Reborn in the Great Northern Wilderness in 1982, I farmed and hunted to support my whole family.

Seeing this, Li Siming quickly stepped forward, grabbed Tao Qingshan's hand, and said with a smile, "Uncle Tao, don't be angry. Yingzi doesn't know how to talk, so please don't take it to heart."

Tao Qingshan glared at He Yinglian, then looked at Li Siming, his tone softening: "I'm not angry with you, I'm worried that what you're doing will cause trouble. It's a good thing that you want to dig a pond to raise fish, but you have to follow the rules. Go ahead and ask the village for permission before you start digging, so I can speak up for you."

Li Siming nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, Uncle Tao, you're absolutely right. We'll go and talk to the village right away, and we'll dig after we get their permission."

"What's the use of saying this now! You all need to quickly fill the excavated soil back in and restore the land to its original state. Don't wait until the village finds out, or it will be a real problem."

He Yinglian objected: "That won't do! We've already dug halfway, how can we fill it back in? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?"

Seeing that He Yinglian was being stubborn again, Li Siming quickly advised, "Yingzi, let's listen to Uncle Tao! Don't be so impulsive, or you'll cause trouble. Let's fill the soil back up first, and we can dig it up again after we've informed the village."

"no!"

He Yinglian was just waiting for him to ruin things. She glared at Li Siming and said angrily, "All you do is worry about is cause! We've already dug half of it. If we fill it back in, wouldn't all our work have been for nothing? Besides, we're only digging such a small piece of land. Do you think the village will stop us from digging?"

After arguing back and forth, they still couldn't reach an agreement.

Tao Qingshan stormed off, and He Yinglian closed the door.

"How dare you talk back to me! Li Siming, let me tell you, this is settled! We'll keep digging our pond, and once we've raised fish and made a fortune, let's see who dares to look down on us then!"

Li Siming was a little scared: "What if the village really doesn't allow us to dig, or what if the pond we dug can't raise fish?"

He Yinglian snorted: "Don't boost others' morale and diminish our own! We've already dug, what else can we do? Besides, we're only digging such a small piece of land, do you think the village will stop us from digging? Even if they don't let us dig, we've already dug the pit, there's no way we can fill it back in, so we might as well dig to the bottom and take a gamble!"

Tao Qingshan collapsed in anger, falling to the ground halfway down the road, unconscious.

The villagers rushed over upon hearing the commotion and carried Tao Qingshan back home.

Zeng Dazhen was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she quickly called the village's barefoot doctor.

The doctor took his pulse, frowned, and said, "This is due to a sudden surge of internal heat combined with overexertion, which caused him to faint. Let him rest for a while, and I'll prescribe some medicine to help him recover."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

While wiping away her tears, Zeng Dazhen thanked everyone and then busied herself preparing the medicine.

Upon hearing the news, Li Mu rushed over with some eggs and a few pounds of pork. As soon as he entered, he asked with concern, "How is Uncle Tao? What did the doctor say?"

Tao Yimei wiped away her tears and choked out, "The doctor said it was due to a sudden surge of internal heat combined with overwork that caused her to faint. She has already been prescribed medicine and is resting in her room."

Li Mu sighed, put the things in his hand on the table, and said, "Uncle Tao is too honest. He worries himself sick over the affairs of the village."

Zeng Dazhen wiped away her tears and said, "Who says otherwise? Your Uncle Tao is just too kind-hearted. He always thinks of others but not himself."

Li Mu offered a few words of comfort, then asked, "Uncle Tao, what's causing you to get so agitated?"

Zeng Dazhen sighed and recounted how Li Siming and He Yinglian had dug the pond without permission.

After listening, Li Mu frowned and said, "They really did something wrong." After offering a few words of comfort, Li Mu added, "Uncle Tao needs to take good care of his health. I'll pay for the medicine first, and he can pay me back when he recovers."

Zeng Dazhen quickly declined, saying, "How can I let you pay for this?"

Li Mu waved his hand: "Aunt Zeng, please don't be so polite with me. Uncle Tao collapsed from exhaustion because of the village's affairs. I'm happy to pay for it."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Dazhen's eyes welled up with tears. Li Mu sat for a while longer, chatting with Zeng Dazhen about Tao Qingshan's condition, before getting up to take his leave.

Li Chuzi really didn't know how to evaluate his uncle, Li Siming, saying...

He's audacious, isn't he? He dared to dig a pond without even informing the village. But you could also call him foolish, considering digging a pond to raise fish and make money. What was he thinking?

Li Chuzi shook his head, feeling both annoyed and amused by his uncle, Li Siming.

At her age, she's still causing herself so much trouble; it's really worrying.

Digging a pond, to put it nicely, is hard work leading to wealth; to put it bluntly, it's just reckless meddling. That piece of land in the village doesn't belong to him; he just digs it up without even informing the village. Isn't he just asking for trouble?

Li Mu called out to him, "Brother Chuzi! I need to ask you a favor!"

"What's up? Tell me." Li Chuzi turned his head and looked at Li Mu, wondering what this kid wanted to ask him to do this time.

Li Mu leaned closer to Li Chuzi and whispered, "Brother Chuzi, could you please try to persuade my uncle and aunt to stop digging the pond without permission?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chuzi frowned: "This matter? You know your uncle's temper, it's pointless to try to persuade him. He's very stubborn, and no one can change his mind."

Li Mu originally didn't want to get involved, but Tao Qingshan was very concerned about the affairs of Li Siming and his wife. Now that Tao Qingshan had fallen ill from anger, he felt that he couldn't just sit idly by.

He pleaded, "Brother Chuzi, I know this is a difficult matter, but Uncle Tao is exhausted because of our village. Please help me and try to persuade them. If something really happens, my uncle and the others will also have to take responsibility."

“Listen to me, you’d better stay out of this mess. I know you’re close to Uncle Tao and you’re worried about him. But you know your uncle’s temper, you can’t persuade him.”

Li Chuzi sighed, looking somewhat troubled.

"How about we flood his land? Flood their pond so they can't raise fish, and see if they dare to dig ponds again."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu immediately waved his hand, saying, "No, no, Brother Chuzi, we can't do that. It's too dishonest, and it will cause trouble for the village."

Seeing that Li Mu disagreed, Li Chuzi pursed his lips: "You're just too kind-hearted. They didn't even think about causing trouble for the village by doing this. Why can't we do it?"

“They’ll just dig it up again after we fill it in. Let’s go find Li Jianguo. He has influence with Fourth Uncle.”

Li Jianguo was no good; he was in cahoots with Li Siming and had a history of petty theft. But this time, Li Mu felt that perhaps only Li Jianguo could persuade Li Siming.

Only a mad dog can control a mad dog.