Everyone listened with bated breath, wondering if Gou Sheng had been rescued, or... had something happened to him?
Fortunately, villagers soon ran back, jumping up and down and shouting.
"Village chief, Uncle Zhao, come down quickly! Gousheng has been rescued, and everyone brought back a lot of grain!"
Uncle Zhao shouted anxiously, "Where are they? Are any villagers injured?"
The villagers quickly replied, "No, Uncle Zhao! They're just minor injuries, they look fine."
The crowd could no longer contain themselves and erupted in cheers and shouts.
This time, the cave was completely empty; every single person in the village, young and old, went down.
Even Madam Cui was lying on Wen Hai's body as they climbed down the vine ladder.
By this time, the group had left the woods and arrived at the hut.
Aunt Wu hugged her son tightly, unwilling to let go for even a moment. She cried and laughed, laughed and cried again, as if he were a precious treasure that had been lost and found again. She wished she could keep her son in her sight and never take him out again.
The other women also wiped away their tears and went forward to pat Gou Sheng'er's head.
The boy had really suffered; now he was listlessly hiding in his mother's arms, not uttering a sound.
"Quickly take the child into the cave to warm up and give him some good food. After a few good nights' sleep, he'll definitely be fine."
"Yeah, the kid's tough, he'll be fine in no time."
Aunt Wu nodded repeatedly, picked up her son and was about to leave, but suddenly remembered something. She turned around, put her son on the ground, and then the two of them knelt down and kowtowed to everyone.
"Waaah, thank you all so much for saving us! Gousheng, quickly kowtow to your uncles and elders, your life, our whole family's life, were all saved by you!"
Aunt Wu was worried about her son and husband. She had barely eaten or drunk anything for the past few days. She had lost a lot of weight and her eyes were dark and bluish. She looked extremely haggard.
But the light of hope that shone in her eyes because of her son made everyone's hearts tremble.
Fortunately, the child was found; otherwise, Auntie San would not have survived.
Thinking back to their third uncle, who had bitten off the bandit's ear, everyone felt that this trip was all too worthwhile.
"Auntie, get up quickly, it's good that the child has been found."
"Yes, we're all on the road risking our lives, so it's only right that we lend a hand to save the child."
"Yeah, let's take care of Gousheng first. We've got a long time to get along."
After finally persuading Third Aunt to leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and had time to look at the things that Li Laosi and the others had brought back.
The eight simple sleds made from door panels were all packed full of food, bedding, and other supplies, leaving everyone astonished and speechless.
"You really robbed the bandits?"
"With so much stuff, won't the bandits come after us?"
Madam Liu searched for a long time but couldn't find her husband and son. Fortunately, Jia Yi wasn't there either. She had some vague guesses, otherwise she would have gone crazy.
At this moment, she squeezed in and asked, "Fourth brother, where is my husband Lao Liu? Where are Liu Yang and Jia Yi?"
Li Laosi quickly replied, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, everyone is at ease too. We killed every single one of those bandits. Brother Liu and the two boys are all safe. Brother Liu is worried that the bandits might have accomplices, so he'll stay another day to check on things. He'll be back by noon tomorrow at the latest."
The crowd was even more astonished. "You guys are amazing! You actually killed all the bandits!"
The village chief quickly called to the women, "Quickly light some fires, boil water and bring it over. If anyone has finished cooking, bring it over as well, so that Lao Si and the others can have something to eat first."
Li Laosi and the others did not refuse and went into the thatched shed. They were so tired that they sat on the wooden stools and could not get up.
They had a lot of stuff and were eager to get back as soon as possible, so they hardly stopped along the way.
We've almost finished our rations; we made it back entirely on sheer willpower.
Now that I've lost my spirit, I really can't take it anymore.
Soon, a campfire was lit, and hot water and food were served. Li Laosi and the others ate their meal with gusto.
Jiayin finally found a chance to snuggle in her father's arms, reluctant to leave.
