“I was thinking that we could gather the able-bodied men in the village and divide them into several groups to patrol day and night. If we discover any trace of bandits, we could sound the gongs and drums, and we could get up in time to defend ourselves.”
As for how to defend against the enemy? That's for Qingshan and the others to devise a strategy; they'll surely ensure that the thieves never return!
Qin San Niang spoke lightly to put Chen Sheng and the other man at ease, lest they be scared to death even though the bandits hadn't arrived!
Sure enough, upon hearing that Gu Qingshan and the others possessed excellent martial arts skills, he felt much more at ease! Just as he was pondering this, he heard Da Wa's mother speak again.
"As for these patrolmen, we can't let them work for free. Twenty coins a day, I'll pay for it."
Qin San Niang wasn't going to be fooled. Her family was now the most outstanding in the forest, and if bandits came, they would be the first to be hit, and the losses would be considerable! After all, the inanimate objects in the workshop couldn't be avoided!
Why not take this opportunity to distribute wealth? Firstly, it will benefit the villagers, and secondly, if they benefit, they will help defend against the enemy, which will also help make Shiligou more united. This is a worthwhile deal!
When the village head Chen Sheng heard this, he was incredulous! Three shifts a day, the patrol team would have at least thirty or forty people, and they could earn a lot of money each day! However, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. Making the villagers take time off from their farm work to stand guard was a big deal for the whole village, but it couldn't go on like this forever! They would definitely become lax in the long run, which was what he was worried about.
If you can earn such high wages by going out on patrol, everyone will be very enthusiastic. No job in the fields can earn money as quickly as this!
Chen Sheng hesitated for a long time, but finally nodded. "Well, thank you so much, Da Wa's mother. I'll go tell the villagers about it right away. With such a high wage, those men will be overjoyed! Oh, by the way, who were those messengers you mentioned?"
He hadn't forgotten what Da Wa's mother had just said about how strong and capable these young men were! If that was the case, he wondered if he could ask them to come and help. If they could settle down in Shili Gou, that would be wonderful!
Qin San Niang hadn't forgotten about the Lu family, so she took the opportunity to briefly tell him about her family's connection with the Lu family and how they came to be here.
So they were planning to settle down in Shiligou?
He would have carefully assessed any other family, but this family was an acquaintance of Da Wa's mother, and according to her, they had three able-bodied men who could be of use if bandits came. Besides, the information had been passed on by them, so there was no reason to turn them away.
With almost no struggle, Chen Sheng nodded, "Alright, since you introduced them, I naturally trust them. Ask them which plot of land they've chosen, and when I have time, I'll go and get the household registration done for them."
It feels really good to be valued, even a modern person like Qin San Niang can't escape this feeling!
He thanked the village headman profusely and told him to go back and fetch a jar of wine from his own home, as the newly brewed wine had just come out of the cellar!
Oh my, that's wonderful! That's top-notch wine. Having a sip now and then is enough to keep you savoring the memory all day.
After Qin San Niang left, Chen Sheng didn't sit idle. He had his wife bring out his usual large gong and drum, and they started banging the gong along the village road.
At this time, most of the villagers were busy in the fields; the sorghum harvest was just around the corner. Hearing the gong, they thought they had misheard!
"My goodness, is that gongs being sounded in our village? What good news is this?"
"Hey, it really is! Could it be that Da Wa's mom is hiring again? She just hired two workers for the jam shop a few days ago!"
"No, if it were just a job opening, there wouldn't be such a big fuss. I think you're probably collecting something valuable, aren't you?" The uncle who spoke still remembered the spectacular sight of harvesting apricots a few months ago! His family was large, with many children, and they made quite a bit of money back then!
"Oh, that's wonderful! Hurry up, what are you still doing in the field? You'll regret it if you delay something good! My family sold quite a few adobe bricks last time!"
As he spoke, the man deftly pulled down his trousers, slipped on his straw sandals, and strode toward the big banyan tree in the village!
Seeing him like this, the other farmers in the surrounding fields also picked up their tools and hurried away. What else was there to say? They had to hurry and chase after him; they couldn't miss out on this good thing...
In no time at all, the area under the banyan tree was packed with people!
Chen Sheng was surprised; he hadn't even figured out how to start! And everyone was already here? It never happened so quickly before!
"Village head, tell me quickly, what good news is there this time?!"
"Yes, Uncle, what are you planning to collect at Da Wa's house? Don't waste time, we can still work for another day!"
Okay, I really overestimated you guys! I thought you were all responding to the call to action, but it turns out you were just after money! He was overthinking it!
"Alright, stop arguing! Your noise is giving me a headache! This isn't about Da Wa's family; it's about something else! But this is a matter of life and death for every one of us in Shiligou!"
Hearing this, everyone was inevitably a little disappointed. No more money to be made? What's the point of banging the gong if you can't make money? They should have just pulled up the last bit of grass first!
However, quite a few quick-witted old men sensed something was amiss and asked him what was going on.
Chen Sheng glanced at his old buddies and thought to himself, "At this crucial moment, we still need them to take the helm! Fortunately, not everyone in Shiligou is a fool!"
"Alright, it was Da Wa's mother who reminded me of this. Apparently, there have been signs of bandits not far from our county! Everyone knows about bandits, right? Don't you think this is a big deal?"
Mountain bandits?!
Throwing those two words into the crowd had the effect of a thunderclap from a clear sky! Many people shuddered. Mountain bandits? Of course they were familiar with them, and were even terrified of them!
Two years ago, Shiligou was ravaged by bandits. Almost every household suffered losses, and many even lost people! It was a nightmare for every family! If it weren't for the bandits, many neighbors wouldn't have moved south with their entire families!
"Village head, what should we do? Shall we hide?"
This statement was echoed by many people.
"Yes, village head, what do you think we should do? We just harvested the rice, and the sorghum will be ready for harvest soon! These bandits couldn't have appeared earlier or later, but of all times, they had to show up now. They must be trying to steal our grain! If our grain is stolen again this year, how are we supposed to survive?"
"No, we can't let them steal our food! Uncle, let's fight the bandits!"
Well, he's a tough guy! If you ignore the fact that his family was tugging at his clothes from behind.
What are we going to fight with? Our lives?
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