Jiang Sanlang and the others did not come up for the time being, and dozens of young men followed him to chop bamboo to make bows and arrows.
There are also people who collect firewood in the forest in search of water sources, and carry clean water up the mountain in bamboo tubes and jars.
It was already broad daylight, and adults and children in the cave were getting up one after another.
Then there was another commotion, and many people were in a hurry to go down the mountain, especially women, because they wanted to go down to pay respects.
However, the plank road is narrow and winding, and it is impossible to run down it in a short time. Many people are running around in a hurry.
Seeing this, several older women used bamboo poles and torn linen cloth to build a simple toilet in the corner of the cave entrance near the cliff, finally solving the problem of grain reincarnation for everyone.
The next step is to find clean water, which is more dangerous than going down the mountain to pray.
Without water, we can't cook. We can't cook, and everyone will be hungry.
It's okay to be hungry for a day and a half, but as time goes by, people will suffer from exhaustion.
The Jiang family brought two water hyacinths. Mrs. Jiang's sister-in-law Zhou picked them up and shook them. She felt that only half of the water hyacinth was left in them.
She didn't dare to waste it at all, so she poured some out and washed the pot, then grabbed the rice and poured it directly into the water to cook the porridge.
Nowadays, washing rice and so on are a luxury because there is no water source nearby.
Uncle Jiang said that if you want to get water, you have to go several miles away or find a fine spring flowing in the crevices of the mountains.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Ying Bao quietly moved to the gourd, pulled out the cork, put her hand on the mouth of the gourd, filled half of the gourd with water, and filled the other half of the gourd with water.
She wanted to fill it up, but it would be easy for others to notice the abnormality. If it was only half a bottle, the aunt and the others might think they had made a mistake.
After covering her ears like this, Ying Bao walked aside as if nothing had happened, took out a handful of cooked water chestnuts from her small pocket and gave them to her younger brothers, letting them eat and play with them.
When Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu got the delicious food, they didn't forget to give one to each of Wei Zhan and Yuanbao Huzi.
Five boys sat around on the mat and played rock, paper, scissors, and whoever lost had to bark like a dog.
The two puppies were splashing and frolicking beside them, barking from time to time.
"His sister-in-law, do you still have water at home?" The clan elder came over with Tang to borrow water for cooking.
Mrs. Zhou apologized and said, "I just poured the porridge out for you to cook. Why don't you see if there is any left?"
Tang was a little disappointed when he heard this. He glanced at the two big gourds on the mountain wall, then walked over and picked up one and shook it.
It is not as light as imagined, but very heavy, as if there is a lot of water in it.
You must know that these two big gourds are bigger than the water basin, and half a gourd contains a lot of water.
Mrs. Tang was overjoyed and quickly thanked her: "Hey, there's still a lot of water in here. I'll take it and use it. Thank you, sister-in-law."
After that, he picked up the water hyacinth and went to his house to cook.
Zhou was confused, but didn't care.
I did keep some water, but not much, and it seemed like it wasn't even enough for cooking.
But Tang said there were many more, and Zhou was confused.
After a while, Mrs. Tang returned the water hyacinth and two pieces of freshly baked noodles.
"You don't have to be so polite, our family is also making cakes." Mrs. Zhou was embarrassed to accept the cakes.
Tang smiled and said: "Give the children some belly pads first, take them quickly."
Mrs. Zhou had no choice but to take the noodle cake.
Seeing that Granny Tang was gone, Yingbao quietly shook the gourd and felt that there was still a little bit left in it.
After thinking about it, she pulled out the stopper and poured half a gourd of water into it, then went to give Chen Sanyou acupuncture.
Chen Sanyou is much better and can still walk a few times in the cave, but his mouth is a little crooked when he talks. This is a sequelae and will not be easy to recover from.
Seeing Yingbao, Chen Sanyou smiled kindly and stammered his thanks to her: "Many...thank you so much, Yingbao, Yingbao."
