The village chief looked at all the villagers, let out a long breath, and said loudly, "This time when we go out, there will definitely be times when we have to fight to the death. Whoever wants to go, you must think it through. If you are afraid of death and don't want to go, no one will blame you. But if you go, you must obey orders. If you are cowardly and dare not wield your knife, and harm your own brothers, don't blame us for looking down on you!"
A bachelor stepped forward and shouted, "Village chief, count me in! I'm all alone, so I'm not afraid of being a burden if I die. I watched Gousheng grow up. These bandits are too wicked; they can't touch our child!"
"Yes, we can't touch the children! These people must die, count me in! I've already killed the wolves, what's a few more bandits? Let's rid the people of this scourge!"
"Yes, to rid the people of this scourge!"
"Now I'll have someone to brag about: killing wolves and bandits, who can beat me!"
It must be said that the young and strong men in the village have become more fierce and timid after being tempered by hardship on their way into the mountains. They are no longer the honest and timid people they once were.
In the blink of an eye, all the able-bodied men stepped forward, not one of them fearing death or backing down.
The village chief and Uncle Zhao were extremely gratified, and Aunt Wu and Uncle Wu even kowtowed while crying.
"We kowtow to everyone, sob sob, thank you all for saving Gousheng. When Gousheng grows up, he'll take care of you all in your old age."
The bachelor grabbed the couple and replied nonchalantly, "They're all our own children, how could we not go and save them? When Gousheng grows up and becomes successful, he can buy us a few more jars of wine."
After a brief discussion with Uncle Zhao, Li Laosi, and Liu Biaotou, the village chief began assigning tasks.
Prepare burlap sacks, stuff them with hay, and pretend they are grain.
But the silver should ideally be real. It doesn't have to be a hundred taels; you can use more copper coins to increase the weight and make it look like many different things.
To avoid being discovered by bandits and losing the initiative, when paying the money, they could take advantage of the bandits checking the silver, catching them off guard and giving the villagers a slight advantage.
Everyone carried machetes and bows and arrows, wore thick clothes, and brought three days' worth of dry rations.
Each household searched for all white clothes or sheets, distributing them to help everyone conceal their presence…
As orders were passed down, the entire camp and every cave got busy.
The Li family's package contained a piece of ivory-white fabric and a dozen or so sorghum pancakes intended for lunch, all of which Tao Hongying took away.
Grandma Li took out the purse containing silver from the house. Jiayin ran over and hugged her grandmother's knees. She also thought of Gousheng, who always followed Jia'an and Jiaxi to play with her, wiping his snot.
Grandma Li quickly took out the silver ingot that Mr. Wen had given her, added a few extra pieces of silver and a handful of copper coins, making a total of more than ten taels, and then stuffed the rest of the silver back into the treasury.
She carried her granddaughter down the rattan ladder while speaking softly.
“Fu Niu, we don’t care about the money. None of the families in the village have much money, so we probably can’t raise much. Grandma took a little more, but we’ll have a chance to earn it back later. Poor Gou Sheng is only eight years old. We have to save him, otherwise his parents won’t survive.”
Actually, she felt bad too. It wasn't easy for the family to save up some money, and to take it away like that felt like her heart had been ripped out.
But things have priorities, and in order to save lives, we can't be stingy at this point.
Imagine if Jia An and Jia Xi were arrested today, the villagers would definitely do everything they could to help.
Just as Old Lady Li had thought, when the men were stuffing hay into the bags, the women took out silver coins and put them on the table.
There were loose silver coins and copper coins. Even though she was injured, Sister-in-law Sun brought over the five taels of silver that Mr. Wen had given her earlier.
Aunt Wu was crying so hard she couldn't get up. These were the savings of each family, and they had all been brought out for her son's sake.
Mr. Wen also gave us more than twenty taels of silver, saying, "This is all the silver we have left. We hope it can help. In fact, those bandits may have followed us here. We are the ones who have dragged everyone down with us."
The village chief quickly waved his hand, "Mr. Wen, don't say that. These bandits are too close to us. Even if they hadn't followed you yesterday, they would have come looking for us eventually. You can't hide forever. It's because you weren't on guard. It's not your fault."
The villagers all nodded, regretting their earlier lack of vigilance.
But it's too late for regrets; all we can do is try our best to make amends.
Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou weighed the money bag, and when they saw that the weight was about right, they put it away.
The group checked their machetes, bows and arrows, dry rations, and tinder, and then it was time to set off.
At this moment, Doctor Zhang walked over, followed by Sister-in-law Qiong.
Doctor Zhang took out a small medicine bottle. "This contains some poison I kept for self-defense. After you get there, if you can find an opportunity, pour it into the water. I guarantee that those bandits will be completely dead within half a quarter of an hour after drinking it."
Everyone gasped, instinctively recalling whether they had offended the old man in the past.
Medicine and poison are inseparable; it's true what they say, whoever upsets the old man might die without even knowing how...
Seeing everyone's expressions, Doctor Zhang raised his chin smugly and gave a haughty snort.
However, Sister Qiong took the medicine bottle from the side, put it in her bosom, and said, "I know agility kung fu. Madam ordered me to go with you to rescue people."
Neither Li Laosi nor Liu Biao Tou refused. With poison and experts joining them, their chances of success on this mission were much higher.
Jiayin nestled against her grandmother's back, whispering, "Daddy, Daddy!"
Hearing this, Li Laosi stepped forward and pulled his hat down for his daughter. "Don't worry, Dad will be back soon!"
