ke went down his throat instead of out.He ducked to the side, avoiding Dong Mei's dagger, but in doing so he knocked over a copper basin by the wall."Bang!" The sound was especially loud in the dark n...The village head looked at all the villagers, let out a long sigh, and shouted, "This time going out, there will definitely be times when we have to fight with our lives. Those of you who want to go, must have thought it through. If you are afraid of death and don't want to go, no one will blame you. But if you go, you must listen to orders. When the time comes, if you are cowardly and don't draw your sword, and end up endangering your own brothers, don't blame us for looking down on you!"

A bachelor stepped forward and shouted, "Village head, count me in! I'm an only son. Even if I die, I won't be a burden to others. Dog-Ears, I watched him grow up. These bandits are too despicable. They can't lay a finger on our children!"

"Yes, don't touch the children! These people must die, count me in! I killed even wolves, what are a few bandits compared to that Let's eliminate harm for the people!"

"Yes, for the good of the people!"

"From now on, I can brag too. I've killed wolves and bandits. Who's better than me!"

It has to be said, on this journey into the mountains, the young and middle-aged men from the village have been tempered by hardship and become three points more fierce, no longer the honest and timid appearance they once had.

In an instant, all the young and middle-aged men stood up, not a single one afraid of death or backing down.

The village head and Mr. Zhao and others were overjoyed, while Wu Sanniang and Wu Sanyue knelt down and kowtowed tearfully.

"We bow to all of you, wow, thank you all for saving Gou Sheng. When Gou Sheng grows up, let Gou Sheng take care of all of you in your old age."

That bachelor simply pulled up the two people, nonchalantly replying, "They're all our own children, how could we possibly not go rescue them. When Gou Sheng grows up and becomes successful, he'll buy us plenty of jars of alcohol to drink."

The village head discussed with Zhao Shu, Li Lao Si, and Liu the鏢頭 for a few moments before starting to assign tasks.

Get a sack ready, fill it with hay and pretend it's food.

But silver is best truly genuine. It can be less than one hundred taels, and copper coins can be added to increase its weight and make it appear more substantial.

To avoid being discovered by bandits and losing the initiative, we can use this opportunity to pay them while they are examining the silver. This allows us to take the bandits by surprise and give our villagers a slight advantage.

Everyone took axes and bows, dressed warmly, and brought three days' worth of dry rations.

Each household rummaged through all their white clothing or sheets, distributing them to help conceal everyone's tracks...

Orders were passed down, and the entire camp, every cave, sprang into action.

There was a piece of ivory-colored material in Li's family's package, and there were also more than ten high-gluten steamed buns prepared for lunch, all taken away by Tao Hongying.

Grandma Li reached into her pocket where she kept the silver coins. Jia Yin ran over and hugged her grandmother's knees, remembering Gou Reng, who always followed Ji An and Ji Xi around, bothering her with a runny nose, also felt warm in her heart.

Old Li quickly took out the silver ingot given by Mr. Wen, added a few pieces of broken silver and a handful of copper coins, making more than ten taels. Then she put the rest of the silver back in.

She carried her granddaughter down the ladder while whispering softly.

"Funiu, we don't mind the money. Every family in the village is poor and probably can't come up with much. Grandma may have taken a bit more, but our family will always have opportunities to earn it back. Poor Goureng is only eight years old, he has to be saved. Otherwise, his parents wouldn't be able to live."

She also felt heartache, it wasn't easy for the family to save some money, and now she was taking it out like this, it was as if someone had dug out her heart.

But matters are of varying degrees of urgency, and for the sake of saving lives, one shouldn't be stingy at this time.

If someone in our village, like a family member or close friend, was arrested today, the villagers would definitely help with all their might.

Just as each household had planned with Old Lady Li, when the men stuffed hay into the bag, the women quickly took out their silver and placed it on the table.

There were silver coins and copper coins, even Sun's second sister-in-law, despite being injured, brought over all five taels of silver ingots that Mr. Wen had previously given them.

