As expected, after nightfall, a group of people arrived at Xia Wan's house one after another.

As they stepped into the house, their eyes were immediately drawn to the large bowl of rabbit meat placed on the table. They stared in disbelief, their faces filled with astonishment, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

And this was just the beginning, because in addition to the mouthwatering bowl of rabbit meat, there were many other brightly colored dishes that filled the entire table.

Whether it tastes good or not is another matter, but this dish looks better and smells better than what you get at state-run restaurants.

"Oh my goodness, why did you prepare so much food? Girl, stop busying yourself, there's no way we can possibly finish all this!"

Wu Dazhuang stared wide-eyed at the fragrant rabbit meat in the bowl, his eyes practically popping into the bowl.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Where did you get so much meat? Jianguo, how could you let this little girl make so much!" The captain couldn't help but ask, his tone tinged with reproach.

"Uncle, you've really gone to too much trouble!" Wu Xiangdong was a little embarrassed. He had only helped move some things, so why was he being asked to eat a meal?

At this moment, the brigade leader, accountant Wu Sangui, Wu Xiangdong and others also arrived. When they saw the table full of sumptuous dishes, they were equally astonished.

Xia Jianguo smiled and warmly invited everyone to sit down: "You've finally arrived, come on down! This girl is really lucky today, she actually caught two plump rabbits. She insists on showing off her skills to everyone, come and have a taste."

Just then, Xia Wan walked in carrying a steaming plate of stir-fried vegetables. She said with a smile, "Uncle, please sit down for a bit, just one more dish and it'll be ready soon!"

These days, it's not easy to buy fresh meat, and at this time of year, even lush green vegetables have become a rarity, making them even harder to find.

However, Xia Wan was able to exchange some vegetables with the villagers, which was quite a coincidence.

"Hey, stop busying yourself, this is already quite a feast!" Wu Sangui said, glancing at Xia Wan who was busy at work, his eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry.

"It's alright, Uncle, you guys eat first." Xia Wan replied with a smile, and at the same time took out a bottle of Erguotou from the cupboard and placed it on the dining table, and then said, "I specially bought this bottle of good wine, Dad, you and the uncles have a taste first, and there is another dish that will be served soon."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Wan turned and walked back towards the kitchen. However, when she reached the door, she couldn't help but glance back, muttering to herself, "How strange, all the guests have arrived, but where is my brother?"

Just as Xia Wan was filled with suspicion, Xia Tao finally returned. He dragged his slightly tired body into the house, looking as if he had just gone through a fierce battle, and appeared listless.

Seeing this, Xia Wan quickly went up to him and asked with concern, "Brother, what happened to you? Didn't you go to the transportation company on business?"

Xia Tao didn't answer his sister's question immediately. Instead, he went straight into the kitchen, picked up a bowl of cold well water, and gulped it down. Only after finishing it did he let out a long sigh of relief, as if that was the only way he could recover some of his energy.

He then wiped the sweat from his face and slowly said, "Don't even mention it. Today we encountered a group of bandits on the road. Luckily, there were quite a few of us, and we were all young and strong, so we managed to drive those guys away."

It really comes down to numbers; otherwise, the stuff on the tractor might have been stolen.

"There are even highway robbers on the way to the county town?" Xia Tao's words were like a thunderclap in the air, leaving everyone speechless and astonished!

You know, that road is usually bustling with pedestrians, so how could such a bold and reckless robber appear there?

Xia Wan is now more worried about the transaction tonight. Will anything go wrong? She's not afraid of being robbed, but she's worried that Tian Hui's men won't be able to handle it.

Before this, she had indeed heard that there were occasional robberies of large trucks in this special era, but she never expected that even tractors would become a target of robbers.

Moreover, it was in such a remote, almost deserted place, where there are usually only a few passersby.

"Don't even mention you being surprised, even we've never encountered such a situation before." Xia Tao frowned deeply, his heart filled with doubt and confusion.

He simply couldn't understand why these robbers would choose a tractor that seemed to offer no profit whatsoever.

Xia Wan shook her head helplessly, thinking that this matter was not really related to her, and she would just remind Tian Hui and the others when the time came.

So he said listlessly, "Alright, brother, hurry up and go inside. Captain Uncle and the others have all arrived already."

Xia Tao nodded and strode into the house. Xia Wan stayed in the kitchen, quickly tidying up the messy kitchen utensils and putting the cooled and hardened mixed flour buns back into the pot to reheat them.

After all, these steamed buns were prepared by her earlier, and they are no longer as warm and soft as they were when they were fresh out of the steamer.

Since the people inside were currently engrossed in drinking and chatting, she had no choice but to keep the steamed buns warm for the time being, so they would still be warm when they finished drinking and eating.

When Xia Wan returned to her room, she overheard several people discussing her father's surgery at a hospital in Beijing.

The captain was clearly a bit drunk, and his voice wasn't as serious as before: "Alright, whenever you leave, I'll issue you letters of introduction. Then Taozi and Xia Wan can go with you, so they can look after each other."

Wu Sangui's expression was somewhat complicated. He looked at Xia Jianguo as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. After this happened several times, even the simple-minded Wu Dazhuang sensed that something was wrong with him.

"Uncle Sangui, what's wrong? You look so anxious. Just say what's wrong, why are you so embarrassed?"

Wu Dazhuang seemed to have drunk quite a bit, and his speech was somewhat slurred. He didn't seem to notice at all that Wu Sangui's expression turned ugly after hearing his words.

"No, I just remembered that Jianlin went to Beijing. Maybe she can help you if you go there for treatment." Wu Sangui said this while looking at Xia Jianguo.