The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 231 The Maternal Family Should Also Participate in Compensation
Xu Yong was splashed with water, and the makeup on his face was washed away and smeared all over his face.

A pair of swollen ankles were visible beneath the skirt.

They looked both pitiful and pathetic.

Tong Huaqiong sneered inwardly, thinking that Xu Yong was trying to evade responsibility by playing the victim.

What a dream!
Don't be fooled by Xu Yong's pitiful appearance now. Didn't he think about the consequences when he made money by selling fake pesticides?

If his pesticide formula succeeds, he will be revered as a god, praised by the government, and will become arrogant and take the opportunity to make huge profits from pesticides.

Tong Huaqiong had reason to believe that he would use pesticides to blackmail the farmers in the Yanguan Town area, and thus ride on their heads.

At that time, everyone will have to be mindful of his mood when eating.

He only thought about the glory of success, not the humiliation of failure.

How can anyone expect to reap the benefits from both sides without giving anything in return?

Xu Yong deserves his current predicament.

If you're willing to gamble, you should be prepared to accept the consequences.

Tong Huaqiong looked at everyone and said, "Xu Yong, you're really good at making excuses. Even if this medicine was made by Zao Hua, didn't you sell it to everyone? Did you take the money? Shouldn't you compensate everyone?"

"You kept saying you didn't know the pesticide would ruin the crops, but now you do. Everyone's here, so why don't you give back the money you made selling the pesticide?"

Fortunately, everyone was sensible, and thanks to Tong Huaqiong's reminder, they weren't misled by Xu Yong's sob story.

"That's right, why are you so eager to collect everyone's money? You should give us the money back now."

"You don't even know if the pesticide can ruin crops, yet you dare to sell it to us?"

"Regardless of your good intentions or bad, we bought the medicine from you. The corn only withered and turned yellow after using your medicine. Who else should we turn to if not you?"

Everyone started discussing it animatedly.

It's already a sign of everyone's mercy that Xu Yong wasn't killed.

Several young laborers swung their fists, ready to smash them into Xu Yong's face.

Liu Tielian stopped him.

As the village chief of Qinghewan Village, Liu Tielian hated Xu Yong for harming the villagers of the neighboring village and bringing negative impact to Qinghewan's image. He wished he could kill Xu Yong.

But he couldn't do that; if someone died in a village court that was set up in secret, he would be the first person the authorities would hold accountable.

Xu Yong sat on the ground, trembling.

At this point, he regretted trusting Xu Zaohua's words and selling the pesticide to villagers in the area next to Qinghewan without verifying its effectiveness.

Even if these people with predatory eyes can't kill him, they'll empty his house.

This wasn't the most painful thing for him; from then on, he feared he would never have another chance to turn his life around in the Qinghewan area.

How could he possibly compete with Widow Tong?

“Village Chief Hu, whether Xu Yong did it intentionally or unintentionally, his pesticides have indeed harmed everyone. I am a farmer myself, and I know how it feels when the corn is destroyed. Everyone is counting on corn for their winter food. Xu Yong has ruined the crops, and his crime is beyond reproach,” Liu Tielian said to Village Chief Hu.

“You’re the village chief, and so am I. We both know that Magistrate Liu has repeatedly warned against setting up a court in the village. Even if we take Xu Yong’s life, we can’t undo the corn’s losses. But leaving things in this stalemate isn’t a solution either. My point is that since Xu Yong has caused everyone’s losses, then he should be made to pay.”

Liu Tielian then discussed a compensation plan with Village Chief Hu.

When Ms. Tian heard that she was to receive compensation, she nearly fainted. So many people whose cornfields had been damaged were coming to claim compensation; they were afraid that they would take away all the grain that her family had stored for several years.

“Village chief, this medicine was prepared by Xu Zaohua. If there is to be compensation, it shouldn’t be just my family who has to pay,” said Tian.

