Sun Jian first had the bandit with the scarred face handed over to the authorities, and then directed the villagers to begin setting up traps.

The villagers rushed to be the first to volunteer.

Following Sun Jian's instructions and the arrangements made by Lao Cao and others, they got to work.

In just one day, the village underwent a complete transformation.

Of the five roads leading to the village entrance, three were blocked, leaving only one entrance and one exit.

There weren't many traps in the import; the main purpose was to allow the bandits to enter in their entirety.

Sun Jian reminded the villagers who were lying in ambush at the entrance of the village that after seeing the bandits, they must let them in. They must not alert the bandits. They should wait until other traps in the village were triggered and the bandits turned to run away before blocking the entrance with huge iron logs to trap them.

As for the village, there are many more traps.

Not only did each household set up traps here and there, but even at the entrances of village lanes, forks in the road, and open spaces, huge iron logs, giant fire-rolling stones, and all sorts of trap devices were set up.

To prevent the bandits from escaping, Sun Jian also ordered his men to set up barricades, spikes, and caltrops around the perimeter of the village's breach.

After the bandits suffered heavy losses and realized they couldn't turn back, they had no choice but to escape through the only exit.

At that time, the villagers who were lying in ambush on the road leading out of the village will simply cast a giant net, ensuring that none of them can escape.

All the traps were interconnected, making them almost flawless!

The villagers who participated in setting the trap all admired Sun Jian. They praised his wisdom to the skies, saying he was practically a celestial being descended to earth.

In just one day, people called Sun Jian a medical genius, a military genius, and a thunder god, while Sun Jian couldn't stop laughing.

"Alright, everyone, listen to me. Although the setup has been successfully completed, in order to prevent a sudden attack by bandits, I intend for the villagers who remain at the village exit and entrance to work hard for the next few days, stay at their posts, and rest in place."

"As for the grain, the village chief will send someone to deliver it. If you have wives, children, or elderly relatives at home, the village chief will also take care of each household."

Sun Jian issued another order to the crowd, but this time it worked perfectly, and no one raised any objections.

"Sun Jian, this old man is curious about something..."

"you say."

Village chief Sun Liangzhi frowned and asked, "If the bandits really entered the village overnight, why did they only allow the villagers guarding the entrance to lie in ambush, instead of letting the elderly, women, and children in the village move into the dug-out cellars?"

"There's no need for that. There's only one way for the bandits to get into the village. We just need to set up two sentries on the small hill to the west. When they see the bandits rushing in from a distance, they can go down the slope and beat a gong to warn the village. The bandits are far away, so we don't have to worry about alerting them."

"I see."

Sun Liangzhi suddenly realized.

Sun Jian turned to Cao Cao and Jiang Ziya and said, "Cao Cao, Jiang Ziya, I'll leave the guard duty to you two."

"Don't worry, Sun Jian, we will definitely stay focused and won't make any mistakes."

"Yeah, you two are naturally cautious, I trust you."

"Alright, everyone else, go home and rest."

Seeing that everything was arranged, Sun Jian didn't linger any longer. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the village chief and several respected elders, he took Chu Qingcheng and the others home.

After arriving home, the three women looked at Sun Jian with admiration and insisted that he tell them how he had developed the "hand grenade".

Sun Jian had anticipated this turn of events and could only patiently explain to the three women.

But he found that the more he explained, the more technical terms came up, and the three women couldn't understand a word he said.

"Yes! Husband, just tell us! Are you a celestial being descended to earth? Are you the God of Literature, the God of War, or perhaps the God of War?"

"Yes, yes, and those traps... I've never seen them before, like the sensor-activated ballista and the intelligent giant trap net..."

"Yes! We've never seen you make this before, and we've never seen you take it out. It just suddenly appeared out of nowhere in our yard?"

"I remember now, the compound bow and those potatoes also appeared out of thin air..."

Sun Jian sighed in exasperation, realizing that the more he tried to explain, the worse it got.

The more I explained to them, the more questions they had. They were like curious kittens, constantly pestering me to tell them.

In the end, Sun Jian had no choice but to shut down all their questions with a single sentence.

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed!"

Just as Zhou Wan'er was about to ask something, there was a knock on the front door.

"Who is it? It's so late at night, can't a person get any sleep?"

Helpless, Sun Jian pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard.

“Sun Jian, it’s me.”

The voice of village chief Sun Liangzhi rang out at the door.

Upon opening the door, he saw the village chief carrying two dusty jars of old wine, looking at him with gratitude.

"Seeing that you've had a long day, I had my wife bring out some fine wine that we've been saving for five years and haven't been able to bring ourselves to drink, just to treat you."

“We almost used this wine to pay for grain last year, but my wife absolutely refused, so we kept it. We haven’t been able to bring ourselves to drink it all these years. These two jars of wine are the only valuable things we have at home.”

"I'm bringing you this today for two reasons: first, because you've done so much for our village; and second, because you've given many people in the village food and a way to make a living. As the village chief, I should thank you."

It's clear that village chief Sun Liangzhi is sincere, but Sun Jian isn't someone who seeks profit in everything.

“Village chief, don’t say that. Whether it’s asking the villagers to help me farm or dealing with the bandits this time, it’s mostly for my own safety.”

Sun Jian was telling the truth. Giving the villagers food was essentially making them work for him. This kind of work, where they only received food but not wages, was just a labor exchange, nothing noble.

As for dealing with the bandits, it was because his entire family of four lived in the village, and there was still plenty of grain; the potatoes had just been planted.

Rather than saying he was helping the villagers, it would be more accurate to say he was exploiting them, but everyone was satisfied with this exploitation, each getting what they needed.

"I can't accept this wine. Take it back."

Seeing Sun Jian decline, the village chief's face turned awkward. "Sun Jian, don't underestimate these two jars of wine. In these days, they're worth at least a hundred catties of grain!"

"These two jars of cheap wine can be exchanged for a hundred catties of grain? Are you kidding me?"

"A hundred catties of grain could be exchanged for several war wives; this old man is absolutely talking nonsense!"

Sun Jian rolled his eyes at the village chief, thinking this to himself, but he didn't say it aloud.

After all, they came with good intentions to deliver it, so we can't just ignore them.

"I really didn't offer a discount. These two jars of wine are absolutely rare and excellent! They're the most valuable thing in our village!"

"This...this is what everyone wants, you...you should accept it."