Wu Sanniang had cried until she couldn't cry anymore. This was the bottom line for each family, and at this time, they all took out what they had for her son.

Mr. Wen also gave over twenty taels of silver, “We only have this much money on us, hoping it can be of some help. Speaking of which, those bandits might have been following us, and we may have implicated everyone else.”

The village head quickly waved his hand, "Mr. Wen, don't say that. These bandits are too close to us. Even if we hadn't come with you yesterday, they would still find us eventually. You can hide the first day of the lunar new year, but not the fifteenth. We all lack preparedness, so it’s no wonder..."

The villagers all nodded, regretting their lack of vigilance earlier.

But regret is useless, all you can do is try your best to make amends.

Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou jostled the money bag, and seeing that the weight was right, they put it away.

Everyone checked their axes, bows and arrows, rations, and fire starters, then they were ready to set off.

At this time, Doctor Zhang walked over, followed by Lady Qiong.

Zhang Shenyi took out a small vial, "This contains some poison I've kept for self-defense. After you go there, if you find an opportunity, pour it into the water. Those bandits will die completely within half an hour after drinking it."

Everyone gasped, instinctively recalling if they had ever offended the old man.

Medicine and poison are close relatives, whoever angers the old man doesn't know how they will die...

Dr. Zhang saw everyone's expressions and, with a smug lift of his chin, let out a haughty hum.

On the other side, Qiao's wife took the medicine bottle, tucked it into her bosom, and said, "I'm good at light footwork. Madam ordered me to go with you to save people."

Both Li Lao Si and Liu Biaotou didn't refuse. With the addition of poison and experts, their chances of success on this trip increased considerably.

Jiayin was lying on Grandma's back, whispering, "Dad, Dad!"

Li Laosi heard this and stepped forward to tug on his daughter's hat, saying, "Don't worry, Dad will be back soon!"

Jia Yin was very worried. Her past hardships made her cherish this newfound family affection even more. She wanted to protect everyone like a mother hen protecting her chicks, ensuring they were safe from any danger and wouldn't experience any hardship.

Unfortunately, the world doesn't seem to be on her side.

"Dad, come back soon."

"Okay, at home, you have to listen to Grandma." Li Lao Si patted his daughter's cheek.

Li Laotai recalled that eating alone at home every day made her anxious, so she added a bit more.

"Lao Si, if everything goes smoothly, we save Gousheng and everyone is safe, then we'll see about grabbing some food back. The food we brought back home is almost gone. Even the glutinous rice noodles prepared for Fu Niu are running out. Tomorrow when I cook for Mrs. Cui, I can only use sorghum flour."

This wasn't just a reminder to Li Lao Si, the village head and Zhao Uncle also brightened their eyes.

The village head immediately replied, "Right, I had forgotten about that. Our families don't have much grain to begin with. Thanks to your family's help along the way, everyone managed to make it through by also gathering mountain produce. "

But at the end of the day, Lao Si and Jia Yi, even if they could carry it, couldn't carry out many bags of grain. Your family would definitely run out of food too. I was thinking about settling down for a few days, and let everyone go hunting more, but then this happened."

Zhao Shu also nodded, “Funiu’s rations, all the children in each family and the sick haven’t been left out. This time, we were really able to get some rations, so let’s give Funiu some extra.”

Everyone was quite excited by this. A man laughed and said, "We were originally here to save people, now it seems like we're going to fight bandits!"

The crowd also started to laugh, and the tense atmosphere eased a little.

Li Laosì, afraid of missing the opportunity, nodded to the village head and Zhao Shū and others, then yelled at the crowd.

"Go! Rescue the children! Seize the food!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

A crowd brandished gleaming cleavers in their hands and plunged into the woods!

The village head was worried that the bandits would use a decoy attack to lure away the reinforcements, so he left seven or eight men behind.

