Chapter 156

Li Wen finished his business and prepared to return home.

Remembering how last time Xinghui was pushed down a slope by Sun Jinhua, and how the old village chief righteously stood up for Xinghui and her, Shuiqing called out, “Brother Li, wait a moment.”

She turned and went into the kitchen.

Fan Jin knew Shuiqing went to the kitchen to pack some lamb. He stayed where he was and chatted with Li Wen about the village’s situation.

Li Wen detailed the canal digging in the village and angrily mentioned Fan Qian and Fan Damu’s actions.

“We’ve never worked together before, so I never thought they were such selfish people!”

After speaking, he felt as if he were complaining and smiled sheepishly.

Fan Qian, no matter what, was Fan Jin’s elder brother, and Fan Damu was also family.

However, Fan Jin and Fan Qian were not alike, while Fan Damu was very much like Fan Qian’s own brother.

Fan Jin’s eyes darkened as he asked, “Didn’t you tell the old village chief?”

The old village chief should have the ability to manage his brother.

Li Wen sighed, “At the time, we thought, if Fan Qian and Fan Damu don’t dig, are we going to stop digging too? The canal needs to be dug regardless. Telling my father would just make him more upset for no reason.”

His father disliked people who didn’t contribute and only waited to take advantage.

Fan Jin was silent for a moment, unable to speak directly, so he reminded, “Later, regarding the flood defense, ask my brother’s opinion first, then tell your father and see what he plans to do.”

Li Wen’s eyes widened, not understanding what Fan Jin meant.

Packing soil to stop the flood, would Fan Qian dare not to work?

Besides, even if Fan Qian shamelessly didn’t work, they would still have to do it.

How could they not stop the flood…

Meanwhile, Shuiqing entered the kitchen and took out a coarse clay pot, uncovering it to pack the lamb.

The lamb, which had been simmering on low heat since noon, was tender and flavorful, releasing a rich aroma as the lid was lifted.

Butcher Hu, upon hearing it was for the old village chief’s family, immediately thought of last year when the chief had stood up for his granddaughter while helping build her house.

Instantly, he felt much more favorable.

He directed from beside the stove, “Qing’er, pick that piece with thick skin! It’s got more fat. Yes, that piece too, it’s got a lot of fat! We still have lamb offal soup, scoop out more, it’s embarrassing to send too little.”

Shuiqing had been picking the leaner pieces, but hearing her father, she realized people preferred the fattier parts now.

The fat under the skin was indeed the best part.

She started selecting as her father instructed.

At noon, everyone had gnawed on lamb bones, leaving plenty of offal soup. In the evening, they made white flour and corn cakes, stuffed with the tender lamb, and drank the lamb offal soup.

Yes, they still had offal soup, and there was indeed a lot of lamb, so she scooped more for the old village chief’s family!

The clay pot filled with braised lamb was wrapped in oil paper, tied with thin hemp rope, and placed in a bamboo basket.

This way, she wouldn’t have to carry it awkwardly, nor worry about it getting wet in the rain.

When Li Wen saw Shuiqing carrying a bamboo basket with a large clay pot inside, he immediately realized it was food for his family!

He turned to run, but Fan Jin quickly grabbed his raincoat.

He lamented, “Sister, I can’t take this. If my father finds out I brought food back while passing a message, he’ll scold me to death!”

His father didn’t curse, but his words could hurt worse than curses, hitting where it hurt most.

None of the three brothers dared cross him.

Shuiqing laughed, “This is for the old village chief! You bring it back, and your father won’t scold you.”

The food was packed, so Shuiqing handed it over. Li Wen couldn’t refuse and reluctantly accepted it, heading back.

Descending the slope, he first went to Fan Qian’s house.

Repeating Shuiqing’s words, he said, “You said this morning that you couldn’t dig the canal because you couldn’t find Zhaodi. Now that Zhaodi is fine, you can dig tomorrow, right?”

Fan Qian grumbled without a word.

A woman with a hoarse, harsh voice rushed out from the house, “How can you say she’s fine? With a broken bone, how can she be fine? Look around, is there any place for her to lie down?!”

Taking her back not only means she can’t work, but also requires someone to take care of her.

Li Wen was startled and, upon looking closely, saw that it was Sun Jinhua.

He wondered if the poison from the potatoes affected different people differently. How come Fan Qian and his four sons had no throat issues, but Sun Jinhua’s voice was so hoarse?

Oh, Guifen mentioned that Fan Qian’s mother’s voice was also hoarse and unpleasant.

Could it be that the poison from the potatoes affected men and women differently?

Shaking his head, Li Wen stopped concerning himself with irrelevant matters and continued, “But you can’t keep leaving Zhaodi at her uncle’s house, right?”

“Why not? Why not?” Sun Jinhua retorted, her neck stiff with indignation.

Bringing her back meant she couldn’t work, and it would add another mouth to feed.

Leaving her there to eat Hu Shuiqing’s food meant they wouldn’t be at a loss!

It was Shuiqing who should be worried and angry.

Li Wen didn’t expect that this couple wouldn’t be concerned at all, so he stammered, “Aren’t you worried? Your child is injured, and you don’t want to check on her?”

It was pouring outside, but he managed to come over; if they really wanted to, they could have found a way.

Hadn’t they said they were very worried earlier? Why weren’t they worried now?

Fan Qian stammered, “We’re not doctors. Seeing her won’t help.”

Li Wen understood then that these two didn’t care about their daughter at all!

He had seen heartless people before, but never like this.

He stopped talking about Zhaodi and the canal digging, remembering Fan Jin’s reminder. He asked, “The river might flood the village; we need to prepare sandbags filled with soil to build a levee. How many people will your family provide? And you’ll need to supply sandbags too.”

Fan Qian opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Fan Dazhu and the others replied, “The rain might stop soon; is it necessary to waste sandbags?”

“Yeah, sandbags aren’t easy to get, filling them with soil is tiring, and isn’t it better to stay home in this heavy rain? Why suffer outside?”

“We don’t oppose building a levee to prevent flooding, but we don’t see the need. Uncle Li, if you insist, we won’t object, especially since your father is the village chief. How can we not comply?”

They figured they wouldn’t contribute labor or resources, but the villagers would still build the levee, and they’d benefit from it.

Just like with digging the canal, the village men dug it, and their family still benefited from the drainage. Why suffer in the rain?

Li Wen took a deep breath, feeling a surge of anger in his chest.

They were banking on the fact that, for the sake of their own homes, others would provide sandbags and labor to build the levee, right?

Seeing there was no point in continuing the conversation, Li Wen decided not to discuss it further with Fan Qian’s family. If they refused, Fan Damu’s family would certainly refuse too.

Fuming, he returned home.

Upon seeing his family, he couldn’t help but tell them everything.

Wang Guifen worriedly asked, “What do we do? We can’t just leave it undone because they won’t help, right?”

Li Wu and Li Qiang, upon hearing this, were furious and cursed their inhumanity.

“They’re counting on us to do it for sure!”

Zhao Lan sighed, “But we can’t leave it undone.”

The old village chief came out from the inner room, leaning on his cane. Looking at the pouring rain outside the eaves, he said in a deep voice, “We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

After tonight, Fan Qian’s family would be begging them to take action tomorrow!