"We helped the sow give birth. The sow gave birth to six plump, white piglets at once. They were so cute! You even held one and couldn't put it down. You ran to tell the boss the good news."

Mu Sisi's voice was gentle and pleasant. She had been talking all night about why he hadn't woken up yet.

"If you don't wake up, I'm not going to talk to you anymore." Mu Sisi continued, "Aren't you stupid? You dare to go out with hundreds of people? If you die, what will happen to the pigs in the pigsty? Don't you know that Xiao Liu is pregnant? My method is correct. With so many pigs in the future, am I supposed to raise them all by myself?"

Suddenly, Xiao Li, who had also been keeping watch all night, shouted, "The Fourth Master seems to be dying."

The people who had just entered—Uncle Luo, the Third Master, and Xie Xiao—all felt a sudden chill run down their spines.

"How... how could this happen?" Mu Sisi hurriedly gave him acupuncture again.

"Miss Mu, what exactly did you say to him?" Little Li asked. "I'll go and call Master Liao."

"Fourth brother, Yuan Hao!" Xie Xiao was practically shaking him. "If you don't get up, I'll make you carry manure!"

As a result, Yuan Hao suddenly trembled and stretched out his legs, scaring everyone so much that their faces turned pale. Even the third leader's wife, Madam Miao, was about to start wailing.

"I'm sorry, I stabbed you too hard," Mu Sisi said.

Everyone: ...

Just then, someone outside shouted, "Everyone, come and see! The mushrooms on Ziyang Peak have sprouted! They're huge!"

Really?

"Of course it's true! Didn't Miss Li become rich?"

"Go and see, go and see!"

As everyone was still in surprise, they turned around and saw the fourth leader looking up at the sky, "It really... grew?"

Everyone: ...

Forgive them for being uncultured; all they can do is shout "Holy crap!" and they're good to go.

The fourth leader has woken up!

Tears of emotion streamed down the faces of the Black Wind Stronghold members.

This is Ziyang Peak.

Everyone was equally excited.

Because when Li Ruo got up early in the morning and lifted the plastic film, she saw that the mushrooms she had planted a month ago had sprouted.

Clumps and clusters of them, in just one patch of land, you can harvest at least twenty pounds.

The people from Ziyang Peak and Black Wind Village were all drawn over.

"That's great, Sister Ruo! It proves that it can be grown. I wish we could dig up more mushrooms," Yang Huahua said.

Li Ruo smiled and said, "Bring over the corncobs we had left over from last time! Let's try mixing some straw and mud to see if that works."

“I think it’s a good idea,” Lin Dazhu said without any doubt. “Let’s plant ten acres of it.”

With so many people around, there's nothing else to do but sit around doing nothing.

“That’s right.” Li Ruo handed it over to Lin Dazhu to handle.

When it's cold, people need to be more active, otherwise they'll develop problems from being idle.

Li Ruo asked Lin Sao to pick the first batch of oyster mushrooms that had grown, and then went to check on the spinach.

Because of the plastic greenhouse, the temperature inside is about three degrees higher than outside, so the spinach can still grow. It's already about a hand and a half tall and ready to eat.

Fortunately, there were no bugs, because the bugs had all been killed and fed to the chickens and ducks, which were part of her betrothal gifts.

Thinking of the dowry that filled the courtyard that day, Li Ruo's anger subsided a little.

Oh right, she almost forgot, there was a live poultry trade in the space.

Just as I was about to go back inside to exchange points and see if I had enough to unlock something, I heard Little Li run over and say, "Fourth Master is awake!"

Li Ruo almost slammed her hand on the barbed wire fence next to her.

woke up!

It was like a heavy stone weighing on my heart suddenly flying away.

Xie Ying didn't die, and the Fourth Master didn't die in her place either; the plot seems to have really changed.

“Yes!” Little Li was all smiles, having shaken off yesterday’s dejection. “Sister, could you send us some mushrooms? It seems that Fourth Master woke up after hearing that mushrooms were growing.”

"Huh?" Li Ru thought to herself, "The fourth boss likes to eat mushrooms?"

Old Mrs. Li said, "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake. Take all these mushrooms over there, and stew some chicken for Fourth Master."

Li Ruo invited Liao Fusheng, Lao Wang, Yang Huahua, and Xu Dafu, who had just finished training, and they went together.

Upon arriving at Black Wind Stronghold, they found Yuan Hao kneeling on the ground, facing the memorial tablets of his brothers, tears and snot streaming down his face.

“It’s my fault for dying. I killed my brothers. Boss, kill me. I will have no complaints,” Yuan Hao said.

Li Ruo glanced at Sun Ergou, her eyes questioning, "What's going on? Why is he acting like he's going to die so soon after waking up?"

Sun Ergou whispered, "There are rules in every gang."

Xie Xiao's expression darkened. His gaze swept over Uncle Luo, the Third Boss, Xie Ying, and the others before finally settling on Li Ruo. "What do you all think we should do with the Fourth Boss?"

Uncle Luo said, "According to the village rules, anyone who acts without authorization and falsely claims to be acting on the orders of the chief will at least have one of their weapon-wielding hands cut off and be thrown into the cesspool overnight."

The fourth leader shuddered.

The third leader sighed, "Boss, cutting off the hand that holds the weapon is too cruel. Can't we just soak it in the cesspool for seven days instead of cutting off the hand?"

The fourth leader trembled.

Mu Sisi was a little anxious. Was that person still worth keeping?

She knelt beside the fourth leader, pleading, "Please, everyone, have mercy. The fourth leader only made a mistake in a moment of impulse because he wanted more food for the village. It's understandable. Let him continue raising pigs; the pigs in the sty need him."

The fourth leader trembled three times.

Li Ruo could no longer stand it and threw a dagger in front of the fourth leader, saying, "You should just end it all yourself."

Yuan Hao: ... "Fine!" Even if he lives or dies, he's only fit to associate with pigs and dung.

Just as he picked up the dagger and was about to stab himself in the heart without hesitation, a sudden kick knocked the dagger away.

Xie Xiao glared at him, "You have the courage to die, but not the courage to atone for your sins. I've known you for five years for nothing."

They had gone through life and death together for five years; if they were truly angry with him, they wouldn't have risked their lives to save him.

Everyone was waiting for the leader to make a statement, and they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuan Hao suddenly burst into tears, “Boss, I’m sorry, I’m sorry to the brothers, I—I’m willing to atone for my sins. From now on, if the boss tells me to go east, I will never go west. I will go through fire and water for the brothers, even if it means my death.”

Xie Xiao said impatiently, "Alright, what's with all the crying, you big man? Don't cry so much that you make the pigs in the sty thin, or you'll be the one crying later."

Fourth Master: Alright, we still have to raise pigs.

"Yes, Chief, I will do my best to live up to everyone's expectations and make sure that when you and Miss Li get married, everyone can eat white, plump, and fragrant pork."

Waaah.

Li Ruo: ...How did this get involved with her?

She glanced at Mu Sisi, then at Xie Xiao, and finally met his dark eyes that shone with a glimmer of light.

Li Ruo shifted her gaze to the Fourth Master, "What exactly triggered you that day? I remember Miss Mu saying that you had an argument with someone before you set off?"