The sudden shout startled the two of them, causing them to drop their medicine packets on the ground.
Immediately afterwards, five burly men rushed out from around them. These men all had angry expressions on their faces and quickly pinned the two men to the ground.
The village chief, his face ashen, walked up to the two of them, holding a newly lit torch.
"He Tiezhu! Let's see how you explain this!" The village chief shouted, picking up the medicine packet from the ground while holding a torch.
"Bah! Do with me as you please!" Scarface He Tiezhu glared at the village chief with an indifferent expression.
The village chief was so angry his nose almost twisted. He waved his hand at the five men and said, "Tie them up and throw them in the Lu family ancestral hall. Tonight, you five will have to take turns guarding it! Tomorrow morning, we'll go to Dahua Village to demand an explanation!"
Those five men were all honest villagers, and they obeyed the village chief's every word.
They quickly tied up the two men and took them down the mountain.
"Jiang, thank you so much for today! If it weren't for you...we...we..." The village chief was genuinely frightened this time, and his voice was visibly trembling as he spoke.
Jiang Ling shook her head and said, "Village Chief, you don't need to thank me. I have something to ask of you."
"Oh? What is it? There's no need for formalities between us, just tell me directly," the village chief said.
“Village chief, look, after my divorce from Lu Youren, I’ve been living in our Lu Family Village. Although I’m from another family, I still hope to have my own land. Not to mention, Yaojie is already fourteen this year, and in a few years, he’ll be ready to get married. If we don’t have land, life will be hard for us!” After living in this era for a while, Jiang Ling immediately realized the importance of land.
When she first transmigrated, she had no concept of land and didn't take anything with her when she divorced. If it weren't for the system that appeared out of nowhere, she probably would have starved to death with her three children long ago.
“Oh, Jiang, you mean this? That’s easy, don’t worry! There’s a large area of wasteland behind our Lu Family Village. Giving it away for free is definitely not an option. I’ll sell it to you cheaply for 5 copper coins per mu!” the village chief said.
"One mu? How big is one mu? How many mu would a family of five need?" One question after another appeared in Jiang Ling's mind. Although Jiang Ling knew the importance of land, she had no concept of the size of land and could only temporarily put aside the idea of buying land.
"What? Jiang, do you think it's too expensive? It's okay, I'll give it to you on credit first, and you can pay me back when you've saved enough money!" The village chief asked Jiang Ling.
“Okay, I’ll think about it when I get back. As you know, village chief, it’s already expensive for me, a peasant woman, to raise four children, so…” Jiang Ling quickly changed the subject.
"Don't worry, as I just said, I can give you this on credit first. Okay, I'll wait for your news. Let me know when it's confirmed and I'll find someone to write the contract." The village chief reassured Jiang Ling after hearing her words.
Jiang Ling nodded, but then another thought suddenly occurred to her. She quickly said, "Village Chief, I think we shouldn't keep the water source a secret any longer!"
"What do you mean by that, Jiang?" The village chief immediately stopped and asked, looking puzzled.
"Village chief, don't you think we were just lucky to discover the poisoning this time? If we hadn't come during the day, would we have known nothing about the poisoning tonight?"
Jiang Ling's words left the village chief speechless. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer her, so he could only let out a long sigh.
“Village chief, we can no longer hide the water source issue. Today it’s Dahua Village, but what about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? And the day after that? We can’t possibly send people to monitor this place for twelve hours a day just because of this water source, can we?”
Jiang Ling's words startled the village chief, leaving him speechless.
“Village chief, I know what you’re worried about. You’re worried that if the three or four nearby villages all dig ditches here to draw water, and the water runs out, our crops will be ruined, right?”
Jiang Ling's words struck a chord with the village chief. He nodded and sighed heavily, saying, "Jiang, to be honest, I am indeed worried about this. Last year was a famine year, and this year is another one. Last year, at least the government provided us with relief grain, which allowed us to barely get through the winter. If this continues this year, I'm afraid half of the villagers will die. I don't think you want to see that scenario either."
“Village chief, you don’t need to worry about this. It’s better to guide than to block. There must be other water sources in these mountains. If every village finds a water source, who will still care about our village’s water source?”
Jiang Ling's words made the village chief suddenly realize something. He patted his head and looked at Jiang Ling with gratitude, saying, "Jiang Shi! I understand what you mean, but what do you think we should do with those two people?"
"We still need to go to Dahua Village to demand an explanation. I think it's necessary for us to form a guard team for the safety of our village!" When she caught those two men, many thoughts suddenly flashed through Jiang Ling's mind, and these thoughts made her feel extremely scared.
"A guard team? What's that?" The village chief asked, puzzled.
"Village chief, do you remember the incident in Changning Town where Li Shanren's house was robbed and a servant was killed?" This was the first thing that popped into Jiang Ling's mind.
The village chief was somewhat surprised. He had heard about it before, but hadn't taken it to heart.
"This? Jiang, what does this have to do with your guard team?" the village chief asked, puzzled.
“Village chief, over a hundred catties of grain were stolen from Li Shan’s house, and even one of their servants died under a hail of knives. It’s clear that these people are all ruthless and bloodthirsty.” Jiang Ling paused and continued, “Many people turn to banditry during famine years. Now that our village has discovered a water source, I’m worried that we’ll become their meal.”
"Hmm... what you said is indeed correct. It was my carelessness that led me to overlook this," the village chief nodded and murmured.
“We need to establish a protection team, firstly to prevent other villages from plotting against our water source, and secondly to be able to detect refugees and bandits as soon as possible so that we have a way to deal with them,” Jiang Ling continued.
"So how does this guard team need to be established?" the village chief continued to ask.
“This…” Jiang Ling’s original plan was to tell the village chief her idea directly, but she suddenly thought of Jiang Yaojie. She still intended to let Jiang Yaojie do this “show-off” thing, so she quickly changed her words and said, “This… Village chief, I’m afraid I can’t explain it clearly in a short time. How about this, after I finish dealing with the matters in Dahua Village tomorrow, I will bring Yaojie to your house and let him tell you what I think?”
"What? Jiang, you...you mean this method was proposed by Jiang Yaojie?" The village chief asked Jiang Ling with some disbelief.
"Of course, Yaojie is a smart kid! Village chief, it's getting late, you should head home soon!" After saying that, Jiang Ling was worried that the village chief would continue to ask questions, so she quickly ran towards her home.
Dahua Village, the village chief's house.
The village chief, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly opened his eyes. He slowly sat up in bed, looked at the night outside, touched his chest, and wondered, "Strange, why do I suddenly feel so anxious?"
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