“I heard you cursing at my cousin and his wife too. It was your fault to begin with, sob…” Lu Baozhu cried even harder.
“You useless brat! Turning your elbows outwards!” Madam Yao gritted her teeth at her daughter’s behavior, raising her hand to slap her several more times.
Lu Baolai also tugged at Madam Yao’s sleeve, saying, “Mother, I don’t want to leave here, sob… Little Fourth Sister said if I leave here, I won’t have enough to eat, sob… I never bullied Lu Yun or Lu Yu again…”
Madam Yao, of course, was reluctant to hit her son, so she could only pat her daughter a few more times in anger.
The women standing nearby couldn’t stand it anymore. Someone directly shouted, “You parents, not being good people yourselves, why are you taking your anger out on your own daughter?” httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Madam Yao turned and cursed at the woman who spoke, “What’s it to you? It’s my daughter, and I’ll hit her if I want! You son of a bitch! You spew filth, you spew filth…”
The woman was not angry, and instead said with a mocking smile, “I heard you were very bad to the master’s family before. Now that the master and his wife have generously given you a chance to survive, you still don’t cherish it. Tsk tsk, Madam Yao, as the old saying goes, a mean-hearted person is always mean, and you people are truly low-lived.”
Yao Huan, furious, rushed forward to scratch the woman, but was grabbed by the King’s guards and thrown to the side.
Lu Dahe looked at the houses behind him and suddenly thought of something. He walked up to Lu Ye and said, “Although the materials for this house were advanced by you, we built the houses ourselves. You have to pay us wages.” If they didn’t get paid, and the houses were given to others after they left? No way!
Lu Ye sneered coldly and turned to Zhao Dazhuang, saying, “Dazhuang, take people to dismantle the houses.”
“Right away!” Zhao Dazhuang responded cheerfully, turning to the guard team and saying, “Brothers, dismantle the houses.”
The youths of the guard team easily leaped onto the rooftops with their long legs and began dismantling the houses.
Lu Dahe’s jaw dropped when he saw this, and he was stunned.
The onlookers burst into laughter, with Bai Sheng laughing the loudest and most heartily.
On the night the third branch was driven out of Red Tree Slope, the atmosphere in the first branch’s family was very somber.
Lu Xing said seriously to Madam Xu, “Mother, you saw the fate of the third branch today. Your son hopes you will think more about the kindness that Cousin and his wife have shown our family, and not hate them stubbornly. They have not wronged you in any way.
On the contrary, you, following Grandma, did so many things that wronged them.
Now that our family’s relationship with Cousin and his wife’s family has finally eased, your son hopes you will be grateful.
If you remain as stubborn and ignorant as Third Aunt, then I will split from this family and live separately from now on.”
Madam Xu, enraged, raised her firewood and said, “You unfilial son, you dare to lecture your own mother?!”
Lu Xing did not dodge, but said seriously, “This is not a lecture, but a warning. Let’s make everything clear first.”
Lu Yang also said, “Mother, Xiao Xing is right. Cousin and his wife have indeed been kind to our family. You can’t be so loose-tongued as before. If you don’t change, I… after I get married, I will also split the family!”
There was a girl in Cao Miao Village who was interested in him, and he was planning to ask his parents to arrange a marriage proposal.
Seeing that even her most beloved eldest son was lecturing her, Madam Xu felt a little wronged. She threw down the firewood in her hand, put on a sullen face, and said nothing.
Lu Dahai glanced at Madam Xu, his eyes deepening. “Not to mention the great kindness that Nephew Ye’s family has shown us, I find the nephew’s wife very remarkable just by looking at her.
Their family can gather so many wild animals and do so many things we wouldn’t even dare to imagine. They must be reincarnated deities.
Following them is always the most correct choice. Wife, you really need to change your ways in the future, otherwise, our family will not have a good outcome.”
Lu Si, who had always been taciturn, said, “Mother, I think Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Father are all right.”
“You little brat, what do you know? Even you are qualified to lecture Mother now!” Madam Xu glared at Xiao Si and raised her hand. She accepted being lectured by the men in the family, but what right did a little girl have to lecture her?!
Lu Si lowered her head and said no more.
Although Madam Xu outwardly disagreed, she was somewhat afraid. If Lu Ye and his wife really drove their family out in the future, it would be too terrifying.
After the third branch was driven out, Bai Sheng instantly felt that the air in Red Tree Slope was much fresher.
In the following days, Lu Ye continued to organize the village with Ji Chenghuo, Feng Pingyuan, and others. Specific areas were designated in Red Tree Slope for the new residents to build their houses.
Those who were blacklisted by Bai Sheng were uniformly housed in the original Huangsha Village, now renamed “Qianfei” Village.
Ji Chenghuo allocated appropriate land to each household based on its population. The village well, which had always been occupied by the Zhang family, now belonged to the entire village.
The Zhang family had now become like rats crossing the street. Zhang Lanlan eloped with someone, taking all the family’s money. The Zhang Clan Leader and the Zhang Jiawang couple were injured in the previous battle at the mine and Red Tree Slope and still couldn’t afford treatment.
Their proud official, Xue Zhubu, was also worthless, like a fart, so the Zhang family’s life was harder than many villagers.
Although the villagers of Qianfei Village could not be considered model citizens, they were, after all, subjects of the Great Xia Kingdom and residents of the King’s fief. The King still sent the professional well digger, Old Man Ye, to help them deepen the well.
The well water was now just barely enough for each household to survive, and bathing was completely impossible.
Under the supervision of Ji Chenghuo, Qianfei Village elected a new village head through voting, and the village well was managed by dedicated personnel who distributed water at fixed times and quantities daily.
The original Hongliu Village and Cao Miao Village were completely dismantled and restored to farmland. The village’s nearly dried-up well was given to Red Tree Slope.
Lu Ye also had Old Man Ye help deepen it, so that in the future, they could water the trees and crops nearby.
After settling Qianfei Village, Ji Chenghuo then busied himself with the construction of Red Tree Village.
The residents of Red Tree Slope unanimously nominated Lu Ye to be the village head.
They had originally wanted to nominate the master’s wife as the village head, because it was rumored that the master was extremely henpecked and his wife was the real power in the household.
However, there was no precedent for a woman to be a village head in the history of the Great Xia Kingdom, and breaking the precedent would bring a series of troubles. Therefore, they had to settle for the next best option. Anyway, with the master as the village head, his wife would direct from home, which was the same.
Moreover, besides being henpecked, the master was actually a very capable person with high martial arts skills. With him managing Red Tree Village, it would surely be well-organized and flourish.
Lu Ye, who was considered the “next best option” by the residents of Red Tree Slope, was truly surprised to hear that the villagers had elected him as the village head. He was not very interested in “being an official,” but if he didn’t do it, the villagers would bother his precious wife, and she would be burdened.
Therefore, he decided to accept, even if it was just an honorary title. At worst, he could let Feng Pingyuan and Zhao Dazhuang help manage the village affairs, and he could also get away to handle matters at Shengmen Base and the capital.