Everyone walked towards the drying ground.
There are always a few troublemakers in the village. Faced with this situation, Chen San said sarcastically, "Oh dear, I don't know which woman has been giving Li Zheng such bad advice. Why dig an irrigation ditch? And why does the whole village have to go? It's outrageous! I'm not going, so what?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu was the first to protest: "Chen San, what are you trying to cause trouble for? I know you've been getting close to Jin Wang lately. You two really are in cahoots. If you don't want to repair the irrigation ditch, then move out and go to Qianjin Village. Qianjin Village is great; there's plenty to eat and drink there."
Zhao put her hands on her hips and said, "Hey, stop talking nonsense. Just because Jinxia married Qiudong doesn't mean you can speak for everyone. In a situation like this, what right do you have to speak?"
Li Zheng stood in the crowd and clapped his hands: "Alright, now that everyone is here, let me tell you about the irrigation canal project. Several villages have been flooded, and the crops have all failed. So, our village has decided to follow Aunt Da Shan's suggestion to dig an irrigation canal to divert the floodwaters to the Yanghe River. This will save everyone in our village. I know some of you are resentful that Aunt Da Shan, a woman, often gives me, Li Zheng, advice. But she's a woman who can come up with such a solution to help everyone. What can you do besides be jealous and make sarcastic remarks? Let me be clear: if you think it's not worth it and don't want to go, you can stand up now!"
As expected, it was Jin Wang's family. Chen San's family all stood up. Zhao raised her hands and shouted, "A while ago, they made us harvest wheat, and now they're instigating Li Zheng to make us dig irrigation ditches. Humph, they really don't know their own limitations!"
Old Mrs. Jin, standing in the crowd, couldn't stand it any longer. She stepped forward and spat fiercely at Zhao Shi: "You shameless woman, you really can't tell the difference between good and evil! If it weren't for your sister-in-law's orders to help harvest the wheat, would you be rushing to harvest wheat or digging irrigation ditches to save yourselves? Now, no one else is causing trouble, but your own people are acting like bullies. I'm telling you, if you dare to say another word about your sister-in-law, I'll expel you from the Jin family's genealogy!"
Upon hearing this, Jinwang quickly tugged at his wife's sleeve, signaling her to speak less. However, Zhao continued to grumble, "Oh dear, I'm not wrong. Everyone in this village knows that my mother-in-law sides with my sister-in-law's family. She's even saying such things to protect my sister-in-law. Folks, you mustn't be fooled by this woman's words!"
Li Zheng shouted, "Shut up! Are there any villagers protesting the digging of the irrigation ditch, or who have any complaints about Aunt Dashan's opinions? Please stand behind Jin Wang and Chen San, are there any?"
Surprisingly, there wasn't one.
“My words are simple: anyone who doesn’t want to dig can take their things and their family and get out of Daling Village right now. Daling Village doesn’t support ungrateful wretches! Last time, if it weren’t for Aunt Dashan making you harvest the wheat, you would be in the same situation as Qianjin Village, with no harvest at all. And now you’re here criticizing Aunt Dashan. Are you even human?”
Aunt Liu's family, Aunt Pang's family, and everyone in the village who had received kindness from Liang Shuyan sided with Li Zheng, expressing their willingness to follow Li Zheng's orders to dig irrigation ditches.
Behind Liang Shuyan stood Da Shan, Zhao Heng, Qiu Dong, and a group of martial arts students led by Jin Erniu, all holding shovels, looking like warriors, exuding a chilling aura.
"Those who don't want to join, we won't force them. Those who want to dig the irrigation canal should listen to Dashan and Qiudong's instructions and start digging now. Two people per group, one digging and the other filling with fine sand. Take out our donkey carts and any oxcarts in the village. Go to the river and dig some fine sand for later use. With a little fuel, we can finish a canal in a few days. That way, when the flood comes, we can protect ourselves!"
Jin Wang and Chen San's resistance was futile. Although Zhao Shi had various grievances against Liang Shuyan, Li Zheng's words were not gentle and persuasive. He wanted to expel them from the village, which was a serious matter. Now, several surrounding villages were flooded, so where could they go?
Chen San stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Li Zheng, I was instigated by Jin Wang and did such a stupid thing in a moment of impulse. Now my family is willing to work with the villagers to dig irrigation ditches!"
Jin Wang glared angrily, "Chen San, you brat, how could you go back on your word? Don't you want to get rid of your enemy?"
Liang Shuyan didn't understand what Jin Wang meant, but she felt that there must be something fishy going on.
"Alright, stop talking. Although Da Shan Niang pushed my mother down before, she was the one who treated her later. My mother died from starvation, and it had nothing to do with Da Shan Niang."
Liang Shuyan understood. So that's what it was about. This old woman Su had argued with the original owner of the body about the ridge, and the original owner had pushed her down. Later, Liang Shuyan found a doctor for her and cured her illness. However, because the old woman couldn't bear to eat the food in the house, she left it all for her grandson, which led to her starving to death.
“Chen San, I only accidentally pushed your mother down back then. I didn’t mean to. Anyway, I still asked a doctor to treat your mother. Who knew that later your family ran out of food, and your mother starved herself to death in order to save you and the children. How can I be blamed for this?”
Aunt Pang also had her own version of events, and she stepped forward: "So you're saying that your mother was killed by Aunt Dashan, and that you're going against Aunt Dashan. Everyone knows that it's because you two were too lazy that your mother starved to death. How can you still have the nerve to push all these blames onto others?"
"Alright, start digging the ditch! Anyone who doesn't want to dig will have to move out of the village!"
Zhao Heng was indignant. Hearing Jin Wang and his wife targeting Da Shan's mother like this, he stood up and said, "You all know that I am Li Zheng's son. The reason I live in Da Shan's house is because I can learn a lot from my aunt. Last time, my aunt cleverly got everyone to harvest the grain ahead of schedule. This time, it was my aunt who came up with the idea of digging an irrigation ditch. Isn't all of this for your own good? How dare you resist? Believe me, I'll have my father drag you to the county government office and give you a good beating!"
Upon seeing this, Jin Wang and his wife rushed over in a panic: "No, Li Zheng, we were blinded by greed and did such a thing. We'll go get the tools to dig the irrigation ditch right now!"
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