Feng Damancang and eighteen other men selected ten to accompany the bandits to Sihui.

In Shanshui Village, many men and women were injured, especially the Zhao and Sun families. Apart from the children, the adult men and women suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, Da Ni and the other five women took turns coming over to help cook a meal.

The remaining eight men have been helping these two families with manual labor these past few days, and also taking over the duties of those on duty and patrolling.

In the past, there was no need to participate in village duty and patrols, but the situation is special these days, and all those who are not injured have to take over.

It's no longer just about the safety of any one person in the village, but the safety of the entire village. If something happens, there will only be death or a fate worse than death.

Even the laziest Zhang Tuzi, after seeing Fan Qian and Fan Dazhu slacking off and the terrible mess they made, was so frightened that he went back with shaky legs and eyes glazed over. After that, he took the tasks assigned to him more seriously than ever before!

In his own words: I lie down for comfort, but can you lie down comfortably with broken arms and legs? I'm just lazy, not stupid, and I'm not afraid of pain. Of course I know how to choose.

Even Zhang the Bald obeyed orders and worked with utmost seriousness, not to mention the others.

The usually honest, unassuming Zhao and Sun families found their good reputation and popularity useful at this moment—the Ding family helped change the bandages, and other families helped feed the rabbits, chickens, ducks, and other livestock whenever they had free time. The two families were moved to tears every day.

Ding Jia and Hu Wenhua also helped out in the village, while only Hu's parents looked after the house.

Not only do we have to guard the house, but most importantly, we have a huge herd of livestock.

Although all the donkeys were sent out, there were still chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, rabbits, pigs... and so many others. The two of them were basically busy all day feeding so many animals.

Mrs. Hu took some time to prepare dinner, and stood at the door every now and then to peek out and see if the children had returned.

As dusk approached, she finally saw Shuiqing with her six children. She quickly turned around and went inside to instruct the head of the household to set out the dishes.

"Mother, my brother and Uncle Ding and Aunt Ding haven't come back yet. Let's eat together when they get back," Shuiqing said after looking around and not seeing the four of them.

"It's alright, there's food left in the pot, they can have something hot to eat when they get back. You eat first, there's still work to do after you finish." Hu's mother looked at the dark circles under Shui Qing's eyes and felt extremely distressed.

Looking at the six tired children, Butcher Hu grumbled for a long time and said, "Although it is necessary to keep watch at night, it is the family members who take turns to keep watch. As long as someone keeps watch, it is enough. Not everyone needs to stay up all night."

"You two eat quickly, then take a nap before going to relieve your father. He needs to rest too, otherwise he might not be able to climb the mountain tomorrow."

His son-in-law, though a scholar, is not as physically strong as himself!

I didn't sleep well last night, and I'll be staying up all night again tonight. Tomorrow morning I have to go hiking, and my body won't be able to handle it. I'll have to take turns.

Yan Qiu and the others obediently responded.

Shui Qing then said, "I'll bring him some food later so he can rest for a while."

Fan Dazhu now holds the key to the family storeroom. Even if he drags his bound, broken leg in to get grain, he resolutely refuses to hand over the key. Therefore, the amount of food his family cooks is always carefully controlled.

In the past, her mother-in-law was in charge of distributing the food. Now that her mother-in-law is gone, and her brother-in-law is lying on his bed, not knowing if he's still alive, Sun Jinhua screams in the house. So Fan Dazhu excitedly took over the task of distributing the food, but of course, there was no food for their family.

Sizhu explained that he had added extra water and that he would give his portion to them. Shuiqing glanced at the black vegetable paste and black steamed buns made by Sizhu and firmly shook her head.