Jiang Yimian felt that something was not right.
Sure enough, Liu Dayong soon summoned all the families to Liu's courtyard.
Apart from the three children who were playing with Mimi, all the families had arrived.
Gou Sheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "Grandpa, Uncle Liu, what's wrong? You don't look too well."
Old Liu frowned for a while before saying, "Today, Dayong and I went to the outskirts of the mountain and saw a few villagers."
They originally wanted to see how many refugees had come to the mountain, but unexpectedly they heard several familiar voices.
Gou Sheng and Jiang Yimian were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other.
Seeing the strange expressions on their faces, Old Liu asked curiously, "Yimian, Gousheng, do you two know that the villagers have returned?"
After thinking for a while, Gou Sheng told everyone what had happened that day.
I thought everyone might be worried about the villagers, but they all seemed calm and didn't feel much. It wasn't until they heard that many people had been killed by bandits that they involuntarily trembled.
They had experienced the ferocity of bandits firsthand, and hearing about their killings again still made them shudder.
Liu Xiaoyun's voice trembled as she still cursed, "Those bandits are all bastards, with many lives on their hands. I just hope the government can arrest them as soon as possible."
Liu Dayong nodded angrily, "That's right, these bandits are really despicable. They should be tortured severely even in the underworld. I wonder how things are in the county, and when the government troops will come to suppress them."
Mountain bandits gathered at the foot of the mountain, making it impossible for the displaced people to return home. They wandered the mountain, disturbing their peace.
Seeing that Old Man Liu remained silent, Jiang Yimian asked curiously, "Grandpa, do you know who has returned?"
Old Liu snorted coldly and said irritably, "Who else could it be but the Da Fei brothers?"
He could hear the two families cursing and blaming each other from afar, but he didn't even bother to look and left.
Those two brothers were wicked; they didn't farm properly when they were in the village, and they were always eyeing their older brother's meager savings for his funeral.
He felt that his brother was driven to his death by his two good-for-nothing sons.
The main group from the village hadn't returned yet, but these two families had already arrived.
Upon hearing that it was those two brothers, Zhao Xing'er's face immediately darkened.
These two brothers were already eyeing their own family's grain and silver, but before fleeing the famine, they even had their eyes on their family's. If she and Dayong hadn't driven both families away, those people might have just started robbing them.
Those two companies were the last thing I wanted to see, but they came back anyway.
Wang Fengqin didn't like the two brothers much either. Seeing that the Liu family was quite angry, she quickly said, "They're back, so what? They can't possibly come looking for us. Even if they do, we don't need to be afraid of them. We'll just drive them away."
With so many people in that small depression, they're not afraid of those few lazybones.
They heard he was injured, so they have even less to worry about.
Old Liu nodded repeatedly, puffing out his beard and glaring, "If they dare to come, I'll definitely teach them a lesson. Alright, don't mention them, it's annoying to even hear about them. Let's be careful when we go out in the future, so we don't get followed without even knowing it."
Everyone responded and didn't bring it up again.
*
Days passed by, and the small depression remained peaceful as ever. The idyllic life brought joy to the families.
Zhao Xing'er also began to twist the cut hemp fibers into threads, bundle them into balls, and then use glutinous rice paste to strengthen them before weaving.
The glutinous rice was newly harvested this year, and there wasn't much of it. Several families each received a few dozen kilograms. We originally planned to save it for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the Dragon Boat Festival next year, but we ended up using it here first.
Several women chatted and laughed as they helped twist the thread.
Jiang Yimian, on the other hand, was curious and watched the others' techniques from the side.
While twisting the thread, Zhao Xing'er asked curiously, "Xiao Yun, what has Gou Sheng been busy with lately? He's been running to the woodshed all day. A few days ago, he even went with Da Shu and the others to cut down a tree. What are they planning to make furniture from?"
Wang Fengqin was also somewhat curious.
She'd seen Gou Sheng busy these past few days, but she didn't know what he was busy with.
Liu Xiaoyun continued twisting the thread in her hands, but said helplessly, "Who knows what that child is busy with? He won't tell us when we ask, and he won't let us go to the woodshed. He's acting all mysterious and very strange."
As she finished speaking, she caught sight of Jiang Yimian and quickly asked, "Yimian, do you know what Gousheng is busy with? You kids certainly don't have that many secrets."
The other two also looked at Jiang Yimian, their eyes filled with intense curiosity.
Jiang Yimian was a little embarrassed and just made up a story: "I don't know what Gousheng is doing either. He just said he's making something. I guess we'll know in a few days."
Only she and Gousheng knew about making the wheelchair. Although Zhao Dashu and the other two helped Gousheng, they knew nothing about what he was making and couldn't understand it, so they didn't ask any questions and just did what he was told.
Knowing that Gousheng wanted to do it all by himself and give Chen Tiezhu a surprise, Jiang Yimian didn't plan to tell anyone else. When others asked, she just said she didn't know.
Seeing that they couldn't get any information from them, the women changed the subject and started talking about other things.
Jiang Yimian finally breathed a sigh of relief and quietly went to play with the children.
She's better at entertaining children.
Liu Dayong has been patrolling outside these past few days, occasionally going to the fields to help Old Man Liu weed. He looks exceptionally energetic and shows no signs of fatigue.
Chen Tiezhu would also come out from time to time to bask in the sun, feed the chickens, and weave baskets.
Everyone was busy, but everyone was happy.
The small depression is actually a different world.
The number of refugees on the mountain has increased considerably. Some of them refused to listen to Wang Zhuzi and his group and were driven to remote corners of the forest.
All the good spots were taken by Wang Zhuzi and his group, leaving only weeds and thorns for everyone else.
Fortunately, at this critical moment, no one cared where they were; all they wanted was to get some sleep.
After all, they were refugees who had been fleeing famine for months, and they had slept in all sorts of places.
Li Xiaofang looked at the overgrown ground with displeasure and muttered under her breath, "We were given some food, so why are we being put here?"
Not only that, but the ground is also covered in grass. Look at the ground where Wang Zhuzi and his group are standing; there's not a single weed on it. It's the flattest patch. They really know how to bully people.
If they had known, they would have preferred not to hand over the grain at all, instead of wasting several meals. Now they are completely out of food.
Seeing his wife start nagging again, Liu Dafei felt a headache coming on, and his already painful wound became even more painful. Just then, a cry came from the side.
"Waaah, I'm hungry, Daddy, I want to eat, Heiwa is hungry."
Liu Dafei got a headache listening to this and said irritably, "Xiaofei, go and comfort your son. You're giving me a headache. Take good care of your son. Everyone's hungry, the more you yell, the hungrier he gets."
Liu Xiaofei was also annoyed by what he was hearing, and his face was bruised and swollen. Now, with a fierce look in his eyes, he looked even more terrifying.
He slapped Heiwa across the face and cursed, "Your father is hungry too, get out of here."
Heiwa was stunned for a moment after being hit, then he cried even louder, howling in the woods, "Waaah, I want my mother, father, I want my mother, waaah waaah."
For a moment, the entire forest was filled with Heiwa's cries.
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