Aside from the mud edging lifted by movent around the edge of the shoe print, the positioning of the sole and heel could be described as a perfect match.
Under the intimidating glare of Qi Shi, Hua Xiaocao, crying, placed her other foot into the print, and the result was the sa.
"Xiaocao, what do you have to say?"
Even though flas of anger burned within, the old woman, still managed to speak calmly.
Don't say she didn't give Hua Xiaocao a chance.
"I... village chief grandma... it's just a footprint, maybe it's a coincidence? I really can't rember, and... even if they look similar, it doesn't prove it's my footprint, wuwu... village chief grandma, I really didn't."
Even the foolish Hua Xiaocao knew her only option was to stick to not rembering.
There was so logic to her words, and so in the crowd nodded.
Indeed, many people have similar foot sizes, and claiming that the footprint belongs to Hua Xiaocao just from this is a bit of a stretch, at most suggesting suspicion.
The old flower woman looked at Hua Xiaocao deeply, her impression of her plumting to the lowest point.
In this many years, old flower woman admitted she had misjudged.
Hua Xiaocao was far from being as timid as she appeared.
If truly timid, surrounded by so many people and being pressured by her granddaughter like this, she would have been too scared to speak.
Yet, she wasn't; not a single word was wrong, carrying an air of appearing unfairly treated.
Not a word less in her explanations, with so even hitting the mark, swaying the crowd's emotions, which for a child, was exceptional.
"Alright, enough with your aggrieved act, no one here is bullying you, Hua Xiaocao, you are right, this alone doesn't prove the footprint is yours."
Hua Xiaocao was taken aback, not understanding what Jin'er ant by that.
"However... there is a way to prove it." At this, Jin'er looked at Hua Xiaocao's foot.
At the sa ti, everyone's gaze followed Jin'er, landing on Hua Xiaocao's feet, her shoes so worn out and ill-fitting that almost her entire toes were exposed.
Probably because the shoes were too small, whenever she wasn't careful, her longest two toes would scrape the ground.
The gaze made Hua Xiaocao feel embarrassed and awkward, she quickly retracted her foot, but no matter how hard she tried, her toes couldn't retract back into the shoe.
Retracting her sight, Jin'er slightly curled the corners of her lips, slowly squatting down.
When first finding these footprints, Jin'er had already observed them carefully, besides having so irregular edges, almost every footprint showed signs of pressing at the very front, slightly sunken.
At first, Jin'er had wondered how such indentations were made?
But when she reached Hua Xiaocao's foot, it beca clear imdiately.
With shoes too small and feet too large, one would naturally apply pressure while walking, causing exposed toes to press into the ground, leaving marking indents.
"Look at this point," Jin'er nonchalantly pointed to the dent at the front of the shoe print.
Following Jin'er's words, the crowd instinctively looked over, noticing another marking in the direction of the print's big toe, appearing as if...
They were experienced adults, understanding the situation with a glance.
Evidently, the marking was made by toes pressing into the ground, and their gaze naturally turned back to Hua Xiaocao's toes, which despite attempts to retract, still stuck out from her shoes.
"Hua Xiaocao, do you have anything to say?" Jin'er smirked mockingly, speaking bluntly.
Hua Xiaocao bit her teeth tightly, hatred filling her for the ever-pressuring Jin'er.
"Even... even so, it doesn't an it was ..."
At this mont, her foot was again forced into the shoe print by Qi Shi beside her, despite the toes trying to retract, the thumb still matched. Under the crowd's thoughtful gaze, Hua Xiaocao clenched her teeth.
Jin'er sneered, knowing full well Hua Xiaocao would never admit, for having done sothing bad herself, she too wouldn't own up.
Moreover, Hua Xiaocao's life was already tough at ho; if her family found out she angered the village chief's family, it would only get harder for her. Hua Xiaocao wouldn't admit, even to death.
"...whether you admit it or not, everyone here has bright eyes, only one day, that morning when it rained, did anything happen, no outsiders would co here, and in our village, you can't find another with shoes as broken as yours, Hua Xiaocao still denies that you went up the mountain that day?"
"...so many days have passed, I really don't rember, anyway I... bear no ill will towards you," Hua Xiaocao continued to cry.
"Hua Xiaocao, I think I need to talk to your granny properly." Unable to stand it anymore, eyes flashing with cold light, the old flower woman spoke.
Hearing they would find her granny, Xiaoxiao panicked, imdiately kneeling to plead: "Village chief grandma, I really didn't, please don't tell granny, they will beat to death..."
"Then why did you lie, on the day Jin'er had the accident, you were clearly here too, why lie? Jin'er rembers it all, yet you refuse to admit?"
"I didn't... I..."
"Slap!" Qi Shi couldn't hold back anymore, landing a slap, causing Hua Xiaocao to stagger to the ground.
"Our Jin'er never lies, if she says she saw you, she did see you; why would my daughter say it was you if it wasn't? Hua Xiaocao, my daughter treated you well, why did you treat her like this, because of your silence, my daughter suffered for so long on the mountain, she almost... almost... such cruelty at a young age..."
In a fit of rage her hand raised again but was quickly stopped by several nearby won.
Though they felt Hua Xiaocao was in the wrong, this isn't a situation she could just deny away, everyone had eyes, the evidence was obvious, but at the end of the day, she was just a child, they couldn't bear to see her beaten.
"Calm down, they urged, don't get upset with a child."
Hearing this, Jin'er inwardly rolled her eyes, look, that's exactly the reasoning they would give.
But that slap truly was imposing, protecting their own that way lightened Jin'er's heart quite a bit.
"Hua Xiaocao, wrong is wrong, apologize quickly," a woman urged, pulling Hua Xiaocao.
"I... I didn't, why don't you believe , that day I wasn't feeling well, I was running a fever but still forcing myself to work, I really can't rember exactly where I went, why push to admit... wuwu..."
"...On that day, Huahua knows I was unwell, I almost fainted, and she helped up."
On the side, Liu Huahua hesitated but eventually stood up, "It did happen."
"Jin'er, you have family who adore you, living comfortably, I don't know what I've done for you to dislike this way, why do you say such things about , even if I was indeed up the mountain that day, seeing doesn't an I saw you! How could you assu, my life is hard enough already, please, give a way to survive." Hua Xiaocao cried pitiably, collapsing to the ground, her eyes full of despair.
These words hit the nail on the head, the aunties around definitely felt there was a bit of truth in them.
Indeed, even if Xiaocao and Jin'er were there the sa day, it doesn't necessarily an Xiaocao spotted Jin'er.
Inwardly agreeing, they looked at the village chief's family with unpleasant expressions, but no one dared poke their nose into it, especially involving sothing concerning Jin'er, lest they faced trouble later on with the village chief's family.
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