Jiayin was very worried. Her loneliness in her previous life made her cherish the family affection she had gained again. She wished she could protect her whole family like a mother hen and her chicks, so that they would not be in any danger or suffer any hardship.
Unfortunately, the world didn't go as she wished.
"Dad, come back soon."
"Okay, listen to Grandma at home." Li Laosi patted his daughter's face.
Old Mrs. Li, remembering how she always felt anxious eating alone at home, added a few words of concern.
"Fourth brother, if everything goes smoothly, and we rescue Gousheng and everyone is safe, then let's see if we can steal some grain. We've almost finished the grain we brought from home. The rice and flour we prepared for Fu Niu are also gone. Tomorrow, when we cook for Madam Cui, we'll only be able to eat sorghum flour."
These words not only reminded Li Laosi, but also caught the attention of the village chief and Uncle Zhao.
The village chief immediately replied, "That's right, I had forgotten about that. Our family doesn't have much food to begin with, and we've managed to survive thanks to your family's help along the way, as well as the mountain produce we've gathered."
But ultimately, even if Lao Si and Jia Yi were incredibly strong, they couldn't carry out many bags of grain. Your family is definitely going to run out of food too. I was thinking of settling you all in for a few days and letting you go hunting more, but then this happened.”
Uncle Zhao nodded, "Fu Niu's children and sick people have been eating a lot of fine grains. This time we've really managed to get some fine grains, so we can give Fu Niu some more."
The crowd was stirred with excitement. One of the men laughed and said, "We were originally here to rescue people, but now it seems like we're going to turn around and rob bandits!"
Everyone laughed, and the tense atmosphere eased considerably.
Fearing that he might miss the opportunity, Li Laosi nodded to the village chief and Uncle Zhao, and then called out to the crowd.
"Let's go! Save the children! Seize the food!"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
The group brandished their gleaming machetes and plunged into the woods!
Fearing that the bandits were using this as a diversionary tactic, the village chief left seven or eight men behind.
So, including Uncle Wu, a total of twenty able-bodied men left the village, plus Sister Qiong.
Seeing that they had disappeared from sight, the village chief took a deep breath and loudly gave instructions to the people who remained.
"Hurry up and fetch water and firewood, then go into the cave. No one is allowed to come down until Lao Si and the others return! No one can leave the entrance to any of the caves unattended, day and night. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the old woman, the woman, and the children all responded and then got busy.
They carried water, transported firewood, and prepared handy wooden sticks and sickles to place at the entrance of the cave.
The woodpile, which was once considered convenient for gathering firewood, has now become a hidden danger that allows people to easily climb into the cave. The women pulled and shoved, eventually knocking the woodpile down.
Sister-in-law Qiong went with the team to rescue people, leaving only the sick and weak Madam Cui at the small cave.
Before Mr. Wen could speak, Old Lady Li called Tao Hongying over to help.
Tao Hongying hesitated, then only scooped up two ladles of sorghum flour, but took some more mountain produce.
Grandma Li held her granddaughter and looked at her almost empty grain jar, feeling uneasy.
She was happy that her granddaughter was so capable, but she was also afraid.
There is no such thing as good fortune without a reason. Will the fact that the family has always enjoyed good fortune with their granddaughter shorten her lifespan?
Along the way, she never refused to help the villagers whenever she could, and she urged her family to do as much as the Li family could.
All they want is to accumulate more good karma!
If we save another life and do another good deed, will our granddaughter's good fortune be made up for?
She genuinely wanted to pray to the gods for clarification, but unfortunately, she couldn't find the right place and had to find her way here by trial and error.
"Hongying, Madam Cui is all alone, so please remember to take good care of her."
"I understand, Mother. We'll have to rely on you and Third Sister-in-law here." Tao Hongying responded and was about to leave, but Jiayin pulled her eldest brother along with her.
Sure enough, Mr. Wen was still worried, and with the Li family accompanying him, he didn't need to avoid suspicion, so he brought Wen Hai along and stayed in the small cave as well.
After a noisy morning, it's already noon, and Tao Hongying is busy cooking.
Jiaren sat at the stove, helping to tend the fire while practicing writing with his left hand on the stone slab.
Sure enough, Mr. Wen noticed it quickly, sat down and watched for a while, then asked, "Why are you practicing calligraphy with your left hand?"
"In reply to you, sir, it is because my right hand is inconvenient," Jiaren replied respectfully, then extended his right hand from his sleeve.
Dr. Zhang's medical skills are beyond doubt. Although Jiaren's right hand was crippled, it was treated very well and has now completely healed.
However, because it is missing two fingers, it is still somewhat ugly.
The remaining three fingers can still move, but they are not as flexible as before.
Tao Hongying felt sorry for her nephew and also wanted to leave a good impression on Mr. Wen, so she chimed in with a few words.
“We encountered a pack of wolves in the woods earlier, and this boy shielded his brother from their jaws with his hand.”
Mr. Wen nodded, and when he looked at Jiaren again, his eyes showed a mixture of appreciation and pity. “Writing with your left hand won’t hinder your studies. I practiced for a few years back then, and I can teach you some techniques.”
Jiayin, who had been squatting to one side, finally grinned.
Her brother's injured hand had always been a source of worry for her. Now that her brother had caught Mr. Wen's eye, she would find an opportunity to make him a pair of gloves later, ones that would be more aesthetically pleasing, such as deerskin, which would closely resemble skin tone...
Leaving aside Jiayin's thoughts, let's just say that Li Laosi and his group traveled northeast, crossing mountains and valleys. Halfway there, they actually found two lines of footprints left by bandits.
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