After the Broken Dragon Stone was opened, Black Wind Ridge began a large-scale plundering. On the first day, two teams were sent down the mountain, but the harvest was very small, because it was not the harvest season. The next day, seven teams were dispatched to further villages and towns to search for food, grass and property. However, by the evening, only four of the seven teams came back, empty-handed. Each and every one of them was in a state of panic. It is said that there was a new relationship with the officers and soldiers. The people have taken over, but there is still no news about the other three teams.
The top management of the village immediately held an emergency meeting, and even the second boss, who was still recovering from his injuries, also participated.
Aunt Jiang came to help with the laundry, her expression unusually solemn.
"Aunt Wu's man is gone. She cried so miserably. If we hadn't held her back, she would have been killed." Aunt Jiang sighed. Although she and Aunt Wu didn't get along very well, she is already in such a miserable state now. , let’s not mention those small grievances.
"Uh... Aunt Wu's man's team didn't come back, didn't it? How do you know there are no more people?" Ye Jiayao knew that many people died this time, but the detailed list didn't seem to be out yet.
"Just now, the brothers from Panlongling sent back more than twenty corpses. They said that people from Xinyi Town dumped the corpses at the foot of the mountain and left. Aunt Wu's body was almost split in half..." Aunt Jiang thought of that. The horrific scene made me want to vomit.
Ye Jiayao shuddered. Although she had been frustrated since she came up the mountain, overall her life was pretty good. She was not in a hurry to escape, always feeling that she still had a lot of time to slowly plan and look for opportunities. However, this sudden change made her feel a strong crisis.
She wasn't sure whether the officers and soldiers would listen to her explanation after they broke through the stronghold. Even if she did, no one would believe her. Chunyu's analysis was right. If the news that she was kidnapped by Heifenggang spread, it would be the Ye and Wei families who were harmed. Reputation, so the Ye and Wei families will definitely hide the news and find ways to remedy it. Therefore, no one would believe her when she said that she was the eldest lady of the Ye family and the daughter-in-law of the Wei family. Her identity will only be the wife of the third head of Heifeng Gang.
"I think, this time we will copy the village." Aunt Jiang couldn't help but shake her head.
"Aunt Jiang, if the stronghold is breached, do you think we can survive?" Ye Jiayao asked worriedly.
Aunt Jiang smiled bitterly and said: "If the officers and soldiers attack, we women may still survive, but if the people from Xinyi attack, it will be hard to say. Their people are more ruthless than the people in our village! But... as beautiful as the third lady For a young girl, they may or may not be merciful, but like me, an old woman, she chopping melons and vegetables without batting an eye."
Ye Jiayao couldn't even smile bitterly. Even if she could survive, she would probably become another bandit's woman! Then you might as well follow Chunyu! At least Chunyu is handsome, incomparably handsome, and pleasing to the eye. Moreover, Chunyu is sometimes very gentle and considerate. Like these two nights, he helped her cover her belly for the whole night. No matter what sleeping position she changed, his hands All the while holding her belly.
Comparing her feelings with her own, she felt that she might not be able to do it in a different place.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. I believe that the first master will find a solution. If things don't work out, there will be the third master who will protect us." Ye Jiayao said without any confidence.
Just as he was talking, Chunyu and the others came back.
"Third Master, then I'll make some preparations and set off." Peng Wu said with his fists in hand.
Xia Chunyu nodded solemnly: "Be careful."
Ye Jiayao followed Chunyu into the house.
"Where are Peng Wu going?"
"Go down the mountain." Xia Chunyu spoke concisely and to the point. He went straight to the study room, took out the map, spread it out and studied it.
"You're going down the mountain so late? Isn't there an ambush at the bottom of the mountain?" Ye Jiayao asked with concern.
Xia Chunyu glared at her impatiently: "Can you please stop disturbing me?"
Ye Jiayao snorted angrily and turned to look for Song Qi.
Song Qizheng was sending Peng Wu out and gave Peng Wu his short knife: "This dagger is passed down from my family. It is so sharp that it will seal the throat with blood. Take it with you and give it back to me when you come back."
Peng Wu inserted the dagger into his waist and patted Song Qi on the shoulder: "Thanks, brother."
Ye Jiayao also stepped forward and warned: "Peng Wu, be careful. If you can't beat him, run away."
Peng Wu smiled: "Sister-in-law, it's okay. I just took a few brothers down the mountain to check out the situation and try not to fight with others."
After sending Peng Wu away, Ye Jiayao asked Song Qi: "Is the situation very bad?"
Song Qi scratched his scalp: "It's a little troublesome. People from the government and Xinyi seem to have been stationed at the foot of the mountain. As soon as the nearby villagers saw our people, they ran to spread the news. If we can't get food, we will be trapped to death. It’s up the mountain.”
Ye Jiayao's heart sank, that was really troublesome.
That night, Chunyu and Song Qi patrolled everywhere and strengthened their defenses. Chunyu didn't come back to sleep until late at night.
When the crisis came, Ye Jiayao felt that her physical discomfort had disappeared. She got up early the next day and went to the kitchen to get the ingredients in person.
Today's ration is even smaller than yesterday's. There are only two kilograms of rice, one kilogram of noodles, one lotus root, two loofahs, and three eggs. Ye Jiayao knows that supplies are tight now, but she is not so nervous that she needs to drink porridge, right? Did Lao Yutou make a mistake? There were several people in her house!
