From behind came Song Chengxin's shouts.
Wen Shishi, who had been under Song Chengxin's care, was feeling a little bored.
Song Chengxin followed her closely, afraid she would get too close to the wooden barrel containing explosives...
I was also worried that she might get too close to the sea, or be frightened by the blood-stained clothes...
Upon suddenly seeing her eldest and second eldest brothers, Wen Shishi lowered her head and rushed towards them...
Song Chengxin followed closely behind and accidentally shouted out loud.
"Sister, come back!"
"Shishi, listen to these three things! Your eldest and second brothers still have things to do!"
Despite her small arms and legs, Wen Shishi runs very fast...
When Song Chengxin caught up, Wen Shishi had already buried her face in Song Chenghou's arms.
Song Chenghou's eyes softened, and he pulled the person into his arms.
Chen Hai, Niu Erhua, and the others watched, clearly anxious but unable to urge them.
Song Chenghou looked down at the person in his arms and asked Wen Shishi gently, "Shishi, what's wrong?"
Wen Shishi lowered her head, clutching her older brother's clothes, her voice noticeably downcast.
I miss my older brother!
Looking at her second brother beside her, she said softly, "I was playing over there just now, and I missed you too!"
Song Chengjian took a deep breath and squeezed Wen Shishi's little hand.
Knowing he shouldn't linger too long, Song Chengxin reached out, ready to carry Wen Shishi away.
Song Chenghou reached out to stop her, and then discussed with Wen Shishi, "Shishi, your older brother and second brother are also worried about you..."
The eldest and second eldest brothers wanted to finish their discussion as soon as possible and rescue Xiao Bao's father...
That way, your older brothers can stay with Shishi all the time. Do you understand?
Wen Shishi looked up, her clear eyes shining through her. After a moment's thought, she seemed to understand...
She sat up from Song Chenghou's arms and reached out to her third brother.
"Big brother, you're busy! Hurry up and rescue Xiao Bao's dad! Shi Shi will be good!"
Song Chenghou nodded with satisfaction, unable to hide his delight.
Even the composed Song Chengjian followed Wen Shishi's gaze for a long time, until Song Chengxin carried her away.
"Shishi, look! What's this?"
Behind me came the cheerful voice of Song Chengyuan, the tenth brother.
Soon after he joined in, Wen Shishi's giggles could be heard.
Song Chenghou, Song Chengjian, and the others looked away, and Song Chenghou apologized to the others.
"Young Master, you are a good older brother!"
Niu Erhua's eyes were slightly red.
Getting back to the main point, Song Chenghou asked Chen Hai and Niu Erhua for their thoughts with a serious expression.
Chen Hai was an honest man, and he said frankly, "If the bandits can really keep their word, we definitely want to ransom them..."
Although four thousand taels may be more money than we can earn in a lifetime.
Since the eldest son wants to hear our true thoughts, I will also share them.
Perhaps it also represents the thoughts of many of us.
The best outcome would be to redeem the person without bloodshed.
However, we are also worried that even if we manage to raise the money after going through all the trouble, the other party might still refuse to release the person...
Or, they might ask for an exorbitant amount.
Furthermore, even with the help of benefactors, we worry about how we will be able to repay this money in the future.
We need to save lives, but we don't want to force these forty lives onto you.
We have seen your words and actions. No matter how much or how little you do, we are only grateful and will not complain.
I hope all of you are aware of this.
Like Jiang Xinyu and Qin Shan, Song Chenghou and Song Chengjian felt somewhat relieved after hearing this.
Indeed, they are not without their concerns.
Upon hearing this, the abbot nodded approvingly.
Song Chenghou and Song Chengjian looked at Niu Erhua.
Niu Erhua's eyes were firm and calm as she said gratefully, "Uncle Chen Hai has already said everything I wanted to say."
Here, I would also like to add a few words to help you all understand the situation better.
Song Chenghou and the others took the matter seriously and awaited further instructions.
Niu Erhua continued, "You esteemed guests have already witnessed the situation of us fishermen and Tanka people..."
Our population is small, and besides poverty, we have no medicine to treat illnesses...
Furthermore, the abduction of people is a frequent occurrence.
Among them, there are multiple forces that were the instigators.
First, let's talk about the sea. There are pirates, people from the South Vietnamese, and people from Japan, all of whom could potentially kidnap our people...
However, this is the first time they've asked for money like this.
Perhaps knowing that we couldn't pay and the government wouldn't help, those who were kidnapped would never come back in this lifetime.
We learned these things from those who had managed to escape from the South Vietnamese in the early years.
They treated the people they abducted as slaves, forcing them to work naked, depriving them of food and water, and frequently beating and scolding them, no different from treating them as animals.
Unable to endure the abuse, this man jumped into the sea. Perhaps due to his strong swimming skills or divine intervention, he swam for three days before finally returning to shore...
However, due to excessive beatings, he died less than six months later.
After that, we lost all hope for our abducted relatives.
They couldn't hold on any longer.
Meanwhile, on the shore...
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