Lin Wanyue's expression was serious, her small face tense.

"that……"

Seeing Lin Wanyue's expression, the village head and his son, who were watching from the side, were also a little apprehensive.

The village headman asked anxiously, "Wanwan, is this a sign from God that something bad is going to happen to our village?"

It's understandable that he would think that way. If something breaks or shatters, wouldn't something bad happen?

"Grandpa Village Head, don't worry. Man can conquer nature. But I think there's something strange about this place. It doesn't seem to have been eroded because of the rain." Lin Wanyue then walked along other parts of the ditch.

The village head and Zhou Jiren followed behind, worried that something might really happen in the village.

The village head is old and has difficulty walking, so he always uses a cane when he walks.

Now, as he stood beside the ditch, his cane suddenly plunged into a mud hole next to it, startling the elderly village head who had difficulty moving around.

Lin Wanyue quickly turned around to look, and upon closer inspection, she noticed the problem: "Uncle Zhou, isn't this a rat hole duck?"

"It really is! We didn't see it when we were digging the ditch last year. How come there's such a big rat hole here?" Zhou Jiren said in surprise. He walked forward in the direction of the rat hole and found another one not far ahead.

Lin Wanyue slapped her head and said with bright eyes, "I know."

The drought and famine of the past two years even affected the rats in the fields.

Last year, Ning'an Village had a good harvest, and this year the weather has been even better, with crops growing lush and green in everyone's fields, making people from other villages quite envious. Some even prefer to marry young men from Ning'an Village rather than marry older women.

But it's not easy for people to live in Ning'an Village, while it's much easier for rats. They've moved to the vicinity of Ning'an Village with their families without anyone knowing when.

With more rats, more offspring are born, and they compete for territory, digging many holes in places unseen by humans.

It just so happened that there had been heavy rain a few days ago, which washed away their burrows, but also affected the village's talismanic ditch.

Lin Wanyue found the problem and said to Zhou Jiren and the village head, "If we want to completely dig out the formation, we probably have to get rid of these underground rats first, otherwise they will still damage the formation."

“That’s right! It’s bad enough that these rats usually steal our food, but now they’ve even ruined our talismans. They’re practically trying to kill us! Wanwan, let’s dig up all these rat holes tonight and take back our food!” Zhou Jiren was so angry with these rats that he gritted his teeth.

As dusk approached, Lin Wanyue glanced at the sky and shook her head, saying, "You should dig the rat holes tomorrow. You can smoke them out at the entrance first, then flush them with water. That way, there won't be any live rats left. Once the water is ready, you can dig out the ditch, and there won't be any problems!"

“Alright!” The village head nodded: “As expected, Wanwan’s thinking is more thorough. If we really have to work at night, our eyesight is no match for that of a mouse.”

“But… this way, the work might not be finished in one day. I promised Aunt Liu that I would send you back tomorrow, otherwise she will be worried to death,” Zhou Jiren said hesitantly.

Lin Wanyue gave a sweet smile and said, "Don't worry, I'll find a way to tell Grandma."

“Alright, then we’ll follow Wanwan’s arrangements.” The village head trusted Lin Wanyue and nodded in agreement. He added, “Dinner should be ready at home. Let’s go back and eat.”

...

When they arrived at the Zhou family's house, the dining table was indeed laden with more than a dozen dishes.

In rural households, this is almost better than the dishes served during the Lunar New Year.

"Huh?" Zhou Jiren was also a little surprised: "Where did we get these fish from?"

He didn't forget to bring two pounds of meat when he came back from the county town, but fish and meat were hard to find.

His wife served Lin Wanyue rice with a smile, saying, "All these dishes were given by people in our village. The fish was given by Du Fan. Everyone said it was for Wanwan to eat. We're really benefiting from Wanwan's kindness today."

"Of course, of course," the village head said with a smile. "Wanwan has helped our village a lot this time."

Lin Wanyue ate a little something at the Zhou family's house, but she felt that the Zhou family women's cooking was not as good as her grandmother's and mother's, so she didn't eat much.

After dinner, the village head said that a bed had been prepared for her at home.

"Wanwan, you can stay at my house without worry. I've already asked your aunt and the others to air out the quilts. They're all newly made cotton quilts, so they'll be soft and cozy to sleep on."

"No need, no need, Grandpa Village Chief, don't worry about me. I'd rather go home to stay. I'm not used to sleeping in unfamiliar beds," Lin Wanyue said with a soft, sweet voice as she smiled and refused.

The Zhou family wanted to persuade her, but they couldn't, and they were also worried that it wouldn't be safe for Lin Wanyue to go back to live alone.

After discussing it, the Zhou family decided to let Zhou's young wife bring a quilt and sleep on the floor in the Lin family's main room to keep her company.

Unable to refuse Lin Wanyue's earnest invitation, she could only nod in agreement.

Back at the Lin family mansion, which she had been away from for several months, Lin Wanyue lay on her soft, carved bed, her stomach rumbling.

"Wanbao, are you hungry?" The little pink butterfly floated over and laughed at her, "Who told you to be picky about food earlier? How about I go and make you some now?"

"Hmm..." Lin Wanyue's eyes darted around: "Little Pink Butterfly Sister, let me take you to eat hot pot!"

She hasn't had a chance to eat hot pot since she came into this world.

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