“Brother Dayong, I’m afraid you’ll need to go to Yongguan County with Brother Dameng.”
"Now?"
“Yes, now,” Qiao Lian’er whispered to Qiao Dayong.
Qiao Dayong's expression immediately turned serious: "We must go, otherwise if we are found out, it will be a big problem."
He immediately went to find Da Meng, and Da Meng's face tightened upon hearing this.
The two entered the room next to the main hall, and soon came out hurriedly with the swords wrapped in cloth, then got into the carriage.
Xiao Meng stood guard at the door, watching out for Song Ruier's next mischief.
Da Yong drove the carriage away, and the Qiao family understood what had happened. They then used bricks to fill in the sword pit that had been dug.
"Amitabha, Amitabha, thankfully I haven't forgotten this." Old Mrs. Qiao patted her chest, still shaken.
Old Qiao sat under the eaves, smoking his pipe, his face silent. He looked up and saw a bright moon hanging high in the sky, with the stars clearly visible.
He sighed. Under the bright full moon, where there should have been peace and tranquility on earth, this great calamity had to befall them.
"And what about the Xinghe family? The county government just gave them two taels of silver as a reward. Could it be taken away?"
“Grandpa, no, Brother Xinghe just passed the imperial examination and became a scholar with a stipend. He doesn’t usually have to pay taxes or perform corvée labor, so naturally he doesn’t have to pay taxes on occasions like this,” Qiao Lian’er said.
In the surrounding villages, he was the only student to receive government stipends, which was quite remarkable. He also received praise and favor from the county government. No matter what, those people had to follow the rules and laws. It wasn't worth offending a future official for two taels of silver.
They still have that much money.
"That's good."
Old Man Qiao thought of his relatives in the Qiao family again and sighed inwardly. At this critical moment, there was nothing he could do.
Da Yong and Da Meng returned in the middle of the night. Following Qiao Lian'er's instructions, they hid the swords in the abandoned courtyard where A Da and the others lived.
"Why are you only getting back now?" Boss Qiao asked.
“We moved all the piles of firewood aside, dug a pit, put the sword underneath, filled it in, and put the firewood back on top, packing it down tightly,” Da Meng said.
The entire night was spent in Datian Village, filled with a sense of urgency and tension. Even the village dogs seemed to sense this atmosphere, barking all night long.
As dawn approached, people were still carrying torches and grain up the mountain.
Qiao Lian'er shook his head. If one or two, three or four families hid grain like this, then perhaps they could still hide it. But if every household did this, it would be tantamount to telling the grain requisitioners to just go up the mountain and move the grain.
Even if they move everything, more will be taken away than if they left it at home.
“What’s strange is that when we passed by the Song family’s courtyard, we saw that there were no lights or torches in the house. It seemed like the whole family was asleep and not worried at all. It was like this both times,” Qiao Dayong said.
Da Meng: "Logically speaking, given how stingy and miserly Old Lady Song is, she should be more nervous than anyone else. Could it be that her family has already hidden all the grain and silver? But even if they have hidden it, how can they sleep so peacefully?"
Everyone else was restless; some were sitting in the courtyard, some were pacing back and forth, and some were crying.
However, the Song family exuded an eerie calm, as if the collapse of the sky had nothing to do with them.
This is absolutely not in line with the Song family's character.
Even the Qiao family, having made ample preparations, barely slept that night, because a torrential downpour was imminent and would drench everyone on their heads.
Qiao Lian'er then thought that last night, Song Rui'er still had the mind to peek at the Qiao family's situation, and even Fu Sheng and Acang had no mind to run around.
Something felt off.
"They're here! They're here!" A villager shouted suddenly, looking in the direction of the road, as if he had seen a ghost.
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