"Daya, can you think of another way..."
Lin thought of the last time when Master Ma’s cow was stolen. Song Yuehua not only helped him get the cow back, but also found the thief.
"Shut up!"
Zhou Lizheng rebuked, "This is a murder case, why involve a child like Daya!"
Lin shut up angrily.
"How's things going with Grandpa Zhu?" Song Yuehua asked.
Zhou Lizheng said, "He fainted for two days and just woke up today. He is still in the county town. I guess the Zhu family will have to wait until the burial before they can come back."
Master Ma also spoke up, "According to the yamen runners, it was most likely done by the bandits from Centipede Mountain. In addition to the blacksmith shop, several other shops were also affected..."
"Bandits from Centipede Mountain?" Song Yuehua frowned and asked, "Why would people from Centipede Mountain come to our place..."
Master Ma said, "Our county is not rich, so few of them come, but that doesn't mean they won't come. Now is the end of the year, and every family has surplus food. These bandits are erratic and difficult to guard against."
"Someone has died this time. What will the county magistrate say?" Song Yuehua felt extremely uneasy.
Grandpa Ma looked at Zhou Lizheng, and they both sighed heavily.
Li Zheng Zhou said bitterly, "This group of bandits came and went without a trace. They ran away after robbing. Only the blacksmith shop lost a life. If we want to wait for the government to arrest the person, I'm afraid..."
This group of bandits had robbed wealthy families in the county before, often coming every few years, and the county magistrate had never launched an effective counterattack.
Ordinary people like them just want a stable life, but they didn't expect it to be so difficult.
Grandpa Ma slapped his thigh heavily and said, "The daughter of the bamboo craftsman is a stubborn person. She didn't know how to give in when she met the bandits. Money is only a thing outside of the body. If you lose it, you can earn it back. But this person is gone..."
"Everyone is gone. There's no point in talking about this. Let's all go back." After Zhou Lizheng finished speaking, he stood up and left.
Song Yuehua left with Master Ma.
After leaving the house, Song Yuehua asked Master Ma, "Do you think the bandits from Centipede Mountain will target our village..."
"It shouldn't happen," said Master Ma, "Why would the bandits come to our poor place? We don't need to worry too much about it."
Song Yuehua hummed lightly.
Suddenly, Master Ma said seriously, "Girl, don't worry about this!"
Song Yuehua was stunned at first, then said helplessly, "Don't worry, Grandpa Ma, I know my limits."
After returning home, Song Yuehua felt sad and scared. Thinking of what Ma Ye said, she thought that Ma Ye really overestimated her.
There was no way she would take such a risk.
Song Yuehua felt that there was justice in her heart, but it was impossible for it to overshadow her family.
Blacksmith Zhao is now in a daze.
My wife is gone, and my youngest daughter is seriously injured and is still in a coma.
Why did he go to deliver the goods? Why wasn't he the one who died?
Zhao Tieniang was wearing white mourning cloth, her eyes were red and swollen, and she stood beside Zhao Xiaofu.
Jiang sat by the bed and helped Zhao Xiaofu change the bandages. Xiaofu's leg was injured by the fallen cabinet.
The doctor said that Zhao Xiaofu’s leg injury was too severe and he might not be able to stand up again in the future.
The father-in-law fainted, and her husband sent him to the clinic. Blacksmith Zhao was called away by the yamen runners, and the body of the sister-in-law was placed in the lobby. Jiang felt a chill in her heart every time she passed by the lobby door.
A group of people in the family were dizzy or crazy. Tie Niang was still young and seemed to have been hit hard. She came the day before yesterday to help collect the body and prepare the coffin.
My sister-in-law suffered serious injuries on her face and body, but the fatal injury was the knife wound on her back.
The government said they were bandits, and they were bandits from Centipede Mountain. If they were really that group of people, there was nothing we could do to the government.
Poor these two girls, they lost their mother when they were so young.
After changing the medicine, Jiang advised Zhao Tieniang, "Tieniang, you haven't slept for several days and nights. Your aunt is watching Xiaofu. Can you go to sleep for a while?"
Zhao Tieniang shook her head stubbornly.
Jiang picked up the basin helplessly and went out. As soon as she left, Zhao Xiaofu raised his eyelids weakly, "Sister... Mother..."
"Xiaofu! Sister is here, sister is here!" Zhao Tieniang knelt beside the bed and held Zhao Xiaofu's hand.
"Is mother still here?" Zhao Xiaofu said weakly.
Zhao Tieniang couldn't stop her tears from flowing down, and she choked up and said, "Xiaofu, mother is gone..."
"Heh..." Zhao Xiaofu laughed at himself, "Sister, is money more important than life? Mother is too stupid..."
Zhao Tieniang shook her head desperately and tears fell.
"Why not just give them the money box..." Zhao Xiaofu said and closed his eyes.
"Xiaofu..." Zhao Tieniang touched her neck and made sure that Xiaofu was just asleep, so she stopped calling.
Jiang was cooking porridge in the kitchen when she saw blacksmith Zhao staggering into the backyard.
"Well, what did the county magistrate say?" Jiang ran over and asked.
Blacksmith Zhao didn't say anything. He walked straight into the room, glanced at Zhao Xiaofu, then at Zhao Tieniang, gritted his teeth, turned around and left.
When he took out two big knives from the warehouse and turned around, he saw Zhao Tieniang standing at the door, staring at him with red eyes.
"Dad, are you going to Centipede Mountain to seek revenge?"
Zhao Tieniang said in a hoarse voice, "If you want to die, die now, otherwise I will have to go to Centipede Mountain to look for your body. It's not enough for you to die yourself, but you also want to harm me and Xiaofu!"
"Iron Lady..." Blacksmith Zhao's voice was dry.
"Dad, you have to live well." Zhao Tieniang's words were like a shackle that trapped Zhao the blacksmith.
The sword in Zhao the blacksmith's hand fell, he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, "How can my father live? How can I live..."
Zhao Tieniang picked up the big knife, patted Zhao the blacksmith on the back and said, "Dad, I still have you, and Xiaofu."
When Zhao the Blacksmith cried until his voice became hoarse, Zhao Tieniang said, "Dad, I want to learn martial arts. I want to be able to protect myself."
Blacksmith Zhao slumped weakly on the ground, his daughter, who had been blurry in his sight, gradually becoming clearer.
What happened to the Zhao family was like a wake-up call for Song Yuehua.
Ever since she bought land and raised pigs in Dongshan, she went to Bugui Mountain less often. Except for occasionally going to the mountain to worship Bai Daxian, the sense of crisis gradually faded from her life.
In front of these bandits who kill people as easily as slaughtering chickens, kidnappers are nothing.
Song Yuehua looked solemn. It was not a good idea to throw the baby out with the bathwater. All that could be done was to let every child learn to protect themselves.
Since the weather turned cold, both the big and small treasures like to play on the kang. The big treasure is very active and likes to fight and play with Xie Wenwu. He laughs heartily all day long.
Xiaobao’s biggest hobby is eating cakes, snuggling in Song Yuehua’s arms and listening to her stories.
Looking at Xiaobao's condition, it probably won't work to let her learn martial arts in the future. I can only think of other ways.
Originally, Song Yuehua wanted to tell Xiaobao about the tortoise and the hare race, but she changed her mind and told her about the empty city plan.
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