After time travel, share a space with your modern family.

After the morning meeting, Ruan Mumu and Qiao Tinghao went back to Lianshan with the rest of their family to continue installing water pipes. After a day of non-stop work, they finally finished in the evening. Even the water tank was covered with cement by the three Ruan brothers, and it only needed to wait overnight to dry.

When we returned to the ancestral hall after having dinner at Chen Donglan's house, it was already getting dark.

"Mumu, you're finally back! My grandfather specifically told me to come find you. You need to hurry to the village meeting! It's already dark. Why are you so late?" Tian Qinghe was sent by the village chief to call Ruan Mumu to the village meeting on time, but she arrived to find no one there.

Unwilling to give up, they waited another 15 minutes before Ruan Mumu and her family finally returned.

"Silly you! I know what I'm doing. I'll go when the time comes! You're still waiting for me here. Are you getting bitten by mosquitoes?" Ruan Mumu said, scolding me while also feeling sorry for me.

While patting her clothes, Tian Qinghe was also busy scratching the insect bites, thoroughly enjoying herself. "I'll head back now, there are just too many mosquitoes..."

After Tian Qinghe finished speaking, she had already walked several meters away.

Ruan Mumu caught up and called out, "Qinghe, wait a minute."

As she spoke, she took out a bottle of cooling balm from her pocket and handed it to Tian Qinghe, saying, "Use this to rub on the bitten area; it will stop the itching."

Tian Qinghe took it with some confusion and asked, "What is this? I've never seen it before?"

Ruan Mumu explained, "This is called mentholatum, and it helps relieve itching. Why don't you give it a try?"

Tian Qinghe opened the bottle, smelled it, and found the smell a bit pungent, but still decided to give it a try. She gently applied the cooling balm to the mosquito bites and indeed felt a cooling sensation, which also reduced the itching considerably.

"Wow, it really works! Thank you, Mumu," Tian Qinghe said gratefully.

Ruan Mumu smiled and replied, "No need to thank me! Go back quickly! Don't let anyone see the things I just gave you; we'll need them to run our shop in the future!"

Tian Qinghe nodded, then said goodbye to Ruan Mumu and left.

Ruan Mumu went home, changed her clothes, and prepared to leave for the meeting at the village entrance.

"Mother, why don't you and your brother go over and listen?" Ruan Mumu suggested.

Chen Donghua asked curiously, "Do you know why the meeting is being held at the village entrance?"

Ruan Mumu smiled mysteriously and said, "I can't tell you in advance. You'll find out later. There's no surprise if the answer is revealed too early."

Looking at her daughter's sly expression, Chen Donghua couldn't help but smile and said indulgently, "Let's go! Let's see what they're talking about at the meeting."

"Mother, bring your little stools and come with me. I'll take you to sit in the front later," Ruan Mumu said again.

Ruan Xiaojun and Ruan Xiaohai quickly grabbed two small stools each, and Qiao Tinghao also grabbed one for himself, because he realized that his family had ignored him.

"Third Brother, wait a minute, I think I forgot something important. Could you help me move it over there in a bit?" After saying that, Ruan Mumu went into the room, and when she came out a moment later, there was a large speaker with her.

"This...you got this too?" Qiao Tinghao looked at the huge speaker in surprise.

Ruan Mumu smiled and nodded.

When Ruan Mumu and Qiao Tinghao arrived at the venue, they found it packed with people, the noise almost drowning out the tranquility of the empty space.

"Mumu, you're here. Come on, let me take you over. Everyone's waiting for your family to have a meeting! I've already arranged for your mother and the others to sit in the front." Tian Qingfeng had been waiting outside, specifically for Ruan Mumu to arrive.

Finally, Ruan Mumu arrived, along with the unidentified object that Qiao Tinghao was carrying, which surprised them.

"Huh... Tinghao, what are you carrying?" Tian Qingfeng asked curiously.

"Lord Qingfeng, you'll find out soon enough," Qiao Tinghao replied with a smile, but didn't want to say more.

