Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

On the ridge in the center of the village, the cracked earth was covered with spider web-like patterns. The villagers surrounded the village headman, asking him all sorts of questions.

"Uncle Village Head, this drought has ruined all the crops. Will the government actually provide relief grain?"

"I heard from people who went to town that millet has gone up to thirteen coins a pound, whereas it used to be only one or two coins. Is that true?"

The village head frowned, his face so grave it could drip water.

He didn't want to fabricate lies to deceive the villagers, but if he told them the whole truth, he was afraid of causing panic throughout the village. He was caught in a dilemma, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Just then, Tang Susu pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, her expression grave. "Uncle Village Head, I have something urgent to tell you."

She looked around and lowered her voice, "I just went into the mountains and ran into thirty or forty people from Ma'an Village near the pond where we dig lotus roots in our village."

The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

Tang Susu continued, "I hid behind the bushes and listened for a long time. They were complaining that our village was hoarding the lotus roots, and that the mountain where the lotus pond was located was on the border of the two villages, so it should be divided equally. What's even more outrageous is that they had already planned to disguise themselves as grain thieves and come to our village at night to steal all the stored grain!"

"What?! These bastards!" The villagers instantly erupted in anger, their eyes wide with fury as they began to curse.

"The two villages fought over land more than ten years ago, and our Yangqu Village won back then. How dare they come and provoke us again!"

"They're treating us like pushovers! We can't tolerate this!"

Someone clenched their fist and suggested, "Instead of waiting for them to come and rob us, why don't we take some men over there now and teach them a lesson, let them know that Yangqu Village is not to be trifled with!"

But someone immediately objected: "No, they're plotting this secretly. If we openly confront them and take action, we'll lack a legitimate reason, and it will make us look bad if word gets out."

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, and the scene descended into a heated debate.

After calming down a bit, Tang Susu and the others spoke up: "Don't panic, everyone. I have a suggestion. Let's form a village patrol team, with one person from each household joining, taking turns day and night to guard the village entrance and surrounding areas. This way, we can take precautions in advance, and if the people from Ma'an Village really dare to come and steal our grain, it will be reasonable for us to retaliate. We won't provoke trouble, and we can protect our grain."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a nonchalant figure jumped out from the crowd.

It was Zheng, the village's notorious idler and good-for-nothing. He stood on the edge of the field with his hands behind his back, sneering contemptuously, "Form a village patrol team? Easier said than done! There's still a ton of work to be done in the fields. Who has time to stand guard every day? I think you're just deliberately making things difficult for everyone!"

He abruptly changed the subject, his eyes turning lewd as he looked at the village head with a sarcastic tone: "Besides, if Uncle Village Head agrees with this widow's suggestion, who knows if he's secretly having an affair with her, or doing something shady behind her back!"

These foul words instantly made the atmosphere awkward.

Tang Susu's face darkened, and she gave a cold laugh. Stepping forward, she retorted, "According to you, if the village head agrees, it means we have an improper relationship. Then if the whole village agrees to my proposal, wouldn't that mean everyone has an improper relationship with me? Are you trying to drag the whole village into this?"

Zheng, speechless for a moment, became even more arrogant: "Stop trying to argue! Besides the village head, I want to see who else would agree with your terrible idea!"

"I agree!" A loud voice suddenly rang out, and Old Master Yang, leaning on his cane, stepped out from the crowd.

He stood next to Tang Susu and said in a deep voice, "Susu's suggestion is excellent; it's entirely for the benefit of our Yangqu Village."

He turned and glared at Zheng the Rascal, his eyes sharp: "You're just trying to slack off, that's why you're splashing dirty water here. The Yang family will remember this."

After speaking, he looked at everyone and said slowly, "Sixty years ago, everyone in our Yangqu Village was surnamed Yang. We all worked together and there were never any of these messy conflicts. It was only in the last ten years, with people from other surnames settling in, that disagreements gradually began to arise."

Old Master Yang paused for a moment, then continued, "In that case, let's make forming the village patrol team a matter for the Yang family. Villagers from other families can join voluntarily; we won't force them. Let the Yang family's patrol team protect our grain first."

