Night fell, and the village head had said what he needed to say, so the meeting adjourned.
The villagers quickly left, and only then did the village head see Zhao Xian and Li Guang under the big locust tree, so he went over to them.
"Zhao Xian, tomorrow the villagers will go to the wasteland to collect barnyard grass. It will be dried in the afternoon. You need to arrange for people to collect the grass."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You should go back now. You're still barefoot; don't hurt your feet."
"Haha, don't worry about that. The skin on my soles is very thick, so I can walk on knife edges without any problem."
After Li Zheng left, Zhao Xian took Li Guang home.
During dinner that evening, Zhao Xian made arrangements for purchasing barnyard grass the next day, which puzzled everyone.
Everyone in the countryside knows about barnyard grass, so why buy it?
“Most of the villagers are out of food now, and some have already starved to death in the past two days. Brother Zhao went to collect weeds to help the villagers get through this difficult time, because he doesn’t want to see anyone else starve to death,” Li Guang explained.
Qin Shiyu and Qin Yingying were both very clever and immediately understood what was going on.
"Don't worry, Master, I'll take care of the acquisition of the millet," Qin Yingying said.
"I'll help too," Li Guang said excitedly.
Zhao Xian nodded; he thoroughly enjoyed the family atmosphere.
"Brother, what delicious things can we make with millet?" Zhao Lingling asked excitedly.
Zhao Xian patted his little sister's head and spoke with a smile.
"Willow berries are a good thing; you can't eat them, but they make a very delicious drink."
"Is it tastier than sugar water? I want some too." Something that tastes better than sugar water popped into Zhao Lingling's mind.
"Children shouldn't drink that stuff; it's bitter and spicy."
Disappointment immediately flashed in Zhao Lingling's eyes, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
At night, a slight noise woke Zhao Cheng, and he immediately realized that someone was outside.
Judging from the noise, there are at least three people outside. So many people appearing in the middle of the night are probably not good people.
Zhao Cheng became alert. He gripped his sword, quietly got out of bed, and tiptoed toward the door, listening for any sounds outside.
The group was still wandering outside, not yet entering the yard, perhaps searching for a way in.
Zhao Cheng opened the gate a crack, slipped into the courtyard, and hid in a corner.
Although it was the dead of night, there was still a faint light, and the surrounding scenery could still be vaguely seen.
Suddenly, someone leaped into the yard and immediately crouched down.
After this person entered the courtyard, he remained still in the same position for a moment, and then two more people jumped in from outside, just as silently.
To be able to leap over a wall that's over two meters high, you must be really skilled.
The three entered the courtyard quietly, so quietly that an ordinary person sleeping inside would not be able to hear them.
Zhao Cheng sized up the three uninvited guests. They were muscular, dressed in night clothes, and their faces were covered with a black cloth, revealing only their eyes.
They observed for a while and found nothing unusual. They sensed that the people inside were still fast asleep and had not noticed their arrival.
They quietly drew their swords from their waists, their blades gleaming coldly, and began to approach the gate.
Zhao Cheng snorted coldly, walked out from the corner, stood behind the three, and slowly drew his sword from its sheath.
Suddenly realizing someone was behind them, the three were startled and quickly turned around to check.
Zhao Cheng is a seasoned veteran with extensive combat experience, and is known for his steadiness, accuracy, and ruthlessness.
The sword was now drawn, its chilling aura causing the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees instantly.
Zhao Cheng also wanted to see the sword, but before the three of them could turn around, the sword slashed at one of them.
It's no wonder this guy is so unlucky; he was closest to Zhao Cheng at the moment, so naturally Zhao Cheng would target him first.
Before he could even see what was happening, a cold light flashed towards him. He instinctively raised his sword to block, and the sword and the dagger clashed together with a piercing sound, breaking the dagger in two.
The sword continued its downward slash, severing the man's arm.
The man instantly lost his fighting ability, clutching his severed arm, rolling on the ground, howling loudly in agony, in a truly miserable state.
Once he drew his sword, he didn't stop, and Zhao Cheng launched an attack on the other two.
Forced into battle, the two witnessed the horrific state of their companions and learned that it was a genuine sword. They had heard of swords capable of cutting through gold and jade and slicing through iron like mud, but they never expected to see one in person.
This person was exceptionally skilled, and with such a precious sword, the two were no match for him.
The two bandits dared not touch Zhao Xian's sword with their sabers; it was an unequal fight.
Within a few rounds, both men's swords were broken; without weapons, how could they fight?
It would have been easy for Zhao Cheng to kill the two men at this moment. He didn't want the patriarch's courtyard to become a slaughterhouse, so he didn't kill them. He just kicked them twice, knocking them unconscious.
The commotion outside was so loud that the whole family had been awakened. The women huddled in their room, too afraid to move, while the men, being bolder, prepared to go outside to see what was going on.
The lights in the room came on, and Zhao Cheng, having sheathed his sword, walked in from outside. Seeing that Zhao Xian had already gotten up, he bowed in greeting.
"Master, you've been frightened. Three petty thieves have come, but they've been subdued and tied up. Please decide their fate, Master."
"Three petty thieves." Zhao Xian looked surprised, never expecting that his house had been broken into.
At this moment, Zhao Xiaosheng and Zhao Xiaoshan also got up. Hearing that a thief had broken into the house and had been subdued by Zhao Cheng, they breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to go out to see what was going on.
Seeing the scene in the courtyard, Zhao Xian frowned. Judging from the three people's clothes and the scene of the fight, these three people were definitely not simple thieves, but should be well-trained bandits.
The bandit whose arm was severed by Zhao Cheng was seriously injured, but Zhao Cheng had stopped the bleeding by pressing his acupoints and his life was not in immediate danger. The other two bandits had woken up and began to beg for mercy, asking Zhao Xian to let them go.
"Who are you, and why are you here so late at night?" Zhao Xian asked sternly.
"We come from Qianniu Mountain. Due to the government's crackdown on bandits, we have become homeless. Currently, the government is arresting people everywhere. We plan to leave this place, but we have no money. We were going to come out and get some, but we didn't expect to end up stealing from Young Master Zhao's house."
"Please let us go! I have an eighty-year-old mother at home who needs my support. I can't let the authorities arrest us."
Zhao Xian was shocked. It seemed that these bandits had come prepared and must have been secretly guided by someone they knew. These people were inhuman. If Zhao Cheng hadn't discovered them in advance and captured them, his family would have been in serious trouble.
"How do you know my surname is Zhao? Who sent you to rob the Zhao family? Tell me now."
When the man realized he had let slip his secret, he sighed, knowing he was doomed, and decided to make an exchange with Zhao Xian.
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