When Tian Qingfeng led Ruan Mumu and Qiao Tinghao to the seats where the village chief and clan leaders were sitting, Qiao Tinghao had already placed the speaker next to the large rock where the village chief was standing.

Then, he skillfully turned on the speaker, put the microphone to his mouth and said "hello" to test it. The sound quality was not bad. Then he handed the microphone to the village chief.

The village chief, bewildered, took the microphone and, mimicking Qiao Tinghao's earlier actions, said "Hello" to test the sound. Hey, it really worked! The sound suddenly became very loud.

The villagers near the stage looked at this strange thing, which could amplify the village chief's voice, and felt it was really amazing, so they couldn't help but marvel at how good it was.

The villagers sitting in the distance couldn't see the speaker, but when they suddenly heard the village chief's voice clearly carried from so far away, they became even more curious about what it was and thought they would go and find out after the event.

The village chief began with an opening remark, then announced, "Next, Ruan Mumu, the youngest daughter of the Ruan family, will speak to us about the important points of this meeting." The village chief finished speaking and began to applaud, the applause echoing throughout the hall.

Ruan Mumu walked forward gracefully and stood on the high point where the village chief had stood before, which was actually just a large rock.

This large rock was specially set up so that village leaders could stand on it and speak when important matters were discussed. So when Ruan Mumu stood on the rock, the villagers standing below looked at her expectantly.

Facing the more than two thousand people present, Ruan Mumu smiled calmly and began her speech:

"Dear elders and fellow villagers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, good evening. I have a lot to say tonight, and the content is quite important. I would like to ask those in charge of the household not to leave early, so as not to miss any important information."

Ruan Mumu's voice was clearly audible to all the villagers present through the speakers, and her opening remarks were met with enthusiastic applause from everyone present.

Ruan Mumu pressed her hand down to signal everyone to quiet down, then cleared her throat and said, "First of all, we must say that our village is too close to the border of the Western Rong Kingdom. If the Western Rong and our Northern Sheng go to war, we border residents will be the most vulnerable. If the Western Rong invade from the border and we don't detect it in time, we will have no chance of survival. Therefore, in order to prevent these accidents from happening and to detect dangers as early as possible, we must take countermeasures."

First, we need to establish a guard team to patrol every corner of our village, and also to stand guard on Yunhe Mountain to keep watch for any potential attacks by the Xirong people..."

Before Ruan Mumu could finish speaking, the villagers below began to whisper among themselves.

"A guard team? Wouldn't that require someone to be in charge? Who would be willing to go?" a villager asked worriedly.

“Yes, this is a dangerous job!” another villager chimed in.

Hearing their discussion, Ruan Mumu felt somewhat helpless, but continued, "Please don't rush, everyone. Listen to me. The guard team will be composed of the able-bodied young men of the village. We will conduct regular training and drills to improve everyone's combat effectiveness. Furthermore, we will provide guard team members with certain compensation to encourage active participation. We discussed this matter with the village chief and various clan leaders this morning. Each household must select one person to participate in the training. Anyone over eight years old can participate, regardless of gender. Children under thirteen will only participate in training and will not be on duty. Each person will receive a monthly subsidy of four hundred coins, one hundred of which will be borne by the village, and three hundred by me personally. Of course, if you choose a child under thirteen years old to participate in the training, you must obtain my and the village chief's approval. Our village has over five hundred households, but at most, only fifty households can recruit children. Everyone must understand that the safety of the village is everyone's responsibility. If you come for training, you will have the ability to protect your families in case of danger, so please consider this carefully."

Hearing this, some villagers softened their stance slightly, but some still raised questions: "What should we do if a war really breaks out?"

Ruan Mumu took a deep breath and replied, "If war breaks out, we must unite and fight the enemy together. At the same time, we must prepare for evacuation, moving the elderly, women, and children to safe areas. In addition, we must stockpile enough food and water for emergencies. In short, we must do everything we can to protect ourselves and our families."

Ruan Mumu's words made the villagers think deeply. They realized the seriousness of the problem and began to think about how to deal with the impending crisis.

Although some people still have doubts, most people have expressed their willingness to support the plan.

