After the old village chief returned, he gathered all the villagers together and told them what had happened. Seeing that they were silent, he did not urge them and just waited quietly.

The numb and empty eyes of the villagers were slowly filled with anger. One man cursed, "Damn it! I'm going to fight them! Why are they bullying me like this?"

"After paying taxes every year, we barely have enough to eat. If we give it to the bandits now, they will become stronger and stronger, and their appetites will inevitably be whetted."

"There's only one outcome waiting for us: being kept in captivity to grow food until we all die..."

When the woman heard this, she was so frightened that she started crying softly.

The atmosphere was extremely depressing for a while. Seeing this, the village chief said, "Don't be so discouraged, everyone. The opportunity we have been waiting for has come, but it also involves risks."

"If these people collude with the bandits, we will die even faster. So those villagers who are willing to stay raise their hands, and those who don't want to stay go hide in the mountains."

The villagers were silent for a moment and then raised their hands.

He said angrily, "Since you have seen it clearly, then you must be right. We have had enough of being bullied."

"Just take a gamble, even if it's just a gamble!"

The strong men whispered, "However, the women and children must move to the mountain. If there is a fire in the threshing ground, it means there is no danger down there. You can go down then."

"If you don't receive the signal, then find a way to survive in the mountains. Even if you die in the mountains, it's better than being brought up there and humiliated."

The villagers did not sleep that night and were mostly worried. The horror of the bandits had long been engraved in their hearts, like a mountain. They knew they should resist but they were afraid.

The next morning, the villagers began to slaughter pigs. There were less than three days until the bandits came down the mountain, so instead of giving them away at a low price, they would rather eat the pigs themselves.

When I thought of this, the panic didn't get any better.

Jiang Sheng and his companions didn't know about the changes in the village, so they took people to the back mountain to hunt, so that they could send some prey to the village chief to thank him for letting them stay temporarily.

The drizzle continued, and when Yang Er and his companions returned to the yard, they were all soaked.

After changing clothes and drinking ginger soup, I felt much better.

"Sir, why don't you take these rabbits and goats to the village chief? It's raining and it's not suitable to travel quickly. It's just right to stay for three days and deal with the bandits before leaving."

Jiang Sheng nodded and sat at the table drinking hot tea.

"You go and deliver the prey. Just leave a few for us to eat. Tell the village chief not to worry. They will withdraw when the time comes."

Yang Er nodded, turned around and left with his hat.

Not long after, the man came back with a happy look on his face, and shouted: "Sir, the village chief said that we should eat the pig-killing meal, so don't cook for yourself. He started busying himself early in the morning."

"Oh, that's fine too. I heard the pig-killing dishes in the village are delicious. We can go and help out later. We can't just sit there and eat for free."

Several people said in unison: "Yes, sir."

*

When the villagers were busy, someone noticed them coming and looked at them in surprise, as if a little dazed.

Jiang Sheng walked up to the village chief and said gently, "Village chief, if there is anything we can do, just leave it to us. We'll trouble you for the next three days."

"... Your Excellency, this is something you don't need to do. We can do it all. You just wait and eat."

"Haha, that won't do. It's great that you can give us a place to live. How can we wait for you to make delicious food? How about this, we can help you chop wood and weave things."

When the village chief heard him say this, he no longer refused.

The tasks were assigned in a few words. Jiang Sheng, who looked like a weak scholar, was naturally assigned to weave things. This was a job he was familiar with, and he was very happy doing it.

It was Bei Yueli's first time doing it, and her fingers were pricked from time to time, causing her eyebrows to twitch in pain. The next moment, her hand was pulled away.

Jiang Sheng quickly grabbed a layer of cloth and let go.

"I'm so sorry. If you do it this way, you won't get pricked. Be careful and don't rush. This happens the first time."

Wang Tiezhu looked at him secretly from time to time, with confusion in his eyes. It was incredible that such a young man could be so familiar with weaving baskets.

Jiang Sheng noticed the gaze and turned to look over. He had a gentle smile on his face and looked very approachable. He was definitely not as unattainable as those nobles.

"What's wrong, Brother Wang? Is it because I didn't write it well?"

"...No, no, no, that's not the case. Your Excellency made it up very well. I didn't expect you to know this. I thought you were well-fed and well-mannered, so you shouldn't be able to do this."

"Haha, I'm not some nobleman, I'm just a young man who likes to travel around. I have to learn more when I'm away from home. I can't rely on others for everything."

Wang Tiezhu nodded when he heard this, thinking that such a noble person was good, he didn't look scary and was easy to talk to.

Bei Yueli looked at the vines that had spread out again, her head drooping in frustration, and she whispered, "I... still can't weave it. It turns out it looks so simple, but it's so hard to do."

Jiang Sheng pursed her lips and smiled, saying softly, "It's okay, Miss Bei, go take a walk and have a look, and then come back to write it."

"I'm sorry, I'm so stupid."

"Then I'll go to my aunts' place and see if there's any work. I can wash vegetables."

Soon the busy morning passed, the air was filled with the aroma of meat, and the children were running around with bright smiles on their faces.

They didn't feel fear, they only knew that they could eat meat.

The rain had stopped at noon, but the sky was still gloomy, which made people feel depressed and uncomfortable.

The village chief had a long table set up in the yard, and pots of pig-killing dishes were brought to the table. He invited everyone to come and eat. Each person held a bowl and stood to take whatever they wanted to eat.

The children were eating with smiles and giggles on their faces. The women felt sad when they saw this. They didn't know how many people would survive this time, so they sighed deeply in their hearts.

Bei Yueli looked at the pots of food being brought up like they were being fed to animals, and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Seeing that they were eating happily, I tentatively picked up a dumpling. When I took a bite, the tender meat juice gushed out and my eyes lit up instantly. Hmm, it doesn't look good, but it tastes delicious.

As I was thinking this, I saw that there were fewer and fewer dumplings in the bowl.

Seeing that she was eating so slowly, Jiang Sheng knew that it would be impossible to grab the dumplings after she finished. So he took a bamboo bowl, picked up a few and placed it directly in front of her.

He whispered, "Eat it, so you don't have to fight over it."

Bei Yueli looked at the bamboo bowl, then at the person chatting and laughing with the villagers, and her heart was filled with ripples. He was really attentive. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she ate in small bites.

After the pig-slaughtering meal, the villagers became more familiar with Yang Er and his friends and were no longer so afraid of them.

After all, the higher their martial arts skills, the better they are at killing bandits.

The villagers were soundly asleep at night, and they had no idea that the bandits, who had no intention of coming as agreed this time, were rushing towards the village with great momentum.

Yang Er, who was guarding the tree, opened his eyes suddenly, licked his lips, his eyes full of bloodthirstiness, and his figure disappeared in a flash.