Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

Unable to find Lu Fengnian, Zhao Dagui finally mobilized the villagers to go to the Lu family one by one, bombarding Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu with questions, hoping to persuade Lu Xiaoyu and Liu Yunjuan first.

For a time, guests flocked to the Lu family's house, and even the threshold was worn shiny from being stepped on.

Everyone who came had only one purpose: to ask Lu Fengnian to step in and solve the water problem.

After several days, Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu were getting annoyed.

That night, after locking the door, Liu Yunjuan called Lu Fengnian to the main room. "Fengnian, it's not a good idea for you to keep hiding like this."

Judging from their attitude, if you don't show up, they'll probably come to harass you all evening.

Lu Xiaoyu continued, "Now whenever I go out, villagers always come over to chat, and they all try to get my brother to steal water from Shangjie Village. It's so annoying."

Furthermore, those gossipy women in the village are always saying behind my back that my brother is deliberately avoiding us because he's upset about Li Xiaorou.

"The fact that they still have the energy to spread these rumors shows that they are not in a hurry."

Lu Fengnian's gaze slowly swept over Liu Yunjuan and Lu Xiaoyu. "Mother, Xiaoyu, you don't need to worry."

I'll take care of this tomorrow.

Liu Yunjuan asked, "Are you planning to deal with Shangjie Village?"

Lu Fengnian shook his head. "I'll have a good talk with Zhao Dagui and the others first."

…………

The next day, the sun began to set in the west.

Almost half of the villagers of Mao'er Village gathered under the old willow tree at the entrance of the village.

They huddled together in twos and threes, chatting quietly.

Just then, a figure slowly walked over from the direction of the village; it was Lu Fengnian.

At this moment, he was wearing a blue coarse linen shirt, and his hair was simply combed back, making him look simple and capable.

In stark contrast to his previous image as a thin scholar in a long robe, he was noticeably stronger and looked much more robust.

At the same time, the setting sun cast its golden light upon him, bathing him in a golden glow.

Under the old willow tree, there were men and women, and many of the young wives' eyes lit up when they saw Lu Fengnian striding over.

The Lu Fengnian before me was dressed no differently from the men in the village, but he was tall, fair-skinned, and handsome. With just that kind of appearance, he was far superior to the rough men in Mao'er Village.

These wives, young and old, couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Such a beautiful face, how come he only thinks about Li Xiaorou and is always involved with Widow Tian?"

Upon seeing Lu Fengnian approaching, Zhao Dagui immediately beamed and strode forward to greet him, "Fengnian, you're back from hunting?"

Zhao Tianming followed closely behind, looking at Lu Fengnian with a smile on his face.

His smile clearly carried a hint of ingratiation.

He had tried many methods, and Shangjie Village had released the others, but Zhao Gang was the only one detained.

Moreover, Yang Kai's attitude was extremely tough; no matter how much Zhao Tianming conceded, he refused to release Zhao Gang.

Now, Lu Fengnian has become his only hope.

Lu Fengnian stopped, glanced at Zhao Dagui and Zhao Tianming, then looked at the villagers under the willow tree and said loudly:

"Everyone, the reason I asked you to wait for me here today is to tell you all that you should never come to the Lu family again and harass my mother and sister."

"Our Lu family has done its duty regarding the water supply and will not interfere further."

Upon hearing these words, the villagers of Mao'er Village all changed their expressions.

Someone immediately responded, "Lu Fengnian, you are a member of our Mao'er Village. Now that our Mao'er Village is facing difficulties, you have the ability, how can you stand idly by?"

"Should I just stand by and do nothing?"

Lu Fengnian pointed to the shimmering river surface and raised his voice, "If I stood by and did nothing, would you still be able to see water in this river?"

One should act with conscience.

When my father was alive, he and my second brother would go to the river embankment every year to fight the people of Shangjie Village.

But whenever it's time to divide the water, our Lu family is always at the back of the line.

Am I, the young master of the Lu family? Or is my father just honest and easy to talk to?

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Dagui, Zhao Tianming, and some villagers all felt their faces burning.

Lu Fengnian continued, "I won't mention the matter of water allocation in the past."

Now, we no longer cultivate those few acres of land that belong to the Lu family. Whether there is water or not, it has no impact on the Lu family.

However, my mother said that although our Lu family are outsiders, we have now put down roots in Mao'er Village.

When trouble comes to Mao'er Village, our Lu family naturally cannot stand idly by.

So I went to the embankment and had an archery contest with Yang Kai, winning half the water for our Mao'er Village.

I believe I have done enough; our Lu family has done right by Mao'er Village.

If you ask me to do more, that's your problem.

Upon hearing this, the villagers fell silent, and no one objected.

Lu Fengnian cleared his throat. "Some people say that my archery skills are better than Yang Kai's, but I hide and don't show myself, and I don't go to steal the water source from Shangjie Village. It's because of Li Xiaorou. I hold a grudge and do this on purpose."

At this point, he looked around.

Among the crowd under the old willow tree, many women lowered their heads, not daring to look Lu Fengnian in the eye.

Lu Fengnian raised his head slightly, "That's right, I really don't want to show my face."

But it wasn't about hiding, nor was it because of Li Xiaorou.

It's because I've done what I should for Mao'er Village, and whether I do the rest depends on my mood.

However, I'm in a very bad mood right now.

Our Lu family has been living honestly and uprightly in Mao'er Village for so many years. My father, in particular, has worked diligently his whole life and has never taken advantage of any of you here.

Whenever something happens in the village, he is always the first to rush to help.

He told us that our Lu family were outsiders, and we should be grateful to be accepted by Mao'er Village.

Therefore, even if he suffered a loss, he never complained and silently endured it.

At this point, he raised his voice, "But some of you have mistaken his gratitude for weakness."

The village assigned labor, taxes, and grain taxes... our Lu family always had the most.

…………

My father passed away, my younger brother joined the army, my younger sister went to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables, and our family has started eating grain husks.

You should already know these things.

But has any of you ever offered a helping hand?

Of course, everyone is poor, and no one has the ability to lend a helping hand.

But not only did they not offer any help, so many people in the village were gossiping about the Lu family and laughing at me...

Two days ago on the riverbank, even though I was having an archery contest with Yang Kai from Shangjie Village, some of you still scolded me…

I tolerated and tolerated all of this. I listened to my father and learned that one should know how to be grateful.

But I would like to ask everyone here, while the Lu family has expressed our gratitude, have you all shown any conscience?