I will lead the whole village to occupy the land and become the king.

There is a thatched shed above the stone table and stone benches in the yard. It is not big, but just big enough to protect the people underneath from the sun and rain.

Jiang Qinyu poured half a bowl of water for each of them using two coarse porcelain bowls. "I don't have anything good to treat you at home. Have some water."

In this drought year, it is a rare thing to be able to entertain guests with water.

Jiang Qinyu did this only because Wang Bo brought news about Lu Yanzheng, and she wanted to repay him for this favor.

"Thank you, Sister Lu." Wang Bo took two sips of water from his bowl, then introduced the woman who came with him. "This is Miss Liu from the capital. By chance, she came back to Dingshui Village with me. Today, Miss Liu learned about Sister Lu's deeds and admired her very much, so she came to visit."

Liu Ruyi placed the things in her hand on the stone table, stood up, smiled and bowed to Jiang Qinyu as if she were her equal. "Hello, Sister Lu. I admire women like Sister Lu the most in my life. I hope Sister Lu won't blame me for bothering you."

"I wouldn't say I'm bothering you. I'm just an ordinary person. Miss Liu, thank you for your kind words." Jiang Qinyu said politely.

Liu Ruyi seemed to be in high spirits, looking at her with sparkling eyes and said, "Sister Lu, you are too modest. Being able to withstand the pressure and refuse to flee the famine under the current circumstances shows that you are thoughtful and have a long-term perspective.

You don't know, we took a detour from the border town and saw many people fleeing famine along the way. Life outside is much harder than in the village."

At least she could have water to drink when she came to Dingshui Village. Outside, she could only drink water once every two days.

Jiang Qinyu's attention was focused on another thing in her words. "Miss Liu said you took a detour back from the border town? Why did you take a detour?"

The straight-line distance between the border town and Dingshui Village is only two hundred miles. As long as you can cross the Daliang Mountains, you can return to the village in a few days' walk.

Liu Ruyi was about to speak when Wang Bo took over, "There are some things that are not convenient to tell Mrs. Lu, please forgive me."

After saying that, he shook his head at Liu Ruyi.

Puzzlement flashed in Liu Ruyi's eyes, but she didn't say anything else.

Jiang Qinyu secretly thought, Wang Bo's attitude, I'm afraid something happened in the border town? And this matter is related to the military and involves some confidential information, so he is unwilling to talk about it?

But what on earth would make a soldier who had retired from the battlefield take a detour back to his hometown?

Seeing her lost in thought, Wang Bo quickly explained the purpose of their visit. "Mrs. Lu, our families left the village due to some distraction and missed the opportunity to be with everyone. But now that we're back, if we work separately from the villagers, it might be detrimental to the unity of the village. Please help us talk to the village chief and let our families join the group."

Jiang Qinyu came back to her senses. "This matter requires everyone's consent. Uncle Village Chief can't make the final decision, but I will help you talk to them as a thank you for bringing back news about my brother Zheng."

"Mrs. Lu, please don't say that," Wang Bo immediately waved his hand. "I was heartbroken for a long time because I couldn't save Brother Zheng..."

Jiang Qinyu asked suddenly, "When did Brother Zheng get into trouble?"

"Uh..." Wang Bo almost choked on his own saliva, but he quickly reacted. "Not long after we arrived at the army, we encountered a fierce attack organized by the Dayuan Kingdom..."

He briefly talked about the battle, and when he saw the hint of doubt in Jiang Qinyu's eyes disappear, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a close call. I almost got tricked by this woman.

Jiang Qinyu listened quietly, her eyes slightly lowered, and she became more certain in her heart that Wang Bo was definitely not an ordinary person.

He said that he retired due to injury, but she saw that there was nothing wrong with him. Even if there was, it should be a minor problem. Given the current military strength of Dai Viet, would they allow him to retire like this?

But why did Wang Bo lie? Was what he said about Lu Yanzheng true?

