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

Outside, the village head, his face covered in sweat, approached the county magistrate, his tone full of pity and urgency: "Your Honor, you are unaware of the true plight of the Tang family."

The two children had just returned from delivering goods, and they were so tired that their steps were unsteady.

Their family was dirt poor; their thatched roof was full of holes, and the six of them were crammed into the dilapidated mud house. They couldn't even spare the time to repair it.

Following the village head's gaze, the county magistrate looked around and discovered that not only Tang Susu's house, but also the houses of the surrounding farmers were all dilapidated mud houses with thatched roofs.

He couldn't help but sigh softly, only then realizing that the village under his jurisdiction had become so poor.

"Alright then," the magistrate pondered for a moment, then immediately decided to increase the reward, "four taels of silver for each water source found!"

The village head was so shocked that his eyes widened, and he almost thought he had misheard. He stood there for a long time, unable to react.

Clerk Yan stood to the side, his lips twitching slightly, but he didn't dare to say anything.

He knew in his heart that as long as he could help other villages find water sources and the people could have a good harvest, the government could collect more taxes, and these taxes would be far more than the reward money.

Moreover, this reward didn't come from his or the county magistrate's private pockets, so why not take it?

Inside the house, Tang Susu had already led Yang Gousheng and Tang Liqiang, who had changed into clean clothes, out.

Upon seeing the county magistrate, the two men immediately knelt down with a thud, respectfully begging for forgiveness: "We were blind and did not see you here, Your Excellency. Please forgive us!"

"Get up, it's alright." The magistrate waved his hand, not taking the matter to heart, and turned to instruct the village head, "Finding a water source cannot be accomplished by one person alone; it requires the cooperation of many people."

"You'd better get everyone together quickly, or we might not be able to go home for three or four days."

The village head dared not delay and immediately turned around to gather people.

Not long after, he returned with a few people. The final survey team consisted of himself, Yang Gousheng, his eldest son Yang Feicheng, and the two strongest men who worked the hardest while digging the ditch—Liu Yingcai and Yang Youpeng.

Liu Yingcai is the father of Xiaoyuer, Tang Susu's neighbor, while Yang Youpeng is the father of Yang Ersha.

When the village headman gathered people, many villagers came around to inquire about the news.

Upon learning that working for the county magistrate would earn them one hundred copper coins a day, everyone became extremely envious and crowded forward, asking to have their men join as well.

"When we needed manpower to dig the ditch, you all ran away faster than anyone else, complaining all the time." The village head was amused and retorted without hesitation, "Now that there are benefits, you all flock to us? Who would dare to use people like that?"

He paused, then added, "But don't worry, everyone. As long as you work diligently in the village patrol team and don't slack off, I will definitely give you priority consideration when there are good things happening in the village in the future."

The village women standing nearby secretly began to make their own plans.

When you get back, you must give the men in your family a good talking-to. They need to be more attentive when patrolling the village and not be as perfunctory as they used to be.

The carriage carrying the county magistrate and his entourage was not large, and the six people squeezed inside were inevitably a bit uncomfortable, so the curtain was not lowered.

When passing by Ma'an Village, the village headman immediately noticed that the mountain on the other side of Gou Tuo Mountain in Yangqu Village was densely packed with people.

"What happened?" Yang Feicheng asked in surprise. "I heard that the ditch-digging project in Ma'an Village couldn't be completed because the villagers didn't agree on the plan."

Clerk Yan sneered, his tone disdainful: "The water source for Ma'an Village is right in front of us, but these villagers have no sense of unity and each has their own thoughts, so naturally the digging of the ditch cannot be carried out."

In my opinion, the only solution is to send officials to supervise their work, to prevent anyone from slacking off.

He paused, then revealed the tax rules: "Ordinary villages only need to hand over 10% of their grain; Ma'an Village, because it needs officials to supervise the digging of ditches, has to hand over 20%; those villages that need the county government's help to find water sources have to hand over 30%; if there is a shortage of manpower, the county needs to transfer people from other villages to help dig ditches, the wages will be paid by the county, but the tax will have to be paid by 50%."

Before the carriage had gone far, shouts and curses could be heard coming from the direction of Ma'an Village.

It turned out that when the villagers were digging the ditch, they encountered a huge rock, which brought the project to a complete standstill. Everyone was full of resentment and wanted to go on strike.

The village head had experience digging ditches, so he immediately told the driver to stop the car and took Yang Gousheng over there.

The village head of Ma'an Village was quite sensible, and knowing that the county magistrate was watching from not far away, he dared not have any objections and hurriedly came forward to greet him.

The village head taught the method that Tang Susu had come up with to the village head of Ma'an Village: "Find some firewood and pile it on the stones to burn. When the stones are burning hot, pour water on them."

Using the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the stone will naturally crack, making it much easier to repair later.

