Chapter 72: I Only Advise Once

Under Mo Lie's cold gaze, Xu Feifei's intuition strongly warned her of danger.

She tried to keep her pear‑blossom‑wet feminine face, but it twisted into a ghastly pallor.

Lin Manzhi saw that the misguided protest was nearly over; sometimes it's still necessary to display one's own power to others.

She turned to Mo Lie, smiled lightly and said, "This little matter doesn't need you to step in; leave it to me."

Mo Lie withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes toward Lin Manzhi, and the terrifying aura and coldness in his eyes softened, clearly showing his utmost obedience to his own Wife Master.

Xu Feifei stood opposite, taking in the powerful, cold‑hearted Beast Husband's shifting expression, and a myriad of prickling pains rose in her heart.

Lin Manzhi is utterly unfit for such an outstanding Beast Husband.

She, momentarily blinded by jealousy, stared intently at Lin Manzhi and blurted out, "Lin Manzhi! You are a murderer; our tribe cannot tolerate such a vicious female; give me—"

Xi Tao could no longer stay silent and interjected, "Xu Feifei, what are you babbling about? Clearly you brought the Beast Husband here to cause trouble. The water cellar isn't broken! We built a storage cellar that only holds ten Small Exotic Beasts, and our warranty never promised it be filled with water! Moreover, during droughts the tribe already lacks water and food; survival depends entirely on the Beastfolk's own abilities."

Xu Feifei glared at Xi Tao, not holding back, and cursed, "Bullshit, ten Exotic Beast meats can keep them alive an extra month during drought; you lure them away with a useless pit and take their meat jerky—that's as good as killing them."

At that moment, another group gathered around Lin Manzhi's courtyard; they stood at a moderate distance by the road, hearing the conversation clearly without needing to come closer.

Xi Tao saw a few figures among the crowd, turned instantly, and told Lin Manzhi that four of them were Beastfolk who had not yet stored water in their own water cellars.

Lin Manzhi, with cold breath emanating from her whole body, wore a displeased, murderous expression toward Mo Lie.

Regarding Xu Feifei bringing people to cause trouble over the water cellar, she thought it was an easy matter to resolve.

When she heard Xi Tao speak, she had already planned to wait for them to arrive and then discuss how to fill the water cellar, but the Xu Feifei before her clearly wasn't looking to solve the storage issue; she just wanted to make Lin Manzhi uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, since this concerns a vital survival matter of water storage in the desert, she could understand the burning frustration of spending meat without successfully storing water.

Everyone wants to stay alive, and Lin Manzhi is willing to give this panicked group of Beastfolk who came to her a chance to choose.

She looked at the seemingly vulnerable Xu Feifei, then shifted her gaze backward to the two pallid Beast Husbands, and asked:

"You should know that building a water cellar at home can store water not only this year but every year thereafter. Are you sure you regret having me construct this water cellar this year and want to back out?"

The two Beast Husbands being questioned looked up briefly; Lin Manzhi, standing at the doorway with her face hidden beneath a veil, spoke gently, sounding not angry at all.

They timidly glanced at the Xu Feifei before them, pressed their lips shut, and nodded.

Xu Feifei said almost impatiently, "If they can't store water this year and have no food, they'll die; who will have the will to worry about next year or the year after? Don't try to use your status to shirk responsibility; quickly return those twenty Exotic Beasts to us!"

The two Beast Husbands behind her, beads of cold sweat on their foreheads, spoke:

"Yes, Xu Feifei the female is right."

"Yes."

Seeing them say that, Lin Manzhi had nothing more to say; even kindness cannot be boundless.

Water here is precious; due to the Beastfolk's innate habits, they have no concept of planting or farming, and they never consider how to store large amounts of water.

She intended to earn a bit of food by building water cellars, but more so she was kindly trying to help the tribe's Beastfolk; otherwise she wouldn't charge so cheaply.

If she truly wanted to profit from building water cellars, she could sell the service to various gangs in Kuangsha City and get rich instantly.

And they underestimate human wisdom, don't they?

The northwestern water cellar doesn't rely on transporting lake water for storage; it depends on collecting rainwater during rainy days!

When she built water cellars, it was during the local rainy season; originally on this return, she would freely teach the Beastfolk families who had asked her to build water cellars how to collect rainwater.

Lin Manzhi let out a cold laugh in her heart.

Countless classics of predecessors taught her that moving to an unfamiliar place and being overly kind only leads to being bullied more fiercely by the village.

If she wants to live here comfortably, she can't be a softie and let everyone think she's easy to manipulate; otherwise females will constantly come to her with trouble.

She isn't afraid of being bothered, but it's very annoying.

Can't we just live peacefully? Why are they always targeting me?

Lin Manzhi thought, feeling a bit angry; she had just returned home and hadn't even had a sip of water to rest, yet people were already blocking her door.

Then, since it's their choice, there's no need to keep persuading them kindly.

This matter is easy to resolve; just return some meat jerky, and she isn't lacking food at all.

Lin Manzhi nodded, "Fine. Since you don't want the water cellar built at home, you can destroy the cellar, and I can return your Exotic Beast meat."

Xu Feifei looked up, displaying a victor's stance, "Then how will you return the food to them?"

Lin Manzhi thought for a moment and said, "After I see the water cellar destroyed, I'll give it. Fresh meat will be exchanged for sun‑dried meat jerky: one beast yields about forty pounds of fresh meat, which after sun‑drying becomes roughly five pounds of jerky. For ten Exotic Beasts I'll give you fifty pounds of jerky."

"Alright." Xu Feifei's eyes were full of smugness; she turned to the two Beast Husbands behind her and ordered, "Go smash it; leaving the water cellar intact would just be a broken pit."

When she finished speaking, the two Beast Husbands behind her turned and sprinted toward their own homes; the onlookers nearby spontaneously cleared a path for them.

Xi Tao, seeing Xu Feifei's frivolous demeanor, clenched her teeth and spat, "Pah, you're shameless."

She turned, tugged Lin Manzhi's sleeve, realizing that if Xu Feifei didn't get the meat jerky back the matter would never end, and she had little to say about Lin Manzhi's handling.

She said to Lin Manzhi, "I'll go fetch my half of the meat jerky, and I'll have my Beast Husband keep an eye on them; we must loosen the soil inside completely so it can't be used, then refill it with earth!"

Lin Manzhi nodded at Xi Tao. "Alright, go."

Xi Tao stormed out, and as she passed Xu Feifei, she threw a massive eye roll at her.

After Xi Tao left, Lin Manzhi looked toward the four households in the nearby crowd, saw hesitation on their faces, thought for a moment and asked, "Do you also want to exchange?"