it strange; the villagers of Qin Family Village were known for keeping secrets. Though some liked gossip, it never left the village, so how had outsiders suddenly learned the Qin Family had grain, and silently came to rob most of it? Turns out there was a traitor inside!