Chapter 209 We Can Protect Ourselves
Lao Qian had already relaxed and was enjoying his bowl of fruit tea happily.
When he first heard Gu Xixi say that they couldn't rest easy, he was startled and quickly asked:
"Why? Didn't you say that nothing happened and we can live our lives as usual?"
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "We will of course live our lives as usual, but we must be prepared."
"When the village caught fire last year, a group of idlers from a nearby village broke in and caused chaos. Uncle Qian, do you still remember?"
Old Qian frowned, "I remember."
"Are you trying to say... that someone will take advantage of the situation this time?"
Gu Xixi said, "This possibility cannot be ruled out."
"Whenever there is unrest, there will be some problems with public security, either here or there."
"Not to mention that we are facing such a big mess."
"In the past, the Northwest Army was stationed in the Northwest, and we rarely heard of bandits causing chaos. But now the Northwest Army has its own big things to do, and we are afraid of any mistakes."
Old Qian nodded repeatedly, "Yes, you have considered it carefully. It is always right to make some preparations in advance."
Gu Xixi gave everyone another reassurance, "Actually, there's no need to be too nervous."
"As long as the Northwest is stable as a whole, the situation is still in the hands of the Northwest Army, and those who are causing trouble will only dare to make small moves and do some sneaky things."
"We ordinary people guarding the village have no problem protecting ourselves."
Aunt Zhang had been very panic-stricken since a while ago, but now she has gradually calmed down.
"That makes sense. As long as the Northwest Army is still here, we don't have to be afraid. We can rely on ourselves!"
She had thought it through completely. Now that things had come to this, what was the point in being afraid or worried?
Why don't you believe Xixi? Just continue living your life as usual!
He Jinglan had been listening quietly, and only then did she hold her chin up and say, "Although I am not from your village, I am here as one with you all."
"We are in this together. If you need my help, I will do my best to help you!"
Old Qian said gratefully, "You are worthy of being a good friend of my niece. Huachidu Village is also your home!"
Several people discussed how to defend the village.
Huachidu Village has a natural terrain advantage, with a mountain behind it, but there is only one entrance on the other side of the big locust tree.
It is easy to have someone keep an eye on it, and the mountain at the back can also provide some food and medicinal materials needed by the villagers.
It was finally decided to adopt a shift patrol system.
The students were divided into five groups of two to cover five areas of the village.
In addition, each day is divided into six periods, with a change of shifts every four hours.
If anything happens, the patrollers will be able to discover it in time and alert the entire village.
It is then divided into two situations.
If the ones who come are just petty thieves, idlers, and bad guys, then the whole village will gather together and beat them to a pulp.
If the people coming are bandits and they are armed and in large numbers, the whole village will hide in the back mountains as soon as possible.
Therefore, each family hid their stored food and valuables in advance if they could.
It will be convenient to retreat then.
Now that a solution has been found, Lao Qian was deeply moved. "It really is necessary to pool the wisdom of all parties. Thanks to you guys."
"Mrs. Meng and Miss He, you are so considerate of our village. As the village chief, I would like to thank you two on behalf of all the villagers."
Without further ado, Lao Qian immediately stood up and started to make arrangements.
When he walked outside the main hall, he thought of something else and reminded Gu Xixi, "You can't go into the city to sell things for the time being. I don't know when the ban will be lifted."
"We have several orchards, and we can store chicken eggs, duck eggs, and medicinal herbs."
"But the Zhou family grows vegetables, and we can't eat all of them even if we pick them. I'm afraid they will rot in the fields."
Gu Xixi understood that Old Qian meant well. He was afraid that her plan to plant fruit trees would be exposed in the Zhou family and cause resentment from the Zhou family. In the end, even the fruit trees might be wasted.
She smiled and said, "Uncle Qian, don't worry. I have a way to deal with the trouble since I came up with these intercropping methods for you to choose from. After you hold the village meeting, I will go talk to the Zhou couple."
Old Qian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It's good that you know what's going on."
At the villagers' meeting, Lao Qian did not mention that the Northwest Army might rebel against the imperial court. He only said that the situation was unstable and Qingtian County was under blockade, and he was afraid that outsiders would take advantage of the situation to rob, so the village should make preparations early.
Like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan.
The whole village was in an uproar.
Some people panicked, some did not believe it, and some disagreed with Lao Qian's idea of letting the villagers defend themselves.
Lao Qian was not a kind person who could be bullied. Moreover, at this critical moment, he was suppressing his temper. How could he tolerate these people?
"You don't want to do it, right?"
"That's fine, let's not do anything, just leave the village door open like this and no one will care. Wait till your house is robbed, your children are robbed while playing in the village, or someone cuts your throat while you are sleeping on the kang in the dark."
"When that time comes, don't blame me, the village chief, for being ignorant!"
"I've found a way for you to survive, but you don't want to, and I don't even bother to care!"
Lao Qian said this and walked away.
The villagers exchanged glances, and seeing that Lao Qian really had no intention of turning back, they all became anxious and called out to him to stay:
Someone who thought he was smart laughed and said, "Village Chief! We are still discussing it, why are you so anxious?"
Old Qian turned back angrily and said, "Discuss your mother's ass."
"Whatever ideas you have in your mind, just tell them. If they obey you, you can take them with you."
The man shrank his neck and dared not say a word.
The villagers were shaken for a moment and talked among themselves.
"There is no other way. Otherwise, just listen to the village chief."
"The village chief is one of us after all, he won't cheat us."
"Didn't the village chief say that patrols are just a precaution? There's no guarantee that there are real bandits."
"Although the wheat harvest is coming soon and there is a lot of farm work, I can accept it if each family takes turns."
…
Several elderly people grabbed Lao Qian and told him not to argue with everyone and that the whole village should just listen to him on what to do.
The matter was settled at this point.
At the end of the day, no one wants to be robbed of everything and lose their life.
Since I don't dare to gamble, I can only cooperate with the village chief's arrangements.
After the meeting, before Gu Xixi could even move, the Zhou couple came to her.
Old Zhou has always been a taciturn person, with a gloomy face, sighing and not saying a word.
Although Mrs. Zhou was obviously very anxious, her attitude was still good.
She smiled apologetically and asked, "Xixi, I can't go to the city to sell vegetables recently. Look at these vegetables in my house..."
Gu Xixi said, "I remember my sister-in-law's family planted long beans, coriander, and green vegetables."
Seeing that Gu Xixi remembered everything, Mrs. Zhou was grateful and said, "That's right."
"Coriander and greens are fine, but I plant beans the most. But in the summer, they keep growing. I can cut off a lot of them every morning. What can I do?"
As she spoke, she watched Gu Xixi's reaction from the corner of her eye.
Gu Xixi said without hesitation, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I have a solution."
"The weather is hot, and many people have no appetite due to the summer heat. Pickles are sour and crisp, so they sell best at this time."
“On the contrary, fresh beans are in season, and there are plenty of vegetable farmers in the county selling them.”
"It's not selling well these days, is it?"
Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhou felt a little ashamed, as Gu Xixi had previously advised her not to plant too many beans.
But she heard that Uncle Gu's family made a lot of money selling beans last year, so she greedily planted more.
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