Zheng Yi nodded repeatedly, "Thank you for the advice, Steward Qing. I've taken note of it. Don't worry, we're not stupid. The reason we've been interacting more with other villages lately is just to exchange goods that we don't have."
With many things, it's somewhat feasible to keep secrets if it's only the villagers of Riverbend Village involved.
But now, they are in contact with three villages at once. The frequent interactions and various trades happen every day.
If this were in a relatively larger city, keeping secrets would be easier.
But around the mines, in such a relatively closed environment, going unnoticed is almost impossible.
Even if the guards at the main roads are slack, they won't detect issues once or twice, but over time they will surely notice something off.
It's no surprise that those people above know about it.
Zheng Yi's words seemed directed at Zhao Qing, but they were actually meant for those behind Zhao Qing.
