Song He'er looked up and saw several disheveled and dirty old women walking towards her not far away. Although they were older, they spoke with real strength, as if they wanted to shout until their throats were hoarse.
"Who are you people?" Qin Xiaoniang asked.
One of the slightly overweight women raised her head high, as if she were in the right, and seemed to want to devour him whole.
"I told you, we spotted this place first. You guys pack your things and get out of here!"
Zhang Xiu'e sneered, rolled up her sleeves, and stepped forward in their manner, retorting, "Did you write your names and surnames? There wasn't a single person here before we came. How come you came over as soon as we finished cleaning up? What, do you think we're easy to bully?"
The fat woman and Zhang Xiu'e looked to be about the same size; if the two were to fight, neither would gain the upper hand.
"What I say goes. In this area, we sisters are the ones who call the shots. If you don't move, don't blame us for being impolite!"
Song He'er didn't understand where they got such a big mouth. In terms of numbers, the three of them and the more than ten people on this side would not be able to win even if they fought. So why did they act like they were not afraid of anything?
"What, you want to fight?"
"Fight? Even if we do fight, it's not us fighting you guys. I've already said, be smart and move out right now, otherwise once we call our people, you won't even have a chance to cry."
Hearing her say that, Song He'er instantly understood everything. It turned out that they also had powerful backers. But in this Xinzhou area, apart from Song Xiaoqi and that shameless Zhao Changming, who would spend money to hire these crazy women to cause trouble?
Qin Xiaoniang looked them up and down, sneered, and stepped forward. "If you say you saw it first, you need some proof. I remember there was a family of three living in the cave before: a woman with a child and an old woman who was sick. They only moved away a day ago. How did it become yours?"
The fat woman didn't care about such questions at all; it seemed she knew all about it.
Therefore, Song He'er was certain that it was because that damned Zhao Changming had suffered a loss at their hands yesterday and was resentful, which is why he brought a few women over to cause trouble.
"So, are you moving or not?"
With a burst of energy, Song He'er stepped forward and stared directly into the fat woman's eyes. "I won't move. Let's see what you can do about it!"
The fat woman grinned wickedly, "Then you can't blame us! Sisters, let's go back and get some people to grab weapons and set this place on fire!"
"How dare you!"
"You'll see if I dare!" With that, the fat woman turned around and left with the others.
Song Xiaoyu hurriedly walked over from the side, pulled Zhang Xiue aside, and said to Song He'er, "Why did you have to anger them? I wanted to say something just now, but they are all women, and it wouldn't be worth it for me to interrupt."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiue's temper flared up again. She glared at Song Xiaoyu and roared, "You're suddenly being so kind! If you're so capable, go and deal with them. Let's see how you handle those unreasonable old hags."
“I didn’t say I would tolerate them. What I meant was that we should spend some time stalling them so that Li Qiang and I could figure out the situation. Only by knowing ourselves and our enemy can we win every battle.”
"Oh, now you're talking about military strategy? I think you're just a useless piece of mud that can't be plastered on a wall!"
"How can you talk like that? It's absolutely outrageous!"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Qin Xiaoniang quickly stepped forward to stop them, "Now is not the time to argue, we should think of a solution. If they really bring reinforcements, we will be at a disadvantage!"
“What kind of reinforcements could there be in this desolate wilderness? They’re just some prisoners serving time in Xinzhou!” Zhang Xiu’e replied.
Although none of them are particularly strong fighters, if a dozen or so come, they won't be able to handle it.
After much thought, Song He'er finally came up with a solution.
These sluts can call for people, but they can't?
"Mother, how much money do we have left?"
Qin Xiaoniang turned her head and looked at Chunrao, who usually managed the money.
Seeing this, Chunrao rummaged through the wooden box next to her and took out a money bag. She counted the money carefully and then replied, "About two hundred coins."
"Take this and go to the neighborhood where we used to live. Find a few women with strong tempers and tell them you're willing to hire them for one penny per person to do a small favor. If they ask what the favor is, just say it's cleaning the house."
"Cleaning?" Chunrao asked, puzzled.
Song He'er smiled and replied, "Even if we don't use force, we still need to overwhelm them with our momentum!"
Song Xiaoyu clapped her hands and cheered, "No wonder you are the daughter of a general. You can even talk about military strategy with ease. Your mother really knows how to educate children and has raised you so well."
"Third Uncle, stop praising me. Hurry up and take the money to get things done. Do you expect me to go with Fifth Aunt?"
"Alright, I'll go right now. It should only cost about twenty coins."
After saying that, Song Xiaoqi took the money bag and left.
Looking at her daughter with a beaming smile, Qin Xiaoniang said with relief, "I have not had much good fortune in my life, but the greatest blessing is that I gave birth to you."
Song He'er smiled mischievously: "Then I inherited my mother's good qualities, which is why I'm so smart."
Tian Niangzi took all the children into the cave, leaving Chun Di and Chun Rao to look after them. She lit a kerosene lamp and instructed the people inside not to come out to look no matter what noises were made outside.
Song Xiaoyu moved quickly, and in less than half an hour, she arrived from not far away with about twenty women and men.
Although a single coin is a pittance, it is still a precious commodity for prisoners who eat wild vegetables and fruits year-round. At the very least, it can be exchanged with soldiers for two dry biscuits.
Therefore, Song Xiaoyu didn't need to explain much; just a slight mention was enough to attract people eager to come over.
"Have those people arrived yet?" Song Xiaoyu asked quietly.
Zhang Xiue shook her head. "No."
The prisoner next to him looked around, completely bewildered.
"What do you need us to do? Where do we need to clean?"
Song He'er coughed lightly and pointed to the wood that Li Qiang had just brought over, saying, "Chop all of these into long strips, and put all these bricks and stones into the fire to dry them."
One of the prisoners asked, "Can't you do these things?"
......
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