The moment Shi Qingluo said that, the villagers present were all astonished.

However, many of them quickly came to a sudden realisation.

“I was wondering why your relationship with Old Lady Xiao suddenly became better. It was all to sow discord!”

“What you guys did was too mean. Dalang’s wife is from our village, yet you guys still went to sow discord.”

“The Wu family is so bad, and you guys are actually doing bad things for them. I really didn’t expect that you guys were like this.”

“No wonder Dalang’s wife doesn’t want your family. If I were her, I wouldn’t want either.”

“Exactly. When the time comes, what if y’all went to learn how to make mosquito incense and secretly tell the Wu family?”

“The Wu family loves to snatch other people’s secret formulas. Did your family sign up just to steal the formulas?”

They were all from the same village, so it was normal to have some conflicts among them.

However, colluding with outsiders to deal with people in the village was something that the villagers did not quite accept.

This old lady did not expect Shi Qingluo to know about this.

However, she refused to admit it. “Where did you hear this from? I did not do such a thing.”

In any case, the members of the Xiao family had gone to the capital, so they could not confront each other in public.

Otherwise, if this matter were established, how would their family survive in this village? They would be spat on to death.

They were also angry with Shi Qingluo.

It was just a small matter. Was it worth mentioning it?

Shi Qingluo was already prepared. She took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to the chief.

“Chief, when my ex-grandmother’s family left the village, her family members wrote this letter to me.

“All the words on it were written by this old lady and how she sowed discord at that time.

“My ex-grandmother’s handprint here too.”

When she went to old Xiao’s residence, she had asked Eldest Grandson Xiao to include this and let Old Lady Xiao put her handprint on it.

The old Xiao family wouldn’t be at a loss doing it, so they did as they were told.

The chief took it and looked at it. He looked at this old lady unhappily. “The evidence is here. Do you still want to quibble?”

This old lady did not expect that Old Lady Xiao would be so vicious to actually tell Shi Qingluo about this matter and even write it down.

At this moment, she had no choice but to admit it.

She could only smile embarrassedly. “I only said a few words casually. It’s not considered sowing discord.

“Our family signed up for this just to earn some money. It has nothing to do with the Wu family.”

Recently, the Wu family’s reputation had been tarnished in the county town, and it was worse in their village.

Now, they definitely could not be associated with the Wu family anymore.

Shi Qingluo raised her eyebrows and said meaningfully, “Is that so? Then can you guarantee that after you learn how to make mosquito incense, you won’t leak it to the Wu family?

“Working at my house only gives you 100 wen a month, but if you were to sell the formula to the Wu family, you would at least have a few dozen taels, or even more than a hundred taels.

“Previously, you stabbed us in the back because your family members were working as waiters at the Wu family Inn. Now that you have such a high return, how can you resist it?”

These words made sense to everyone.

100 wen compared to a few dozen taels or even hundreds of taels of silver, how would they choose?

Based on what this family had done previously, it was highly likely that they would choose the latter.

Needless to say, there were actually some people here who were tempted.

Shi Qingluo swept her gaze around and had an idea in her mind.

Today, apart from killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, she also had to make the matter of keeping the formula a secret as her top priority.

Just relying on rules was not entirely reliable. The key was to rely on everyone’s awareness and mutual supervision.

Hence, before this old lady could explain, she spoke again.

“If the Wu family were to learn it, my family’s business would be taken away. At that time, we wouldn’t be able to hire people to do things anymore. Is it because your family is not used to seeing other people’s families doing well?

“There’s an old saying that cutting off someone’s income is like killing his parents. Are you trying to hold grudges against the entire village?”

This old lady was shocked by these words. “No, we’re not.”

Actually, she did have such thoughts in the past.

The salary of 100 wen wasn’t low, but if they could get their hands on the formula and secretly sell it, it would be their purpose for entering the workshop.

Her son had previously asked her to keep an eye on the Xiao family.

If she had any useful information, they would receive a wholesome reward from the Wu family.

No one would expect Shi Qingluo to point it out in advance.

Moreover, she had used the entire village as a raft.

She suddenly felt a little regretful. Why did she jump out to ask just now.

At this moment, the eyes of the entire village were filled with hatred and suspicion, causing her heart to thump.

She immediately retorted, “You can’t accuse good people. We aren’t thinking like this.”

Shi Qingluo pointed at the paper in the chief’s hand. “You also said that you didn’t go and find Old Lady Xiao to sow discord, but in the end, when the evidence was brought out, you admitted it.”

“So your words have no credibility.”

The villagers chimed in one after another.

“Right, who knows what you are thinking.”

“If you were to pass the formula to the Wu family, no one would admit that he is the thief.”

“If you were to give it to the Wu family, you are also cutting off other people’s source of income. You are too black-hearted.”

This involved everyone’s interests, so everyone’s heart was filled with righteous indignation.

Even though this old lady was guilty, she refused to admit it. “No, we didn’t.”

“If the worst comes to worst, we won’t go and make mosquito incense.”

After all, she was an old lady in the village. Shi Qingluo’s provocation in public had exposed her actions.

“You’re now looking guilty right.” Shi Qingluo continued with the momentum.

The more the villagers looked at her, the more she looked like one.

Hence, they reprimanded the old lady and her family.

This made the old lady and her family ashamed to stay any longer. They said that they wouldn’t participate and just left.

This showed that they were even more guilty.

When they left, the villagers were still scolding them.

The chief was a smart and intelligent person.

From the looks of it, he could more or less guess Shi Qingluo’s intention and her plans to take precautions in advance.

Not only did he not feel like blaming Shi Qingluo or objecting it, he also felt that it was very right.

The village finally had a good start, and they could not let some ratsh*t to get in the way.

So he raised his hand and said, “Everyone, quieten down and listen to me for a while .”

The chef had earned his dignity in the village, so everyone quickly quietened down.

“This matter has also alerted us. Let me put out a message here first.

“In the future, no matter if you are working in the Xiao family’s workshops or other places, you are not allowed to leak the formulas or trade secrets etc.

“Otherwise, you will be going against the entire village. You will be severely punished.

“If it’s serious, you will be immediately chased out of the village.”

If the rules weren’t stricter, there would always be people who would step over the line to exchange for personal benefits.

The chief’s words stunned everyone.

However, it made sense. If anyone were to steal the formula and sell it, it would not only hinder the interests of the Xiao family, but also everyone’s.

Most importantly, it would also ruin the village’s reputation.

“Right, in the future, no one can do similar things that would ruin the village’s reputation. Otherwise, he would be setting against the entire village.”

“If anyone doesn’t obey, they will be chased out of the village.”

Everyone agreed unanimously.

Shi Qingluo realised that the Xiao clan’s chief was not only smart, but was also very tactful.

She was afraid that she was led into a useless team, and now, as expected, he did not disappoint her.

She smiled and added, “Our chief is right. My requirements aren’t high. In the future, when you work for my family, you just have to abide by this principle.”

Tying everyone’s interests together would prevent others who wished to go against the rules.

In this ancient time with clans holding the highest priority, being chased out of the village was a very serious matter.

Moreover, if you offended the public and your family still intend to earn a living in the village, you can give it a try.