Mayor Chen signaled to someone nearby, who quickly stepped in to mediate, "We can’t deal with the tiger issue for now. Let’s focus on the matter at hand."
Old Pan’s words were too provocative, not because they’re afraid of these people actually going to the province, but because they’re afraid they would continue to make a fuss. Everyone could see that the remaining work was actually just to water things down. As long as they stopped stirring up trouble and stopped bringing up the bull issue, there wouldn’t be any problems.
At that moment, a group of onlookers had been whispering among themselves for a while before one of them stepped forward, gathering his courage to speak to the officials, "Leaders, I was the one who encountered Boss Yan this morning, watching him lead the tiger and joining the crowd. I was present for the whole process and can testify."
"Testify to what?" Lin Baoguo asked curiously. He wasn’t the only one curious.
"I can attest that Boss Yan didn’t do it on purpose. Even if the tiger wanted to roar, he couldn’t cover its mouth, right? We were all there just to watch the spectacle. All along he was pulling on the tiger, fearing that it might frighten people. When entering the village, he asked us to help him by telling everyone to stay indoors because he was merely passing by. The people from several of our villages can testify."
"You...nonsense! You’re clearly in cahoots with them..." The folks from Houfang Village immediately disagreed. After all, how could he step forward as witness when they’re clearly in the same camp?
"Don’t just make things up. Our villages, Heap hillock and Huangtuwa, may be poor, but we won’t damage our reputations by buttering up others, right? Right, everyone?" Empowered by the officials’ approachability, the young man became bolder, even rallying those behind him.
"Right, we cannot tarnish our village’s reputation. We are speaking out of conscience." A bunch of people fervently pledged with their ’conscience’.
The officials were left at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. They finally understood that these young men weren’t actually here to testify, but to stir up chaos.
The people from Houfang Village were fuming and blurted out: "What reputation do you have? Even children know that Heap hillock and Huangtuwa have nothing but bandits. What reputation do you have..."
The words came out too fast for anyone to stop. As soon as they were spoken, the people from Houfang Village instantly realized their mistake: Trouble!
As expected, the youngsters turned around, their faces no longer carrying smiles or feigned righteousness, "Who said we only have bandits? Should we go rob your house to prove your words right?"
Seeing the situation escalating, the town officials finally stepped in, "Enough, everyone stop. Let’s consider a solution to this issue and leave the assignment of responsibility for later. Let me ask, what outcome do you hope for in this situation?"
We haven’t agreed on that yet!
That’s what people from Houfang Village thought. Yan Fei had left too quickly, and they had completely not understood why he suddenly left without a word. They began to discuss whether to continue blocking his door and how to deal with his final words, "I will be back."
They hadn’t discussed the outcome, and the townspeople arrived in a rush, not giving them a chance to talk it over thoroughly.
"Speak up, everyone! Feel free to say what you think." One official took the lead, urging them to talk.
"I’ll make two points!" The man with glasses stood up. "As for the matter of the tiger scaring the people and livestock in the village, we will not blame anyone this time, but we hope he won’t come again in the future. Regarding the town giving bulls to the poor, we hope the town will consider us. Even without the previous poverty alleviation funds, I think our village meets the poverty alleviation criteria best."
"We’ve already told you it’s not about poverty relief..." Lin Baoguo retorted, but his words were cut short by Old Pan pulling at him.
Not only was Lin Baoguo angry, but the other officials were also quite provoked by these words.
Their words suggested that they were still concerned about the poverty alleviation bulls, clearly showing they were still fixated on the bulls.
Apparently, they were ready to let go of the scare caused by Boss Yan bringing the tiger as long as he doesn’t come in the future. Were they expecting them to keep providing the bulls? Once they ensured Yan wouldn’t come again, will they continue to block the door?
"Eagle...captures chicken...Eagle captures chicken..." Suddenly there was chaos in the village, followed by several yells.
Everyone thought it was just some naughty children playing games, but it didn’t seem like it. While wondering what the commotion was, the sound of banging on pots and pans, beating drums, and setting off firecrackers filled the air, making it even more lively than the New Year celebrations.
Those who reacted quickly looked up to see three eagles circling in the sky, alarming everyone.
Eagles weren’t uncommon, but those that dared to catch chickens needed to be watched.
Generally, eagles would avoid places full of people. But if they got a taste of easy pickings, there would be trouble— chickens, ducks, geese, and even lambs from the rural households roam freely around the village. These domestic animals were much easier to catch than wild rabbits and field mice. An eagle that had a taste would surely return unless you managed to frighten them off.
High above, a speck was circling at the highest point, so high that it was barely visible. Below it were two eagles flying much lower, clearly ready to pounce at any moment.
Some women were clucking, calling their chickens to get back. But this was just after feeding, and they were all out enjoying themselves. It wasn’t a situation where they could be called back in a jiffy. Some had even run to the farmlands outside the village and were impossible to catch!
Lin Baoguo recognized the two lower-flying eagles and noticed they were not skilled at flying. No wonder they failed to snatch a chicken earlier!
Just as Lin Baoguo was pondering about the pair of eagles, someone exclaimed, "These aren’t our local eagles; look at their heads, they might be golden eagles! These ones are powerful enough to catch sheep; now there’s real trouble!"
He turned to look and saw that it was Old Pan shouting. Seeing his expression and hearing his tone, he couldn’t help but feel contemptuous: His exaggeration was a bit too much! There was an obvious schadenfreude undertone to his words!