Zhongxin Village.
Pei Zhong's confidant Zhao Si frowned slightly when he saw that the two bandits who went to the spring to fetch water had not returned yet.
It's already afternoon, and the two should have returned long ago. Could it be that they had a fight with the people from Zhongxin Village?
Both villages depend on the water from the spring for drinking water. Yesterday, it was the people from Yiyun Village who fetched water, but Pei Zhong wanted to cut off the water supply to Yiyun Village and force Baldy and the other three to come over.
Therefore, Zhao Si arranged two brothers to go to the spring early in the morning, hoping to steal the water from Yiyun Village.
But the fact that he hasn't come back yet makes Zhao Si feel something is wrong.
After thinking about it, Zhao Si took the two of them to go and take a look at the spring.
When they arrived at the spring, the water jar was still there, but the person was gone.
After searching around but not seeing anyone, Zhao Si could only take the water back first. He planned to go to Yiyun Village at night and ask the bearded man when he would bring the three bald men over.
After returning, Zhao Si poured the two cans of water into the large vat. During the pouring process, his nose moved and he smelled a faint fishy odor, but he didn't care.
After all, he hadn't taken a bath for such a long time that the village was already smelly and he had a very bad smell.
Looking at the little water in the jar, Zhao Si shook his head. This little water was not enough for the brothers in the village. Many brothers in the village had not had water for several days. They had chapped lips and sore throats, but they had to endure it.
We have to tell Master Zhong not to let the people from Yiyun Village fetch water from the spring anymore. There are only a few people and how much water can they draw?
They have more than forty brothers on their side, plus their families, almost a hundred people. Their demand for water is much greater than Pei Yun's.
Thinking of this, he walked towards the Zhongxin Hall in the mountain village.
Zhongxin Hall is the place for meetings in the mountain village.
At this moment, there were several bandits in the hall reporting the situation down the mountain.
"Master Zhong, the villagers at the foot of the mountain have little food left, and many have already fled to escape famine. Let's find some Guanyin soil and bring it back."
"Master Zhong, the wealthy families in the county do have food, but they are guarding the house, so we can't rob them."
"Master Zhong, there is news from Wu Shun. Someone from Yiyun Village sent a letter to the county government today. Wu Shun happened to be on duty, so he intercepted the letter."
"Oh, let me see."
Pei Zhong was not interested in the previous reports, but the last thing reported by the bandit made him pay attention.
I took the letter handed to me and read it.
Pei Zhong smiled. "It seems that my good nephew has really lost his mind. He doesn't want food, but money. He only wants one hundred taels."
"What can I do with this little money?"
Zhao Si said, "Master Zhong, what should we do now? Pei Yun doesn't want food, but money. Then we have nothing to eat."
Pei Zhong closed his eyes and tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair.
He knew that Pei Yun had kidnapped the county magistrate's daughter because he was the one who planned it.
He had spent a huge sum of money to bribe Wu Shun, a yamen runner, so that he could tip him off when the government came to suppress the bandits.
It was Wu Shun who told Xue Qianqian that she was going to the temple outside the city to burn incense and pray for rain.
Pei Zhong had someone reveal the news to Pei Yun, guiding him to kidnap Xue Qianqian in exchange for food.
He was a reckless man in his previous life, and since there was really no food left in the village, he made up his mind to do this.
Pei Zhong originally wanted to wait for Pei Yun to exchange the food, and then he would take people over to snatch the food away. Now it seems that this plan is not feasible.
Pei Yun, this idiot, actually only wants money but not food.
In this case, there is no point in keeping Pei Yun.
He opened his eyes, a stern look flashed across his face, and he said, "Go tell Wu Shun to tell the county magistrate to go and suppress the bandits and save his daughter."
Zhao Si said, "Master Zhong, Hu Zi is still in Yiyun Village. Should we go and tell him?"
Pei Zhong smiled and asked, "Did you get the water back today?"
"I got it back." Zhao Si nodded.
"The Yiyun stronghold is out of water and food. In less than a day, Hu Zi will bring Baldy and his men here. It will take about two days for the soldiers to get here. By the time the soldiers arrive, Hu Zi will have already arrived."
"If you go and tell him now, what if Pei Yun gets to know about it and runs away?"
Zhao Si nodded, "Master Zhong is still very thoughtful."
Just then, a woman came in. She was a good girl that Pei Zhong had captured from the foot of the mountain to be his maid.
"Master Zhong, it's time to eat."
The woman said that everyone in Zhongxin Village had a meal in the afternoon. Pei Zhong nodded and got up to leave.
Several tables have been set up in the yard outside.
The bandits sat at three tables, the small leaders sat at one table, their families sat at two tables, and Pei Zhong and his wives sat at one table.
Every afternoon at dinner time is the busiest time in the village. After all, after a whole day of hunger, everyone is waiting for a bite of food.
Soon, the food was served.
In front of the minions was a mixture of grass roots and firewood, which were ground into powder using stone mills and then mixed with a little water to make grass root paste.
This kind of thing is the most unpalatable. Not only does it scratch your throat, it's also hard to swallow. But it's better than not eating it at all.
Moreover, these bandits have almost become accustomed to eating this kind of food.
It’s better than those villagers down the mountain starving to death because they have no food to eat.
The family members also eat this.
The little leader should eat better, a mixture of wild vegetables and firewood, with a little water.
Pei Zhong's table had the best food, which was made of ground wild vegetables and bran boiled in water.
"Brothers, we still have food to eat now, all thanks to Master Zhong, otherwise we would have starved to death like those villagers. Master Zhong has food to eat and thinks of everyone, so we should not let him down."
"You're right. My life has long belonged to Master Zhong."
"Thank you, Master Zhong, for bringing me here from Yiyun Village. Otherwise, I would probably be starving to death now."
"Yes, at this time, Master Zhong still thought of us and went to Yiyun Village to recruit us in person. This kindness is higher than the sky."
"It's ridiculous that the three bald guys refused to come over. I'm afraid they must be regretting it now."
“…”
Listening to the flattery of these bandits, Pei Zhong showed a smug smile on his face. He picked up the porridge and took a bite. Suddenly, a smell of urine came into his nose. He was slightly startled. Is there something wrong with my nose?
Looking at the others, their reactions were the same as his, and Pei Zhong's face darkened. Someone really peed in the water. Who the hell is so wicked!
Zhao Si reacted at this time. He smelled a foul odor when he poured the water, but he didn't pay attention to it at the time. He didn't expect that there was really urine in the water. He didn't dare to say it.
If Mr. Zhong knew that there was urine in the water he brought back, he would skin him alive.
But do you still want to eat this wild vegetable porridge? If you don't eat it, you'll be hungry, but if you eat it, there will be urine in it.
In the end, the bandits ate it anyway. Even though they had to pee, it was better than going hungry.
On the other side, dinner was served in Yiyun Village. Big white steamed buns were served on the table, steaming hot. Several bandits were laughing so hard that their mouths were about to split from their ears.
Take a bite of the steamed bun, the soft yet chewy texture will make you intoxicated.
It’s such a blessing to be able to eat steamed buns in this year of famine!
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