The county government's announcement clearly plunged the people into panic. They had just survived the drought and were still suffering from hunger and cold, and now you're telling me there are bandits? This world is simply not letting people live!
In a short period of time, some people chose to actively save themselves, some chose to give up and lie low, and some did not react at all. In any case, life still has to go on.
While all the major villages and towns in Huaishan County were scrambling to make preparations, the snow wall in Lishan Village had already piled up to be taller than Cheng Ruyi and was also very thick. Even ordinary people would have difficulty breaking it down with a wooden stick.
The long wall only has one exit at each end of the village, and a simple two-story wooden house has been built next to the gate at each exit. The first floor is for guarding the gate, and the second floor is a lookout tower where villagers are on duty day and night.
As for the most troublesome patrol team, it was finally successfully formed recently, thanks to Zhou Yin's suggestion to hire refugees.
Even now, refugees still occasionally flee south. Many of them are penniless or alone when they arrive here. They live in various thatched huts left by the refugees in the wasteland north of the city. There are at least a hundred of them, and the vast majority of them are adult men.
Seeing this, Zhou Yin simply hired them as patrol members, dividing them into several teams responsible for different villages nearby.
The refugees knew there would be danger, but they couldn't refuse the good offer of food and lodging. After all, it was a glimmer of hope for them; otherwise, they didn't know how long they could have survived.
Besides the patrol team organized by the Zhou family, other villages managed to gather some people, which, while insignificant, were better than nothing.
Before we knew it, it was already the end of November, and the temperature was still dropping little by little. The lowest temperature at night would even exceed minus 20 degrees Celsius, which has completely broken the historical record for the lowest temperature in Huaishan County.
To ensure that the personnel on patrol and duty at night could withstand the low temperatures, Cheng Ruyi specially provided free late-night snacks and brown sugar ginger soup to ward off the cold. As a result, not only did everyone not feel tired, but many people were willing to take the night shift.
That afternoon, the wind and snow gradually stopped, but the sky remained gloomy, giving the impression that a storm was brewing.
After finishing her work at the shop, Cheng Ruyi planned to patrol the perimeter of the villa as usual. However, just as she reached the gate, she saw her youngest daughter rushing toward her.
The already chubby little girl, with layers upon layers of cotton and fur coats, looked like a round ball, as if she could roll far away if she tripped and fell.
"Slow down, Yunle, be careful not to fall!" Ruyi was actually a little curious to see how far her little daughter would roll after falling, but then she remembered her role as a mother, so she kindly reminded her.
Although the child is chubby and round, he is very agile. Even if his foot slips, he can immediately adjust his balance and safely reach his mother in a few steps.
"Mother, I've been learning martial arts for so long, how could I possibly fall down? I can learn those movement techniques that everyone else can't learn after just one look!" Cheng Yunle proudly stood on tiptoe, looked up at his mother, and couldn't help but boast.
Ruyi gently tapped her youngest daughter's red nose. "Pride and arrogance lead to regression! Although you are exceptionally talented, you often slack off and refuse to practice properly. I think it won't be long before everyone surpasses you!"
"It would be even better if you surpassed me, then I could sleep every day and wait for you to protect me!" Cheng Yunle said with a big smile, and even hugged her mother and acted coquettishly.
Cheng Ruyi's heart softened, and she picked up her youngest daughter, coaxing her, "You little lazybones, all you do is sleep. You just finished your afternoon nap. What's wrong? Are you looking for your mother because you're hungry and want afternoon tea?"
"No, that's not it! I have something very important to tell you about my mother!"
Ruyi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and immediately connected it to Yunle's abilities. So she put down her youngest daughter and asked seriously, "Were you dreaming? What did you dream about this time?"
Sure enough, Cheng Yunle said that she had a strange dream while taking a nap. You know, she never dreams normally, so she was afraid of forgetting it after waking up, so she ran to find Ruyi as soon as possible.
The dream was disjointed and the images were unclear. I only remember hearing a lot of noisy fighting and crying in the middle of the night. The images were flashing around and very chaotic. The fighting lasted for a long time and only stopped at dawn.
Ruyi guessed that because Yunle was not the central figure in the incident this time, she probably didn't see many scenes with her own eyes, so her dream was not as clear as last time. However, this information was already enough!
"Ding! Main quest triggered. Please complete it as soon as possible!"
No sooner had Yun Le finished speaking than the system notification appeared. It really was a main quest! It's been a long time!
After sending her youngest daughter back to her room, Cheng Ruyi also returned to her own room. She carefully closed the door before quietly opening the system to check.
Task Details:
Main Quest: Defend Our Homeland (Incomplete)
Side Quest 1: ? ? ? (Incomplete)
Side Quest 2: ? ? ? (Incomplete)
Side Quest 3: ? ? ? (Incomplete)
Note: Both side quests and main quests will have a significant impact on the future, so please approach them with caution.
It's the same old thing again... Is there anything new to come?
Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but complain as she looked at the bunch of question marks. What would happen if she said a few more words? You're a task system, not a riddle system!
