It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

On the afternoon of August 7, the second day after the unusual footprints were discovered, Jiang An and Jiang Ning, who were watching at the village entrance, saw three strangers approaching Dongshan Village from afar.

They quickly notified the villagers.

Soon, Jiang Wang arrived with a group of people carrying hoes and shovels.

"Stop!" Jiang Wang shouted at the three people who were approaching the village. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The leader seemed to be a middle-aged man standing between the three people.

He was wearing a gray robe that had faded to a white, and he was thin with a small tuft of beard on his chin.

"Father-in-law, are you from Dongshan Village?" The middle-aged man forced a smile and asked instead of answering.

"It's Dongshan Village." Jiang Wang answered in a firm voice and said no more, waiting for the middle-aged man to tell him the purpose of his trip.

"I am Zhang Cai, the second steward of the Zhang Mansion in this county. The two accompanying me are my wife Yang and my son Zhang Dali."

Zhang Mansion in this county? There is also a Zhang Mansion in Rongcheng County? Jiang Wang was puzzled and turned to look at Yu Qian.

Yu Qian shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

Let’s look at the middle-aged man’s description of his wife and son.

The woman looked to be in her early forties, wearing a white shirt and green skirt, with her hair in a bun. When she heard the word "my wife", she showed a hint of disgust.

The young man was estimated to be around twenty years old, with a strong physique. He was wearing a grey shorts that didn't fit him well. He had an expressionless and stern face as he stared straight at the people of Dongshan Village.

Sun Yun happened to meet the young man's eyes and was frightened by the unkindness in his eyes. He couldn't help muttering in his heart: Apart from the fact that these three people have gloomy faces, they don't look like a family in any way.

"We've come here because we admire your reputation. We recently heard that there's a capable person in your village who not only warned of the flood in advance, but also very righteously alerted neighboring villages, saving everyone from the disaster. I'm very impressed..."

The middle-aged man observed the expressions of the people in Dongshan Village as he spoke.

Seeing that everyone was unmoved by his earnest praise, and instead grew increasingly wary and impatient, he paused, quietly edited his thoughts, and got straight to the point:

"My house was unfortunately damaged by this flood. This experience has made me realize the importance of site selection and house construction techniques.

However, relocation is not easy. Fortunately, I heard that although your village was directly hit by the flood, the houses are still intact and the losses are very small.

Therefore, I would like to discuss with your village whether I can stay here for ten days so that I can learn the essentials of strengthening the village."

……

What are you talking about? A group of old men and women in Dongshan Village were completely confused by the middle-aged man's flowery words.

After finally figuring out what they meant, I just thought this family was crazy, running to the mountains to learn how to build mud houses?

You still say Dongshan Village suffered minimal damage, but you're blind! So much wall collapsed, and everyone is just making do with it, exposed to the wind, sun, and rain...

Jiang Wang didn't even bother to consult with the villagers, he simply refused: "No, we won't let you stay here. Our house is ruined, and we have nowhere to live. You should go back."

"Father, we really want to learn how to build houses in your village," the middle-aged man said sincerely. "Sorry to bother you, we have already prepared the rent for you."

"It's not a matter of money. Our village doesn't have the building reinforcement technology you mentioned. Many houses have indeed collapsed. You must have been cheated.

Besides, our village is poor. We don’t have enough money to build a house for ten days or half a month. It’s useless for you to stay here.” Hearing that money would be given, Jiang Wang still persuaded her with more patience.

"In that case, why not let us go into the village and take a look to make us more prepared to leave? We would be resigned to returning without seeing the damage to the houses.

If it is true as the rumors say, and the damage is less than outside the village, then it means you have better skills. You teach us and we learn, which is a win-win for both of us..."

……

The middle-aged man yelled at Jiang Wang, but when he failed to persuade him, he changed his target and continued.

After a while, his wife also joined the persuasion team.

Their son, on the other hand, stood aside and watched coldly, showing no interest at all.

The two sides were deadlocked at the entrance of the village until the three men refused to leave and had to stay outside the county town, and then they hurriedly left.