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Ding Lingzi's words silenced the entire courtyard. Finally, it was Sister Miao who broke the awkward silence, saying, "You haven't even looked inside the house yet; it's even more outrageous."

"What?"

Ding Lingzi got up and went into the room, puzzled. But what she saw made her exclaim, "What is all this about? Is this what you call working?"

When she came out and saw the village chief, Ding Lingzi wanted to say something, but in the end, she gave the village chief face and said nothing.

She squatted down and pulled a few weeds, but still couldn't accept it. Ding Lingzi stood up and said, "Village chief, why do Li Qingzhu and the others get 10 work points even though they did such a bad job? Isn't this cheating people?"

Sister Miao didn't expect Ding Lingzi to blurt it out. Village Chief Li was already angry, but Ding Lingzi's words made him lose his temper, and he turned and walked out.

Tang Shengkai and Li Qingyang had just finished discussing how to repair the roof and how much straw they would need inside the house. They came out to get the straw when they saw the village chief leave the yard with his head down.

Sister Miao wanted to stop Village Chief Li, but then she thought it was a good thing; no one could always spoil that one family.

"What's wrong?"

Li Qingyang was a little confused. Sister Miao whispered what had happened. Li Qingyang didn't say anything, looked at Ding Lingzi and shook his head, then took Tang Shengkai out of the yard.

Tang Yue found it interesting. Who exactly was this Li Qingyang? Judging from his name, he was from the same generation as Aunt Miao's uncle. So, what was so special about him?

Tang Bei, Tang Nan, and Tang Dong didn't pay much attention to what the adults were saying, even though the roof leaked and the wind was blowing through. But children seem to be naturally able to adapt to their environment, and the three of them didn't dislike this place at all. On the contrary, they felt very safe here because it was a safe place.

Having not worked for several days, everyone was itching to get back to work, and they were pulling weeds at lightning speed.

Lin Cuicui and her two sisters-in-law pulled weeds together, and from time to time they helped Lin Cuicui plan the yard. Where to plant some vegetables, where to build a chicken coop, now they can raise two chickens.

Where can we plant two trees? A few people chattered incessantly, as if they had known each other for many years, not just today.

Winter days are short, and after all this commotion, the sun was about to set when suddenly a commotion of voices came from outside the courtyard.

The group stood up in confusion and looked out of the yard. The height of their yard wall was just right, neither too high nor too low. The adults standing outside could not see clearly what was planted in the yard, but it did not block the view of those outside.

Village Chief Li led the way, followed by three young men who walked at a leisurely pace and seemed rather nonchalant, while a group of villagers followed behind, pointing and whispering.

Village Chief Li took a few steps and then turned back to shout to the group, "Hurry up."

The young man in the lead had a blade of grass in his mouth and said lazily, "Hey, Uncle, I've been working all day. My arms and legs feel like they don't belong to me anymore. I can't go any faster."

"Stop joking around. If you keep messing around, all of today's work points and the work points from the past few days will be reset to zero."

As soon as Village Chief Li said this, the two henchmen beside the young man noticeably quickened their pace. However, Li Qingzhu, who was in the lead, remained unhurried.

"Third Uncle, the work points have already been recorded. How can you clear them? If you really do that, I'll have to go home and talk to my mother about it."

Village Chief Li was truly angry this time. He pointed at Li Qingzhu with a disgruntled expression and said, "It's no use talking to anyone." Then he looked at the crowd behind him and said, "You all like watching the show, don't you?"

"Since this family has arrived, why don't you come in and take a look around the yard, and while you're at it, check out the roof?"

The two young men lowered their heads in shame, while Li Qingzhu remained unmoved, slowly swaying along.

Some curious onlookers had already run ahead. Once inside the courtyard, they saw the mud on Miao's hands and the weeds scattered on the ground. What else could they not understand?

"Didn't you pull the weeds in this yard?"

Li Qingzhu stood at the gate of the courtyard with no intention of going in. He stood there with his hands on his hips, looking in other directions with a roguish air, his toes twitching in and out.

The other two, somewhat embarrassed, rubbed the ground with the soles of their shoes.

Someone had already entered the house, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, they could see the faint lights shining through the roof. The person smacked their lips, "If the moon were full, we wouldn't need to light any lamps."

Those who had come in with him couldn't help but laugh when they heard this. These people were really sloppy; weren't they just making a mess of things?

Village Chief Li stared at Li Qingzhu. "Li Qingzhu, what else do you have to say?"

Li Qingzhu remained unmoved. "Third Uncle, we've done all the work you asked me to do, just as you requested. What else do you want to ask me?"

"I told you to do it? Did I tell you to do it this way?"

"Yes, I've already done everything – pulling weeds in the yard, fixing the roof, haven't I?"

"Is this how you did it?" Village Chief Li was furious.

Li Qingzhu was furious. "What? Third Uncle, isn't what I did good enough? What was the roof of this house like back then? There wasn't a roof at all! We carried those logs down the mountain one by one."

We laid that straw on bit by bit, is there anything wrong with that?

Village Chief Li's hands trembled with anger. "Is this how you laid roofs for people? Roofs full of holes?"

"A hole? No way. We were very careful and meticulous when we laid it. We checked it thoroughly after we finished, and there wasn't a single leak."

Besides, Uncle, aren't you the one who ultimately inspects this work? If it doesn't meet the standards, you can't stop us from working, can you?

"you?"

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