Chapter 5
After everyone was ready, Lin Qiang led them to the grassy valley that Lao Si had mentioned.
The destination was farther than Lin Qiang had imagined; it took the group nearly two hours to reach it. The place was very secluded, almost outside the Black Wind Cliff area.
Lin Qiang asked the others to search the area for any wild animals, while he began to survey the terrain.
Just like the fourth brother said, this is a valley where grass can grow. To a layman like Lin Qiang, if grass can grow, it means there's soil, and where there's soil, you can grow crops! As for how to grow them... emmm... he really didn't know...
In his past life, he only cared about fighting and killing; he never farmed and knew nothing about crops.
Lin Qiang was having a headache when he suddenly remembered Yuan Liu Niang!
Yeah! It doesn't matter if he doesn't know, there's still the female lead!
As a time-traveling woman, Yuan Liuniang later helped Prince Cheng a great deal with her knowledge of agriculture and water conservancy. Things like terraced fields and windmills, which appeared in the book, were her ideas, greatly enhancing Prince Cheng's prestige among the people.
Now that Yuan Liuniang is in his hands, why not make the most of her?
Lin Qiang took out a white cloth and a homemade charcoal pencil, and wandered around drawing the terrain of the entire valley. In order not to arouse Yuan Liu Niang's suspicion, he specially wrote all the notes in Yan Kingdom characters according to the original owner's memories.
After clearing out the wild animals and drawing a map, Lin Qiang led his men back in the dark.
Early the next morning, Lin Qiang gathered most of the brothers in the village, told them to take axes and ropes, and follow him into the valley. Thinking of Yuan Liu Niang, he lowered his head and whispered to Lao Si, "Go to Granny Tian's hut and bring Yuan Liu Niang with you."
"Why bring Yuan Liu Niang along?" The fourth brother scratched his head in confusion.
"Just do as I say, stop talking nonsense!" Lin Qiang slapped him on the head: "Go now!"
"I'll go," the sixth brother immediately chimed in. "The fourth brother will lead the way, but I'm better at light footwork, so I'll be there faster."
"That works too." Lin Qiang thought about it and agreed. "Go quickly and come back quickly."
Knowing that Yuan Liu Niang was a weak woman with no martial arts skills, Lin Qiang called a few strong men to go with Lao Liu: "If Yuan Liu Niang is not feeling well, you can find a chair and carry her over."
"Yes, boss!"
In the herbal medicine hut on the back mountain, Yuan Liu Niang, who had just gotten up, was startled by the bandits who suddenly barged in.
"What...what do you want to do?!"
The sixth brother blushed upon seeing Yuan Liuniang and stammered, "I... our boss... our boss said he wants to invite Miss Yuan... to come with us..."
"I'm not going!" Yuan Liuniang immediately refused in a panic: "Big Beard Blackie said he wouldn't force me anymore! He can't go back on his word!"
"No, no, no, that's not it!" Old Six hurriedly waved his hands, afraid that Yuan Liu Niang would misunderstand: "We have something to ask you, Miss. The Chief doesn't mean any harm!"
Seeing her sincerity, Yuan Luo still hesitated: "I can go, but I have to bring Miss Wang Yao with me!"
That way she'll be safer.
After thinking for a moment, Lao Liu figured it wouldn't hurt to bring one more person, so he agreed: "Okay!"
And so, Yuan Qiong, who had just woken up and was still dazed, was pulled onto a chair by Yuan Liu Niang and carried to the valley with her.
"What's going on?" Yuan Qiong asked Yuan Liu Niang with a cold face.
Yuan Liuniang said somewhat guiltily, "I don't know either. It was Black Beard who told us to go over."
Her expression clearly showed she was lying. Yuan Qiong was too lazy to call her out on it. She didn't even take the mixed flour pancake that Lao Liu offered her, and simply closed her eyes and sat down in the chair to quell her anger.
Going out without washing up in the morning is really maddening!
When the two arrived at the valley, Lin Qiang was directing his men to cut down trees. Upon seeing Yuan Liu Niang, he happily got up and came over.
"Haha, Miss Yuan, you've finally arrived!"
At midday, under the bright sun, Lin Qiang laughed heartily. His burly figure was quite tall and imposing, and he was dazzling from afar.
Yuan Luo and Yuan Qiong were both a little dazed; they had never seen such a big, black beard before.
Especially Yuan Luo, watching Lin Qiang nimbly approach with his light-footed movements, four words flashed through her mind: a sunny, handsome man. It's just that the beard on his face is a bit of an eyesore...
Lin Qiang was always very enthusiastic towards useful people. Now that the second-in-command had already come down the mountain, he no longer needed to pretend to be rude, so he smiled and said to Yuan Luo, "Miss Yuan, thank you for coming all this way."
Yuan Luo could hardly believe her ears. This ruthless bandit was actually so polite? Or had she misunderstood him before...?
"fine."
Ignored and feeling inexplicably resentful, Yuan Qiong felt a surge of displeasure. Having been a pampered princess since childhood, she had never been neglected before. The long, bumpy journey up the mountain path had made her chest ache even more. Clutching her chest, she said to the people carrying the chair, "Put me down!"
Lin Qiang then noticed Yuan Qiong. When he saw her pale face and clutching her chest, he frowned and said, "Sixth Brother, I told you to invite Miss Yuan, why did you bring Miss Yao along?"
How can someone with a rib injury be subjected to such torture?!
