During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Shut your mouth, you old scoundrel! Didn't you eat any of my family's pork stew?"

Li Chunyan, with her fiery temper, couldn't stand this. Before Ye Qingqing could speak, she pointed at Ye Laolai's nose and started cursing.

"When my family built a house to kill wild boar and build a woodshed, you kept your hands in your sleeves and didn't even show them. But when it was time to eat, you were the first to jump out and fill a bowl with pork slices. Did you think I didn't see it?"

"You dare to eat my food and then try to smash my dishes? Who the hell do you think you are!"

Old Lai Ye wiped his nose with his sleeve, stiffened his neck, and squinted his eyes—his classic lazybones look was on full display.

"You hunted two wild boars, so what's wrong with eating a bowl of your food? You're saying I ate meat slices, but your meat is sliced ​​thinner than tree leaves. It's obvious you don't want to waste any meat!"

That's why they say the richer you are, the stingier you become!

Li Chunyan was so angry that she jumped up and down and started cursing.

"Bullshit! You complain there's not enough meat? Did you eat one less bite? My meat is being fed to you like it's been wasted!"

Aunt Shuanzi was furious. "Old Lai Ye, who are you insulting? That meat wasn't even touched by Dali's wife; it was cut by us women. What do you mean by that?"

"Auntie, don't waste your breath on him. He's complaining about the meat in our house, isn't he? I'll beat him out of everything he ate today."

Li Chunyan stopped Aunt Shuanzi and looked around, trying to find something handy.

Ye Dali silently slipped a carrying pole into her hand.

"Murder! Ye Dali, your wife is trying to kill someone! Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

Ye Laolai yelled and ran away, clutching his head, only to be chased all over the place by Li Chunyan.

Ye Dali puffed out his chest, looking honest and simple.

"Hey Er Ya, I don't think that old rascal is wrong. Wasn't it your family who hunted the wild boar, which attracted the wolves?"

Aunt Zhang, who usually mingled closest to the village head's wife, rubbed her three thumbs together and said in a sarcastic tone,

"To prevent wolf attacks, every family needs to contribute manpower and food. Shouldn't your family contribute something to the others?"

Otherwise, the whole village would become your family's protectors, which is a bit unreasonable!

Ye Qingqing looked at her with a half-smile, "Just a little something, what do you mean by that?"

It's not that we're afraid of an enemy being too strong, it's that we're afraid of an enemy not making a move.

Once she made her move, Ye Qingqing understood completely. These two old bastards, the village head and the village chief, weren't satisfied with just asking her family for grain; they were trying to incite the villagers to ask for money!

He used to be on friendly terms with his father, but now that his family is rich, this old bastard can't sit still.

What was that saying again?

I'm not afraid of my brothers suffering, I'm afraid of my brothers driving Land Rovers!

The village headwoman quickly gave Aunt Zhang a meaningful look.

"If you ask me, just think of it as your family hiring the able-bodied young men from our village to protect against wolves, so that everyone can feel a little more at ease."

Aunt Zhang had already been manipulated and used as a pawn by the village head's wife. Seeing that Ye Qingqing was being so agreeable, she thought Ye Qingqing had backed down, and became even more smug and arrogant, raising her hands on her hips and saying...

"We're all from the same village, so we're just helping out. We'll pay you the same as people who do manual labor in town, just a token amount, 25 yuan a day."

In addition, I'll provide two meals of plain steamed buns and pork stew with cabbage. See if people won't be so concerned about protecting your house from wolves then!

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room fell silent.

Apart from Ye Laolai.

He was screaming as Li Chunyan pounded him with her carrying pole.

Ye Dali followed his wife silently, ready to beat Ye Laolai to death if he dared to retaliate even with a single finger!

Ye Dazhuang leaned against the large stone mill at a distance, his deep eyes occasionally glancing at Ye Qingqing.

He doesn't like to join in the fun.

But if things get chaotic, whoever touches a member of the Ye family will have their hand crippled.

The crowd looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.

A group of people, represented by Aunt Zhang, were already harboring envy, jealousy, and hatred. They were fooled by the village head's wife and thought it made sense. Now that Er Yatou's family had two big wild boars, even if the wolf pack came down the mountain, it would head straight for their house.

Protecting against wolves is basically just doing chores for her family!

They provide food and drink and even give you twenty-five yuan. It's more comfortable than doing manual labor in town!

Aunt Shuanzi and the dozen or so aunties and older women who went to the mountain with Ye Qingqing to dig for frozen mushrooms were another group of people.

Firstly, if it weren't for the second girl finding the nest of frozen mushrooms, could each of them have dug up a basketful to take back?

This basket of mountain produce can fetch at least five or six hundred coins, enough to buy a family's mixed grain flour for a month or two!

Even if we take a step back and say that Er Yatou was hiding it, who would have gotten such a huge benefit?

Secondly, the pig-killing feast at Er Yatou's house was really generous. There were more large slices of meat than cabbage and radishes. Just for helping to kill a pig, they gave each person three or four catties of fatty meat.

Don't underestimate this little bit of meat; if you're careful with it, it can last the whole family all winter!

One should have a conscience. If you accept someone's kindness and are grateful for their food, you shouldn't retaliate against them.

Otherwise, if something good happens in the future, will people still be willing to invite you?

Ye Qingqing remained expressionless, quietly waiting to see what would happen.

"Second Girl, we're hunting wolves, not carrying heavy loads and risking our lives!"

"We're all here to help protect your dog from wolves. That's not asking for much, so tell me if it's okay?"

Aunt Zhang took the lead and stood opposite Ye Qingqing, looking smug as if she were fighting for everyone's benefits. She said confidently, "If you can't make a decision, then call your father to come out and say it."

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow. "No need to call me father. My father makes the decisions on big matters, and I'll take care of the small ones."

"Don't listen to her nonsense, Er Yatou!"

Aunt Shuanzi glared angrily, "So the wolves came into the village just to harm Er Ya's family?"

"Aunt Zhang, are you from the wolf pack? How do you know so much?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole room burst into laughter.

Several aunties and older women disapproved of Aunt Zhang's attitude and started chattering amongst themselves.

"Genzhu's son, you came up the mountain with that girl Erya today, and you dug up a basket of frozen mushrooms, why didn't you say anything?"

"Exactly! How dare you ask for money!"

"Genzhu's wife, you're just jealous of Er Ya's family's wealth, why don't you just say so!"

……

Aunt Zhang wasn't going to back down either, tilting her head and pouting as she said...

"What, you'll bark and guard the door for someone just because they give you a little favor?"

I think you've all been blinded by greed! I'm fighting for the benefit of everyone in our village!

"Exactly! If they don't pay, who's going to protect her family from wolves?"

"We won't do it without money. Anyway, if the wolf comes, we'll run to your house first if we smell your pork..."

……

Aunt Shuanzi stomped her foot in anger and cursed, "Bullshit! Even if a wolf came, it would kill you first!"

The two sides were hurling insults at each other, making it even more lively than a theatrical performance.

"Bang... Buzzing..."

A single gong resounded, so loud it hurt the ears, and the entire hall fell silent instantly.

Ye Qingqing pressed down on the gong, glanced around at the crowd, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"My dad said that, considering everyone's past help, my family will provide the food for the anti-wolf team."

As for wages, 25 copper coins are hardly enough. After all, you're working for my family, hunting wolves. If I, Ye Qingqing, offer 50, who will do it?

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.