Chapter 152 151. I Can’t Let You Live a Widow
The bandit leader is dead.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi stripped the unconscious bandits of their clothes, tore them into strips, and tied them up.
Lei Li tied up the boy who had launched the sneak attack especially tightly, with his hands and feet tied behind his back, making him look like a dumpling that could be slaughtered at will. The process made him scream and shout, cursing Lei Li for killing someone and asking him to pay with his life.
"This place is quite far from the village. There's no village or shop nearby. I don't know if these bandits have any accomplices."
Lei Li glanced at the unconscious bandit on the ground, squatted down with his machete, and nonchalantly patted the boy's face with the back of the machete. "Hey, what's your name? Does your ghostly father have any other accomplices?"
"Pooh!"
The boy was quite stubborn. He spat and thrust his neck against the knife, "Kill me and my dad if you dare! I want to die with my dad!"
"It's only a matter of time."
Lei Li is not a pushover.
Seeing that he was going to go the same way as his dead father, he didn't put away the knife. Instead, he changed the back of the knife into a blade. He waited until a bloody mark appeared on his face and he wailed in pain, then he slowly stood up.
He kicked a bandit on the ground awake and asked him, "Do you have any other people?"
"My parents are still in the mountains..."
The bandit was kicked so hard that he had severe stomach pains. When asked, he revealed that he had taken away all his belongings.
This middle-aged fat man was from the same village as other bandits. He fled here with his family, old and young. He happened to meet a wealthy man who was alone. In a moment of thought, he took advantage of his large numbers and decided to rob him to make quick money.
They robbed more than one hundred taels, which was a sum they could not earn even if they worked in the fields for ten years, not to mention that it was free. But they were happy but also worried for a while.
The rich man was timid and thought of spending money to avoid disaster, so he did not report to the authorities. The county magistrate there was not diligent in his work because he would be transferred next year due to examinations, so he thought it was better to have less trouble than more, and was too lazy to suppress the bandits.
This group of bandits tasted the sweetness and found that they were not wanted, so they robbed several more times. They hid in the mountains for a while at the end of the year. Knowing that the disaster situation in Nanjiang had improved that year, they wanted to make some more money and save enough to take their family and brothers back home.
But the wealthy families in the neighboring county knew that there were bandits, so they rarely went out.
This group of people did not dare to cause trouble in the county town, so they fled to Qingmi County. Seeing that Lei Li and Zhou Yi were the only two people and they were well dressed, they thought this would be an easy deal, but they hit a wall unexpectedly.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi were speechless after hearing this.
They went back to the village to see Liu Xiaocao.
Several villages in Sanlihe are very skilled in growing peppers. The division of labor and responsibilities in the village is clear, and even without the two of them going back to supervise the spring plowing, everything is still in order.
But Liu Xiaocao sent a message to Lei Li yesterday, saying that she was pregnant, but the pregnancy was not stable in less than two months, so she could not go to the city to see him in the near future.
Lei Li thought that the last time he saw Liu Xiaocao was during the Lantern Festival. Once Liu Xiaocao was pregnant and free again, it would be the Cold Food Festival in April to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.
Since there was nothing to do at the restaurant at home, Lei Li picked out some silk and other gifts, and together with Zhou Yi, they hitched a cart and went back to the village to see Liu Xiaocao, and to learn about the situation of spring plowing this year. It would be a shame if they didn't check on the fields.
Unexpectedly, their small number of people played right into the bandits' hands.
Fortunately it was them.
What if Miao Fulang was intercepted by these bandits when he took Xiaobao or Liu Xiaocao's family to the county town, and they had evil intentions to kill them to silence them?
But not everyone can calm the situation from the beginning like Lei Li.
"Ride fast and go to the village to call people. I'll watch them here."
Lei Li said to Zhou Yi, and when he saw him shaking his head and looking at him worriedly, he smiled, "Just now, they couldn't hold us down even with their knives and shovels. Now they're all tied up like a pretzel. Can they still turn the tide?"
"Besides, I have a knife with me. If things get tough, I can always run away. How can a bunch of outsiders like them know this place better than me?"
Zhou Yi thought about it and nodded, then pulled the grass knife from the middle-aged fat man's face and handed it to Lei Li, "Take both. Safety comes first."
"I know."
Lei Li took the bloody blade, smiled, and kissed Zhou Yi. "For you and the child, I have to be well. I can't let you live as a widow and raise the child by yourself."
"That's good to know."
Zhou Yi felt relieved. "I'll be back soon. Just wait for me here."
After buying this big horse, Lei Li and Zhou Yi both learned to ride a horse. After all, riding a horse is much more majestic than driving a carriage. Little Jiang also likes to be held by his father while riding a horse.
After Zhou Yi finished speaking, he untied the reins, jumped on the horse, and rode at full speed, and soon arrived at Sanlihe Village.
"What?!"
When the village chief heard that such a big thing had happened and that it involved human lives and the livelihood of his own village, he immediately felt dizzy and hurriedly asked his eldest son to call for help.
"By the way, don't tell Xiaocao yet. Be careful of miscarriage. Wait until Li Ge'er comes back!"
Lei Jingsheng is Lei Li's adopted sister.
Someone immediately told her that her brother was stopped by bandits when he returned to the village. She was immediately shocked. "What about my brother and sister-in-law? Where are they now?"
When she knew her brother was fine, her expression changed and she angrily waved her hands, calling away all the strong aunts and husbands in the garden.
