Zhen Wanwan felt bored and wanted to go home, but all the roads she could walk on were blocked by people, and Lao Tieren wasn't there, so she could only stand there dumbly and wait.
She remained physically in one place, but her thoughts had already wandered far away. She was worried about the twins in the house, and also afraid that Grandma Li and the others would worry if they couldn't find her.
Looking at the sea of people, Zhen Wanwan felt like crying. What was she even doing here? She had only made a fool of herself.
Little did they know that Old Lady Li and the entire Zhen family had come to the grain shed, but they couldn't squeeze in, so neither side could see the other.
As for Wang Cuihua, she stayed at home without complaint, helping to look after the children, completely unaware that Zhen Wanwan was still at the Fang family's house next door.
General Xiao sent an estimated thousand people. Apart from those who went into the cave to move grain, the rest stood on a relatively flat area outside the cave, all wearing black and red battle robes, which were low-key yet conspicuous and dignified.
The villagers tried their best to avoid the soldiers' location, so the passageway was already blocked by people.
As the soldiers carried the grain out, the empty space became noticeably narrower. She knew exactly how much grain there was, and that such a large space was simply not enough to store it all.
There are too many people here; it would be bad if a stampede happened.
Zhen Wanwan then reminded the general guarding outside, "Sir, there is still plenty of grain. This space may not be enough to store it. You can have the villagers go outside and wait..."
The general had fought on the battlefield for many years and was covered with a murderous aura. It was the first time Zhen Wanwan had faced an ancient soldier, and it would be a lie to say that she wasn't afraid.
The general glanced at her indifferently, then turned to look around. Seeing the crowd of heads, he frowned and beckoned to his soldiers: "Drive the villagers to an open area, and remember not to hurt anyone!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers were disciplined and efficient, and soon drove the villagers away. Although their actions were a little rough, no one was hurt.
Seeing that she had made way, Zhen Wanwan went back along the road, but unexpectedly ran into Old Lady Li.
Old Mrs. Li grabbed Gou Dan and Er Niu by the ears, furious: "You two are a bunch of troublemakers! If I hadn't caught you, you'd be dead by now!"
Dog Egg, holding up his underwear which had a huge hole in it, cried out for mercy, "Grandma, Grandma, I was wrong, waaaah... I'll never do it again."
Erniu was a bit tougher, with some resentment in his eyes. When Old Lady Li saw his expression, she got even angrier and broke off a tree branch.
Upon seeing this, Gou Dan immediately took off running. Er Niu stared at her with his neck stiff, but his legs had already gone weak.
Old Mrs. Li pulled down Erniu's pants and, with the smooth twig she had just torn off, began to whip Erniu's buttocks repeatedly: "Let's see if you dare to do it again!"
Finally, Erniu shed tears of remorse and struggled to beg for mercy: "Waaah... Grandma! Help! Grandma, I really know I was wrong..."
Zhen Wanwan was taken aback. Had the twins upset their mother again? She wondered what they had done wrong to make Grandma Li, who always doted on her grandchildren, so angry.
"Mother, calm down. You've only just recovered, and it's best not to get angry." The wound on Old Mrs. Li's head was still visible, and the hair that had been cut off hadn't grown back yet!
Grandma Li gave Erniu two more hard slaps before putting him down. Da Ni, who had been standing silently to the side, timidly held onto her younger sister, afraid that her grandmother would also hit them with a branch.
"Da Ni, you take your younger siblings back first."
Da Ni quickly agreed, let go of Er Ni's hand and bent down to carry Er Niu on her back. Seeing this, Zhen Wanwan said, "You lead him back."
Erniu is almost as tall as Zhen Xiaohu. He has gained a lot of weight from being secretly fed by her these days. Da Ni can hardly carry him.
Grandma Li said irritably, "You just keep indulging them! They're getting bolder and bolder. If you don't discipline them, they're going to cause a huge uproar."
Zhen Wanwan looked at Old Lady Li with confusion, quietly waiting for her explanation.
"Those guys were plotting to steal someone's warhorses! If I hadn't discovered them in time, they probably would have been killed by those soldiers long ago," Old Lady Li said with lingering fear.
Before she knew it, the twins, emboldened by their own actions, went to where the soldiers had parked their carriages, intending to steal the finest horse among them.
This horse is very well-bred; it's clearly a leader.
The soldiers probably saw them as a group of defenseless children and didn't take them seriously. Gou Dan urged Er Niu to ride the horse, but the horse suddenly went berserk and almost trampled Gou Dan flat.
Fortunately, the soldiers who were tending to the cattle and horses brought him out, otherwise Gou Dan would be a pool of blood right now.
Right now, Grandpa Zhen and Zhen Fuyou are all smiles as they greet the soldiers who are tending to the cattle and horses!
As she spoke, Grandma Li burst into tears. She still felt terrified when she recalled that scene. She blamed herself for being too lenient with them in the past, otherwise they wouldn't have become so unruly.
Zhen Xiaohu knew his brothers had caused trouble, so he sought out Grandma Li and Grandpa Zhen. Otherwise, the soldiers were prepared to detain them, and if they had disturbed the high-ranking officials, the twins might have been beaten to death.
Zhen Wanwan remained silent, thinking to herself that these children were really bold. How could they ride such a warhorse so casually?
They were lucky to survive this time. Even ordinary horses can easily injure people if they are not properly trained, let alone warhorses that accompany them to the battlefield. It's already a testament to their good temper that they tolerated their approach.
"These idiots deserve a good lesson." Zhen Wanwan was also furious, wishing she could personally take Li Laotai's place and teach them a good beating.
The two returned home side by side. Wang Cuihua was applying medicine to Erniu's bright red bottom. When Gou Dan saw Zhen Wanwan and the other woman, he was so frightened that he ran away as if he had seen a ghost.
The others stood obediently in place, waiting for their grandmother's loving guidance.
The twins stared wide-eyed at their older siblings, who were being beaten and crying out in pain. The up-and-down movement of the tree branch caught their attention, and they silently felt sorry for their brothers.
However, the adults present all thought it was good that they were beaten. If they hadn't been dealt with soon, who knows what serious mistakes they might have made in the future.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Zhu Yuan was still shocked when he entered the cave and saw the room full of grain and fodder.
He disagreed with Qu Huaiyuan's guess. With such a huge amount of grain, how could mere mountain bandits have stolen it?
His immediate priority is to move the supplies as soon as possible, lest the person behind the scenes see it and cause trouble.
Even the villagers who discovered the grain should be asked to leave as soon as possible. There's a lot more to this than meets the eye, so why make innocent people wade into this mess?
At Zhu Yuan's command, the soldiers acted in an orderly manner and emptied the grain rations in just one hour.
Qu Huaiyuan stood beside him and silently estimated the amount of grain, discovering that it amounted to 200,000 tons, enough to feed the entire population of a state for two years.
Why were they all transported to Xinyang Prefecture? What kind of conspiracy is behind this?
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