The village chief looked at Jiang Ling, who was standing to the side, and then slowly said, "The person who discovered this potato is the Jiang family from our village!"
"What?!" Almost everyone exclaimed in surprise, especially Old Mrs. Lu and her family, who looked incredulous upon hearing the news.
The woman who had previously provoked the heavily pregnant Widow Wang stared wide-eyed, her mouth agape so wide it could almost fit an egg, making her look quite comical.
Jiang Ling remained calm under everyone's gaze, pursing her lips and saying nothing.
"Jiang is a really nice person. Last time she made meatballs, she even specially sent a plate to my son!" Er Leng's wife, who is always quick to speak, suddenly said.
Er Leng's wife's words completely opened a crack in the matter, and everyone's eyes turned to Jiang Ling. Unlike the gloating last time, this time many people's eyes showed more respect.
"Sister-in-law Jiang, I'm so sorry, I misunderstood you last time and thought you stole our wheat..."
"Mrs. Jiang, I'm so sorry, I know I still... Don't worry, if you ever need my help, just say the word..."
“Yaojie’s mother, it’s not easy for you to raise three children alone. I have a cousin on my family who just became a widower last year. He’s an honest and reliable person. How about I help you get some money?”
Jiang Ling became the center of attention, and most of the women in the village surrounded her, chattering away.
This scene infuriated Lu Youren, who was standing to the side. He never expected that Jiang Shi, who was away from him, would become the focus of everyone's attention, and that her complexion and condition seemed to have improved a lot before she left him.
Thinking of this, Lu Youren spat fiercely, then his eyes turned cold as he stared at Widow Wang's belly and said in a low voice, "Your belly has to be strong enough to give me a son!"
Hearing this, Widow Wang glared at Lu Youren under the moonlight and said, "Pah! Lu Youren, you're dreaming! A boy in the first pregnancy? If I didn't not know whose child was in my belly, do you think I would even look at your dilapidated house and a few acres of barren land?"
Although Widow Wang thought this, she still put on a docile expression and said softly, "Youren, don't worry, even if it costs me my life, I will definitely make sure you have a future!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Youren immediately beamed with joy and even gently patted Widow Wang's stomach. Unfortunately, Widow Wang looked disgusted under the moonlight and even pouted!
"Village chief, you summoned us here so late at night just to announce that Jiang discovered potatoes? If there's nothing else, I'm going home to work! I don't want to waste my time here!" Widow Wang's words seemed to give Lu Youren great courage. He stretched his neck and rolled his eyes as he shouted at the village chief.
His shout did quiet the surroundings down a bit. The village chief glared at Lu Youren and said, "Everyone should get some rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, all the able-bodied people in our families should gather at the village entrance at dawn. I'll lead everyone in digging potatoes together."
"Each household will have ten jin of potatoes deducted first. These ten jin of potatoes will be used as the village's reserve grain, which will be mainly distributed to women and children in the village who have lost their ability to work!"
After the village chief finished speaking, most people nodded and turned to leave, but Lu Youren still wanted to open his mouth to say something, but his wife tugged at his sleeve and stopped him from speaking.
"Mom! Why didn't you let me speak just now!" Lu Youren grumbled unhappily after returning home.
"What did you say? What else can you say? Didn't you see that vixen Jiang has completely bewitched the village chief? What good will it do you to say anything now?" Old Mrs. Lu shut the door and scolded in a low voice.
"But……"
"Mother knows. Mother saw long ago that that little vixen Jiang is no good. She's only been divorced from you for a short time, and she's already having an affair with the village chief. Don't worry, Mother has a plan for you that will definitely make it impossible for her to stay in our Lu Family Village!"
Old Mrs. Lu's lips curled into a strange smile, her wrinkles twisting into a deep knot. She beckoned to Lu Youren and Widow Wang and whispered something to them.
"Mother! You are so wise! So wise! I'll go right now!" After hearing his wife's words, Lu Youren gave her a thumbs up, and the gloom on his face disappeared.
"Be careful! Be cautious, and make sure no one sees you!" Old Mrs. Lu hurriedly warned.
On the other side, Jiang Ling also quickly returned home.
"Mother, I heard the village bell ring just now. Is something wrong?" Jiang Suihe asked.
"Uncle Village Chief wants us to go dig potatoes in the back mountain tomorrow." As she said this, Jiang Ling's gaze fell on Jiang Yaojie and she continued, "Yaojie, you should get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow at 3 AM, come with me to the village entrance. The village chief is taking us all up the mountain to dig potatoes."
"Mother, we want to go too!" Jiang Suihe and Jiang Wenxi, who were standing nearby, quickly chimed in.
"Suihe, Wenxi, you two don't need to do this for now. Just go into the mountains and dig up some wild vegetables!" Jiang Ling replied.
Although the two daughters were somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, they did not say anything further and simply nodded obediently.
Night fell over Lujia Village, and soon every household was fast asleep, seemingly determined to dig up as many potatoes as possible the next day to solve their hunger problem.
As dawn broke, Jiang Ling slowly opened her eyes, quickly washed up, and then led Jiang Yaojie to the village entrance.
It was still about fifteen minutes before the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), but the village entrance was already crowded with people.
"Yaojie, digging potatoes is hard on your hands, just do what you can! Don't worry, Mom is here... I won't let you go hungry!" Jiang Ling said softly, leading Jiang Yaojie to a secluded spot.
Jiang Yaojie pursed his lips and didn't speak, only nodding in response to Jiang Ling.
"Let's go, let's go up the mountain!"
Just as Jiang Ling was about to give some more instructions, the village chief walked into the crowd and waved his hand, speaking to everyone.
Hearing the village chief's words, everyone was full of energy and headed deep into the mountains.
"Which village are you from! Who gave you permission to come here!"
The main force suddenly stopped, and then Zhao Erleng's voice rang out.
Upon hearing this, everyone walked towards the front with puzzled expressions, but they didn't notice that Lu Youren was secretly smiling to himself.
Which village are you from?
As Jiang Ling walked to the front of the group, she saw that a number of strangers had arrived at the potato field behind the mountain. These strangers were almost all burly men, staring fiercely at everyone from Lujia Village.
"You still ask me which village I'm from? Is this mountain your Lu Family Village? Now that you've found food, you're thinking of hoarding it all? If it weren't for the people from our village tipping you off yesterday, you might have really gotten it for free!" The leading man glared at the village chief of Lu Family Village and said with a face full of dissatisfaction.
"You say that someone tipped you off, and that's how you found out. Then let me ask you, who exactly tipped you off?" the village chief said, looking at the man in front of him with a serious expression.
The man in front of me glanced around the crowd with a wandering look, finally fixing his gaze on Jiang Ling. With a smirk, he pointed at Jiang Ling and said, "It's her!"
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