“You…” she tried to say something, but was pushed to the ground by the surging crowd.

In the scuffle, her treasures were all snatched away, and the people even used them as a pledge of allegiance to Ziyang Peak.

She was so remorseful that she fainted on the ground.

Aunt Liu's family also ended up being driven away by Xie Xiao's orders from the Black Wind Stronghold brothers. As they left, they kept calling out General Li's name, but the Li family ignored them.

Because the refugees' surrender this time was more sincere, and Black Wind Village had a large population, maintaining order was easier than before.

Before long, a long queue formed at the entrance of Black Wind Stronghold, managed by Little Li.

The refugees who were clamoring to find Song Zhijing's hard-earned money were all driven to Beishan, leaving behind ordinary refugees for screening.

In comparison, Ziyang Peak seems rather deserted?

Because the people thought Li Ruo was a woman, and that she only had a small house that was intended to be used as a cenotaph, they didn't have much confidence in her.

This is the power of contrast.

Before Black Wind Stronghold provided them with aid, they all wanted to storm her little house.

That's fine too. Li Ruo initially just wanted to get rid of the troubles brought about by Song Zhijing's status as his wife, and didn't intend to recruit soldiers.

This situation is now completely unexpected.

It's clear that fortune and misfortune are intertwined. That idiot Miss Qiu, trying to mess with her, only gave Ziyang Peak an opportunity to rectify things; she deserves to cry her eyes out.

The number of people who want to join Ziyang Peak is relatively smaller than that of Heifeng Village, but in absolute terms, it is not small. There are more than a hundred people in line.

Li Ruo entrusted the task to her capable assistant Liao Fusheng, with the assistance of the four guards. The selection criteria were strict: no refugees, no one who had offended them, and no one who could be selected.

She'll probably have to borrow a few more people from Black Wind Stronghold; someone on the boat agreed to lend them out freely.

"Boss Xie," Li Ruo squeezed through the crowd, "I need to discuss something with you—"

"If you need anything, ask Sun Ergou." He walked away without even turning his head.

Li Ruo was stunned for a moment.

Is she suddenly being so cold? Are we no longer friends?

Li Ruo asked Sun Ergou, "You came because you received my signal arrow, didn't you?"

"Yes, the brothers guarding the gate received it and handed it over to me. As soon as I saw it, I did what you said before and went to the prison to fetch Steward Liu. But I ran into the boss at the gate and found out that he had already sent someone to infiltrate the refugees and leave spies on Ziyang Peak. Oh, that was mainly to protect my sister, don't overthink it. The spy told the boss about you, so he went to the prison to fetch him. That's why I came with the boss."

Li Ruo: ...Does that guy still have spies on Ziyang Peak?

"Isn't your boss very busy, dealing with things like resettling people and dealing with pigs running away?"

Sun Ergou chuckled, “Oh, that’s a small matter. The boss took care of it in no time. Besides, there’s the fourth and third leaders. How can they be leaders if they can’t even handle this little thing? When the boss heard that you were in trouble, he immediately went to the jail to drag that Steward Liu out. He was even faster than me. Because he was afraid of being late, he and the brothers rode horses together.”

"Oh." She thought it was just to show off.

"But why... does he seem angry with me?"

"Angry at you?" Sun Ergou thought for a moment. "Really? Boss is overjoyed. Sister spoke up for Boss and our Black Wind Stronghold in front of so many people, and even said that Boss is your good friend."

"You wouldn't believe it, our eldest brother's biggest idol is General Li. He used to secretly send food and supplies to the general's mansion from time to time, hehe, don't tell anyone I'll tell on you. I'm the general's daughter, and he really wants to be your friend."

"What you said... is true?" Is that how the case is solved?

So those food and supplies were a gift from him.

A surge of emotions welled up in Li Ruo's heart. This person...

However, it wasn't clear that he really wanted to be friends with her; every time he called her "friend," it was with a sarcastic tone.

Maybe he actually wants to be her brother or sister?

Yes, he admires her father so much that they became like siblings, so her father became his father too.

But most of the characters who played his brothers and sisters in the book are dead, so she really wasn't willing.

Sun Ergou said, "I think the boss is angry with me. He even kicked me twice on the way here while riding his horse, saying why I didn't tell him beforehand what you asked me to do."

"Really?" Li Ruo seemed thoughtful. "Thank you for your trouble and hard work."

To everyone's surprise, Sun Ergou immediately put on an angry look, "Sis, I won't allow you to say that! I'm only angry because you didn't come to me for help!"

Li Ruo was startled. "You're getting angry because I didn't ask you for help?"

Sun Ergou patted his chest and said, "Of course, if you don't come looking for me, you don't consider me a brother and you don't care about me."

"Oh." Li Ruo seemed to understand a little. "I'd like to visit your Black Wind Stronghold."

"OK."

Inside Black Wind Village.

Xie Xiao was having his wound aggravated by the aggravation of his injury, and was having the third leader apply medicine to him in his own house.

"I don't know how to tie those kinds of bows, Miss Li," the third leader shook his head.

"If you can't hit me, just lift up the cloth underneath and apply the medicine." Xie Xiao threw the whistling arrow in his hand to the ground.

Uncle Luo came in, picked up the whistle, and asked, "Whose is this?"

The third leader shrugged, indicating he didn't know and dared not ask, while the leader was like someone who had eaten kerosene, ready to ignite anything he said.

"Is there enough food?" Xie Xiao asked.

Uncle Luo said, "What do you mean by enough? If you're talking about enough, it will never be enough. Originally, it wouldn't have been a problem to support our village for several years."

But now that the village has suddenly recruited so many people, it's hard to say how much benefit it will bring.

With this rainy weather and winter approaching, nothing can be planted. Who knows what next year will bring?

Xie Xiao looked outside: "Let's think of another way. The grain by the Ru River is the hard-earned money of the people. It's a way of returning some of it to them. Besides, I never intended to let those disaster victims run rampant on the mountain."

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