HCB Chapter 500 The bandits are coming
Chapter 500 The bandits are coming
Xiuying was quick to act and quickly grabbed Cuihua, urgently admonishing her, "Don't be impulsive, Cuihua! Now that it's happened, the most important thing for us now is to quickly repair that section of the wall in question. We can deal with other matters after this crisis is over."
Xiuying knew this matter couldn't be let go. Although Grandma Zhang wasn't directly murdered by the Zhao family, the root cause was the Zhao family's sly tactics during the wall construction that led to this catastrophe. Accountability must be pursued, but not at this critical juncture. The village couldn't afford any impulsive or reckless actions.
Xiuying stared at Cuihua and said seriously, "Cuihua, in this situation, your most important task is to keep a close eye on the Zhao family. Don't let them cause any more trouble and bring chaos to the village."
The village chief echoed this, turning to Xiuying and saying, "In my opinion, we need to find some reliable and capable people to repair the wall. As for the Zhao family, no one is trustworthy. As the saying goes, if the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked. We definitely won't be able to rely on them."
Butcher Li stepped forward and said confidently, "How about I take a few of the patrol team members to repair it? We have a lot of materials left over from the last wall construction, which will come in handy and save us the trouble of going there again."
After hearing this, the old village chief nodded heavily and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work. Make sure to repair the wall as soon as possible and don't let anything go wrong again."
Grandma Zhang's body lay in state in her courtyard. The village was already gripped by a tense atmosphere of war preparation. This funeral could not be held with the usual grandeur.
According to rural custom, at a funeral, the entire village, young and old, is invited to drink Doudou wine and bid farewell to the deceased in a lively and festive manner. On the day of the funeral, several strong men, commonly known as the "Four Heavenly Kings," are selected to carry the body of the deceased to the mountain for burial.
Now, the courtyard was deserted, with only a few old friends who knew Grandma Zhang well, silently standing by, their eyes filled with reluctance to see her go. In this solemn atmosphere, the funeral seemed particularly desolate.
The villagers took turns spontaneously coming to mourn Grandma Zhang. Grandma Zhang, already old, had already made plans for her afterlife. The mourning clothes she wore were made from fabric she had personally selected and stitched. And the coffin, purchased in the city with the money she had earned from selling the sweet potato flour she had so painstakingly harvested.
In this village, most of the elderly have this habit of preparing the items they will need after death while they are still alive. In their view, only in this way can they feel at ease.
Led by Xiuying's servants, Fusu and Zhuiying slowly walked towards the courtyard. Before they even got close, Fusu's heart began to beat uncontrollably, as if he had a premonition of something.
When he came out of the yard, a strong smell of incense, candles and paper money hit him in the face. In an instant, Fusu's heart sank suddenly, as if it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand.
When he walked into the yard, he saw San Gouzi, dressed in linen and a mourning hat, kneeling before the black coffin. Fusu's steps slowed down involuntarily, his eyes instantly reddened, and he called softly, "Brother Gouzi..."
San Gouzi heard the voice and slowly turned around, his face covered with tears. He said in a hoarse voice, "A Su, mother is gone..."
Fusu seemed to have lost all his strength. He staggered to the coffin, reached out his hand tremblingly, and gently touched the cold coffin. He asked, "What happened? Who killed Grandma Zhang?"
San Gouzi wiped his tears, remembering Xiuying's instructions: the village was facing a crisis, and internal conflict must not be provoked. If Ah Su knew that all this was caused by the Zhao family's shoddy construction of the low wall, Ah Su, with his impatience, would definitely rush to the Zhao family to confront them. Moreover, Ah Su was still imprisoned.
San Gouzi suppressed his inner grief and entanglement and whispered, "It was bandits who broke into our village by climbing over the wall, and Grandma Zhang happened to run into them in the back mountain."
When Fusu heard this, his eyes narrowed instantly, and his eyes became even darker. He asked, "Grandma Zhang is fine, why would she go to the back mountain?"
San Gouzi's heart skipped a beat, his eyes began to evade, and his words became hesitant: "Mom... Mom made dumplings and wanted to send them to you, but on the way there, she ran into those bandits."
Upon hearing this, Fusu's eyes turned red instantly. He clenched his teeth and clenched his fists subconsciously. The next second, he knelt heavily in front of Grandma Zhang's spirit tablet with a "thump".
With a dull thud, he kowtowed three times, each time using all his strength, as if to vent all the guilt and grief in his heart. Soon, a red mark appeared on his forehead.
In Grandma Zhang's heart, she had long cherished him as her own son. However, due to various reasons, he could not acknowledge this mother. At this moment, kneeling before the spirit, he silently cried out in his heart: "Mother, I am an unfilial son! You have been so kind to me, yet I failed to protect you. Don't worry, I will avenge you and make those evildoers pay with blood!"
Fearing he might do something drastic, Xiuying's servants stepped forward, grabbed him, and said, "Ah Su, don't get too excited! The thieves who killed Grandma Zhang have already been taken care of by the village patrol. Grandma Zhang had to expose herself to alert everyone. She's our village hero!"
Seeing Fusu still fuming, the servant added hastily, "Besides, the effects of the drug haven't worn off yet, so you can't use any strength at all. Don't be impulsive and make mistakes!"
Before everyone finished their persuasion, a gong suddenly sounded at the entrance of the village.
clang clang
Three short and urgent sounds were heard. This was the village's customary signal - everyone immediately entered level one combat readiness, as it meant that danger had already appeared at the village entrance!
When Xiuying and the old village chief arrived at a trot, they were met with a scene of intense battle preparation. Women, armed with bows and crossbows, stood on wooden planks erected beneath the wall, closely watching the movements outside.
In the open space of the village, the catapults were already ready, and the stone troughs were filled with huge stones.
Inside the wall stood a crowd of young men armed with crossbows, their arrows pointed directly outside the wall in the direction of possible danger.
At the village gate, a thick and sturdy wooden block was placed behind the gate, blocking it tightly. Behind the block was a group of men holding large swords, the blades reflecting a cold light in the sunlight. The entire village quickly gathered into a powerful force at the first moment of crisis.