Jiang Sanlang and his men did not come up for the time being. Dozens of young and strong men followed him to cut bamboo to make bows and arrows.
Some people also picked up firewood in the forest to look for water sources, and carried clean water in bamboo tubes and jars up the mountain.
It was already bright in the sky, and the adults and children in the cave started to get up.
There was another commotion afterwards, and many people were in a hurry to go down the mountain, especially women, because they had to go down the mountain to relieve themselves.
But the plank road was narrow and winding, and it was impossible to run down in a short time, so many people were very anxious.
Seeing this, several older women used bamboo poles and torn linen to build a simple toilet in the corner of the cave near the cliff, finally solving the problem of food recycling for everyone.
The next step is to find clean water, which is more difficult than going down the mountain to defecate.
Without water, we can’t cook, and without cooking, everyone will go hungry.
It’s okay to be hungry for a day or two, but if you go hungry for a long time, you will become exhausted.
The Jiang family brought two water gourds. Jiang's wife, Zhou, picked them up and shook them, and felt that only a small half gourd of water was left inside.
She didn't dare to waste it at all. She poured out some and washed the pot, then put some rice in and poured water to cook porridge.
Nowadays, washing rice is a luxury because there is no water source nearby.
Grandpa Jiang said that if you want to get water, you have to go to a place several miles away, or find a thin spring flowing in the cracks of the mountains.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Yingbao quietly moved to the gourd, pulled out the wooden cork, put her hand on the gourd mouth, poured half a gourd of water into it, and then filled the other gourd with half a gourd.
She wanted to fill it up, but that would easily alert others. If it was only half full, her aunt and the others might think they had made a mistake.
After doing this to cover up the truth, Yingbao walked aside as if nothing had happened, took out a handful of cooked water chestnuts from her little pocket and stuffed them into her pocket for her younger brother to eat for fun.
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu got the delicious food and did not forget to give one Yuanbaohuzi to Wei Zhan each.
Five boys sat on a mattress playing rock-paper-scissors. The loser had to bark like a dog.
The two puppies fluttered around them and barked from time to time.
"Sister-in-law, do you have any water at home?" The clan leader's wife, Mrs. Tang, came over to borrow water to cook.
Zhou apologized, "I just poured it out to cook porridge. Why don't you check for yourself to see if there is any left?"
Tang was a little disappointed when he heard this. He glanced at the two large gourds on the cliff, then walked over, picked up one and shook it.
It was not as light as imagined, but rather very heavy, as if there was a lot of water in it.
You should know that these two gourds are bigger than basins, and half a gourd can hold a lot of water.
Tang was delighted and quickly thanked him: "Oh, there is still a lot of water in here, I will take it and use it. Thank you, sister-in-law."
After saying that, he picked up the water hyacinth and went home to cook.
Zhou was puzzled, but didn't care.
I did keep some water, but not much, and it seemed like it was not enough for cooking.
But Tang said there were still quite a few, and Zhou was very confused.
After a while, Tang returned the water hyacinth and two freshly baked pancakes.
"You don't have to be so polite. We are making cakes at home." Zhou was embarrassed to take the cake.
Tang smiled and said, "Let the children eat some food first, take it quickly."
Zhou had no choice but to take the pancake.
When Yingbao saw Granny Tang leave, she shook the gourd quietly and felt that there was only a little bit left inside.
After thinking about it, she pulled out the cork and poured in half a gourd of water, then went to give Chen Sanyou acupuncture.
Chen Sanyou is much better now and can even walk a few laps in the cave, but his mouth becomes a little crooked when he speaks. This is a sequelae and it is not easy to recover.
Seeing Yingbao, Chen Sanyou smiled kindly and stammered to thank her: "Thank...thank you Ying, Yingbao."
If it weren’t for this child, I would have probably already ascended to heaven to become a Buddhist.
"You're welcome." She had received the money, although she had not yet received it. But as long as Grandpa Chen San was still alive, his sons would not dare to default on the debt.
After the acupuncture, he was told to take the medicine on time, and then Yingbao sat back next to A Niang and the others.
Chunniang and her two sisters-in-law were kneading dough and making pancakes. They wanted to take advantage of the moment when they had nothing to do and make all the flour in their home into dry food for easy carrying.
In a blink of an eye, it was noon and everyone was starving. Those who had no food stared at the big pots of the Jiang family and the Chen clan leader's family.
Patriarch Chen couldn't bear it, so he borrowed a big iron pot from the Jiang family and asked his daughter-in-law to cook a big pot of rice porridge to share with everyone. Old man Jiang also gave some bread to the children.
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted from the bottom of the mountain: "The bandits are coming!"
Soon after, many strangers rushed out from the woods, holding swords and spears, and some holding bows and arrows and farm tools.
"They are really bandits!" Everyone started to panic.
Patriarch Chen shouted, "Don't panic! Those who can shoot arrows, come here quickly! Send a few more people to guard the entrance, don't let them come up!"
Most of the young and strong people went to the bamboo forest to cut bamboo to make bows and arrows. I don’t know if they are okay.
In the cave, everyone took their positions under the command of Chief Chen. Some aimed their bows and arrows at the mountain path, while others held long bamboo poles and guarded the entrance.
Fortunately, the entrance of the cave did not face the mountain road directly. The bandits fired a few arrows but saw that it was useless, so they screamed and squeezed onto the plank road.
Patriarch Chen sneered: "What an idiot." Rushing onto the plank road like this was simply courting death.
The bandit turned around the cliff and was poked down by a long bamboo pole as soon as he showed his head.
These bamboo sticks were specifically used to poke the bandits' legs, leaving them no chance to react.
A bandit screamed and was pushed off the cliff, and his life or death was unknown.
Another one was also stabbed and fell down. Although he was caught by the rocks below, he probably could not get up again.
The women and children in the cave all hid in the innermost part, shivering in fear. Even the dog did not dare to run around, and curled up in the arms of his little master without making a sound.
Yingbao didn't feel scared. She and her eldest and second cousins stood on the edge of the cliff and leaned their heads to look down.
The cliff is very steep and deep, with jagged rocks below. If someone falls down, he will be seriously injured if not killed.
After the bandits suffered several casualties, they finally wised up and retreated from the plank road.
However, they did not leave, but set up camp at the foot of the mountain, intending to trap the people on the mountain to death.
Jiang Jiacuncun was just leaning forward to take a look, then he immediately retracted his gaze and said to Old Man Jiang, "I see there are more than a hundred bandits down the mountain path, all armed with bows and arrows. I guess they are here to seek revenge."
Last night, Jiang Sanlang and his men set up an ambush with the villagers and killed many bandits. Logically, the bandits would not dare to come again.
But today they appeared again, and it seemed that they had captured two villagers to lead the way to Tiger's Mouth.
So these bandits are most likely here to seek revenge.
"I don't know how Sanlang and the others are doing." Old man Jiang was worried.
He was not worried about his own side. As long as they did not go down the mountain, the bandits would not be able to do anything to them.
But his three sons are still outside. What if they accidentally get surrounded by bandits
Chief Chen stroked his beard and said, "With so many bandits coming up the mountain, Sanlang and his men must have gotten the news. Zhuer said they sent two smart guys as scouts. If there's any movement, the scouts will definitely come back to inform you. You don't have to worry."
These words did not comfort Old Man Jiang at all.
If my three sons were to encounter any accident with bandits, how would I and my wife survive