The villagers didn't hesitate; they jumped into the pool, grabbed the drinkers, and threw them ashore.
The patrons' clothes were hanging nearby; they were taken down, wrapped up, and carried out of the valley.
The fat patron was still yelling when Li Laosi slapped him on the head, knocking him unconscious. The others were so frightened that they shut their mouths tightly.
Li Lao Er led his men to clean up the wine jugs and bones, and then smiled as he bowed to the other guests.
"Gentlemen, it's all our fault for not being careful enough in the valley, letting in such an unwelcome guest and spoiling your enjoyment. How about this, please try some of the fruits from our valley first, then soak in the hot springs. At noon, we'll slaughter a pig and stew the most authentic northern dish. If you don't mind, please try it too."
"You're too kind, Second Master. It's nothing," a regular customer replied, and the others nodded in agreement.
Li Lao Er bowed again to apologize before retreating.
Soon, a waiter brought over a fruit platter.
The fruit platter didn't contain any particularly rare fruits, just apples and pears, peeled, chopped, and stuck with thin wooden sticks.
But at this time of year, it's not easy to keep the fruit so fresh.
The guests ate it piece by piece, finding it exceptionally refreshing and sweet.
Someone laughed and said, "This Broken Gold Beach is truly magical; I'm growing to like it more and more."
"Haha, me too. Although they open their doors to customers to make money, they do it in a very ethical way."
"Yes, I like this confidence. I don't bully anyone, and I'm not afraid of anyone."
"Those idiots really made a fool of themselves! Didn't they even bother to find out whose property this is before they came here?"
"You all saw it just now, didn't you? That man lifted up the huge bluestone; he's really strong. Why didn't someone like that go on the expedition with the Marquis?"
"How do you know he didn't go? That man just now was the fourth son of the Li family. It's said that the Li family saved the Marquis's life. The Marquis was seriously injured and recuperated at the Li family's place. This time, when the Marquis went on the expedition, this fourth son of the Li family went with him. He probably came back to visit his family today and was caught by those idiots just now."
"What a coincidence? Haha, we've certainly had a good show to watch."
Leaving aside what happened in the valley, let's just talk about the Li family's courtyard. They were busy dividing meat and tending the fire as usual.
Jiayin was woken up and finally got up with a yawn. Turning around, she saw Madam Cui watching over her as she did her needlework.
"Master Aunt," Jiayin called softly.
"Fu Niu is awake!" Madam Cui put down her sewing basket and pushed it far away, afraid of pricking the child, before holding Jia Yin and gently kissing her little face.
“They’re slaughtering a pig at home. Your grandma and your mom are busy. Your aunt will help you wash your face, and then we’ll go eat meat, okay?”
"Okay, thank you, Auntie." Jiayin smiled and quickly got dressed and got out of bed.
After washing up, the two of them went out and saw Old Lady Li standing in front of the large chopping board.
On the cutting board, neat rows of pork strips were laid out, each about the same size, weighing around two pounds. These were to be distributed to the various households in the village.
There are also two extra pieces weighing five or six kilograms each, which are prepared to be sent to the Liu family and Mr. Wen.
When Grandma Li saw that her granddaughter had woken up, she quickly bent down and picked her up. Then she said to Madam Cui, "Since you're here, we won't send pork to your estate. But if you need to send something to the Liu family or Mr. Wen's place, do you have anything to take with you?"
Madam Cui blushed, and seeing that there were no outsiders around, she said, "I just made two pairs of shoes and a long gown for my senior brother, so I'll take them with me. Also, I'll bring two embroidery booklets that my sister-in-law likes from the Liu family."
"Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit."
As the two discussed it, Jiayin heard that Cat Brother and the others seemed to be outside the yard, so she struggled to get down and ran out.
It turned out that Cat Brother and his mischievous lads hadn't even had time to put down their schoolbags before they started kicking pig bladders at the door, making a huge racket and shouting.
Jiayin watched the spectacle with a smile, having no intention of joining in.
With her tiny arms and legs, if she falls, she could easily become another ball...
Just as things were getting lively, two horse-drawn carriages suddenly came galloping from the other side of the valley at high speed. The children were startled and quickly moved to the front of the door.
Jia'an and Jiaxi pulled the cat behind them and then hugged their younger sister, protecting her in their arms.
The carriage sped past in the blink of an eye, and by sheer coincidence, it crushed a pig's bladder, making the naughty boy scream and yell in anger.
Just then, the village chief and Li Lao Er returned. Seeing the children like this, they laughed and said, "This is a small matter. Stop arguing. Tomorrow, we'll have your teacher go to town and buy a few sheepskin balls. You can kick them whenever you have free time!"
"Really?" The boys were overjoyed and immediately forgot about the little thing that had just happened.
Li Laosi held his daughter and instructed the village chief and his second brother, "Don't let these people make any more reservations in the future, and they are not allowed to come to our valley again!"
"Don't worry, they probably don't have the guts to come back." Li Lao Er waved his hand. "It's lively at home today, let's not talk about this now. I'll find out more about it later."
Everyone nodded, and the matter was dropped.
In the kitchen, several women were keeping Tao Hongying company, busy as bees.
At home, they still ate pork stew and steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, but after eating, Li Laosi and Li Yong would go back to the dock, always bringing some food for the Marquis and their friendly soldiers.
So Tao Hongying prepared two extra basins of dough, planning to steam two hundred buns. They would have noodles, meat, and vegetables—tasty and filling.
Soon, Li Yong and his wife arrived, and Hui Niang joined the team making steamed buns.
The food was ready when the sun was high in the sky.
Everyone in the village, young and old, was holding a large earthenware bowl filled with sauerkraut stewed in bone broth, large slices of meat, and blood sausage. Two large steamed buns were also skewered on chopsticks.
Find a sunny, sheltered spot, squat down, and enjoy eating, drinking, and chatting – it's incredibly satisfying.
Jiayin joined in the fun, holding a small bowl containing meat that the old lady had picked off the bones, and a soft, fluffy steamed bun.
She squatted down next to her father, eating as she listened to him talk about the little things at the dock and the military camp.
Previously, the Marquis had used a strategy of retreat to advance, completely subduing those short-sighted old men in the court.
Now the military pay is paid in full, the food is plentiful, and most of the weapons and equipment have been replaced with new ones, which is enough to support 20,000 troops on a campaign for two or three months.
If everything goes smoothly, the Marquis will return from his campaign, and the corn and potato vines will have grown to a foot tall.
It will take the barbarians another two or three months to recover their strength, which will be autumn, when the corn and potatoes will be ready for harvest.
When the time comes, the entire Tianwu Kingdom will know that with high-yield grain, the nation's strength can be quickly restored, and there is definitely hope of recovering Jiangbei. The entire nation will then unite all its forces and wait for the counterattack.
Whether civil or military officials, or emperors, all placed great importance on the few comments recorded in historical books.
They lost half of Tianwu's territory.
If they can reclaim it, they can at least save some face; otherwise, in history books, they will be nothing more than stray dogs, incompetent and useless!
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