"Why?"
Two boys are fine, but for Jian Xin, this is a bit beyond her control.
"For example, if there's a bad guy on the other side who kidnaps you and threatens us, and we're afraid you'll get hurt, can we still catch the bad guy? That's our weakness."
The little girl seemed to be deep in thought.
"If I'm kidnapped by bad guys, they'll threaten you, right?"
Fearing she wouldn't understand the meaning of a threat, Cheng An spoke softly as well.
"It's like someone else has your favorite book, and they ask you to get them something delicious, or they'll tear your book up."
"Oh? That won't work!"
"You see, that's what it means. When your things are in someone else's hands, that's your weakness, that's a threat, do you understand?"
Cheng Chao patted his pants and got up.
"Alright, you guys teach me, I'm going back."
I'll bring back the things you asked for last time from the villagers, and say it's for the reward you applied for. The village chief will understand what's going on, so you won't have to repay the favor.
I might not be able to come over in the next few days. I might even have to go back to Beijing to coordinate something. Lao Jian won't be here either. The team leader will be coming with me. Please be careful. If anything happens, go find your uncle. He'll be home looking after the house.
With that ticking time bomb gone, things are much easier now.
"Don't go up the mountain either, it's not safe there either,"
"Okay, okay, we'll just stay home and hibernate, alright?"
Cheng Chao was relieved, but Jian Dan never expected that something could happen to someone who was just staying home and hibernating during the winter.
The first snow came a few days after Cheng Chao left.
Adults and children alike are happy. Adults are hoping for a bountiful harvest thanks to the auspicious snow, and children have something new to play with.
Adults were shoveling snow, while children ran around and played wildly.
A warm and harmonious scene.
Jian Dan was sweeping snow at the door when a few male educated youths, who were preparing to go up the mountain to gather more firewood since it had just snowed, stopped and exchanged a few words with her.
Just then, two distinct sounds came from the direction of the mountain. Jian Dan's expression immediately changed, and almost simultaneously, Lin Dongfang also took a few quick steps forward, his face serious.
"It's gunfire!"
The sound was very clear; they heard it, and the villagers heard it too. In an instant, many people looked over, and there was a lot of panic, especially among the women and children. Although it wasn't far from the border, the village hadn't heard such a close sound for several years.
Soon, the men in the village, especially the militiamen and the village officials, all rushed over.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
This is the closest place to the mountain, but unfortunately, everyone only hears about it; no one knows the specifics.
"Village chief, that sounds like gunshots. Should we take down the big guy?"
Before he could finish speaking, two more sounds came from above, even clearer than before, and everyone present changed their expressions.
"It's coming this way, it looks like... it looks like an old hunting rifle."
Several elderly people also came over.
"Let's organize the people first. The militiamen can come over and guard this area. The rest of you can go back and gather everyone at the village office."
Liu Weimin turned around and picked someone who was fast on their feet.
"Go back and tell everyone to gather at the village office immediately, especially the elderly and children. Keep an eye on them and don't let them wander off."
The men stood guard outside and told them that they were also protecting their own parents and children.
"Xiao Jian, you guys go back too,"
The educated youth exchanged glances, and Lin Dongfang spoke.
"Village chief, Gu Jianjun, Ling Weidong, and a few others are still capable of protecting ourselves. We'll stay here, while Chen Jing and Li Guang go back to organize the educated youth."
Chen Jing and Li Guang knew their own capabilities and that they would be a hindrance here, so they didn't refuse and immediately agreed.
"Okay, I'll go call the educated youth, and Li Guang will go call the children."
"Okay, I'll leave Mingzhu and my kids to you."
I'm not worried about the two big ones, but I'm afraid the little girl will be scared and cry again.
After saying that, he simply turned around, went to the woodshed, grabbed a machete and a cleaver, and handed them to them.
“Village chief, you don’t need to worry about me, my home is here.”
At this time, there was no need to say much. Those who needed to send messages did so, and those who needed to make preparations did so. The group kept their eyes fixed on the direction of the mountain, afraid of missing anything.
In the village office, the villagers were all crowded into the rather large courtyard, and no one dared to make a sound.
In a corner of the yard, a group of children were gathered. Just as things started to get chaotic, Cheng Rui and Cheng An had already led the children to hide. At the front were four dogs, guarding them majestically.
"Are there bad guys coming?"
The little girl stretched out her finger.
"Shh! Don't talk, don't let the bad guys hear. We kids can't help, so we can't cause trouble."
"Woof!"
"Shh, Ruyi, you're not allowed to make that sound either!"
Apart from the group of people at the village entrance, the roads in the village were deserted.
Soon, a figure could be vaguely seen moving quickly down the mountain.
"They're here!"
"Are those black dots in the back also like that?"
At the foot of the mountain and the entrance to the village, the area was open and spacious. Only Jian Dan's courtyard could be considered a place to hide. The group hid behind the wall and kept a close watch.
"Hey? That person, isn't he holding someone else?"
As they drew closer, their hearts pounded with anxiety.
Indeed, a tall man was carrying a person, or rather, pulling on their hair. The person seemed to be unconscious, being dragged along. Anyone with good eyesight could clearly see the streaks of blood left on the ground.
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