These aunts and their husbands work in the fields all year round. They are not much weaker than men and have sharp tongues. Especially Gui Fulang, he can say that something alive is dead. His eloquence is as good as ten men's. When he scolds people, the men in the village don't want to confront him.
"You deserve to be chopped into pieces and skinned alive by evil spirits! How dare you stop us from Sanlihe Village!"
"He has a father but no mother to raise him!"
"Huzi, go! Go and ask your father to kill them! Do you really think there's no one left in our Sanlihe Village?"
The children ran especially fast and shouted loudly. Before long, everyone in Sanlihe Village knew what had happened, and half of the young laborers in the village came out to help.
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation. Some took machetes and knives, some took shovels and hoes, and together with the aunts and husbands led by Lei Jingsheng, they rushed towards the crime scene in a mighty and aggressive manner.
Zhou Yi brought the message and went back to find Lei Li.
The tall horse was galloping on the mountain road. I saw Lei Li standing by the roadside in good health from a distance. He was even holding a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth out of boredom. Only then did I feel relieved.
"Thunder Li!"
Zhou Yi shouted.
Lei Li had sharp ears and eyes. He spotted a small black dot approaching on the mountain road and immediately waved at him, "You're back so soon?"
"I'm worried about you."
Zhou Yi rode closer on horseback, heard his words, replied, and then jumped off the horse.
The villagers were fast runners and soon they arrived at the main force.
I don't know how the rumor spread in the village, but the villagers came with knives and axes in a threatening manner. When they saw that there was no one else except a few people tied up on the ground, they were a little disappointed, as they thought there was going to be a big fight.
Some people were assigned to take the bandits to the county town to report to the authorities, some returned to the village with Lei Li and Zhou Yi, and some searched the nearby mountains to see if there were any other bandits.
When Liu Xiaocao knew that Lei Li had been attacked by bandits, she hurried to Lei Li's house and took him around for several rounds. Only when she saw that Lei Li was indeed fine did she feel relieved and scolded the bandits again and again.
After cursing until her mouth was dry, Liu Xiaocao took a sip of water and thought about the gift Lei Li had picked for her. "Where's the silk cloth you brought me? I'll take a look at the pattern and see if I can make some clothes for Tao Ge'er too."
"It's all what you like."
Lei Li and Liu Xiaocao have been friends for many years, so he naturally knows what he likes. Sure enough, this light blue and peach pink silk cloth hits the mark for Liu Xiaocao.
"Make two sets of this peach pink cloth for Tao Ge'er, and one for Yin Yin from my eldest sister-in-law's family. The little girl is in the period of being coquettish, so the remaining cloth can be made for the baby in her belly."
"The baby was born in August or September, so it can still be worn for two months. I'll change it to a bigger size next year when the weather gets hotter."
Although we don’t know whether the baby is a girl or a boy, it doesn’t matter to children. They can wear either peach pink or brown and gray.
"This aqua blue one will make two sets for me and my sister-in-law. Ershu just made me two silver bracelets that match the color of the clothes."
Liu Xiaocao has a small frame and a pretty face. Although she has been married for several years, she looks very natural in a light blue dress. Instead, she looks younger and more graceful.
Lei Li prefers more stable colors.
"You decide for yourself."
Lei Li took a sip of tea. He didn't know anything about embroidery or making clothes, so he couldn't give any advice even if Liu Xiaocao talked to him.
"You brought some wine. I'll have Ershu buy two pounds of pork belly and a fish, and then kill a duck and stew it with bamboo shoots to get rid of the bad luck for you and Zhou Yi."
As Liu Xiaocao put away the silk cloth, she said, "There are a lot of bamboo shoots growing in the mountains. Don't you like to eat them? When you return to the county town later, take a few back with you. I'll ask Ershu to cut them down."
"Need not."
Lei Li shook his head and said, "Zhou Yi and I haven't been into the mountains for a long time. We can just go and cut the trees ourselves later."
"That's fine."
Liu Xiaocao nodded. When she heard a noise outside, she went out to take a look. She turned back and said to Lei Li, "Mr. Miao is here. He must have heard about your situation and rushed to see you and Zhou Yi."
As he spoke, Miao Fulang came into the house and checked on Lei Li several times. Seeing that he was fine, he felt relieved and said, "I was cooking at home. I was really scared when I heard the news."
"I heard there are still some bandits that haven't been caught. Daqiang went to search the mountains and hasn't come back yet. The children are all in school now. Fearing anything might happen, the village sent a few men to guard the school and also brought two dogs over."
"Jingsheng was busy in the chili garden and couldn't come over. She told me to come over for lunch after she finishes her work."
"It's just a small matter, but you still have to come to see me one by one."
Lei Li curled his lips, but in his heart he was pleased. "The peppers in the field are important. Is Jing Sheng busy sending more people to patrol?"
"Yes."
Miao Fulang nodded and said, "I'm afraid that group of bandits will get desperate and come to the village to cause trouble. If they pull out the pepper seedlings in the field, it would be disgusting."
"By the way, why isn't Zhou Yi here?"
"He's in the kitchen killing ducks."
Liu Xiaocao smiled and teased Lei Li, "They said Li Ge'er was frightened and needed to eat something good to replenish his body. So, I'm going to make a big meal for him at noon."
"Then we are also blessed."
Miao Fulang smiled and said, "It's a good thing you didn't bring ginger."
"yes."
Lei Li also nodded. "I thought the journey was long and I would only be out for a day, so I didn't bring ginger. I didn't expect it to be so easy today with ginger."
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