The villagers were let in on this because of various considerations.
The old village chief hoped that everyone could help to take care of Xiao Zhu, who was still young. He didn't need them to take care of her daily meals, but he hoped that they would pay more attention to her safety. After all, the two of them were not young anymore and Xiao Zhu was also at a lively and active age. Worried that they were unable to keep her safe all by themselves, they roped in the entire village to help care for the girl.
Xiao Zhu's parents were well-liked when they were alive, so the decision for the entire village to help take care of Xiao Zhu was unanimous.
However, all these good intentions had gone down the drain in an instant. Yu Zhizhi had successfully aroused the anger of the entire village.
Although the old village chief wanted to teach Yu Zhizhi a lesson, her father was the only person in the village who knew medicine. He could not afford to offend the man.