Both the Lu and Jiang families thought Jiang Tangtang's suggestion was excellent, and they immediately began moving grain to the earthen village.
Jiang Tangtang took out a lot of grain from her space this time, amounting to tens of thousands of kilograms.
Both the Jiang and Lu families were covered in sweat from carrying the load.
Even though everyone was tired and exhausted, they were all happy and satisfied.
This is grain!
There was so much grain that they hadn't finished moving it by dawn.
The villagers who got up early to work soon learned about the grain situation.
The villagers were immediately in an uproar.
"Look, Lu Jiasanlang has brought back a lot of grain again. That much grain is enough to feed our whole village for half a year," Gao Shumei said excitedly, pulling Zhang Qifang along.
Zhang Qifang had always been at odds with the Su family, but because the Lu family was becoming increasingly successful, her family had to rely on them for their livelihood, and recently they dared not cause any more trouble.
She dared not cause any more trouble, but she was still jealous of Su Shi. Why did that woman have such a good life?
The son went out and became a high-ranking official, and he could often bring back large amounts of grain from outside. The daughter-in-law was favored by the gods and was taken as their disciple. The gods even appeared to her in a dream, instructing her to build some kind of celestial rope in the valley. Now she is the valley chief, and everyone listens to her.
As a result, Su's status in the valley rose, and everyone fawned over her.
She glanced at Gao Shumei and said, "That's grain that Lu Sanlang brought back from outside. It's the Lu family's grain. What does it have to do with you?"
Reminded by Zhang Qifang, Gao Shumei immediately calmed down.
Realizing that the grain had nothing to do with her, she was displeased and retorted, "How can it have nothing to do with me? Now that Sanlang's wife is the head of our valley, shouldn't she be concerned about the life and death of the villagers?"
Chen Chunxiang, who was passing by, heard Gao Shumei's words and immediately scoffed, pouting, "People are the valley chiefs, not your parents! How can some people be so shameless?"
"People should have some self-respect! The valley chief offered advice and suggestions for the development of the valley and even took out her own money to help everyone with grain. That's because she's kind-hearted, not because she owes you anything."
Lei Erniang glanced at the two of them with disdain and said, "I have to go and have a good talk with Gu Chang. He can't be so foolishly generous anymore, otherwise someone will taste the benefits and not be grateful, and will want to continue to scheme against her."
Gao Shumei panicked and quickly grabbed Lei Erniang, saying, "I was just saying, Erniang, why did you take it so seriously? It's just a few words of gossip, why make a fuss about it with the head of the valley?"
"This has nothing to do with me. She's the one who started gossiping about me. Besides, it's really a small matter. We're all from the same village, there's no need to ruin our relationship over such a trivial thing."
Zhang Qifang also didn't want the matter to be brought to the attention of the Lu family.
Although she didn't say anything bad about the Lu family, she had said many bad things about the Su family in the past, and she was worried that the Su family wouldn't believe her.
She has been working hard to repair her relationship with the Su family recently.
He always greeted Su with a smile, and on several occasions he even followed the example of other families and sent Su pickled vegetables.
If this gets to the Lu family and Su misunderstands, wouldn't all the things she did before be in vain?
While she spoke well of Gao Shumei, she also regretted it and secretly vowed to stay away from her in the future to avoid getting into trouble.
Chen Chunxiang and Lei Erniang were just giving the two a warning, to prevent anyone from being ungrateful and having inappropriate thoughts.
Seeing that the two had behaved themselves, he gave them a few warnings and then let it go.
Although this minor matter didn't escalate to Jiang Tangtang's ears, she still convened a short meeting with the villagers after breakfast.
The meeting mainly covered two points, one of which concerned food.
Jiang Tangtang didn't hide anything and openly said that she had brought back grain from outside and had nowhere to store it, so she had to temporarily requisition the earthen village building.
"At this critical time, everyone knows how scarce food is. My wife and I risked our lives to get this food."
Jiang Tangtang gave a wry smile, "I won't go into details about these hardships."
If anyone is truly facing difficulties, they can apply to the village chief first. We will lend grain to everyone based on their actual situation. When the autumn harvest comes next year, everyone simply needs to repay the borrowed amount; there will be no additional interest. However, this grain is the last guarantee for our valley, and we hope everyone can work together to protect its safety.
If the grain belonged only to the Lu family, some people would inevitably have designs on it. But Jiang Tangtang's words tied the grain to the villagers of the valley.
Whether for the future of the valley or to prevent others from taking advantage, everyone will keep an eye on each other to make food safer.
After discussing the grain, Jiang Tangtang then brought up the matter of moving people from outside into the village.
"The blacksmith who moved to the valley this time is a famous blacksmith from Puzhou. The ironware I brought back from outside last time was made by Master Li."
After Mr. Li and his family move to the valley, it will be easier for everyone to find Mr. Li to repair any broken farm tools.
However, people don't repair things for free. Whether you pay them or exchange your labor, you have to discuss it with them yourself.
It took me a lot of effort to persuade Mr. Li and his family to move to the valley. Don't scare them away!
After Jiang Tangtang said that, the Li family members who originally came to the valley to take refuge instantly became the talents she had painstakingly invited back for everyone's sake.
This not only prevented trouble in advance, but also made it easier for the Li family to integrate into the atmosphere of the valley.
The Li family lived comfortably in the valley, which also made it convenient for her to carry out her next plan to mine and refine ore.
The villagers were unaware of her ulterior motives; they only thought Jiang Tangtang was a truly good person. She had gone to great lengths for the future of the valley and for everyone's sake.
Not only did they go to great lengths to bring back grain from outside, but they also went to great lengths to bring back a blacksmith for everyone's convenience.
Many villagers patted their chests and assured that they would do their best to help the Li family after they arrived and would never cause them any trouble.
Looking at the villagers' expressions, Guo Xuantong's eyes revealed a hint of disdain and disgust. These villagers were truly stupid, believing such nonsense; were they brainless?
But when she turned around and saw Lu Shiyan also smiling and looking at Jiang Tangtang with affection, her anger intensified.
Those villagers are one thing, but how could she deceive even an outstanding man like Brother Lu?
Guo Xuantong's face was contorted with rage as she walked towards Lu Shiyan. But upon reaching him, she instantly switched to a pitiful expression, "Brother Lu..."
Lu Shiyan stopped smiling and looked at her coldly, saying, "Miss Guo, do you want to ask about the Cui family? I have already sent someone to deliver a letter informing you of the recent situation of you and your two daughters, and expressed my willingness to send someone to take you to the Cui family. However, the Cui family seems to be considering it and has not replied to me yet."
Guo Xuantong, who had been shyly fiddling with her fingers, turned pale upon hearing Lu Shiyan's words.
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