Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Exposed
Phoenix Golding’s family was the last to arrive. The village entrance was already packed with people, everyone having brought their whole families along—the old and the young had all come. This concerned a matter of great importance to the livelihood of the entire village, so everyone was far more enthusiastic than they were for study sessions. They all wanted to know who the damn snitch was.
"The village chief said it’s someone from our own village. Which rotten bastard did such a wicked thing?"
"People like that just can’t stand to see others do well. Nowadays, whose family *isn’t* over the quota? Sons need to get married, daughters need to be married off. If you don’t raise an extra pig, how can you afford the wedding banquet? It would’ve been fine if we just kept it to ourselves, but no, this wretched scoundrel had to go and report it. They’re deliberately trying to stop us folks at Millstone Peak from living a good life!"
"That black-hearted bastard! If I find out who it is, I’ll skin them alive!"
The woman cursing through gritted teeth was none other than Raina’s neighbor. She was raising three pigs because her son was getting married next year, and everything cost money. Farmers didn’t have many ways to make money, so all they could do was raise an extra pig. She wasn’t the only one in this situation; plenty of families in the village were over the quota.
This time, Phoenix Golding had truly been too clever for her own good. Her having an affair or being a bad teacher—those weren’t actually big deals. At most, the villagers would gossip behind her back but wouldn’t get involved in such messy affairs. Reporting someone, however, threatened everyone’s livelihood and had incurred the wrath of the entire village.
The villagers murmured amongst themselves, every one of them furious, waiting for Preston Thorne to announce the snitch’s name.
As soon as Phoenix Golding arrived, someone started talking to her. Naturally, they were from the Golding Clan. At every meeting, the line between the Golding and Thorne clans was distinct—the Goldings on one side and the Thornes on the other, clearly separated.
"Phoenix, you have good connections with the town leaders. Do you know who the informant is?"
"Report what? I don’t even know what’s going on. Why are we having another meeting?"
Phoenix Golding forced a smile, putting on an innocent expression. The woman who had asked assumed she genuinely didn’t know and proceeded to tell her about Raina’s family being reported for raising rabbits.
"You tell me, isn’t that scoundrel just black-hearted? What’s wrong with raising a few rabbits? They don’t even eat grain, just grass from the mountains. That grass grows wild, so why can’t people raise them? And yet this scoundrel actually went and reported it! A black-hearted, rotten-assed piece of filth, aren’t they afraid of getting what’s coming to them!"
The woman, growing angrier as she spoke, completely failed to notice Phoenix Golding’s smile becoming more and more strained, her expression turning uglier by the second. Jacqueline Spann’s expression was even worse. ’I never thought a simple report would cause such public outrage. I wonder if the village chief has really found something out. What if...’
Jacqueline Spann’s heart sank. ’I hope the village chief is just running a bluff, saying he found something to trick the culprit into revealing themselves. I have to stay calm, can’t give anything away.’ She glanced at the panicking Phoenix Golding, her brow furrowing slightly as a wave of annoyance washed over her.
’More of a hindrance than a help. Using her real name to file a report... just how stupid can you be? How did I end up with such a stupid mother!’
Jacqueline Spann gently tugged on Phoenix Golding’s clothes and gave a slight shake of her head. Phoenix Golding took a deep breath, and her expression calmed a little.
Preston Thorne stood on a platform with a megaphone and shouted, "Is everyone here?"
"We’re all here!"
The villagers roared in unison, their voices like thunder. Some even urged the village chief to hurry up and announce the snitch’s name; they couldn’t wait any longer.
"Has Vernon Spann’s family arrived?" Preston Thorne scanned the crowd, not seeing Phoenix Golding, who was hiding in a corner.
"They’re here! Over here!"
Phoenix Golding instinctively tried to shrink further into the corner, but someone next to her shouted out. Everyone turned to look in her direction. Naturally, Preston Thorne saw her too. His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he was sneering.