So, including Wu San Shu, a total of twenty young and middle-aged men from the village had left, plus one woman named Qiao.

As they disappeared from sight, the village chief took a deep breath and instructed those who remained in a loud voice.

"Hurry up and fetch water and firewood, then go into the cave. Don't wait for Lao Si and the others to come back; no one is allowed out! Someone from each family must guard the entrance of our cave, both day and night. Did you understand"

"Understood!" The old man, the woman, and the children all responded in unison, then quickly got to work.

Carry water, fetch firewood, and prepare a handy axe and hoe by the entrance.

The firewood pile, which was once convenient to collect firewood from, has now become a hazard as it is easily accessible to the entrance of the hole. Even when the women pull and push hard, they still manage to knock down the firewood pile.

Qiong's wife followed the troops to rescue people, and only Mrs. Cui, who was frail and ill, remained by the small cave.

Before Mr. Wen could speak, Li Laotai called Tao Hongying over to help.

Tao Hongying hesitated and only scooped two ladlefuls of sorghum noodles, but she took a bit more mountain goods.

Li Laotai held her granddaughter, looking at the almost empty grain jar in her home, and she also felt a pang of anxiety in her heart.

The granddaughter was powerful, she was happy, but more than that, she was afraid.

Is there any fortune in the world that comes out of nowhere Having a granddaughter at home enjoying blessings with her family, won't it shorten her lifespan

Along the way, she never turned down any help she could offer to the villagers. She also urged her family to take on more responsibility whenever possible.

The only reason I do this is to accumulate more virtue!

Saving one life is doing a good deed, wouldn't that make up for some of the granddaughter's bad luck

She really wanted to consult the gods for an answer, but unfortunately she couldn't find a place. She could only fumble her way here.

"Hong Ying, Lady Cui has no one around her, you remember to take care of her."

"Understood, Mother. We'll rely on you and the third sister-in-law here." Tao Hongying was about to leave, but Jiayin pulled her elder brother along with her.

As expected, Mr. Wen was uneasy and insisted on having a Li family member accompany him. He felt safe enough to bring Mr. Wen Hai along and have him stay in the cave as well.

After a busy morning, it was already noon. Tao Hongying was busy cooking.

Jia Ren sat by the stove, helping to build the fire while practicing his left-hand calligraphy on a stone slab.

As expected, Mr. Wen soon noticed it. After sitting aside and looking at it for a while, he asked, "How did you practice your left-handed characters"

"As for Mr. Hui, it's because my right hand is inconvenient." Jia Ren respectfully replied, then stretched out his right hand hidden in his sleeve.

Dr. Zhang's medical skills are undeniable. Although Jaren's right hand is missing, it was treated very well and is now completely healed.

Even with two missing fingers, it was still somewhat hideous.

Three fingers are still able to move, but they are not as flexible as before.

Tao Hongying felt sorry for her nephew and also wanted to make a good impression on Mr. Wen, so she chimed in with a few words.

"Earlier we met a pack of wolves in the forest, this child protected his younger brother by putting his hand in the wolf's mouth."

Mr. Wen nodded, then looked into Jiaren's eyes with a hint of admiration and pity. "Writing with your left hand doesn't hinder taking the exam. I also practiced it for a few years back then, I can teach you some techniques."

Jia Yin, who had been squatting on the side, finally broke into a smile.

Her elder brother's injury had always been a thorn in her side. Now, it led her brother into Mr. Wen's good graces. In the future, she would find an opportunity to make a glove for her brother, something that would be more aesthetically pleasing. Deer skin, for example, was very close to skin tone...

Instead of dwelling on those finer points, let's just say that Li Lao Si and his companions trekked through mountains and valleys towards the northeast. Halfway through their journey, they stumbled upon two sets of footprints left behind by bandits.ompletely dark, the main hall and east wing of Li's house each set up a table for a celebration. Men and women sat separately, together celebrating Mr. Wen's birthday.Mrs. Wen personally served dishes...