Fan Xing took a deep breath when he heard this. "Mrs. Gu is so brave! Since ancient times, few people have dared to do business with the government."
More importantly, Shen Ningsi had guessed the mayor's thoughts correctly. Before Fan Xing took office, he had learned about the situation of officials around Wanning Village.
The mayor of Yong'an Town, like him, came from the capital. He had plenty of money, but if too many people died in Yong'an Town where he was in charge, it would be a big problem.
This mayor probably wanted to spend money to solve the problem a long time ago, but unfortunately, this solution was only available to Shen Ningsi.
"It's not really a business. At best, they hired me to impart knowledge."
Fan Xing nodded. "If Madam Gu has made up her mind, I will naturally lend my support. If there is anything you need my help with, just let me know."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Fan. I wonder why Lord Fan came here today?"
"Local tycoons like the Wang family have emptied the villagers' pockets, but their ancestors have lived in Wanning Village for three generations, and the villagers are unwilling to exterminate them. Therefore, I cannot use force against them, I can only use wits to defeat them."
Talking about business, Fan Xing said seriously, "Most of the villagers now know that Wang Qiang hurt Madam Gu last night, but they don't know how serious Madam Gu's injuries were."
"If we want to deal with these local tycoons, we have to make the villagers understand that if they don't get rid of them, they may not be able to survive."
Shen Ningsi understood.
"Last night, General Gu said he would find a way to gather enough food for the villagers to eat for a month. Lord Fan wants me to keep this secret. At the same time, there were rumors that my life was in imminent danger, and I couldn't continue teaching them how to grow potatoes."
Fan Xing stood up and clapped his hands, "Madam Gu is very clever! This is exactly what I was thinking!"
They knew the villagers' lives were safe, but the villagers themselves were unaware. Looking at their empty granaries, they naturally hated the culprit. By then, even without Fan Xing's intervention, these local tycoons would be gone forever.
Fan Xing discussed it with Shen Ningsi and started to act according to the plan.
Shen Ningsi did not forget to warn the children, "The news that Master Fan spread, some people believe it, and naturally some people don't. You must be careful when you speak outside. Just say that mother has lost too much blood and is still in a coma."
"Forget it, you should not go out easily during this period. If a person does good things but does not do one thing right, people will say that he was pretending all along." She thought about it and said seriously, holding a few small hands.
Shen Ningsi was worried that the villagers she had helped would resent her for being powerless at a time like this. She could be safe in the house, but the children would inevitably be exposed to gossip.
It turned out that Shen Ningsi's advice was indeed useful.
After noon, Shen Ningsi suddenly heard the sound of stones being smashed, and Gu Xiuwu's voice was loud and full of anger.
"Brother! Why didn't you let me beat him? Listen to what Zhang Mazi said! She said my mother just couldn't stand seeing others doing well, so she pretended to be dead in bed!"
Gu Xiuwu's forehead was covered with veins. "Fuck him! My mother hasn't even finished her confinement yet, and she's already busy teaching people the art of controlling water. She just escaped from Black Cloud Village and went to the mountains to dig potatoes and plant them. If we can't stand seeing others do well, we can just hide all these things!"
Gu Xiuwen was also angry, but he was more cautious than Gu Xiuwu, so he quickly covered Gu Xiuwu's mouth.
"Mom is recovering from illness, why do you have to say these nonsense to make her angry?"
"I've heard it." Shen Ningsi stood at the door and looked at them.
Seeing Gu Xiuwu hanging his head like a child who had done something wrong, Shen Ningsi smiled and said, "It's okay. Mother had guessed that someone would say these things. Mother is not angry."
Shen Ningsi waved, "Come, come in and sit down."
Her hands were wrapped in thick gauze, but other than the injuries on her hands, the rest of her body was not serious.
"In order to bring down those local tycoons in one fell swoop, we must make the villagers feel the urgency of life. They are afraid that they will not be able to survive, so they are so angry and curse me, but even if they curse me, I can't leave."
Shen Ningsi patted Gu Xiuwen's head, "But if potatoes are planted one day earlier, they can be harvested one day earlier. Can Wen'er and Wu'er help mother?"
Gu Xiuwu had calmed down, but he stood up immediately after hearing what was said.
"I won't teach them!"
In the past half month, they have seen how Shen Ningsi planted crops, and they have helped a lot. It is more than enough for them to teach the villagers. But Gu Xiuwu is unwilling!
His eyes turned red with anger. "Why?! They used to say you were restless at home alone, and you saved them, but they weren't grateful! Why do these people do that?"
"Wu'er!"
Shen Ningsi's face rarely darkened. "Is this all you have? Just because a few people can't figure it out, you're going to watch other villagers starve?"
Shen Ningsi hopes that her children will be people who have a broad mind, have their own principles, and will not easily suffer losses. She does not want her children to be jealous of evil and not take other people's lives seriously.
In anger, Shen Ningsi suddenly started coughing loudly. With this cough, Gu Xiuwu, who had just had a tense face, suddenly felt his knees go weak.
"Mom, don't be angry, can't I teach you?"
Gu Xiuwu's face was filled with panic. "I was wrong, seriously! From now on, I'll do whatever you say!"
Shen Ningsi swallowed hurriedly to suppress the bloody taste in his throat, then hurriedly helped Gu Xiuwu up.
She softened her voice, "Wu'er, when you live in this world, there are many ways to deal with those who make you unhappy, but you can't ignore the good people just because of one or two bad people."
Shen Ningsi wanted to let him see the beauty in life.
She pointed to the small box at the door and said, "Look, this is what Yun'er just brought back. These were all quietly placed by the villagers at the door. Mother has seen them and they are all top-notch supplements."
Seeing that the remaining hostility in the boy's eyes finally dissipated, Shen Ningsi breathed a sigh of relief.
Watching the two brothers walk away side by side, she silently unfolded the rice paper and carefully wrote down the points that needed to be paid attention to when planting. This was the decision she had made when she woke up today.
Food is too important in this famine-stricken area. Fan Xing thinks that it is insignificant to let the villagers panic for two or three days. But Shen Ningsi has already made plans for the worst.
When the news of food shortage spreads again, I am afraid that the current illusion of peace and stability in Wanning Village will no longer exist. Shen Ningsi can't forget the image of cannibalism in his mind.
Only by letting the people of Wanning Village know that they still have a way to survive will they stop causing trouble.
Of course, she also wants the villagers to remember the contributions of Wen'er and Wu'er.
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