It wasn't until the evening, when the people who had gone to the dam started returning, that the Yue Family learned about what had accurately happened.
At first, everything was normal; the village chief assigned tasks to everyone, and they all worked hard.
Even though it was already autumn, the scorching sun still made everyone feel as if they were almost melting.
After eating the dry food they had brought at noon, everyone started feeling sleepy involuntarily, and the pace of their work gradually slowed down.
The accident occurred at this time.
No one knew who first shouted that the ground had cracked, only then did someone notice a winding crack had appeared underfoot without their knowing when.
There was no time to run, the crack split open violently.
Like a ferocious gaping mouth, it viciously swallowed the people around it.
The pit was three to four meters deep, not very deep, but falling in unexpectedly, many people were dazed with stars before their eyes, and could not get up as if their bodies had fallen apart.
The village chief was extremely anxious, sending his eldest son to go house to house to notify everyone, while organizing the remaining people for the rescue.
They also had to watch out for any "newly grown" cracks under their feet.
Although there were no collapses afterward, the work for the day was definitely off.
Counting the numbers, a total of about a dozen villagers had fallen into the pit.
Fortunately, someone had shouted a warning beforehand, and most of the people who fell had some preparation, managing to protect the vital parts of their bodies. When they were rescued, it was found that they only had scratches and nothing serious.
But there were also the particularly unlucky ones who ended up with a broken bone.
Zhou Ergou and Wang Daming were those two unlucky fellows.
It was said that at the time of the accident, Zhou Ergou had been chatting with Wang Daming, mocking Yue Jiandong as a fool for not earning wages when he could.
Wang Daming was Wang Jinshun's son, and one could imagine the grudge he held against the Yue Family.
These two were together cursing the Yue Family, oblivious to the warnings from others, and naturally fell in without any preparation.
Zhou Ergou broke his arm, and after initial treatment at the clinic, Ergou's wife took him to the city's big hospital for further examination.
Though the village chief promised compensation for the injured, Ergou's wife still hesitated to spend money, and brought her man back.
Yue Jiandong happened to run into these two at the door.
Zhou Ergou was covered in dust, his right arm was clamped between two trimmed tree branches, and hung from his neck with a white cloth.
Ergou's wife supported him with one hand, while the other tightly clutched her pocket where the slip issued by the village chief promising compensation could be exchanged later.
"Yue Family elder, stop right there!"
Seeing Yue Jiandong turn to go back inside, Ergou's wife stopped him with a vicious voice.
Yue Jiandong frowned, "What do you want?"
"Today, Ergou suffered in your place, you ought to compensate him."
Yue Jiandong laughed in irritation, "What does that have to do with me, did I send him there?"
"No matter, if you don't pay up, I'll sit at your doorstep wailing, let everyone see how the Yue Family's bad luck spreads to my family."
Yue Jiandong knew there was no reasoning with such a scoundrel, "Then go ahead and cry, see if anyone cares."
Saying this, he turned to go back inside, but Ergou's wife's expression changed, and she rushed up and sat down on the ground, really about to start screaming.
Lin Chunju's cold voice came from inside the house.
"Dare to make a sound and see, didn't you think about why today only your family and Wang Jinshun's family were so unlucky?"
Ergou's wife, who had just opened her mouth, suddenly closed it, almost biting her tongue.
Thinking it over, the most seriously injured today were her own man and Wang Jinshun's eldest son.
Ergou's hand was broken, and he would need quite a while to recover.
Wang Daming was even more unlucky. When he fell, he landed on his stomach, and unfortunate enough to hit a sharp, large stone below.
According to the clinic's staff, it seemed he had injured that place, and he didn't have any children yet.
Wang Jinshun had previously cursed Yue Jiandong to be childless by the riverside, but now...
The more Ergou's wife thought, the more she felt a cold sweat at her back, noting that those who had offended the Yue Family recently had all met bad ends.
Wang Jinshun broke his leg, his own son also had an accident, and her own man too...
Lin Chunju's sinister voice seemed to echo in her ears, Ergou's wife suddenly covered her mouth and dragged Ergou into the house.
They couldn't afford to provoke them, the Yue Family was too ominous!