Fortunately, this time a main quest has been given. Since it's about protecting our homeland, it means that the other side quests should all be related to the main quest. Based on past experience, as long as we complete the main quest diligently, the other side quests will be completed smoothly. Moreover, the analysis notes suggest that this attack is probably not too dangerous, at least there are no words like "certain death" mentioned, which is actually the biggest hint.
I wonder if there are any hidden quests this time. It would be great if I could complete them, since these quests usually earn the most spiritual energy!
Ruyi composed herself, looked up at the sky, and, realizing there was still much preparation to be made, immediately went out to make arrangements.
First, we informed everyone that the snow had stopped today, and that there was a high chance of an attack that night. We told them to rest well and prepare, as we would need to increase manpower and patrols that night.
Then he instructed Tao Fei to inform the village chief of Lishan Village, and after returning, to check all the traps that had been set up, to deal with the other matters in the villa as soon as possible, and then to lock all the doors and windows except the main gate.
When she went out and passed the main road, she also notified the employees in the shop, telling them that if they heard anything strange at night, they should immediately close the doors and windows and hide in the cellar. Even if bandits broke in and robbed them, they should not go out, because human life was more important.
After that, she drove into the city without stopping and went straight to Guo Qinglan to ask her to arrange for a few guards to come over that night. Guo Qinglan agreed without hesitation.
On the way back, we passed by Lingyun Pavilion, picked up our son, and informed the Zhou family to prepare for the evening. Finally, we took all the family members back to the villa.
She had considered whether it would be safer to settle her family in the county town, since bandits would never attack a county town. However, after asking for everyone's opinion, they all replied that they wanted to go back to protect their homeland themselves, and that they would live and die together.
Ruyi was still very touched when she heard this. She had always hoped that her family members could stand on their own. Each of them was an independent individual, and she herself could not stay by their side to protect them for a lifetime. Everyone needs to grow up.
Over the past two years, everyone has been eating and drinking a lot of food containing spiritual energy, and their bodies have already improved significantly. Not to mention that they have been practicing martial arts for almost a year, so their chances of defeating those mountain bandits who do not know martial arts are still very high.
However, for safety reasons, she still had her family stay in the other courtyard.
She was busy for a long time, and by the time everything was ready, it was already completely dark.
*
At midnight, on the second floor of a small wooden house at the end of Lishan Village, a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old was intently staring at the woods outside the village.
"Hey girl, it's time. Let me take over. You can rest for a bit and have some late-night snack to warm yourself up!" A young woman came up from the first floor carrying a steaming bowl of spicy hot pot.
"I understand, Mother." After saying that, the girl looked around carefully before turning back to take the bowl from the woman. She then wolfed down the large bowl of spicy hot pot, immediately feeling much of the coldness in her body driven away.
Although their family's harvest this year was not much different from previous years, even so, they could barely make ends meet, and the idea of eating meat every day was simply a pipe dream.
"It's so delicious! The spicy hot pot seems to have extra meat tonight; I actually feel a bit stuffed, hahaha!" The girl exclaimed, rubbing her stomach. "Although joining the patrol team is dangerous, I get to eat meat for free every day! Mom, Madam Cheng is such a good person!"
The woman, who was looking intently outside, smiled upon hearing this. "Yes, Madam Cheng is a good person. She not only feeds us meat but also gives us cotton-padded clothes." After saying this, she suddenly turned to look at her daughter and couldn't help but sigh, "Da Niu seems to have gained some weight and grown a bit taller."
After learning about the benefits of the patrol team, many villagers in Lishan Village were eager to join.
Because her husband's leg was injured and her son was too young, the family could only watch helplessly as the chosen people ate meat heartily every day while wearing cotton-padded clothes, and they were extremely envious.
Fortunately, the daughter mustered up the courage to ask the woman from the Cheng family, and learned that they had never said that women could not participate in the patrol team. In fact, they encouraged healthy adult women to join, saying that women can hold up half the sky.
Therefore, the patrol team in Lishan Village has the largest number of people among all the villages in the vicinity. With more manpower, everyone can even be divided into three shifts to take turns on duty, so it is not hard at all.
In previous years, during the off-season after winter, her husband would go to the county town to do odd jobs to save some money for the New Year. She thought this year would be tough, but unexpectedly, life is better than ever before.
The woman stared blankly at the snow outside, lost in thought for a moment. "If only the bandits never came, life would be so comfortable." Now, she and her daughter are the ones working at home, sharing half of their daily spicy hot pot with their families. As a result, her in-laws and husband treat her and her daughter much better than before.
"It would be even better if the bandits came! Mother, Madam Cheng said that whoever catches a bandit will be rewarded with a cotton-padded coat. This coat is so warm! I really hope I can catch a bandit myself!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" The woman, angered by her daughter's words, turned around and slapped her. "You're supposed to be going on a blind date next year. You should be at home learning needlework right now, if only..."
"Mom, look! Aren't there people over there?" The girl was trying to escape her mother's lecture when she suddenly caught sight of a group of dark figures moving in the snow.
Before her mother could react, the girl immediately pounded on the gong and drum, shouting loudly, "The bandits are coming! The bandits are coming! The bandits are coming!!!"
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