Xu Yong agreed with his wife's statement, but he had no room to speak at this moment. He was afraid that if he spoke, the villagers who had suffered losses would beat him to death.

He was unwilling to bear all the losses.

Liu Tielian angrily said, "Everyone bought the medicine from Xu Yong, so your family should compensate for the loss. Now everyone is willing to accept compensation, but if everyone is not willing to accept it, we will report it to the authorities. Do you think your man can escape punishment? Think about it, Xu Si is still in Lingnan, and we don't know if he is alive or dead."

Tian thought to herself, "You make it sound so easy. Even if we lose all the grain in our house, it might not be enough. Are we all going to starve to death this winter?"

Why should our family bear the responsibility for Xu Zaohua's mistakes?

Since no one dares to demand compensation from the Zheng family in Pingchuan County, then Xu Zaohua's family should share the burden.

Madam Tian gave a cold laugh and said, "We were tricked by Xu Zaohua. My family's grain is not enough to compensate us. Since Zaohua prepared the medicine, she cannot stand aside. Zaohua is not only the young mistress of the Zheng family, but also the daughter of my brother-in-law. Since everyone is unwilling to go to the Zheng family in Pingchuan County to ask for compensation, shouldn't Zaohua's family compensate on her behalf?"

Tian thought to herself that the villagers from several villages whose cornfields had been damaged were coming to her house to cause trouble. Her brother-in-law, Xu Jin, was not at home, so how could her sister-in-law, Yu Shi, not have heard the commotion?
The only reason she remained silent was because Xu Zaohua was her daughter, and she was afraid of being held responsible.

Since that's the case, let's just drag them all down with us.

Xu Zaohua's mother, Madam Yu, did come out; she did.

I stood under the big tree in front of Xu Yong's house and listened to what was happening inside.

She dared not show herself rashly, because this matter involved Zao Hua.

Yu felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Her daughter had finally found a way to establish herself in the Zheng family, but she had messed it up.

Her sister-in-law was too vicious. Since Xu Yong couldn't escape, why didn't she take all the blame herself? That way, Zao Hua would still remember his kindness and share any benefits she got from the Zheng family with Xu Yong.

What benefit do the sisters-in-law get from dragging jujube blossoms into the water now?
What's even more infuriating is that her sister-in-law is pointing her guns at their house, isn't that implying that everyone should go and rob her of her food?
After Tian finished speaking, she said that Xu Zaohua's family also needed to bear the losses, and Village Chief Hu and Village Chief Zhang laughed.

To be honest, that's exactly the effect they wanted.

Xu Yong's family has accumulated a lot of grain over the years, and even with the corn he hasn't harvested from his field yet, he probably wouldn't be able to get more than a few kilograms if he distributed it to each household.

Now that the Tian family has proposed involving Xu Jin's family in the compensation process, that's wonderful!

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat, not to mention that Xu Jin's family seems to be richer than Xu Yong's family.

Village Chief Hu then said to Liu Tielian, "Village Chief Liu, I think Xu's sister-in-law is right. Since the prescription was written by Xu Zaohua, she can't escape responsibility, and her family should compensate her. After all, there can't be two Xus."

What Village Chief Hu said actually made a lot of sense.

Liu Tielian couldn't refute it at all.

Xu Zaohua's mother, Madam Yu, was furious, believing that a married daughter was like water spilled from a bowl.

Zao Hua is now the young mistress of the Zheng family, and it is neither reasonable nor ethical for her to ask her family to compensate her.

Besides, her family gave her uncle the medicine, and who knows if her uncle changed the formula to take credit for it?

Ms. Yu knew her husband's older brother quite well.

He is absolutely capable of doing this.

Thinking this, Yu could no longer sit quietly and enjoy her melon. She jumped out from behind the tree, went to Xu Yong's house, and pointed at Tian: "Zao Hua's uncle and aunt, you two are up to no good. You two just say that the prescription was written by Zao Hua, so you think she wrote it?"