After several days of anxious waiting, I was finally relieved to see my father return safely.
After eating only half full, Li Laosi put down his chopsticks and began to tell everyone about the rescue and bandit suppression operation.
From entering the mountains and finding the bandits' courtyard, to Sister Qiong poisoning Gou Sheng, saving Gou Sheng, and surrounding and killing those seven or eight bandits, the story is told clearly, with many ups and downs.
Everyone gasped, clenched their fists, and broke out in a cold sweat.
Finally, Li Laosi sighed, "We really have to thank Doctor Zhang and Sister-in-law Qiong this time. If we hadn't dealt with most of the bandits, we wouldn't have been able to rescue Gousheng. These bandits are too fierce and ruthless. They robbed a family before, and the men and women were left hanging from trees to freeze to death, and the children were left in the cellar to starve to death. They are worse than animals."
"What a terrible thing! These beasts! Why doesn't God strike them dead with lightning?"
"That's right! Good people don't live long, while bad people live for a thousand years! It's truly outrageous!"
Everyone who heard this felt heartbroken and began to curse.
Li Laosi and the villagers were also heartbroken. They had been hiding part of the truth from everyone. If the others knew how tragically those women had died, they would probably be even more devastated.
“Uncle Village Chief, Uncle Zhao, we found a lot of food and supplies in the bandit's yard. We took everything that was useful. These things should have been left behind by the family that was killed earlier. You can divide them up among everyone.”
Li Laosi pointed to the large pile of things, and the village chief immediately asked, "What happened to the family that was murdered? Did you help with the burial?"
Li Laosi nodded, "We found a box to make a coffin, buried them, and marked it. We also got the family's will and keepsakes. We'll just have to wait until we get to Jiangnan and send a message to their family when we have the chance."
The village chief sighed, took two puffs on his pipe, and then replied.
"That's good, otherwise we wouldn't feel at ease using other people's products."
After saying that, he got up and discussed a few words with Uncle Zhao and the others, and then called on everyone to unload the goods.
Everyone's grain supplies were almost gone, and when they suddenly saw so much grain, including fine grains, they were overjoyed.
Men, women, young and old couldn't help but move closer, but everyone knew the rules and no one reached out recklessly.
The village chief counted the items himself and was pleased, so he said...
"During the journey, when we ate together, Lao Si's family gave us a lot of grain. We can't let everyone eat for nothing, so let's return the favor with a bag this time."
This bag is just for the road; you'll have to return the sorghum you borrowed earlier separately later.
The villagers all nodded and agreed, "Okay, we'll listen to Uncle Village Chief. Aunt Li's family brought the most grain, and if we hadn't all come along to freeload, we wouldn't have finished it so quickly."
Grandma Li was pleased that everyone knew how to be grateful, so she didn't take the rice, but only a bag of millet.
Firstly, Jiayin likes to drink millet porridge, which is good for the stomach and the body. Secondly, among the grains she brought back, japonica rice was the least abundant, and since her own family didn't have enough, she brought back a whole bag of it.
The village chief continued distributing the grain, saying, "Dr. Zhang and Sister-in-law Qiong were a great help when we went to rescue Gousheng. Each of their families will take a bag of grain."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Doctor Zhang took the medicine, and Sister-in-law Qiong administered it, instantly crippling most of the bandits. This was definitely the key to the successful bandit suppression.
"There's also Liu the镖头 (bodyguard) and his son, and Lao Si Jiayi, who also killed three bandit leaders. They risked their lives for everyone, so their families will each receive an extra bag of grain. As for the remaining grain, everyone who came along this time will first receive twenty catties, and then it will be divided equally among the people, with adults taking the whole number and children taking half. If everyone thinks there are no problems, then I'll distribute the silver."
As the village chief spoke, he poured out the jar of silver. The gleaming silver ingots were so bright they hurt everyone's eyes, and their thoughts naturally turned to him.
Even if they had some minor objections to the distribution of grain earlier, they couldn't care less about that now.
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