Seeing this, the village head immediately chimed in, "Old Master Yang is right! All members of the Yang family, come with me to the Yang Family Ancestral Hall for a meeting to discuss the specifics of the village patrol team!"

"Wait!" A frail voice rang out, and an elderly woman with gray hair and a wrinkled face came out.

She was Old Mrs. Deng from the Deng family, and she said tremblingly, "We can't say that just because someone has a different surname they voluntarily join. My Deng family has been rooted in Yangqu Village for over fifty years, and we've long considered this place our home!"

Grandma Deng sighed and recounted her family's plight: "When we fled here during the famine, the head of the household died soon after, and our children passed away one after another. It was just me, this old woman, raising my grandson, Xiao Mao. Yesterday, when they were distributing lotus roots, our family received seventy or eighty jin (35-40 kg), plus the ones Xiao Mao dug up himself, making a total of about a hundred jin (250 catties). This is our lifeline, and we have to hold onto it no matter what!"

She looked at the crowd and announced loudly, "My grandson, Deng Xiaomao, although young, is quick-witted and intelligent, and he is willing to join the village patrol team!"

Aunt Liu, who had just had her grain stolen, empathized deeply and immediately stepped forward: "Our family will join too! My husband, Liu Yingcai, is strong and healthy; he can go and keep watch!"

With Grandma Deng and Aunt Liu taking the lead, other villagers from other surnames also responded.

"The men in our family are strong and intimidating; count us in!"

"We have plenty of able-bodied men in our family; two of them can come!"

Apart from Zheng the pimp, almost all the villagers present enthusiastically signed up.

Seeing that everyone was on Tang Susu and the Yang family's side, Zheng Popi was so angry that his heart ached.

He stomped his foot and muttered, "A bunch of spineless cowards! They're completely fooled by a widow!"

But he was outnumbered and powerless, and no one paid him any attention.

Finally, he spat on the ground and turned away dejectedly.

The village head raised his hand to quiet the noisy crowd: "Since everyone is willing to join, let's quickly register the names. Zhi Mao, you'll be in charge of the registration!"

Zhi Mao was the most "educated" person in the village. He had never attended a formal school, but he had worked in a grocery store for a few years and learned some characters from the shopkeeper.

He responded, took out a piece of straw paper from his pocket, found an ink stick, ground it, squatted on the edge of the field, and prepared to register.

Tang Susu led Tang Lifu forward to register, and they happened to see Zhi Mao writing.

He held the brush, his hand trembling uncontrollably, and the characters he wrote were crooked and twisted, with strokes that were either too long or too short. The structure of each character looked like it had been forcibly put together. The three characters "Tang Lifu" were almost tilted on the paper, looking even worse than if they had been scratched by a chicken claw.

Ironically, the villagers watching nearby all praised it:

"Zhimao is truly remarkable; he deserves to be called the most cultured person in our village!"

"These characters are so neatly written, much better than any I've ever seen!"

Some people lamented, "If only I could be like the second son of the Tang family from the neighboring Xihe Village and pass the imperial examination, that would be true scholarly ability!"

As everyone spoke, they all subconsciously looked at Tang Susu.

They all knew that Tang Susu had fallen out with the Tang family, so no one dared to say another word, and the atmosphere at the scene became somewhat awkward.

As Zhi Mao wrote, when he encountered a character he didn't know how to write, he simply circled it instead.

In no time, the piece of scrap paper was covered with circles and squares, looking quite comical.

After Tang Susu finished registering Tang Lifu, she was about to turn around and go home when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a half-grown child standing under a large locust tree a hundred meters away.

It was Zheng Dahu, the eldest son of Zheng the rascal, who had previously fought with Yang Xiaobao over a pheasant.

Zheng Dahu stared straight in the direction of the registration list, the shade of the trees obscuring most of his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

He stared for a while, then, as if sensing something, suddenly turned around and quickly left.

Tang Susu's heart skipped a beat; she felt something was amiss.

Without giving it much thought, she quickened her pace and went home. As soon as she entered the door, she immediately brought up the screen of the system's trading platform.