It was a perfect plan to trap the brothers.
Regarding the Tian family, Tian Jing could only admire their tactics.
After all these years, even if their family traditions remained unchanged, even if they hadn't attended any legal classes, and even if they didn't hear much gossip, they still paid attention to her, right?
Did the Tian family not know how those who provoked her ended up in prison?
Now, Tian Ligui and his wife had the audacity to kneel and beg her.
Looking at the couple kneeling before her, Tian Jing asked, "Do you think I am more powerful than the law?"
Tian Ligui quickly explained, "That's not what we meant. Isn't there an out-of-court settlement? We'll settle, we'll compensate."
"Heh, you compensate?" Tian Jing sneered. "What will you use to compensate? The well is ruined. What's destroyed is Zhonghe Village's annual income of over a hundred thousand.
"In the future, with the rise in prices, it could be an annual income of one hundred fifty or two hundred thousand.
"Even if you compensate at a rate of one hundred thousand per year, how many years do you plan to compensate for?
"Do you plan to pay it all at once, or will your descendants continue to pay it off?"
"If you want to pay in installments, will Zhonghe Village agree?"
"If you could afford the compensation, would your two sons resent not being able to get married?"
"Why don't they resent your inability to earn money, but instead resent me and Mayor Li? Isn't it the result of you constantly complaining to them?"
"Tian Ligui, times are changing, and people's minds are changing. Why is your Tian family stuck in the past? There's only one reason, and that's laziness!"
"You're too lazy to use your brains, too lazy to try."
"You only want to rely on others to serve you three meals a day, you only want to rely on others to help you get rich."
"No, it's best if money and wealth are directly put into your pockets."
"Before planting grapes, when you planted tobacco, your Tian family had the largest population but the lowest income.
"After planting grapes, other people's grapes were big and sweet, while your Tian family's grapes were small and astringent.
"When Zhonghe Village bought them, they tasted them and said they would buy your grapes out of consideration for it being the first year of harvest. In the blink of an eye, you ruined their well.
"A natural spring was destroyed by you. Putting aside the requirements for winemaking, even everyday drinking water has become a problem.
"Do you think the anger of hundreds of people can be resolved just by Tian Ma-jin and Tian Ma-yin going to jail?"
"No, even if they go to jail, your Tian family must compensate."
"You should go back and sell everything you have to compensate them."
Tian Ligui was unwilling. "Jingjing, please help us, just this once, and we'll never trouble you again."
Tian Jing raised an eyebrow and asked, "How do you expect me to help you? Help you appease public anger, help you pay the huge compensation?"
Tian Ligui actually nodded.
Tian Jing burst into laughter out of anger. "Even if I agreed, do you think public anger is that easy to appease?"
"Using force to suppress it will only incite greater public anger, and besides, I don't have the authority to use force."
"Monetary compensation definitely won't provide the continuous income that an industry does."
"Unless I can find another industry for Zhonghe Village that suits its local conditions."
"If I had that ability, Zhangshan Village would have an industry, and your two good sons wouldn't have broken the law."
Tian Jing was Tian Ligui's lifeline, so no matter what Tian Jing said, Tian Ligui refused to leave his kneeling position.
Just as Tian Jing was considering whether to kick him out, Zhou Chengbin arrived.
"Tian Ligui, the villagers of Zhonghe Village have surrounded the Tian family and are demanding that you two hand yourselves over. Hurry back and save your family."
Tian Ligui froze.
His wife, however, scrambled up and dragged him away. If they were caught, they would surely be beaten badly.
Watching the couple run out of the courtyard, Zhou Chengbin shook his head. Unless they ran towards the back mountain, the only village road was precisely where the blockade was.
Tian Jing asked Zhou Chengbin how he knew.
Zhou Chengbin told her, "The matter has escalated. Mayor Li has already taken the police to handle it."
"The village head of Er Village was going to the town to do some business, heard about it, and called me. He guessed that Tian Ligui would come to you for help."
"The villagers from Zhonghe Village probably guessed that too."
Tian Jing immediately got up. "Then why did you let Tian Ligui and his wife leave?"
Zhou Chengbin shook his head. "If they aren't taught a lesson, it will be difficult to appease the public anger in Zhonghe Village."
Tian Jing picked up her thick coat and went out. "Anger makes people lose their reason easily. If there's a loss of life, the matter will be even bigger."
Zhou Chengbin chased after her and called two security guards from the bridge to follow.
"No need," Tian Jing waved him off. "Just watch your own village."
Zhou Chengbin instructed the security team to strengthen patrols inside and outside the village and followed her himself.
Although Tian Jing said that to Zhou Chengbin, she also had the intention of letting Tian Ligui experience the public anger.
Therefore, after leaving the village, she slowed down her pace.
Zhou Chengbin saw a dark mass of people from a distance and became a little worried, but seeing that Tian Jing wasn't in a hurry, he could only follow slowly by her side.
Surrounded by dozens of people, Tian Ligui shouted with a shaky voice, "You are breaking the law!"
"Pah!" The villagers of Zhonghe Village spat at him. "Your two sons threw cow dung into the well, why didn't you say they were breaking the law? How dare you come to Captain Tian for help?"
Tian Ligui straightened his back. "Tian Jing has agreed to help. She said she would find you a new path to prosperity."
The villagers of Zhonghe Village looked at each other. "Really?"
Seeing that his words had somewhat eased the agitated emotions of the Zhonghe Village villagers, Tian Ligui nodded vigorously.
"It's true. We were just about to go back and tell the village head to go to Zhonghe Village and appease everyone's emotions."
The villagers of Zhonghe Village believed him. Even if the well was cleaned, they wouldn't dare to use its water for at least ten years.
Their protest was simply because they wanted a real solution.
"Did she say she would install running water for us?"
"She did."
"Did she say what to do about next year's grapes?"
"She did."
"Did she say what to do about the pre-ordered wine for next year?"
"She did."
"Then what did she say?"
"She said she would bear it all."
The villagers of Zhonghe Village didn't believe it. Captain Tian and the Tian family had a very bad relationship, how could she bear the mistakes of the Tian family's juniors all by herself?
Tian Jing, who was close to the crowd, could hear Tian Ligui's words clearly without using her special abilities.
She let out a cold laugh. "Tian Ligui, I didn't expect your lying skills to be so profound. What does the trouble caused by the Tian family have to do with me?"
"What I said was, if I had the ability to find another industry for Zhonghe Village, then Zhangshan Village would have an industry, and your two sons wouldn't have broken the law."
"I didn't expect you couldn't even understand human language."
As soon as Tian Jing finished speaking, the villagers of Zhonghe Village became enraged.
"Pah! You bastard, you dared to trick us? Beat him up."
With the help of Tian Jing, Tian Ligui only suffered bruises and swollen eyes, but no major injuries in the beating by dozens of people.
After venting their anger, the villagers of Zhonghe Village stopped. They knew that even if they killed him, it wouldn't restore the well.
After all, if this matter got out, who would want to use that well water?
Tian Ligui, with his eyes narrowed into slits from swelling, shouted that he would sue them.
The villagers of Zhonghe Village were indifferent and told him to go ahead and sue.
Tian Ligui's wife helped him up his bicycle and urged her husband to leave quickly.
She was fortunate that the people who came were all men, so she and the bicycle were spared.