Old Man Jiang methodically directed his two grandchildren to fully draw their bows and aim their arrows in the direction where the gangsters were about to appear.
"Hold the bow firmly and don't let the arrow tilt. Be careful of accidentally injuring your second and third uncles."
"Uh-huh." Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan responded and drew their bows to their full capacity.
With the help of her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Jiang Liu finally climbed up the steep slope and sat on the ground gasping for air.
I saw my granddaughter Ying Bao untying the rope from Wen Shu's waist, and then sliding down the slope while holding the rope.
"Bao'er!" Chun Niang exclaimed and quickly looked down, only to see that after her daughter went down the slope, she wrapped the rope around Youyou's waist and asked A Niang, the eldest aunt and the second aunt on the slope to pull her up.
You must not throw it away, it is of great use.
Chun Niang and Yan Ru Zhou worked together to pull the rope upwards. Yoyo was very smart and knew how to climb up, so they quickly pulled it up.
"Bao'er! It's your turn!" Chun Niang shouted.
Yingbao took the rope that was thrown down and quickly went to tie the mule again.
"Bao'er, come up quickly!" Chun Niang was almost dying of anxiety, "I don't want the mule anymore!"
Yingbao shook his head: "No! We can't take a lot of things without a mule."
"I'll do it!" Jiang Cheng also slid down, took the rope from his little cousin and began to tie the mule.
There were still two large bags of grain on the mule, which were pushed down by Jiang Chengliang.
You can give up the grain, but you can't give up the mule.
Although Chun Niang on the slope was angry, she did not dare to hesitate. She and her sisters-in-law tried their best to pull the mule up.
Now only the Wen family's horses are left.
At this time, Jiang Sanlang and others had already exited the bamboo forest, and the gangsters appeared behind them.
Old Man Jiang, who had taken over the eldest grandson's bow, fired several arrows at the bandits, and together with the second grandson's arrows, forced them back into the bamboo forest without showing their heads.
"Come up quickly!" Chun Niang almost screamed.
Yingbao glanced at the Wen family's horse and the food on the ground with a look of pity. She and her cousin grabbed the rope together and were pulled up by Aniang and the others.
As soon as Jiang Cheng went up, he picked up the new bow and arrow made by his grandfather last night and shot continuously at the emerging gangsters, giving the third uncle and second uncle time to retreat.
Fortunately, Old Man Jiang and his sons cut a lot of bamboo arrows last night, otherwise they would not be able to stop the bandits.
Finally, when Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Erlang were pulled up, they were still carrying the basket dropped by Dani, Erni, Yanru and the others.
Wen Fu, on the other hand, was calmer. He pushed the things off the horse's back, tied the rope to the horse's belly, and asked the people above to pull the horse up first.
Later, he saw Jiang Sanlang and Jiang Erlang shooting arrows together on top. He tied the sacks with the ropes he threw down and asked them to pull up the sacks, bedding and other items.
Finally, he carried his belongings on his back and climbed up the rope.
Chun Niang and the others were exhausted, but they also felt very relieved.
All the food and bedding from my own family and the Wen family were brought up, as well as mules and horses.
After the gangster was shot and injured several people, he retreated into the bamboo forest and never showed up again.
But the Jiang family did not relax and kept watching what was going on below.
Chun Niang and the others untied the ropes, took a short rest, put the two sacks of grain back on the back of the mule, and let it carry it.
This steep slope is actually the ridge on the south slope. After climbing over this point, you will go down to the other side and you will see a large wilderness.
The Jiang family was worried that the gangsters would also climb up, and they had no chance of winning, so they continued walking down without stopping.
When Ying Bao saw that her father's second uncle and Uncle Wen were both injured, she quickly took out the medicine she had prepared and gave it to them. She also took out some pills and distributed them to others.
Auntie's and the others' clothes are soaked through. If they don't take some anti-cold medicine, someone might get sick soon.
In fact, the Jiang family is still in good health and can still eat even if they are a little tired. Even the Jiang Liu family is always strong and steady, as steady as their children and grandchildren.
But Mrs. Wen, her daughter and the nanny seemed to be unable to hold on any longer. They walked slower and slower, and could hardly keep up with the team.
"Why don't you find a place to rest first?" Chun Niang looked at it, feeling quite worried.