If it weren't for this kid, he would probably have gone to the Western Heaven to meditate on Buddha.
"You're welcome." She had received the money, and although she hadn't received it yet, as long as Grandpa Chen San was still alive, his sons would not dare to default on the money.
After administering the injection and instructing him to take medicine on time, Ying Bao sat back down next to Aniang and the others.
Chun Niang and her two sisters-in-law were making noodles and making pancakes. They wanted to take advantage of the free time to turn all the flour at home into dry food for easy portability.
As soon as noon arrived, everyone was hungry, and those who had no food looked eagerly at the cauldrons of the Jiang family and the Chen family.
Patriarch Chen couldn't bear it, so he borrowed a large iron pot from the Jiang family and asked his daughter-in-law to cook a large pot of rice porridge for everyone to eat. Old man Jiang also distributed some noodles and pancakes to the children.
At this moment, I suddenly heard someone shouting from the bottom of the mountain: "The bandits are coming!"
Immediately afterwards, many strangers came out of the forest, holding swords and spears, and some holding bows, arrows and farm tools.
"What a gangster!" Everyone panicked.
Patriarch Chen shouted: "Don't panic! Come here quickly if you know how to shoot! A few more people will guard the crossing and don't let them come up!"
Most of the young men went to the bamboo forest to chop bamboo to make bows and arrows. I wonder if they had anything to do.
In the cave, everyone took their positions under the command of Chief Chen. Some took bows and arrows and aimed at the mountain path, while others held long bamboo poles and guarded the entrance.
Fortunately, the entrance of the cave did not directly face the mountain road. The bandits fired a few arrows and saw that it was of no use, so they screamed and squeezed onto the plank road.
Patriarch Chen sneered: "What an idiot." He rushed onto the plank road like this, he was looking for death.
The bandit turned around the mountain wall, and as soon as his head emerged, he was stabbed down by a long bamboo pole.
These bamboo poles were specially used to stab the bandits in the legs without giving them a chance to react.
A homeless bandit screamed and was stabbed off the cliff. He didn't know whether he was alive or dead.
Another one was also stabbed and fell down. Although he was caught on the rocks below, he probably couldn't get up again.
In the cave, the women and children were all hiding in the innermost part and shivering. Even the dogs didn't dare to run around. They huddled in the arms of their little master and kept silent.
Ying Bao didn't feel scared. She and her second cousin stood on the edge of the cliff and stuck their heads out to look down.
The cliff is very steep and deep, and the rocks below are rugged. If a person falls, he or she will die or be disabled.
After the bandits killed several people in succession, they finally got smart and retreated from the plank road.
However, they did not leave. Instead, they set up camp at the foot of the mountain, with the intention of trapping the people on the mountain to death.
The village leader of Jiangjia Village took a look, immediately retracted, and said to Old Man Jiang: "I see that there are hundreds of bandits down the mountain road, and all of them are armed with bows and arrows. They are probably here to seek revenge."
Last night, Jiang Sanlang and others set up an ambush with the villagers and killed many bandits. Logically, the bandits would not dare to come again.
But today they showed up again, and seemingly captured two villagers to lead the way to the tiger's mouth.
So these bandits are probably here to seek revenge.
"I don't know how Sanlang and the others are doing." Old Man Jiang was worried.
He wasn't worried about himself, anyway, as long as he didn't go down the mountain, the bandits would have nothing to do with them.
But my three sons are still outside. What should I do if I accidentally fall into the trap of bandits?
Patriarch Chen stroked his beard and said: "With so many bandits coming up the mountain, Sanlang and the others must have gotten the news. Zhu'er said that they sent two smart people as scouts. If there is any movement, the scouts will definitely come back to notify you. You don't have to worry."
These words did not comfort Old Man Jiang at all.
If something unexpected happens to the three sons who encounter bandits, how will they and their wife survive?
