This Aunt Li, to put it nicely, is a shrew, but she has a sharp tongue.

To put it bluntly, he's just an ignorant, shameless idiot!

From the moment Aunt Li first threw a tantrum in the village after marrying into Xinghua Village, he knew that this person wouldn't listen to reason.

He was just a few years old then. Aunt Li had only been married into Xinghua Village for a few years, and Old Lady Shen's youngest child, Shen Laosan, had only been born not long ago.

Since Aunt Li had no sons, she inexplicably blamed Old Woman Shen, with whom she had no connection, saying that Old Woman Shen had stolen her blessing of having children and grandchildren.

His mother, even he, a child at the time, thought it was outrageous!

He's endured it all these years, no matter how much he's pleaded, but now he simply can't take it anymore.

He felt sorry for Lili, who was abandoned by someone and was so young and had lost her parents.

This child's smile is like that of a fairy, it can melt your heart, how can you bear to scold a child?

They still used such offensive language!

"I've advised you time and time again not to cause trouble for no reason, and not to say things that create unnecessary conflicts in the village," Village Chief Ma said fiercely. "I've tolerated you because you're an elder, but if you continue to be so unreasonable, I will, as the village chief, expel your Li family from Xinghua Village!"

The surroundings were as quiet as a chicken's nest. Aunt Li and Little Li's faces were deathly pale, clearly frightened by what she had just said.

Little Li didn't dare to breathe too loudly. The village chief wasn't an official, but in the village, he was like a local tyrant!

She's only been married for a short time, how come her husband's family is already being expelled from Xinghua Village?

It's just a few extra words!

Little Li spoke tremulously, "Well, it's not that serious, is it...?"

Village Chief Ma's sharp gaze fell on Little Li again. In his thirties, Village Chief Ma was in his prime and exuded a powerful aura: "And you too. Now that you've married into Xinghua Village, you're a Xinghua Village person, and you have to follow the rules of Xinghua Village!"

Little Li trembled and dared not speak.

Lili silently gave it a thumbs up.

As expected of the village chief, he really knows how to do things.

These two couldn't be persuaded; the only solution was to take a firm stance to deter them from causing further trouble.

The Shen family immediately felt a surge of pride; they had long disliked these two!

Village Chief Ma turned around again, frowning at Yang and Granny Shen: "Although it was indeed caused by them, we can't just resort to violence, can we?"

Although Yang was a little dissatisfied, she had no choice but to go along with him: "Hey, village chief, I know, this time I just couldn't help it when she insulted my daughter!"

Old Mrs. Shen also said, "Village Chief, don't worry, our Shen family will never act like some people. As long as others don't cause trouble, we won't do anything."

Liu also stood up and glared fiercely at the two women from the Li family: "That's right, I'm afraid some people are like mad dogs, biting anyone they see."

Aunt Li and Little Li looked grim.

The men and women of the Shen family stood in a row behind the women, looking like they were there to support them.

Village Chief Ma sighed, his head aching from this nonsensical farce. In the end, he had to smooth things over between the two families: "Alright, alright, apologize to each other and let's all go home!"

For a long while, no one from the Li family or the Shen family spoke.

Village Chief Ma looked left and right, and thought, "Well, it seems no one is willing to submit to anyone else."

"Alright, alright, you can apologize yourselves. I have something to do, so I'm leaving now." Village Chief Ma sighed and resignedly made an excuse to leave.

Seeing that Village Chief Ma had left, the villagers dispersed as well.

"Okay, everyone, we're done. We haven't finished the chores at home yet."

"Let's go, let's go, let's eat."

"Didn't we just finish eating?"

"Let's eat one more meal! Let's eat one more meal!"

The crowd quickly dispersed, and Aunt Li and Little Li glared at the Shen family members through gritted teeth before finally leaving with resentment.

As she was leaving, Little Li gave Lili a meaningful look, her eyes dangerous, as if she were plotting something.

Lili keenly noticed her gaze and looked at her strangely.

Little Li quickly looked away and left.

Only then did Old Lady Shen lead the Shen family back home.

Having just gone through a "fierce battle," the Shen family members were all feeling unwell. Lili patted Yang Shi with heartache and then rubbed against Old Lady Shen.

"If Mother doesn't hurt, Grandma doesn't hurt!"

Madam Yang and Old Lady Shen laughed out loud: "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. Pear Blossom will blow on it and it won't hurt anymore."

Seeing that her family wasn't very interested, Lili pursed her lips and asked Old Man Shen, "Grandpa, is there an underground river here?"

"An underground river?" Old Man Shen thought for a moment. There used to be an underground river there, but it had long since dried up.

Shen asked her, "Is Li Bao still thinking about the rice?"

"What's wrong?" Liu asked.

After Elder Shen explained the situation, Old Lady Shen seemed thoughtful: "Li Bao is right. I wonder when this drought will end. Xixiang County is already in such a state. We might suffer as well as Nanlin County. We should make plans as soon as possible."

Old Man Shen nodded: "That makes sense. Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood, but they can't leave it all to fate. We should dig a culvert so that if that day ever comes, at least they won't die of thirst."

“But digging a culvert isn’t something our family can just do on a whim,” Liu said. “It’s no small matter.”

The work of digging underground rivers is time-consuming and laborious. Ever since the last underground river was dug, since he was doing well and didn't need the water, he hadn't bothered to dig a new one.

But the situation is different now. No one expected that this drought would affect Nanlin County. Judging from the current trend, it is estimated that it will not end for at least ten years.

The Shen family fell into deep thought again.

Old Man Shen asked, "Li Bao, what do you think?"

The Shen family members all looked at Lili again.

Without realizing it, the Shen family members started subconsciously consulting Lili on these matters.

Lili tilted her head, deep in thought, feeling genuinely troubled.

She studied agriculture; she's good at farming, but she's not good at digging ditches.

"I think we should dig, but I don't really know how to dig."

Upon hearing this, the Shen family understood; they had to dig.

"Alright!" Old Man Shen made the final decision. "I'll go talk to Xiao Ma in a couple of days. If we really find this underground river, it will be a good thing for the whole village. If we can persuade everyone in the village to work together, that would be the best."

Shen Lao Er nodded: "That's right, Dad, I'll go with you."

Old Man Shen agreed, and after thinking about it for a moment, he decided not to wait a couple of days and to go now!

Old Man Shen hurriedly led Second Brother Shen out the door, while inside, Shen Jialuo, still half-doubting, asked Shen Jiawen, "Third Brother, what's a culvert?"

"It's groundwater. If we can successfully dig it out, we'll have an extra layer of security when it comes to drinking water," Shen Jiawen said.