Jiang Sanlang looked back and saw that no gangsters were chasing him. He was slightly relieved. "Let's talk in the woods ahead."
In this unobstructed place, it would be troublesome if the gangsters caught up with us.
But in the woods, you can at least cover your tracks and take shelter from the rain under the trees.
Ying Bao led Youyou forward quickly, while Youyou carried Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu on her back. The two boys also had their little black rhubarb in their pockets in front of them.
Seeing that Wen Shu could hardly walk, Ying Bao stuffed her with some cooked water chestnuts and said, "Sister Wen, you'll feel better if you eat something."
After the water chestnuts were boiled, she soaked them in Wudingzhi for a long time. Eating them should relieve her fatigue.
Wen Shu's face turned pale, he took the water chestnut, thanked her in a low voice, and ate it slowly.
Yingbao handed a few more to Mrs. Wen and Nanny.
After eating water chestnuts, their legs and feet seemed to have some strength, and they could barely support themselves and walked into the woods ahead.
Fortunately, there were no bandits chasing us, which made everyone feel relieved.
After entering the woods, Jiang Sanlang walked around and found an old tree.
The old branches are knotted and knotted, but the bottom of the tree can provide shelter from the rain.
So everyone rested under the tree. Chun Niang took out steamed buns and pickles and distributed them to everyone. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan both carried water hyacinths on their backs and poured some water for everyone.
Jiang Quan shook the gourd and muttered: "The water is almost gone."
Yingbao glanced at her second cousin and said nothing.
There was plenty of water in her cave, so she wasn't worried about this problem at all.
The only worry is whether their house will be burned down by bandits. After all, Dad and the others have injured many bandits.
Walk to the deer, quietly take out some dried gold ears and stuff them into its mouth, letting it chew slowly to regain its strength.
The mules and horses were both carrying heavy objects and were nibbling the grass and moss on the ground. Yingbao also stuffed a handful of broken gold ears for them to eat.
Jiang Sanlang climbed up the tree, stood at the highest point and looked into the distance.
There were no traces of the gangsters on the other side of the ridge, so maybe they had really retreated.
"Where should we go next?" Jiang Dalang asked his second brother.
Jiang Erlang was also unsure about paying attention, "Why don't you ask Sanlang."
Anyway, they can't return to the village for the time being, so they must find a safe place to live first.
They didn't know that a large number of bandits had entered Chuanhe Town. These bandits were stationed here, preparing to gather enough people to attack Qinchuan County.
When there are too many people, eating becomes a problem. Hundreds of thousands of people consume at least hundreds of kilograms of food a day, so the gangsters search everywhere for villagers who have escaped with food and livestock.
Hundreds of bandits followed the mountain road into Beishan and began to search with a net.
At this time, the villagers hiding in Beishan panicked and fled deep into the forest, leaving behind their cattle and sheep.
Some old people were overtaken by gangsters because of their slowness and died with a single stabbing.
…
After resting, everyone finally decided to go east to Jiangjia Village in Ershilipu.
Jiangjiacun is located in a remote area and far away from official roads. The chance of being invaded by rogue bandits is relatively small, so it is safer for them to go there.
"Follow me. I know the road to Jiangjia Village best." Old Man Jiang led the way. "Back then, I visited all the surrounding villages."
In the evening, the group finally arrived near Jiangjiacun.
Jiang Sanlang was worried and suggested that he go and have a look first before talking.
"Then you should be careful. If something goes wrong in the village, run away quickly." Chun Niang was very worried about her husband.
"I know." Jiang Sanlang tightened his belt and tied his leggings again before running towards Jiangjiacun.
Before we reached the village entrance, we heard the village dogs starting to bark.
Jiang Sanlang slowed down and observed the surroundings as he walked.
Jiangjia Village is a real mountain village, built on the mountains and surrounded by many trees.
Looking from a distance, there are only woods but no houses. The whole village is hidden in the woods. Only when the smoke rises, you can realize that there is a village here.
The rain had stopped at this moment, but the road was muddy. The soles of Jiang Sanlang's shoes were soon stained with thick mud, making it difficult to walk.
After scraping off the mud from the soles of his shoes on a stone, Jiang Sanlang arrived at the door of his uncle's house.
