Gao Tiedan was flattered and accepted the knife, assuring her, "Don't worry, we'll keep a close eye on things."
Song Ning gave the last one to a young man named Tian Youcai. The rest were sticks that Song Ning had already sharpened.
"Don't worry, everyone. You've all worked hard to protect our safety. We won't let you work for nothing. You'll get a bigger share of the grain from each family."
Upon hearing this, the men instantly became energized, grabbed their weapons, and immediately took up their posts.
As soon as the group left, Song Ning said, "Village Chief, Village Chief Luo, I'll leave the grain collection to you two."
"Don't worry, we'll definitely handle it well," Village Chief Luo said.
When Song Ning returned to his mule cart, Village Chief Luo behind him sighed.
"Is this Er Ya really only twelve years old? She speaks more eloquently than an adult," Village Chief Luo exclaimed in surprise.
Zhou Cheng had to admit that Song Erya was the strategist of their entire team. Without her, they would have been in trouble last night.
Song Dahai and Liu Yuelan had a wonderful daughter.
While people were cooking, the two village chiefs began collecting the grain.
Food is scarce on the road, but since it's all for everyone's good, no one is shirking their responsibility and everyone is cooperating by handing over their grain.
When they arrived at the Liu family's house, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu family hesitated and refused to give it to them.
Village Chief Luo didn't mince words and bluntly stated, "It's fine if you don't give it to us, but those patrols won't help your family. If you get robbed, no one will come to your aid. You'd better think it over."
Old Man Liu grew anxious: "Village Chief, give it to us, we'll give it to you."
His eldest daughter-in-law was still unwilling, but then she rolled her eyes and smiled, "Village chief, you know we don't have much food. We're almost out of food. Liu Yuelan from the Song family up ahead is a member of the Liu family. Go ask her for some, and she'll give it to us."
Village Chief Luo's face darkened, feeling humiliated: "Each family pays their own share. I will naturally collect from the Song family as well. I won't force you. If you don't want to pay, then don't pay."
They saw what happened last night and during the day today. If someone really came to steal it, how could their family possibly compete?
Old Man Liu scolded his daughter-in-law: "Hurry up and scoop some grain for the village chief!"
No matter how unwilling the eldest daughter-in-law was, she could only obediently scoop out half a pound of grain.
Song Ning had taken a bag of grain in advance, which contained ten catties of wheat flour.
When the two village chiefs came over, Song Ning handed them ten catties of flour directly.
"Er Ya, we agreed that each household would only pay half a jin. You've given too much."
"It was my idea, so it's only right that I give them more."
They're all doing things at great risk, so we should give them as much as we can.
Although people felt bad about wasting the grain, the benefits of that half-pound of grain became apparent when they went to sleep at night.
Five burly men patrolled around the group, and they always felt at ease when they slept at night.
Nothing happened all night. The next day, as soon as it was light, people ate and prepared to go up the mountain.
Dozens of households, those with more men in their families, each sent one man, divided into three groups, to go up the mountain to find water.
Since everyone here comes from the mountains, Song Ning didn't need to remind them where there might be water.
Since most of the villagers were from Dongyuan Village, Village Chief Luo stayed behind to take charge.
Zhou Cheng brought a group of people, including Song Ning, Li Xingwang, and two middle-aged men from Dongyuan Village.
The mountain was quite large, and it was the first time for all of them to climb it. Song Ning reminded them to make marks on the way up to avoid getting lost.
They took some water and dry food and went up the mountain.
Song Ning and his group went to the west side of the mountain.
Song Ning didn't know much about finding water, but he had heard people talk about it when he climbed mountains before.
They said to look in valleys, along rock crevices, or in places with lots of birds and insects.
They had been walking around here for a while and hadn't heard any birdsong at all.
Song Ning was holding a stick in his hand, and he was drawing lines on the ground as he walked.
If there are no birds, then look for insects.
No one lives nearby, and no one comes to the mountain. The trees aren't tall, but the weeds grow wildly, almost taller than Song Ning.
The village chief led a group of men ahead to clear the way, with Song Ning following behind. As soon as he turned his head, he saw what appeared to be movement in the bushes.
Song Ning gently parted the grass and leaned closer to take a closer look. There seemed to be something on the ground that was a little different from the grass next to it.
She gently poked it with the stick, and the thing darted away in a flash.
Song Ning was startled and cried out.
The several burly men in front immediately ran over: "What's wrong?"
Song Ning pointed to the spot they had just been at: "There was a snake."
The group immediately tensed up. Most of the snakes on the mountain were venomous, and if they were bitten, they could die on the mountain.
But Song Ning was delighted; the presence of animals meant there was water.
"The snake ran that way, so let's go in that direction."
The group hesitated, then headed in the direction the snake had gone... Weren't they afraid of walking into a snake's den?
"If there are living creatures on the mountain, it means there is a water source. Let's go over and take a look."
Although it sounded unreliable, after experiencing it for the past few days, they all felt that listening to Er Ya was definitely the right thing to do.
Now, Song Ning took over as the leader, and the group continued westward.
But after walking for a long time, we didn't see anything.
The village chief couldn't help but speak up: "Er Ya, there's no road ahead."
Song Ning fell into deep thought. Had she misunderstood something?
Everyone was tired, and seeing that it was getting late, they all sat down, took out their dry food, and prepared to rest for a while.
Song Ning took a bite of the pancake and observed her surroundings.
There was a whole stone wall in front of us, with a forest above it, and the path down the mountain should be below.
Song Ning was not giving up. If there were animals, there must be a water source. They were probably already halfway up the mountain, so it was not suitable to go any further. They decided to go around to the bottom.
Song Ning stood up and said, "I'll go downstairs and take a look."
"Be careful," the village chief instructed.
Li Xingwang got up to follow, but Song Ning stopped him, saying, "Brother Xingwang, you should rest. I won't go far."
As they walked down, the temperature here was noticeably lower than up. Song Ning went around to the back of the rock wall, and just as she rounded it, she heard a sound above her.
She looked up and saw something fly over her head.
I squatted down and used a stick to dig at the ground; the soil here was indeed a bit wetter.
As Song Ning stood up and continued walking, her eyes lit up.
The rock wall looks large from the front, but it's actually hollow in the back, like a barrier. Going down from behind the rock wall leads to the valley.
Going down the slope, you'll see a small pond, which must have flowed down from the mountain. The outlet is small, and the water gradually gathered into the pond before finally flowing underground.
Song Ning breathed a sigh of relief; at least his efforts hadn't been in vain.
As she climbed up the valley, she heard Li Xingwang calling her from the other side.
"Brother Xingwang, I'm here!"
Song Ning ran back excitedly and said with a smile, "At least our trip wasn't in vain."
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