If there's food to eat and you're not hungry, your mind is at peace.
The only downside was, "I'm worried about the livestock on the back hill," Wang Guifen said with concern.
The others chimed in, "We fed them well this morning, so they're full today, but what about tomorrow? If they're not fed, the animals will run outside."
“It’s not just a problem of the livestock not having enough to eat. If these people outside go around to the back mountain and find our livestock, wouldn’t they catch them and eat them? Not only would we suffer a huge loss, but they would also use them to attack us after they’ve filled their stomachs!”
Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.
Yes, there are still livestock outside! What can we do?
There are quite a few pigs, sheep, and rabbits. It's basically impossible to transport them all back in a short time, especially the pigs, which weigh about 100 pounds each. They're also quite unruly. But we can't bear to slaughter them; we still have to make a living, don't we?
If we don't slaughter them, what if outsiders find out? Will there be any left?
As Aunt Li spoke to others, she was also speaking to herself: "Don't worry too much. The back mountain is far from here. Even if they go around to the back gate, they might not be able to find us."
Grandma Xu comforted her, "Yes, maybe they'll leave soon?"
Everyone wanted them to leave quickly, or even never come back, but that was just wishful thinking; one should always prepare for the worst.
Li Wen returned and explained the situation outside: "They are eating lunch, which is the dry food they brought."
Upon hearing this, the old village chief pondered and said, "There are about seventy or eighty wounded people ahead, and seventy-eight have been captured. There are at least one hundred and fifty to two hundred more outside. If there is no wall to stop us, we have virtually no chance of winning if we fight head-on. We cannot be careless."
Li Wen responded with a heavy expression.
He was always on the dam, and he knew best the difference between the other side and his own village!
The people on the other side were all fierce-looking and strong, exuding a ruthless and bandit-like aura. Even their wooden ladders were more sturdy and robust than the hastily made ones in the village.
In contrast, their own village was full of the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, and the girls had to step up and act like men, occupying high positions. They had all the weapons and stones they needed, and only then were they able to barely subdue the enemy.
He couldn't imagine how they could have held out without the walls and the help of dozens of young women. If they hadn't, Shanshui Village would have been like a living hell...
When Master Fan heard that there were still 150 to 200 people on the other side, he was worried: "With so many people, if they all go around to the back door, it will be hard for them not to notice our livestock, especially the pigs and sheep, whose squeals are very obvious."
By then, even if we rush out and fight them, it will be useless. We don't have enough manpower to fight them. And with pigs, sheep, and rabbits to fill their stomachs, they can probably hold out for several more days.”
Most importantly, livestock are for meat; they are the hope that the villagers have painstakingly raised. If they let outsiders profit from them, wouldn't the villagers be heartbroken?
Even knowing they were stealing livestock, they couldn't bring themselves to confront them directly.
The village originally had about two hundred men and women in their prime, but during the last bandit raid, seventy or eighty were injured, and forty more men went out to work, leaving less than eighty people in total.
There's no way we can, and absolutely no way we can, confront them head-on!
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