The three village chiefs looked at each other, and finally the village chief of Xinyuan Village stepped forward to turn the tables and accuse the village chief.

"Reporting to the sir, it is the villagers of Heshanzui and Wujiawan who are trying to seize the water from our village's irrigation canal. They have repeatedly provoked us, which led to a verbal altercation between the two sides."

The village chief of Heshanzui immediately retorted, "You're lying! You were the ones who attacked and injured people first!"

“You two villages are being aggressive, so we only acted out of precaution.” The village chief of Xinyuan Village glanced at Xie Guangyi following behind Yun Mo and continued unhurriedly, “Chief Xie is from our village. He can testify that we villagers of Xinyuan Village never cause trouble.”

Xie Guangyi felt a pang of anxiety when his name was called, and his gaze fell on his parents standing at the back of the crowd.

The two dared not speak due to the village chief's power, and only shook their heads slightly at him. Xie Guangyi understood.

The people in the other two villages were terrified. It turned out that someone from Xinyuan Village was in the army, something they never expected.

Yun Mo turned to look at him, "Are you from this village?"

"Yes, General."

That day, after they finished training and were preparing to return to the city, General Yun San suddenly told them that there was an emergency. When they turned into the village road, he realized that something had happened in the village.

"I heard that the streams in the two neighboring villages have dried up. They want to dig a canal from your village to borrow water, but they need to exchange it for 100 catties of rice?" Yun Mo said casually.

Xie Guangyi's heart tightened, and he said respectfully, "This humble general did not know."

Seemingly afraid that Xie Guangyi would be blamed, or perhaps blinded by self-interest, the village chief of Xinyuan Village hurriedly jumped out and admitted, "Yes, it was my idea."

"Oh? Why is that?" Yun Mo glanced at him sideways.

Seeing Yun Mo's indifferent expression, the village chief of Xinyuan Village was unsure of his true intentions and only picked out the words that were favorable to them.

"It's like this: if the water is distributed to the two villages, our village's grain production will definitely decrease. In addition to asking the two villages for 100 catties of rice as compensation, I would also like to ask you to exempt our village from grain tax for another year."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gasped in shock. This guy was shameless; they wondered where he got his confidence from.

Yun Mo snorted coldly, "You have quite the nerve!"

"I'm only thinking of the villagers!" The village chief was completely oblivious to the inappropriateness of Yun Mo's words and was still smug about his courage in making the request.

Every time Xie Guangyi returned, he would learn from him, more or less, that the city lord and several generals were kind-hearted and treated their subordinates and the people very well.

At this point, some villagers came to their senses and realized that something seemed amiss.

As the old saying goes, "The common people do not fight with officials, and the poor do not contend with the rich."

Is their village chief so audacious that he doesn't want his head anymore?

Yun Mo's icy gaze swept over the villagers of Xinyuan Village. "Is that what you all think too?"

"No, no, these are all things the village chief told us. We had no such intentions. Please, General, investigate thoroughly!"

Upon hearing what the villagers said, the village chief glared fiercely at them, and his heart sank.

"Is the water in that canal enough to irrigate three villages?" Yunmo asked again.

Hu Shao stepped forward, grinning, and said, "Brother-in-law, I've been there. The water in the irrigation canal of Xinyuan Village flows from the foot of a mountain, so it's more than enough."

He called out "brother-in-law" loudly and clearly, and everyone looked at the two of them.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaoye's brother-in-law is actually a general.

Looking at the villagers' simple and honest faces, Yun Mo advised, "In the face of this drought, we should unite as one and work together to find solutions to overcome this difficult time. If we just stand by and watch the crops in Heshanzui and Wujiawan villages fail and hundreds of people go hungry, do you think the villagers of Xinyuan Village will have a better life in the future?"

The villagers of Xinyuan Village were so ashamed by his words that they lowered their heads.

The village chief tried to argue further, but Yun Mo gave him a cold look and then gave the order directly, "Since the water in the canal can irrigate three villages, then hurry up and widen the canal to reach two more villages."

"Xie Guangyi, you will lead the villagers of Xinyuan, Heshanzui and Wujiawan villages to complete the repair of the irrigation canals leading to the three villages."

Xie Guangyi: "This subordinate obeys the order!"

When the village chief heard Yun Mo give the order, he knew he was doomed.

As expected, Yun Mo looked at him and said, "The village chief of Xinyuan Village has abused his power for personal gain, sowed discord among villagers, and disrupted the harmony and stability between villages. Effective immediately, he is dismissed from his position as village chief. The new village chief will be elected by the villagers with the assistance of County Magistrate Yun."

The village chief was heartbroken after hearing this. He knew he was finished. He used to bully others in the village because of his position, but now that he had been dismissed, his family's life would be difficult in the future.

Led by Zhou Guangyi, Yun Yu, and Hu Shao, five or six hundred people from the three villages, carrying hoes, shovels, and other farm tools, marched in a grand procession to the source of the canal to begin digging.

The irrigation canal was already in place; they only needed to widen and deepen the outlet and the canal.

Under Yunyu's planning, the team was divided into several groups. One group of fifty or sixty people first blocked the outlet to facilitate the construction of other groups below the canal. The remaining groups each consisted of hundreds of people, who were responsible for excavating different sections.

Hu Shao stood by and supervised one of the groups, while Uncle Da Shi and Aunt Da Shi from Xinyuan Village chatted and laughed beside him.

"Young Master Hu, didn't you say you were an orphan? How come you suddenly have a brother-in-law?"

Hu Shao: "My sister saved me on the way to escape, and that was my brother-in-law, of course."

"Could your sister be Lord Lin?" Aunt Da Shi asked belatedly.

"Hmm." Hu Shao hadn't publicized it before, and he didn't deny it now.

The couple exchanged a glance. Fortunately, they had been polite to Master Yun and Young Master Hu before and had not offended them.

The woman who had been listening silently looked up at Hu Shao.

"Young Master Hu, you're sixteen this year, right? Has your sister arranged a marriage for you? You've met Shanhua from our family before; she just turned fifteen this year. I think you two are a good match."

The wildflowers were so black and thick that Hu Shao immediately shivered.

"My sister said there's no rush, she'll show it to me slowly," he could only offer as an excuse.

"Young Master Hu, if you don't like the wildflowers, my daughter Lai Di is quite nice too, she's fair and clean..."

After learning that his sister was the city lord and his brother-in-law was a great general, the villagers became exceptionally enthusiastic towards him, which made Hu Shao feel somewhat flattered.

I had heard that he was an orphan, and that people liked to tease him wherever he went.

Xie Guangyi came over carrying a shovel. "Mother, go back and cook for the kids. I'll take over for you."

Aunt Da Shi: "That won't do. You have your own things to do. It wouldn't be good if General Yun found out."

"It's alright, Mother, you go ahead."

Unable to resist her son's insistence, Aunt Da Shi was pulled aside by him.

Xie Guangyi walked to Aunt Dashi's spot and started digging.

His arrival made the villagers lose their desire to tease Hu Shao.

Uncle Da Shi tentatively asked, "Guangyi! Will the village chief's matter affect you?"

"Dad, as long as you don't get involved, it won't affect me."

Aunt Da Shi hurriedly shook her head, "We absolutely did not participate. When the village chief used your name to do things, we strongly opposed it, but your father and I are just too weak to speak up."