"It's getting late. Please take care of us working with the villagers, Mrs. Lu. We will go back first." Seeing that Jiang Qinyu was unwilling to say anything more, Wang Bo stood up and said goodbye.

Jiang Qinyu also stood up after hearing this. "I'll pass on the message, but I can't guarantee the outcome."

They all live in the same village. If the Wang, Deng, and Ma families are not allowed to join, it may not be a problem in the short term, but there will probably be problems in the long term.

In this case, it would be better to let them join in from the beginning and manage them under a unified management.

"Mrs. Lu, can I come and talk to you when you are free?" Liu Ruyi suddenly asked before leaving.

Jiang Qinyu looked at her and found that the Sixth Young Lady's eyes were full of sincerity, so she couldn't refuse. "If you have nothing else to do, Miss Liu, please come over."

"That's great, thank you, Mrs. Lu!" Liu Ruyi clapped her hands and happily followed Wang Bo.

Jiang Qinyu was a little confused about her.

From the outside, Liu Ruyi seemed to come from a wealthy family. She was very polite and well-spoken, and had an outgoing personality. But why did she live alone in Wang Bo's house? Did she not care about her reputation?

In this era, women were still subject to great restrictions, especially in the upper class. Young ladies were always accompanied by maids when they went out, and had few opportunities to go out alone.

Moreover, people attach great importance to a woman's reputation. Traveling alone with a man, or even staying in a stranger's home, is simply shocking.

But there is no sign of any scruples on Liu Ruyi's part, and there doesn't seem to be any ambiguity between her and Wang Bo, which is quite strange.

But who cares whether it's weird or not? As long as he doesn't provoke her, Jiang Qinyu doesn't bother to care.

After seeing Wang Bo and Liu Ruyi off, Jiang Qinyu continued to cook.

At noon, she steamed rice, fried two dishes, and made a dried vegetable and egg soup. It seemed quite rich.

"Shufan, Pan'er, come and have dinner!" Jiang Qinyu shouted outside the house.

But there was no sound in the room. She quickly pushed the door open and saw the two children sleeping on both ends of the bed with their legs spread out, and faint snoring sounds could be heard.

Jiang Qinyu was really at a loss for words. Well, it seemed that the two of them had walked too far in the mountains today and were tired.

There was no other way, so Jiang Qinyu had to eat by herself first, and then put the food left for the two children in a big pot and covered it, waiting for them to wake up before eating.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Jiang Qinyu went out to the village chief's house.

The villagers went out late this morning, so lunch was delayed. When Jiang Qinyu arrived at Village Chief Li's house, they were also having lunch.

"My niece is here? That's great. Come and have dinner." Village chief Li stood up with a smile and turned to ask Meng to add more bowls and chopsticks.

Jiang Qinyu quickly waved her hand and said, "I've already eaten. Uncle Village Chief, take your time eating. I'll wait outside for a while."

"Eat some more after you've finished," Meng said with a smile as she headed to the kitchen. "We're having mutton at home today, and your uncle just said he'd send you a bowl!"

The other people from Village Chief Li's family also came over enthusiastically and pulled her to the table. Jiang Qinyu couldn't refuse their kindness and had to sit down.

"It's because the water in the village's wells has gradually increased in the past few days, otherwise we wouldn't have enough water to make mutton soup at noon this afternoon." Village chief Li said with a smile.

He felt that ever since he agreed to go to Qinggang Mountain to steal food with Jiang Qinyu, the village had started to have good luck.

First, there was a big harvest in the mountains, and now the soil in the fields has begun to become moist, and even the wells in the village can draw several buckets of water every day.

Village Chief Li blamed all of this on Jiang Qinyu and kept asking her to eat more meat during meals.

However, Jiang Qinyu came here full, and put down her chopsticks after drinking only half a bowl of soup.

After finishing the meal, Jiang Qinyu explained the purpose of her visit.