Inside the kitchen, Grandma Xiaoman seemed oblivious to the commotion outside, continuing to cook at her own pace. She was steaming everyone's favorite "Big Foot Buns".
Shred the pumpkin and sweet potato, stir-fry them with oil and salt to make filling, and mix fresh cornmeal with water to make a soft and pliable consistency. Wrap all the fillings together like you would when making dumplings.
Finally, use cleaned mulberry leaves to wrap the whole thing up and place it on a bamboo steaming tray, then steam it over water until cooked.
Grandpa Xiaoman walked to the kitchen door, his voice as slow as ever: "Old woman, those people are coming up the mountain!"
Xiaoman showed no fear on her face, her hands moving non-stop: "With Errui's mother and Xiaoman here, we can kill even wild boars, I'm not afraid!"
She wasn't delusionally confident; when the road was dark and steep, there was no escaping it, and fear was useless—what was meant to happen would happen.
Moreover, we had already made thorough preparations.
From the first day I climbed the mountain, I was constantly on guard against the people at the foot of the mountain finding out.
Over time, it has become a habit.
For months, since Zhao Li's house was attacked by bandits, the rooster has been afraid that someone might break up the mountain. Every time it crows, it gets hit with stones. It's pitiful that it hasn't been able to stretch its neck and crow properly for half a year.
The two families would choose to cook when it was foggy in the early morning or late evening, and they would even try not to leave any traces when walking in the mountains.
Especially after the refugees moved into the village, Jiang Zhi instructed Xiao Man and the others to increase the number and size of the traps in the woods near the two families, both to protect them from people and wild animals, thus ensuring their safety.
Some time ago, in order to hunt wild boars, Jiang Zhi also mentioned several methods of traps and mechanisms. Although they were not used to kill wild boars in the end, Xiao Man and Xu Errui were still inspired and even improved the traps.
Previously, it was just an enhanced version of the rabbit snare; now it's a snare that can injure wild boars.
By forcefully pulling down a snare formed by the top of a tree, and stepping on the ground mechanism, the branch will spring up, hoisting the wild boar onto the oak tree.
Even without a harness, the swaying treetops could still make a sound, alerting both families that something was approaching.
The cry of pain that Qiaoyun just heard meant that she had stepped on a trap.
It wasn't completely dark yet when Xiaoman entered the woods and saw several strangers in a panic.
One of them was hanging upside down from the tree, trying to untie the rope binding his legs.
But the person was hanging in mid-air, swaying precariously. Every time he moved, the entire treetop shook violently, as if it were about to break. He was so frightened that he screamed, "Help me!"
But no one paid him any attention.
"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Xiaoman asked innocently.
Having fallen into the trap, the bearded man was initially flustered, but upon seeing that Xiaoman in front of him was still a child, he immediately smiled and said, "Little brother, don't shout. We came up the mountain to gather herbs and saw your house. We wanted to ask you for a drink of water!"
I accidentally stepped on this pole, I don't know who did this... Hey young man, come quick, help me get this down!
Xiaoman still looked innocent: "There are wild boars here, that's why my family set a trap. Who told you to wander around? Sorry, if you want to release them, you'll have to climb the tree yourself!"
He spoke politely, but inwardly he sneered, thinking, "Whoever did this despicable thing, I'm the one who set this trap."
As for the claim that you went the wrong way, that's utter nonsense. This forest has no connection to the outside world; only people who want to sneak up would go through it.
Faced with the sudden appearance of refugees, Xiaoman felt not fear, but excitement.
There's more than one trap in this forest; I can lure them there by running towards those areas.
However, considering that Errui and his sister-in-law hadn't arrived yet, he decided to delay for a while and also to find out how many people had come.
"Oh! It's a wild boar trap!"
The man in the tree was almost dizzy from hanging there, but the bearded man wasn't in a hurry to help him. He grinned and said, "Young man, how many people are in your family? Can we come to your house for some water?"
Xiaoman replied without hesitation, "It's just the three of us: me, my brother, and my grandfather. There are too many of you. My grandfather will be unhappy!"
"A guest has come to visit. Didn't your elders teach you how to treat people?"
The disheveled man next to him spoke in a sarcastic tone as he leaned closer with ill intent.
Xiaoman cautiously stepped back, keeping her distance from him, and said, "I don't know you. There are too many of you; I don't even have enough stools and chopsticks at home!"
On the other side, upon hearing that there were only two brothers and an old man there, the bearded man became happy: "There are only four of us, not many. Hurry up, lower the rope and we'll go to your house..."
Just then, Xu Errui entered the woods. Upon seeing Xiaoman talking to someone, he immediately said, "Don't talk to these outsiders!"
He was nervous. His mother had just told him not to waste words and to find a way to lure the person to the trap and capture them.
If all else fails, they can lead the person home, and Mom and the others will use gentle methods to apprehend them, just make sure there's no fight or injury.
Although Xu Errui had knocked out the vagrants who bullied Sister Chunfeng outside the village, he was still nervous about taking on such heavy work, and his hands were trembling as he held the wooden fork.
Seeing Xiaoman chatting with someone made him even more afraid.
When Xiaoman saw Xu Errui arrive, she immediately stepped back to his side: "Brother, there are four of them in total, and they wanted to come to our house for water and food! I didn't agree!"
"Oh! Oh!" Xu Errui didn't react much when Xiaoman called him "brother." He just stared intently at the two people who walked over.
The woods were pitch black, and people could no longer see each other's faces even five meters apart.
Xu Errui took a deep breath, suppressing his pounding heart, and whispered to Xiaoman beside him, "My mother said to stop talking nonsense..."
"Okay!" Xiaoman replied quickly, her voice filled with joy.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
"Ah!" "Ah!"
Xu Errui stood there, stunned, watching Xiaoman's retreating figure as she suddenly rushed out, muttering to himself, "...If you can't beat her, take her home!"
He hadn't expected that Xiaoman would act so quickly after he spoke...
Across from them, the bearded man also saw a young man of medium height approaching. Just as he was about to say a few words and ask to go to his house, he saw the boy suddenly rush over.
Then, he felt a sudden flash of light followed by darkness, and his head was split open.
Xiaoman was as excited as a little tiger, not giving anyone a chance to speak. She brandished a spiked club with stone fragments embedded in it and ruthlessly knocked people down.
He spent half a year on the mountain. Apart from the first few days when he ate grass root porridge, after the wildfire he began a life of eating meat to his heart's content and eating oak powder cakes whenever he wanted.
Eating pancakes every day and taking various herbs to nourish himself, the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy's height grew rapidly every day, just like sprouting wheat seedlings, and his physical strength also increased rapidly.
On the lonely mountain, Xiaoman was full of energy all day long, and her feet would itch if she didn't run around the mountain a few times.
And his sister-in-law Chunfeng dared to beat to death the person who bullied him, and she even threw a giant snake to its death, making her the second most formidable person in his mind.
The most powerful one is, of course, his eldest brother.
He was eager to see his strength, and finally the refugees arrived.
Xiaoman is now much like a wild boar that has started to grow sharp teeth and needs a chew toy every day; it wants to bite anything it sees.
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