"Brother Dong, this godforsaken place doesn't even have a telephone, so we can't contact the outside world at all. How are we going to find outside help?"
The policeman, known as Xiao Liu, asked with a furrowed brow.
This small mountain village is too remote, deep in the mountains, with only a few dozen households. It's not worth it to run a separate telephone line here.
Because Xiao Weiguo had already popularized pagers in Shang County.
They had some on them, but it was useless; there was no signal in the mountains.
All eyes were on Hu Haidong, waiting for him to come up with a plan.
Hu Haidong was the oldest among these people, had worked the longest, and had been on the battlefield, making him the most experienced.
At this point, he had no choice but to step forward and become everyone's pillar of support.
He went outside and looked around, carefully observing the terrain of the yard.
Then he went back inside and said.
“The walls of Village Chief Wei’s courtyard are quite high, and they are built of bluestone. They are sturdy enough to serve as our defensive fortifications. We just need to reinforce the gate to prevent them from breaking in. Then, it won’t be easy for them, with just a dozen or so men, to break in in a short time.”
"At the same time, we need to send someone to the town police station as quickly as possible to ask for help. We must hold this courtyard until the reinforcements arrive. Once the reinforcements arrive, we will have won."
"What do you all think of my arrangement? If you have any opinions, please speak up now, as time is running out."
According to the henchman named Ye Xing, they came in three groups, with a difference of two or three hours between each group. More than an hour has passed since then.
In at most two hours, their people will gather outside the village, and then the battle will begin. In other words, from now on, our side has at most two hours to prepare.
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Liu stepped forward and said.
“Brother Dong, we already have a small number of people. If we send another one to rescue, the defense will be even more difficult. Do you think we could ask Village Chief Wei to help us find someone to come down the mountain? That way, we can save one of our combat personnel.”
“Yes, that makes sense. I’ll go talk to Village Chief Wei right now. The four of you should find some tools to reinforce the gate.”
As Hu Haidong spoke, he opened the door and went to the main room, where he found Wei Changqing.
By this time, Wei Changqing's family had settled down and were gathered in the main room discussing something.
Time was of the essence, so Hu Haidong didn't waste any words and pulled Wei Changqing aside to explain the current situation.
Upon hearing that the other side had suddenly sent so many people, and that everyone was armed, Wei Changqing's face turned pale.
He never imagined that his small mountain village would one day be the target of such a disaster.
"So what do we do now?"
As the village head, he remained relatively calm despite his fear.
“We’ve discussed it, and we all brought guns. We should be able to hold this yard for a short time without any problem, but we’re short-handed. We need to send someone out to the town’s police station for rescue. Uncle Wei, do you think you could find someone who can walk fast to go?”
Wei Changqing thought that what he said made sense, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said.
“Then I’ll go myself. I’m used to walking on mountain roads and I’m fast. I’m afraid they’ll act rashly and ruin things.”
He pointed to his sons and said.
Wei Changqing was not at ease entrusting such an important matter to them.
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Wei. Take my police ID with you, and I'll write you a certificate. You can leave now."
As he spoke, Hu Haidong took out a pen and a small notebook, scribbled a few lines on it, signed his name, and handed it to Wei Changqing along with his police ID.
"Uncle Wei, be careful on the road. If you encounter their people, try to avoid them. If you can't avoid them, be sure to come up with an excuse. Whether we can hold this place safe depends on you."
Wei Changqing solemnly accepted the gift from Hu Haidong, then turned and found a piece of floral cloth in his wife's sewing basket. He carefully wrapped it up, then tucked it close to his body and patted it down.
"Xiao Hu, don't worry, I will definitely deliver the message to you. I'm not bragging, but there aren't many people in these mountains who can find me and catch up with me."
Having spent years trekking in the mountains, Wei Changqing is quite confident in this regard.
"Thank you so much, Uncle Wei. Please go and come back as soon as possible."
Wei Changqing said nothing more, changed into a pair of sturdy shoes, gave his family some instructions, and then turned and left.
At this moment, Jiao Bai also brought Zhang Damao's parents in and settled them in Wei Yulan's room at the west end. As for whether it was convenient or not, in this special period, they couldn't care less about that.
The four strong and brave brothers dragged out several thick wooden planks from the corner of the wall and, together with the four plainclothes policemen, sealed the gate tightly. Even if you brought a bull to ram it from the outside, it would be impossible to break it open.
After checking the surrounding walls again and confirming that there were no problems, all the police officers entered the rooms on each of the four sides, each keeping an eye on one direction to prevent blind spots.
Hu Haidong handed the captured gun to Jiao Bai, but Jiao Bai only looked at it and did not take it.
He'd never used this thing before; it was a waste for him to have the gun. It would have been better to leave it to Hu Haidong so he could use another gun.
He simply gathered a large pile of small, fine pebbles from the courtyard and piled them under the window of the main room.
His skill with concealed weapons is exceptional; he can injure someone with a single coin, and these small stones are no less effective than bullets in his hands.
He stood alone inside the window of the main room, his shooting range covering most of the courtyard, which greatly reduced the pressure on several police officers.
The four strong and brave brothers each held a shovel or other cold weapon, ready to fight the enemy at any time.
The entire courtyard was eerily quiet; not a sound could be heard. Everyone was on edge, awaiting the arrival of the great battle.
Outside the mountains, Wei Changqing had just left the village and hadn't gone far when he heard voices coming from around the bend in the mountain.
They were speaking the same southern dialect as Ye Xing from before, which he couldn't understand at all.
Before the other party could turn the corner, Wei Changqing darted into the dense forest beside the mountain road, found a large rock, lay down behind it, and quietly waited for the people to pass by.
Only when the footsteps faded into the distance did he peek out to look at the backs of those people.
Just as Ye Xing had said, there were fifteen or sixteen people in total. They were dressed in ordinary clothes, but they moved nimbly and were clearly not ordinary people.
With so many people entering the village, can Xiao Hu and his group hold them off?
Wei Changqing muttered to himself, growing increasingly anxious.
Without thinking too much, he swung his long legs and rushed out of the mountains as fast as he could.
It would take him at least two or three hours to get to the town's police station from here, even at his fastest walking pace. Add to that the arrival of reinforcements, which would take several more hours. Such a long time...
The thought terrified him, but there was no other way now but to do his best and leave the rest to fate.
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