The eldest son of the Lu family frowned. "I haven't found out about that, but judging from their posture, they don't seem to be planning to stay for long. The bandit leader has quite a few weapons, and oh right, they also have horses!"
Horses? Qin Sanniang and the others looked at each other, thinking that these were no ordinary bandits, but more likely organized and disciplined mountain bandits! If so, He County was not safe either! However, there were guards on duty at the city gate, so those mountain bandits might not necessarily attack the county town. They might just target the nearby villages first.
The more Qin San Niang thought about it, the more alarmed she became. She decided it was best to discuss this matter with the village head.
However, before that, the Lu family must be settled.
It's not that Qin San Niang is deliberately causing trouble for herself. In fact, she is not without responsibility in Lu Zhao Di's case. From a certain perspective, she has left the Lu family with a big problem!
Although it was both morally and logically that Lu Dingtian's family, as the former village head, had a responsibility to take care of Lu Zhaodi, they were a family that valued relationships and righteousness, and unexpectedly ended up taking care of an ungrateful person.
“Uncle Lu, since you plan to settle down in Shiligou, I’ll go talk to Chen Sheng, the village head, about it. And until the house is built, you can stay in the workshop. Also, I wonder if you have any plans to buy land?” Qin San Niang asked. After all, land is a top priority for settling down, so she added after a moment’s thought, “If you don’t have enough money, you can get some from me.”
The Lu family was deeply moved by how thoughtful Aunt Qinqin had been. Given their current situation, this arrangement was the best possible solution; otherwise, they couldn't very well leave their entire family to sleep in the open! As for buying land, that was definitely necessary! Crops without land have no roots!
"Thank you, Madam Qin. I still have some money on hand, enough to buy two acres of land."
His wife had limited funds; the family could scrape together about seven or eight taels of silver. He planned to buy two acres of wasteland first. As for the house? They would just build a thatched hut for now and make do. They didn't need to hire many people; the family could manage.
Since that's the case, Qin San Niang didn't say anything more, only that if you don't have enough money, you can borrow it from her anytime.
After saying that, Qin San Niang hurried to the workshop to discuss countermeasures with Gu Qingshan.
Hearing that there might be bandits nearby, Gu Qingshan couldn't help but frown. They'd barely had a few days of peace, and now bandits were coming again?! It was infuriating!
"Sister, what's your idea?" In his opinion, they definitely couldn't let the bandits get away with it, but nowadays most of them were orphans and widows, and their fighting strength was not strong, which was also what he was worried about.
“Qingshan, this is what I’m thinking: gather all the able-bodied men in Shiligou and form a patrol team. You will be in charge of overseeing and scheduling the shifts, guarding the area day and night to ensure safety. Better safe than sorry.”
That's a good idea! Gu Qingshan nodded.
“I think it’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Boss Lu later and see if we can scout out the nearby hills. It’s better than us staying here and guarding in fear.”
Boss Lu is quite skilled; even if they are unfortunately discovered by bandits, the two of them will have little trouble escaping.
Qin San Niang nodded, "That's naturally the best way."
When she arrived at Chen Sheng's house, she went straight to the point about the matter.
Chen Sheng suddenly yelled, "What did you say? Da Wa's mother?!"
His voice was so loud that his wife, Wang, stumbled and almost dropped the spoon in her hand.
What is this old geezer doing? He's scared Da Wa's mother half to death! Da Wa's mother is her lucky charm these days! Her nephew is working as a deliveryman at someone's dried fruit shop, earning twenty-five coins a day!
Wang put down her spoon and suspiciously leaned to the side of the room to eavesdrop. Well, not eavesdropping, but because she was worried that the old man would ruin her nephew's livelihood.
"Uncle Village Head, don't get agitated. I just heard about it. Those bandits are currently outside He County! Of course, they might not stay long, and they might not even come to our Shiligou. But, I think it's always better to be prepared than to be caught off guard!"
Qin San Niang tried her best to calm Chen Sheng down before remembering that Shiligou had suffered from banditry two years ago.
Having experienced many big events, Chen Sheng calmed down at this moment, but still lit his water pipe with a heavy heart and squatted on the threshold to compose himself.
"Bandits?! Those damned bandits! We thought the government had wiped them out and we were safe, but who would have thought they could come back! No, the villagers just harvested their grain, and they show up now. This is no coincidence! They're definitely planning to rob us! Da Wa's mother, you have to help me!"
Chen Sheng seemed to have grasped a lifeline; this Da Wa's mother was no ordinary person! And the young man from the Gu family, including that scholar He, were all extraordinary! They had managed to come here safely from the north and were thriving, so they must be able to deal with the mountain bandits.
Wang jumped out of the room. She finally understood what had happened—they were bandits! Oh dear, this was terrible!
"Third Sister, you have to help us! Your village head uncle can't fight the mountain bandits."
Although her husband was only a minor village head, he still had the responsibility to organize the villagers to escape if they encountered bandits! Heaven knows, she was always on tenterhooks. The more Wang thought about it, the more anxious she became, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"My God! Weren't those damned bastards supposed to be wiped out? How come they're back?! Are we not allowed to live in peace?!"
"Alright, alright, what do you know, you old woman! Go do what you're supposed to do, stop crying all day and wake the baby!" Chen Sheng was annoyed and couldn't stand the woman's wailing. Besides, the matter was uncertain, and he couldn't let it get out from her!
Seeing that her husband was really anxious, Wang didn't dare to act rashly. This was a big deal, and besides, Da Wa's mother had come to come up with a solution. So she stopped crying, but didn't go out. She just sat not far from the door.
Qin San Niang sighed, thinking that Wang Shi was right, the bandits really did deserve to die! How long had it been since she had stretched her muscles? She had no choice when she was fleeing, and nobody wanted to fight and kill every day!
"Uncle Chen, Aunt Wang, don't worry. I heard this from an old friend. Although those bandits may not necessarily cause trouble, we still need to be fully prepared."
Chen Sheng agreed, "Da Wa's mother, you're right. But those bandits are extremely vicious and ruthless. There are quite a few men in our village, but not many dare to confront them head-on. Those bandits have weapons! Do you have any good ideas?"
Even now, they still remember the ruthlessness of those bandits; Wang even remembers the feeling of trembling in her legs back then.
"No matter how powerful those bandits are, they won't want to fight us head-on. As long as we're prepared, we can always put up a fight with them! Not to mention, Qingshan is an unerring archer, and I know a few brothers who can take on ten men each."
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