Just as everyone was deep in thought, a sarcastic voice came from afar: "You brat, who told you to go up there and spout nonsense? Your money belongs to the Ruan family, it's not up to a good-for-nothing like you to make decisions."

Then two figures rushed over from a distance. Everyone was very familiar with these two figures. Without even looking closely, they knew that one was Old Lady Zhang and the other was Ruan Dongchang.

Old Mrs. Zhang, her face contorted with rage, gripped a thick wooden stick tightly in her hand and charged menacingly towards Ruan Mumu, who stood atop the rock. Her steps were swift and powerful, as if she wanted to vent all her anger on the frail girl. Ruan Dongchang followed closely behind, a sly glint in his eyes, seemingly anticipating seeing Ruan Mumu suffer a terrible beating.

"Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough last time. Now that you're squandering our Ruan family's money like this, I'll beat you to death..." Old Mrs. Zhang was so angry that she couldn't even see the many villagers present.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the crowd became tense, and everyone was worried that Ruan Mumu would be hurt. However, just then, an elderly man suddenly stepped forward and said in a firm and powerful voice, "Old woman Zhang, this is not a place for you to cause trouble. If you don't want to hear this, go home."

The old man's voice eased the atmosphere slightly, but Old Lady Zhang did not give up. She still glared angrily at Ruan Mumu, seemingly wanting to continue venting her dissatisfaction.

"Yes, go back!" everyone present shouted.

The atmosphere was extremely tense, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Old Lady Zhang. Seeing the menacing demeanor of Old Lady Zhang and her second son, the villagers felt a surge of anger.

The men standing on the perimeter stepped forward and blocked their path. These men were tall and stern-faced, and they faced Old Lady Zhang and her second son without fear, forming a solid defensive line.

"That brat is from our Ruan family. This is our family matter. Anyone who dares to stop me, I'll beat them up. Whoever I beat to death is unlucky." Old Mrs. Zhang continued to shout arrogantly, trying to break through the men's defenses.

Her voice was sharp and piercing, full of threat and intimidation. However, the men did not back down in the face of this situation; they stood firmly in place, refusing to let Old Lady Zhang pass.

At the same time, Old Lady Zhang brandished her stick, seemingly ready to attack anyone who dared to obstruct her. Her eyes gleamed with a chilling madness and resolve. However, the men were not intimidated by her threat; they remained steadfast in their positions, refusing to back down.

"Ruan Zhangshi, if you cause any more trouble, I'll have someone send you back to your parents' home immediately. Dongchang, you're a grown man, don't you understand what you can and can't do? Don't you know what kind of occasion this is tonight? Take your mother back right now!" The Ruan clan chief shouted, his legs trembling with anger as he stood up.

His voice boomed like thunder through the hall, silencing everyone. All eyes turned to Chief Nguyen and his mother, Nguyen Zhang, their eyes filled with shock and anger.

At this moment, Ruan Dongyu squeezed out of the crowd. He grabbed Old Lady Zhang anxiously and said in a low voice, "Mother, this is not a place to fool around! Let's go back quickly!" His tone was pleading, hoping that his mother could calm down and not make things worse.

"Mother, shouldn't we hurry back?" Ruan Dongchang felt a pang of panic as he looked at the murderous expressions on the faces of the surrounding villagers. He steeled himself and stepped forward to pull his mother away, wanting to get her out of this dangerous place as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Old Lady Zhang knew she had completely offended the entire village. Although she was unwilling, she dared not continue making a scene, lest the consequences be dire. So, taking advantage of her son's pulling, she turned and prepared to go home.

“Ruan Zhangshi, Ruan Xiaojun’s family has already separated from you and severed all ties. If you come to cause trouble for them again, your entire family will be kicked out of the village. If you want to stay in Jinwan Village, then don’t bother them anymore,” the village chief warned them from behind.

"Let's continue!" Ruan Mumu said calmly as the farce came to an end. From beginning to end, she didn't want to pay any attention to that crazy woman. After all, she knew that with the village chief and clan chief there, she didn't need to show her face.

Ruan Mumu's voice drew everyone's attention back to her.