I told Wang Ping everything about Chen Jian's discovery of rice, including all the results of my discussions with Chen Jian.

Wang Ping's face also lit up with joy, his smile revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Rice? How could there be rice here? Has the grain already grown?"

I shook my head: "There's no result yet. I don't know why there's this stuff. Maybe it's seeds brought by people from wrecked ships that have been found here before, or maybe it was grown by the local savages. Anyway, I'm not really sure. But the rice seedlings are growing very well. Chen Jian said he wants to think of a way to see if we can put up a fence there. If we can really manage this rice paddy, we can not only get seeds, but also cultivate it on a large scale in the future. Right now, we'll have solved the problem of not being able to eat rice and carbohydrates."

Wang Ping nodded, his face full of excitement.

"Alright, I'll go up the mountain first to get a few saws and a few knives, and then call some people over. You wait here for now."

After saying that, he turned around and went up the mountain.

Xiao Qiang stood beside me the whole time, still looking at the muddy footprint with a worried expression, her brows furrowed tightly.

"Sihai, under the current circumstances, I think we shouldn't send a large number of people away. Otherwise, if something is lurking behind us and wants to harm us, the camp will be left unguarded, and the losses will be even greater."

Xu Wei shook her head, which was unusual for her.

"I think it's so bright now, even if something wants to cause us trouble, it probably wouldn't dare to be so blatant, right? Brother Sihai said they found rice seedlings there, and I think that's quite important. Let's go take care of that first."

Xiao Qiang glanced at Xu Wei, and a look of great dissatisfaction suddenly appeared on her face.

"So what do you mean? Do you think I'm doing something unnecessary? Don't forget that when we went mushroom picking, it was still broad daylight, but so what? These short-legged birds still disappeared without a trace, didn't they?"

Xu Wei fell silent after being rebuked by Xiao Qiang.

Fearing the two women might start arguing, I quickly gestured for them to stop.

"Alright, ancestors, we're in dire straits right now, and you two still have time to bicker? If these short-legged birds are caught, we won't even be able to eat eggs. I think you should hurry back and get some more vines. Once we've dealt with these rice seedlings, I'll take you back to the shrubbery tomorrow to catch more short-legged birds. Otherwise, if we encounter another rainy season with torrential rain, we might not even be able to eat."

Xiao Qiang and Xu Wei rolled their eyes at each other, then ignored me and turned back up the mountain.

I'm having a terrible headache. There are so many women, it's really a problem. One after another, they're all getting angry at me, and I can't do anything about it.

A short while later, Wang Ping led five or six male colleagues down the mountain, including Bai Wei.

Each of them carried something in their hands—a small shovel, a basket, or a rope. They were quite well-prepared.

I led them back in the direction of Chen Jian, telling them about the situation in the area along the way. However, I was also a little conflicted about whether or not to tell them about my discovery of the jade mine.

But then I thought, maybe now is not the time, let's talk about it later.

But when we returned to that place with our men, we found that Chen Jian was nowhere to be found.

It was very quiet all around, and the rice seedlings still stood there as if no one had ever been there.

I looked around with some confusion and called out Chen Jian's name loudly.

But no one responded when I called out twice. My heart tightened. Could it be that Chen Jian had been attacked and injured?

But if we were really attacked, there's no way I wouldn't have heard a single gunshot, right?

Moreover, there was no blood on the ground, so where did this person go?

"Let's be careful. You all spread out for a bit, I'll take another look inside."

I looked at Wang Ping and whispered the instructions. Wang Ping nodded and immediately led several male colleagues to quickly disperse to both sides.

I, on the other hand, gripped the large machete that Wang Ping had brought with him and carefully walked to the rice paddy.

Just as I was about to call Chen Jian's name again, I looked down and saw that Chen Jian was lying sprawled on the ground, his gun was long gone, and there were even a few muddy footprints on his body.

The moment I saw the muddy footprints clearly, I was stunned and my mind went blank.

Because this muddy footprint was exactly the same one I had found on the rock face at the foot of our mountain before, and it was even the same size.

I was shocked. If Chen Jian died, what would happen to Liu Jiaojiao?

They had only just started dating, how could Liu Jiaojiao possibly accept such an outcome?

I took a deep breath, carefully approached Chen Jian, and pulled him up. Only then did I realize that Chen Jian was covered in mud from head to toe and was completely still.

Several of the rice seedlings were even broken by the weight of the weight.

But now I have no mind to care about those rice seedlings.

I grabbed Chen Jian and started climbing up. Wang Ping and the others heard the commotion and rushed over to help me drag Chen Jian to the flat ground to the side.

I almost immediately touched Chen Jian's nose to check for breath, and found that he was breathing; he had just been knocked unconscious.

"There might be something around, let's be careful."

I looked at Wang Ping, who had also become alert by now. The other male colleagues who didn't have any tools also picked up stones and sticks and stood around him.

We surrounded Chen Jian and immediately started patting his face.

But after patting him several times, he didn't react at all. However, judging from his current condition, he should be out of danger.

“This place is too dangerous. Let’s go back first. We can leave these rice seedlings here. If they belong to us, then it shouldn’t be a problem to come back tomorrow. But if these rice seedlings don’t belong to us, leaving them here will only increase the danger.”

Wang Ping and the others nodded in agreement. They quickly lifted Chen Jian up and hurriedly returned to the cliff.

When we got back, Liu Jiaojiao was washing clothes under the waterfall. When she saw us carrying Chen Jian back, she immediately turned red with fright and rushed over to look Chen Jian up and down.

"Brother Sihai, what's wrong with him?"

"He probably just fainted. Let's carry him back to your treehouse, change his clothes, give him some water, and check him for any injuries."

Liu Jiaojiao didn't even have time to wash her clothes, so she threw them off on the stone bench next to her and followed us back to the top of the mountain.

Once they reached the mountaintop, Liu Jiaojiao quickly changed Chen Jian's clothes and gave him some water.

I had some doubts in my mind, so I waited at the door of Chen Jian's treehouse for more than three hours before Chen Jian finally woke up slowly.