Xie Zirui was confused. "Aunt, I'm not sick. I don't need any medicine."

Zhang went to the donkey cart and grabbed a handful of sour dates. She handed half of them to Xie Zirui.

"Zi Rui, your Uncle Yun said that you and Yi Yi encountered bandits from Qing Feng Village on the mountain today. So you went to your Uncle Wu to get some medicine to calm your nerves."

"You and Yiyi both need to drink it. The medicine is no longer hot, so you can drink it first. Afterwards, eat some sour dates to reduce the smell."

Xie Zirui looked helpless, "Aunt, I wasn't scared by the bandits from Qingfeng Village. Can I not take the medicine?"

Zhang said with a stern face, "No. If you don't take this medicine, you'll have nightmares and a fever at night."

"Okay, auntie, I'll take the medicine."

Xie Zirui pinched his nose and drank the medicine in one gulp.

The medicine was too bitter. He quickly put a few sour dates into his mouth.

Fortunately, the sour and sweet taste of the jujube quickly suppressed the smell of the medicine.

Zhang watched Xie Zirui finish the medicine and said, "Zirui, you are such an obedient child."

Xie Zirui smiled embarrassedly. He really didn't want to drink the medicine. It was too bitter.

Zhang took the bowl and the sour dates and went to find Yun Yiyi.

Brother Yun and the others looked at Zhang nervously.

Yiyi always has a bad temper when she wakes up. If she doesn't take the medicine, she doesn't know if Zhang will beat her.

Thinking of this, Brother Yun couldn't sit still any longer. He ran to Zhang and said, "Mom, I'll help you carry the medicine."

"Third brother, you are so sensible today."

"Mom. What are you saying? I have never been naive."

Soon, Zhang came to the side of the mat and said, "Yiyi, wake up and take your medicine."

As a result, Yun Yiyi turned over when she heard what Zhang said.

Zhang was so angry that she laughed. This little girl must have gone to bed early to avoid taking medicine.

Zhang picked up Yun Yiyi and said, "Yiyi, take the medicine quickly, or I won't let you go up the mountain tomorrow."

When Yun Yiyi heard this, she opened her eyes and said, "Mom, don't be like this. I'll just take the medicine."

Zhang laughed out loud, "You little bastard, you still want to fool me, your mother, even with this."

Yun Yiyi put her arms around Zhang's neck and said, "Mom, I don't have any."

Third Brother Yun handed over the medicine bowl and said, "Yiyi, here's the medicine. Drink it quickly, or it will get cold soon."

Yun Yiyi took the bowl of medicine and drank it in one gulp.

Wow, that's so bitter. Her eyebrows knitted together.

Zhang stuffed a few sour dates into Yun Yiyi's mouth, and then gave her the rest.

"Okay, Yiyi, go to sleep after you finish eating the sour dates."

"I know, Mom. You should go to bed early too."

Zhang and Third Brother Yun returned to the dining table. All the chestnuts had been shelled and crushed.

"Boss, there's a bigger mat in our donkey cart. Go get it."

"I'll wash the mats later, and then we can dry the chestnut flour."

"Okay, Mom, I'll get it now."

Brother Yun quickly found the mat, and everyone worked together to clean the mat and hang it up to dry.

It's cooler in the morning and evening now, and there's some wind, so I think the mat will dry out soon.

"Big Boss, take your brothers to bed. Your father said that Yiyi and Zirui just ran into bandits from Qingfeng Village who were gathering information in the mountains."

"However, those bandits didn't find Yiyi and Zirui."

"That's right, Auntie. Those bandits really didn't find Yiyi and me."

"Yiyi heard the noise of the Qingfeng Village bandits from far away, so we hid ourselves."

"Originally, Yiyi and I planned to go back to find Big Brother and the others. However, Yiyi said that the direction the bandits were heading in was different from the direction Big Brother and the others were going down the mountain."

"That's why we went straight down the mountain."

"So that's what happened. I was wondering why Dad gave you and Yiyi some medicine to calm your nerves."

"However, I didn't expect that the bandits from Qingfeng Village would actually come down the mountain to gather information."

"It's not surprising, brother. They don't know about the refugees outside of Shilin Town, so why don't they continue to move forward? They must be trying to get some information.

"Your father also went to a meeting with the village chief about this matter. So, now that you know, don't stay up all night and go to sleep."

"Mom, I'm going to take my brothers to bed."

"Go ahead. I still have to wait for your father to come back."

"Mom, don't go to bed too late."

Zhang waved her hand, "Okay, I understand."

Brother Yun took his younger brothers to bed.

Zhang cleaned the chopping board, the kitchen knife, and the dining table and set them aside to dry.

She touched the mat again, and it was almost dry due to the wind.

So Zhang brought over a large pile of firewood she had gathered that day, spread it out flat, and laid the mat on top.

Next, Zhang scattered the crushed chestnuts on the mat one handful at a time.

The mat was still a little small, and there were still quite a few chestnuts left.

So Zhang found another mat, washed it with water, and hung it up to dry.

At this time, the night was already very quiet.

However, through the light, Zhang could see that there were still many people gathered around the village chief in a meeting in the distance.

However, the bandits in Qingfeng Village were too powerful, and no one could think of a solution. It was estimated that it would not be long before Butcher Yun would return.

So Zhang blew out the oil lamp, put two spoonfuls of water in the iron pot, and started to boil it.

Zhang sat there, her chin resting on one hand. Soon, she was so sleepy that her head was nodding.

I don't know how much time passed. "Wife, you are sleepy, why don't you go to bed? Didn't I tell you not to wait for me?"

Zhang woke up with a start. "Boss, you're back. Why are you back so late?"

Butcher Yun sat down. "The village chief told everyone that they had spotted bandits from Qingfeng Village on the mountain today. Then everyone started discussing it heatedly again."

"Alas, everyone is panicking. However, Yiyi has already told everyone about our current situation, so despite everyone's panic, no one is talking about turning back."

"Wife, the village chief has sent people to Shilin Town to buy water and food. I want to go with them tomorrow. We have a lot of water at home, and I want to fill all our empty water bottles."

"Okay, boss. But you'd better go with Brother Wu next door. I'm worried if you go alone."

"Don't worry, I've already made an appointment with Brother Wu on the way back. We'll go to Shilin Town tomorrow morning and be back at noon."

Zhang asked, "Okay. But, head of the family, are we still going to let the children go to the mountains to pick wild vegetables tomorrow?"

Butcher Yun thought for a moment and said, "Let them go tomorrow. But you have to tell them not to go too far."