Old Yutou said: "The two eggs are for the second master. The first master has given instructions. From now on, except for the second master who is recovering from his injuries, the food for everyone else, including himself, will be reduced by half. Everyone must tighten their belts to live." "
But the belt was too tight all of a sudden. Ye Jiayao had no choice but to take the ration and return to the small courtyard and start making porridge. With so little rice, she could only drink porridge. Add flour to old noodles and make some steamed buns. The buns are so awesome that I can no longer eat them.
Fortunately, Uncle Jiang brought molded tofu made by Aunt Jiang. Song Qi and Chun Yu each had a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns, so they had just one breakfast.
I thought Chunyu would not be used to it, but Chunyu didn't react at all. When he saw Ye Jiayao drinking porridge and not eating steamed buns, he asked: "How many steamed buns have been made in total? Why don't you eat them?"
Ye Jiayao smiled and said: "I don't want to eat it yet. You can eat it. There is still something in the pot. I will eat it later."
Xia Chunyu then ate the second steamed bun.
"Song Qi, let's go." Xia Chunyu finished his meal, picked up his sword and went out. Song Qi hurriedly drank up the porridge and waved to Ye Jiayao, and chased after him.
Ye Jiayao chewed her breakfast carefully and counted the steamed buns in the pot. There were eight more. She only made twelve in total. She didn't eat them. Song Qi and Chun Yu had six each. If Peng Wu came back, one person would It can only be divided into four. They are men and they have to put in a lot of effort. Even if they can't eat well, they still have to eat as much as possible.
After putting away the dishes, Ye Jiayao picked a weeping pot grass from the backyard and put it in her pocket, then carried the basket to find Aunt Jiang. In extraordinary times, she had to find a way to play a role and not become a burden to others. She did nothing else If you can't do that, you should still be able to find something to eat.
"Aunt Jiang, I want to go up the mountain to dig some wild vegetables." She didn't dare to go up the mountain alone and wanted to recruit Aunt Jiang to strengthen her courage.
Aunt Jiang said: "Just in time, Aunt Zhao and the others are also going to dig wild vegetables, let's go together!"
So, Ye Jiayao and Aunt Jiang gathered a few aunties to go up the mountain together.
"There are many traps on this mountain, be careful." Aunt Zhao was more experienced and warned everyone along the way, leading everyone to avoid traps, iron traps and the like.
"Actually, they are all marked, as long as everyone pays attention." Aunt Zhao pointed to a piece of ground covered with withered grass, and then pointed to a branch stuck on the side.
"Besides, each trap is marked by who dug it, so that there won't be anyone fighting over the prey." Aunt Jiang whispered to Ye Jiayao.
Ye Jiayao was frightened for a while. She almost stepped on it just now. She thought that her biggest fear when going up the mountain was to encounter snakes, but she had to be careful of traps. Fortunately, she went to join Aunt Jiang, otherwise no one would know about her death on the mountain.
As for wild vegetables, Ye Jiayao only recognized wild onions, shepherd's purse, dandelions, purslane, and bracken. Under Aunt Jiang's guidance, she also learned about Artemisia vulgaris, whose young shoots are delicious for scrambled eggs; and calamus, which can be stewed. Soup; bitter amaranth, which has a cooling and detoxifying effect; and red amaranth, which is the most refreshing when eaten cold...
"Don't dig it all out in one go. Leave the roots behind. They will grow back in a few days." Aunt Jiang said.
"Yeah!" Ye Jiayao dug for wild vegetables excitedly. With wild vegetables and small animals all over the mountains and fields, Heifeng Hill was simply a cornucopia! Ye Jiayao was originally worried that she would run out of ammunition and food and starve to death, but now she is not worried at all.
It didn't take long for everyone to return home happily.
Ye Jiayao specially picked Artemisia annua, calamus and red amaranth, one for scrambled eggs and one for cold dishes. The calamus was stewed with some wind meat, so there were three more dishes. Ye Jiayao was so happy that she decided to pick wild vegetables every day from now on.
After preparing lunch, Ye Jiayao waited for a long time before Chunyu and Song Qi came back.
"Why are you back so late today? The food is cold. How about I heat it up?" Ye Jiayao said.
Xia Chunyu waved his hand: "No, just eat something, I have to go out later."
The two sat down and Ye Jiayao went to pack the porridge and steamed buns.
Xia Chunyu looked at the dishes on the table and couldn't help but frown. Isn't this a wild vegetable? Yesterday, the big boss just ordered to tighten his belt, and today he is eating wild vegetables
"Who sent these wild vegetables?" Xia Chunyu asked.
Ye Jiayao said proudly: "I went up to the mountain to pick it myself."
Xia Chunyu suddenly darkened his face and shouted: "Who asked you to go up the mountain? Do you know how dangerous the mountain is?"
Oh, you care about her so much! For the first time, Ye Jiayao felt that his roar was full of humanity, and said with a smile: "I went with Aunt Jiang, Aunt Zhao and the others. There will be no danger."
Xia Chunyu then softened his expression and said coldly: "How come it's not dangerous? You girls, if you run into a wild boar or wild wolf, you can't run, you can't fight, and you don't know how to fight, isn't it a dead end? You won't be allowed to do that in the future. went."
Song Qi echoed: "Yes, sister-in-law, from now on I will take time to go to the mountain to get some food and come back, so don't go."
"What are you doing? We're not going far, we're on a nearby mountain. What's the danger? You gentlemen, just worry about your own business. Don't worry about women's affairs." Ye Jiayao curled her lips bitterly. She didn't want to do anything like eating. Dead trash.
(End of chapter)