Yuan Luo felt a little embarrassed. She had called Wang Yao because she was afraid of danger, but who knew... she should have known better than to call her.
"It's my fault, I..." Before Yuan Luo could finish speaking, the sixth brother interrupted, "I was afraid that Miss Yuan would be lonely on the road, so I took it upon myself to invite Miss Yao. If you want to blame someone, blame me!"
“Disobeying orders and acting on your own initiative, you shall be punished with ten lashes upon returning to the village tonight.”
"yes!"
Yuan Qiong sneered, her eyes and brows filled with mockery.
Yuan Luo was embarrassed and didn't dare to look at her, so she changed the subject and said, "The boss called us here so early in the morning, is there anything I can help with?" Her attitude was completely different from when she spoke to the black-bearded man earlier.
“I’ve been thinking about it lately and realized that robbing isn’t a long-term solution, so I’m thinking of farming some land on the back mountain so that the brothers can be self-sufficient.” He chuckled, his expression honest and simple. “But the people in our village are all roughnecks who have never farmed before and don’t know where to start. I remembered that you, Miss Yuan, own a farm and I heard that the harvest is quite good, so I wanted to ask you for some advice.”
Yuan Luo looked at Lin Qiang in surprise, never expecting that this bandit would have such awareness!
"This is a map of the valley I drew. Miss Yuan, you can take a look and give me some advice. Whether we brothers will resort to robbery or fend for ourselves in the future depends on you, Miss Yuan."
The compliment was applied seamlessly, and Yuan Luo instantly felt a great responsibility to protect the peaceful lives of the surrounding people! These bandits absolutely could not be allowed to rob again!
"I will do my best!"
Yuan Luo, as if meeting the black-bearded man for the first time, solemnly took the topographical map from him and headed into the valley.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Lin Qiang watched Yuan Luo enter the valley.
Yuan Qiong, who was sitting on the tree root basking in the sun, heard the two talking and wanted to laugh.
Was Yuan Liu Niang too foolish, or was this bandit too cunning? His sweetheart? It seems like a joke.
Lin Qiang turned around and saw Yuan Qiong's slightly upturned lips. He walked over to her, squatted down, and smiled slightly, "Little girl, what are you laughing at? Doesn't your body hurt?"
In his eyes, Wang Yao was completely different from Yuan Liu Niang.
The former was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl who had lost both her parents at such a young age and suffered such serious injuries. She was a helpless and pitiful little cabbage.
The latter, however, is someone who has lived two lives and is the female protagonist in the book, so she needs to be closely guarded against.
Most importantly, Wang Yao is not even a character in the story!
So, he naturally relaxed around her. He sat cross-legged opposite her, took out an oil paper package from his pocket, inside were two white flour cakes.
Are you hungry?
"Gurgle~"
Before she could even speak, her stomach growled, and her face instantly turned red to the roots of her neck.
"Hahahaha..." Lin Qiang couldn't help but burst into laughter. Seeing the girl in front of him looking like she wanted to disappear into the ground, he suppressed his laughter and handed her one: "Eat it. Children's stomachs will get ruined if they don't eat on time."
How embarrassing!
That's so embarrassing!
Ignoring the fact that her hands were dirty, Yuan Qiong took the pancake, glared at him, and shouted fiercely, "Don't laugh!"
"Okay, stop laughing, eat your pancake." Lin Qiang lowered his head to nibble on his pancake, his occasionally trembling shoulders revealing his expression.
"Eat your pancake like that, or you'll choke to death!" Yuan Qiong cursed as she viciously bit into her pancake.
After finishing his meal, Lin Qiang took a walk around to check on the progress. Then he returned to his spot and sat down with Yuan Qiong to bask in the sun against the tree roots.
"Little girl, your parents have both passed away. What are your plans for the future?"
"No."
"Then I will release your servant tomorrow, and you can stay on the mountain."
While sunbathing, Lin Qiang casually combed his beard with his hand: "In a few years, the world will be in chaos. It's not safe for a young girl like you to be out there."
Yuan Qiong's narrowed eyes widened instantly. She sat up and turned to look at the man beside her: "Why did you say that the world would be in chaos in a few years?"
“Isn’t it obvious?” Lin Qiang turned to look at her and chuckled. “When a lion gets old and can no longer protect its territory, the young and strong jackals and tigers will naturally want to take its place.”
Yuan Qiong's gaze toward Lin Qiang gradually changed.
"But I heard my dad say that there are always cubs around the old lion."
“The little lion is cowardly and its teeth aren’t sharp enough; it won’t be able to hold on. This day will eventually change.” After saying that, Lin Qiang suddenly realized, “Hey, why am I telling this to a little girl like you?”
He stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and said, "Stay here. I won't hurt you if you stay on the mountain. Trust me, in the coming chaos, Black Cloud Village will be the safest place."
Yuan Qiong stared at him intently, then suddenly smiled, her fox-like eyes curving into crescent shapes: "Why should I believe you? Who knows if you're just exaggerating?"
Lin Qiang suddenly bent down, pinched her still slightly chubby cheeks, and laughed, "Then just wait and see. Before long, you'll know whether I'm exaggerating or not."
"Let go! Who told you to touch me with your dirty hands!" Yuan Qiong slapped his hand away and vigorously rubbed the spot where he had pinched her, her cheek soon turning bright red.
This man is too audacious! How dare he touch her! We must chop his claws off!
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