Jiang Yimian breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she didn't find it by following her, it at least proved that her abilities hadn't declined.
However, what she heard from outside reminded her that the place where she farmed was barely considered to be on the outskirts of the mountains, and given that it had been burned by wildfires, the refugees would surely take a chance and not worry about encountering wild animals in the vicinity, and would probably come looking for her sooner or later.
She had to set up some larger traps in the woods near the field, preferably trapping people so they couldn't go any further in.
Old Liu often went to check on the crops in the fields, so he was easily spotted.
Seeing the girl's tension disappear and her face brighten again, Lu Cijian paused for a moment and asked curiously, "Are you very concerned about how I found the small depression?"
The girl in front of me was very different. She didn't seem to be a woman from a farming family. Her courage and the way she casually threatened people were very different from ordinary women.
Jiang Yimian simply replied, "I don't mind."
Lu Cijian didn't believe it and was about to say something more when Zhao Xing'er called everyone to eat.
Dinner was a feast, with a whole table full of dishes. There was a stewed rabbit and mushroom soup, as well as various stir-fried wild vegetables, yams, tofu, and konjac stir-fried with pickled peppers. In addition, Lu Cijian brought a pheasant, and a large pot of chicken was stir-fried. The children were so tempted that they swallowed their saliva.
Lu Cijian was surprised to see that there were few dishes on the table that he didn't recognize. However, seeing that everyone was eating with relish, he hesitated and tried them, only to be surprised by what he found.
Every dish was delicious and had a unique flavor, which made him eat with great relish, and he even had an extra bowl of rice.
For the first time in several months since they came up the mountain, they had a satisfying and full meal.
Compared to what these people ate, his daily roasted rabbit and pheasant tasted utterly bland.
Everyone enjoyed the meal, and with the matter of getting rid of Liu Dafei and his brothers, they all breathed a sigh of relief and chatted about other things in a rare moment of leisure.
The crowd dispersed only when the moon was high in the sky.
The tranquility of the small depression is something you can't find outside.
Liu Dafei and his companions were so frightened that they ran all the way back to the place where the refugees had gathered, until it was completely dark.
As soon as they returned, Wang Zhuzi summoned them away.
Wang Zhuzi noticed that the men's faces were all pale, and frowned slightly. "How are you? Did you run into anyone else?"
Liu Dafei hesitated for a long time before shaking his head, when he saw the short man clench his fist, and instantly the sound of his knuckles rubbing together made a "crack" sound, which startled him so much that he couldn't help but swallow.
My legs, which were already trembling from exhaustion, became even weaker.
He quickly corrected himself, saying, "Yes, we met someone from our village."
Wang Zhuzi was finally satisfied. "How many people do they have? Do they have a lot of food?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaofei immediately understood what the others meant and nodded, saying, "We didn't see much grain, but they all looked plump and healthy, none of them thin or frail. They must have hidden a lot of grain."
I reckon there should be four adults and four or five teenagers.”
When he saw Liu Dafei almost being strangled to death, he panicked and only remembered who the girl who was strangling him was halfway there.
Although she looked much better, he still recognized her as the girl from the eldest branch of the Jiang family.
They immediately realized that Old Man Liu's family and the Jiang family's eldest son were hiding in the mountains.
Having figured all this out, he only regretted leaving like that. When Wang Zhuzi asked him, he immediately spilled the beans and told him everything in detail.
After Liu Xiaofei finished speaking, seeing that Wang Zhuzi did not speak, he hurriedly cried out, "Brother Wang, you must help us teach those people a lesson! We are all from the same village. We only asked a few questions, and those people tied us up and beat us up. They are so ruthless and do not care about family ties at all."
Since Old Liu disregards family ties and ignores them, it's no wonder he acts like a villain.
The short man frowned as he listened, about to tell Liu Xiaofei to shut up.
Wang Zhuzi gave a wink, signaling the other party not to move. He then said, "You've suffered today. Tomorrow at dawn, I'll take a few brothers to take a look. Would you be willing to lead the way?"
"Don't worry, if we manage to seize any food, we definitely won't let you two brothers go hungry."
Upon hearing this, Liu Dafei and the others breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.
Wang Zhuzi simply told them it was getting late and they should go back to rest. Only after everyone had left did he lose his smile.
The shorter man frowned. "Brother, are we really going? What if these guys are trying to scam us?"
Although Wangjia Village had many able-bodied men, the journey of fleeing famine was long, and many of them were seriously injured along the way.
If a few more are lost this time, the villagers probably won't be happy.
Wang Zhuzi naturally thought of these things and said, "Take fifteen able-bodied men, half of whom are villagers and half of whom are refugees. If Liu Xiaofei is not lying, these men are more than enough. Those old, weak, sick, and disabled men are no match for them. Those who know what's good for them will hand over the grain. We don't need to lift a finger."
The short man reminded him, "Zhao Dashu and the other two are also there."
None of those three were fools. The reason they were willing to follow those people was either because there was something to gain from it, or because those people were very powerful.
He had a bad feeling, sensing that those people were not easy to deal with.
Although these refugees on the mountain may obey them for now, they will surely run away faster than anyone else if they encounter danger. In that case, the people of Wangjia Village will definitely suffer the most.
Wang Zhuzi frowned, hesitating for a moment.
Suddenly, a pitiful voice rang out from not far away, "Daddy, I'm hungry! When will we be able to eat our fill? Waaah!"
The little boy looked about four or five years old. He was thin and had sunken cheeks. Only his big eyes were open, which looked a bit scary.
When Wang Zhuzi saw his son coming over, he quickly took out half a dry biscuit that had been sitting in his pocket for who knows how long, handed it over and said with a smile, "It'll be quick, Daqiang, don't worry. Here, take the biscuit back and share it with your mother."
Wang Zhuzi pointed to the emaciated woman lying on the ground with her eyes closed, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.
Daqiang then wiped away his tears, took the pancake, and went to the woman's side.
The woman weakly opened her eyes and shook her head. Her face was as pale as paper, and she looked as if she could be blown away by the wind. She had obviously been starving for many days.
But she didn't take the half-eaten, hard, dry biscuit; instead, she pushed it to the child.
The short man fell silent for a moment upon seeing this scene.
If life were stable, who wouldn't want to be a good person? But now that people are lacking food and clothing, they don't even know if they'll be the next to starve to death, so they can't care about anything else.
Even if Liu Dafei and his brothers conspired with the people in the mountains to cheat them, they still had to go.
Having figured this out, he immediately said, "Brother Wang, don't worry, I'll go find a few strong men right now, and we'll go into the mountains first thing tomorrow morning."
They only cared about the food; if those people were willing to share the food, they naturally wouldn't kill them.
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