Chapter 20: Ripples Stir Once More

Doctor Li furrowed his brows, his beard quivering as he pursed his lips. He nodded and shook his head for a while before finally saying, "This isn't at all—"
Before Doctor Li could finish his sentence, Liu Bingbing jumped out, looking triumphantly at Hua Qingci. "See? I told you she was a fraud, but you still defend her? You still listen to her sweet talk? I said she's just like her father, both of them are notorious swindlers who cheat everyone out of their money."
As soon as Liu Bingbing spoke, Madam Wei rushed forward. "Is it true or not? Qin family's daughter-in-law, you owe us an explanation. How could you deceive everyone like this? How can your conscience bear it?"
"Exactly! If you needed money, you could have just said so. Why bother with these tricks to swindle us? We're all from the same village, aren't you ashamed?"
"If you ask me, troublemakers like this should be handed over to the authorities!"
The crowd erupted in angry shouts and curses.
Qin Youtian stood at Hua Qingci's side; everyone knew he was strong, so those who wanted to hit Hua Qingci didn't dare make a move.
"Qingci, what are you really doing?"
Qin Youtian shielded her, his eyes watching the agitated crowd.
"Why are you all so riled up? What's the point of getting worked up? I haven't even finished speaking yet, have I? Did I say anything false? Why are you so impatient? Can't you wait for me to finish?"
Doctor Li spoke, and everyone was confused once more.

"Doctor Li, don't you dare spout nonsense and help this woman trick everyone," Liu Bingbing quickly interjected, trying to intimidate him.
"Liu girl, what are you saying? I've lived and worked here all my life, never doing anything immoral, always treating people honestly. Besides, I'm not close with the Qin family’s daughter-in-law, and I have no reason to deceive everyone with her. With the way you're speaking, I could easily accuse you of slander."
"You—" Liu Bingbing scowled, unable to retort.
"Oh, stop all this useless arguing. Just tell us whether it's real or fake!" Madam Wei shouted impatiently, her eyes wide.
"Listen carefully, everyone. This isn't some thousand-year-old wild ginseng, but I'd estimate it's around three to five hundred years old."
"Three to five hundred years? Is that true? How much is it worth?"
"It's hard to say exactly, and it depends on the buyer, but it should fetch at least a thousand or eight hundred taels."
"That’s wonderful!"
"Qin family's daughter-in-law, come out and give us your word. No matter how much it sells for, you promised us, right?"
"Yes, yes, let's discuss how to divide the money."
Hua Qingci’s eyes were bright with fire as she glanced at Liu Bingbing’s disgruntled face. At this moment, Liu Bingbing looked like a defeated rooster, her former radiance gone.

Her mother even tugged at her, afraid that her daughter would cost the Liu family their share of the silver.
"I've been thinking about how to divide this windfall. If we split it by person, it’s unfair to families with fewer people. If we divide by household, families with more members lose out. Of course, by person the share is smaller, by household it’s larger."
Before Hua Qingci finished speaking, everyone began calculating. Those from large families favored dividing by person, those from small families preferred dividing by household.
Now, the villagers had split into two groups, arguing fiercely, unable to reach a consensus.
Hua Qingci felt it was time to wrap things up. Doctor Li’s help was no accident, nor was the medicine root truly ginseng. When he first came to treat her injury, he’d told her that the original owner’s father had entrusted him, before leaving, to help her if she ever needed it.
Just now, Hua Qingci hadn’t dared believe Doctor Li would stand up and deceive everyone for her sake.
"I actually have a good solution, one that's fair to all. Would you be willing to hear it?"