Liao Fusheng said, "You can stay, but to me, you are no different from other refugees. If you want to live, you have to work hard. I will treat you all the same."

Li Ruo thought they would be dissatisfied, but to her surprise, all three of them smiled. Liao Furong even seemed relieved, her smile particularly bright. "Brother, don't worry, we won't slack off and make things difficult for you."

So easy to talk to? Li Ruo observed them calmly and smiled, "Then let's do as the Taoist priest says."

Lian Lizhi was puzzled and still indignant when she returned to the house. "Why did Aruo agree to it? Was it because of her cousin's sake?"

Li Ruo said, "Of course we should give the Taoist priest face, but don't you think they're acting a bit strange?"

"What's strange about it?"

Li Ruo shook her head. "I can't say for sure. Let's just wait and see. If they have ulterior motives, they'll naturally slip up." She had a question that needed to be answered.

At night, after dinner, Li Ruo saw Liao Fusheng still busy in the work points room, his nose red from the cold. She picked up a charcoal brazier and went over to him, saying, "Why don't you light a fire?"

Liao Fusheng looked up. "Every little bit helps."

Li Ruo laughed and said, "Have you forgotten that I hoarded tens of thousands of taels of silver worth of charcoal before? Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Liao Fusheng's eyes lit up. "This young lady is truly our savior."

“I don’t just save people randomly. I don’t do things that don’t benefit me. They need to do things seriously,” Li Ruo said.

"They seem to have changed a bit," Liao Fusheng said, somewhat puzzled.

Li Ruo looked at him inquisitively, "Daoist Master, have you just forgiven them like that? They once kicked you out of your home."

Liao Fusheng paused for a moment and said, "Whether we forgive him or not seems irrelevant. Let them stay, as a way of repaying his kindness in raising us."

Li Ruo was somewhat surprised. Shouldn't she be saying "gratitude for giving birth"? "After leaving home, you went to Qingfeng Temple?"

"Yes, my master took me in."

Li Ruo was a little curious, "What's your master's name? What kind of person is he? You seem to admire him a lot."

Speaking of his master, Liao Fusheng's mood improved considerably. "My master's surname is Yuan, and everyone calls him Master Yuan. He is a person as pure as a gentle breeze and a bright moon, free to come and go, as if nothing in the world can hold him back."

"So you've learned from your master, becoming so magnanimous," Li Ruo said with a smile. A kind soul indeed; hopefully, good deeds don't always go unrewarded.

Liao Fusheng looked outside and said, "I am ashamed that I have not been able to reach even one-tenth of his level."

"Because you're still young." Li Ruo took the ledger from his hand. "Even though you're young, you should take good care of your health and get some rest."

She then helped him up, and the two walked out side by side.

The night was still dark, but the wind seemed to have warmed up a bit. When Liao Fusheng recalled what his father had said to him in a fit of anger when he was ten years old, it didn't seem so painful anymore.

Li Ruo allowed Liao Fusheng's family to stay, while also having Old Man Zhou and Yang Huahua keep a close eye on them.

I thought they would only work sporadically, but they turned out to be very diligent, doing whatever tasks were assigned to them without a single complaint.

"This is really strange." Lian Lizhi also found it unbelievable after secretly observing for a few days.

First, they didn't steal anything. Second, they didn't look around suspiciously, didn't pry, and didn't communicate with the outside world. Third, they treated Liao Fusheng like a precious gold ingot, often showing him concern and care.

This has been the case for the past two weeks.

Li Ruo sent Guazi to eavesdrop on their conversation at night without anyone noticing. Apart from Liao Furong occasionally complaining about foot and back pain, everything else seemed normal.

Old Mrs. Li said, "Perhaps he has truly reformed, after all, circumstances are beyond one's control."

Li Ruo then ordered the surveillance personnel to temporarily withdraw.

During this period, she would occasionally visit Beishan and Qinghuashan. Needless to say, Achang managed Beishan very well, and Li Qing left behind five thousand Li family soldiers and Ye Sang five thousand women soldiers in Qinghuashan, and they also kept those people under their control.

The weather warmed up a bit and there wasn't as much rain. Li Ruo made the most of the resources, mobilizing all the people in Beishan and Qinghuashan to plant spinach, mushrooms, and potatoes in areas where logging had been severe.

The potatoes on Ziyang Peak have sprouted, proving that they can be grown, but at first she didn't dare to plant so many, planting a few acres in each place as a trial.

At this time, I heard that my elder brother had traveled to Xuzhou and subdued two groups of river pirates and one group of mountain bandits. His next step was to head to Ruzhou.

Seeing that things on his side were gradually stabilizing, Li Ruo became restless. With Uncle Luo, the Third Master, Liao Fusheng, Xu Wanting, and others watching over him, he would occasionally take Xu Dafu and Fan Li with him and take a boat trip on the water.

They headed east, passing through Fuyang to Yingzhou, encountering several groups of mountain and river bandits along the way.

To be honest, many of these bandits were self-taught; they had no choice but to rob when the refugees had nothing to eat.

Most of them had no moral compass and would do anything to survive. They struggled on the mountain for half a year, only to be met with an even larger group.

"Boss Yu, these pirates look really powerful. Their ships are huge, with red banners on them, and everyone is wearing cotton-padded clothes. They look quite imposing."

Then, Boss Yu quickly went out of the thatched hut and saw that something was wrong. "Quickly, get everyone ready for battle!"

Li Ruo and Xu Dafu stood at the bow of the boat, with a large red banner above their heads bearing the character "Li". The eldest brother, Li Jiayi, had a black banner, while her second brother had a red banner.

When dealing with other mountain bandits and river pirates, Li Ruo and Xu Dafu always fought first and then questioned them. They would capture their heads, ask the other villagers what they had done, create a positive image, wipe out the bandits' den in front of the people, and restore their freedom.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!