The villagers in Ma'an Village nodded repeatedly and immediately arranged for them to do so.

Back in the carriage, the county magistrate gave the village head an approving look.

The village head quickly waved his hand and said truthfully, "Sir, this method was not my idea, but that of Gou Sheng's mother, Tang Shi."

"If it weren't for her, our Yangqu Village wouldn't have been able to dig this irrigation canal, let alone find a water source."

The county magistrate nodded, increasingly feeling that Tang Susu was extraordinary and far beyond the reach of ordinary village women.

Yang Gousheng sat to the side, silent.

He knew in his heart that the method of finding water was actually taught to him by his mother.

Mother deliberately gave me the credit so that I could show off in front of the adults.

He secretly resolved that he must take good care of his mother for the rest of his life and never let her down.

After the carriage left Yangqu Village, the village instantly erupted in excitement.

The villagers spontaneously gathered in front of Tang Susu's house, all of them both shocked and curious.

You have to understand, they didn't even dare to look the county magistrate in the eye, yet Tang Susu could speak to the adults with such composure. It was truly astonishing.

Tang Susu noticed everyone's confusion and explained with a smile, "Fellow villagers, there's no need to be curious. The county magistrate is the local official of Dongtai Town. He was worried that other villages wouldn't be able to harvest their grain, so he asked Gousheng and the others to help find water sources for other villages and help them dig ditches to irrigate their fields."

Upon hearing this, the villagers all burst into laughter.

"Where can you find a water source so easily?"

"How could Gou Sheng, a kid so young, have such abilities?"

Everyone questioned Yang Gousheng's abilities, thinking that this project was doomed to fail.

"Folks, please be quiet for a moment." Tang Susu's smile faded, and her expression turned serious. "I know you all think this is difficult, but helping others is actually helping ourselves."

She paused, then pointed out the potential danger to the villagers: "If only our Yangqu Village has a harvest, while the other villages have no harvest at all, what do you think the consequences will be?"

Firstly, those starving people will definitely come and steal our grain; secondly, the county magistrate will also requisition our village's grain to help other villages.

"In that case, the grain we've worked so hard to grow will still be divided up, and everyone will still go hungry."

"Don't we have a village patrol team? Are we afraid they'll steal our grain?" Aunt Liu said indignantly.

"The village patrol teams can protect the grain, but those who are starving and can't survive are all desperate," Tang Susu retorted. "If it really comes down to a fight, our village patrol teams might not be able to stop them."

Even if we can stop those who try to seize the grain, if the government requisitions it, won't everyone still go hungry?

After hearing this, the villagers all suddenly understood.

Previously, many people were angry because Ma'an Village was going to draw water from Gou Tuo Mountain, feeling that the other party was taking advantage of them.

Only then did they realize that only by bringing water and enabling other villages to grow crops could the hidden dangers of Yangqu Village be fundamentally eliminated, and only then could everyone truly live a peaceful life.

It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing, making the ground scorching hot.

People working in the fields put down their work and went home to rest and escape the summer heat.

Tang Susu went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, not letting Miao Yulan be idle. She had Miao Yulan sit on a low stool to help watch the fire, while she herself got busy.

Because of the hot weather, the main dish prepared was refreshing and cooling millet porridge.

The side dishes included stir-fried lotus root, stir-fried wild vegetables, and a bowl of stir-fried wild vegetables with eggs.

My hens, Da Hua and Er Hua, have been laying eggs extra frequently lately, each laying two eggs a day.

No one knows that these eggs are actually secretly stuffed into the chicken's rear end by Tang Susu every night, and now the family has accumulated about ten eggs.

Tang Liqiang returned from outside carrying a bundle of firewood, sweating profusely. He went straight to the water vat as soon as he entered the door, scooped out several bowls of cold noodles, and drank them in large gulps to cool off.

After Tang Susu set out the food, she asked him to call Tang Lifu and Yang Xiaobao home for dinner.

Recently, I've been busy with the cold jelly business in town, which has caused me to neglect a lot of farm work.

Everyone went home to rest at noon, but Tang Lifu couldn't bear to rest.

Wearing a bamboo hat and with his trousers rolled up, he bent over, intently pulling weeds in the field.

Once the paddy fields are filled with water, weeds grow wildly. If they are not removed within a day, they will compete with the rice for fertilizer and affect the harvest.

Tang Susu walked to the edge of the field and called out to Tang Lifu, "Lifu, stop pulling! Go home and eat first!"

Tang Lifu straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a simple smile, "Big sister, I'll finish weeding this plot of land and then go back. It'll be quick."

"No, it's too hot. You'll easily get heatstroke." Tang Susu shook her head in disapproval. "Come back to work when it's cooler in the afternoon. Go home and eat and rest now."

After saying that, she didn't wait for Tang Lifu's response and turned to go to the field to find Yang Xiaobao.