Chapter 150： siege

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 use bamboo tubes and jars to pack clean water and transport it up the mountain.

It was already bright at this moment, and the adults and children in the cave were getting up one after another.

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.

Upon seeing this, several older women built a simple toilet in the corner of the cave entrance near the cliff using bamboo poles and tattered linen cloth, finally solving the problem of grain cycle for everyone.

The next step is to find clean water, which is more dangerous than going down the mountain to pay respects.

Without water, there is no way to cook. With no way to cook, everyone will be hungry.

It's okay to be hungry for a day and a half, but over time people will suffer from exhaustion.

The Jiang family brought two water hyacinths. 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 into the water to cook the porridge.

Nowadays, washing rice and other things 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 eldest aunt and the others might think they had made a mistake.

After being deceived like this, Ying Bao walked aside as if nothing had happened, took out a handful of cooked water chestnuts from his small pocket and gave them to his younger brothers, letting them eat and play.

Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu didn't forget to give one to each of Wei Zhan and Yuanbao Huzi when they got the delicious food.

Five boys sat around on a mat playing rock, paper, scissors, and whoever lost had to bark like a dog.

Two puppies were splashing around them, barking from time to time.

“Sister-in-law, do you still have water at home?” The clan elder accompanied Tang to come over to borrow water for cooking.

Ms. Zhou apologized and said, "I just poured it into the porridge, 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, 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 can contain a lot of water.

Tang was overjoyed and quickly thanked him: "Hey, there's still a lot of water in here. I'll take it and use it. Thank you, sister-in-law."

After saying 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. It seemed that it was not enough for cooking.

But Tang said there were still many, and Zhou was confused.

After a while, Mr. Tang returned the water hyacinth and two 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 Shi smiled and said: "Give the children some belly pads first, take them quickly."

Zhou had no choice but to take the noodle cake.

When Ying Bao saw Granny Tang leaving, she quietly shook the gourd and felt 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 speaks. This is a sequelae and is not easy to recover from. Seeing Yingbao and Chen Sanyou smiling kindly, he stammered his thanks to her: "Many... many thanks, Yingbao, Yingbao."

If it weren’t for this kid, I’d probably have gone to the West to meditate on Buddha.

"You're welcome." She had received the money. 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 giving the injection and instructing him to take medicine on time, Ying Bao sat back down next to Aniang and the others.

Chunniang and her two sisters-in-law are making noodles and making pancakes. They want to take advantage of the free time to make dry food from the flour at home so that it can be easily carried.

As soon as noon came, everyone was hungry, and those who were without food looked eagerly at the cauldrons of the Jiang family and the Chen family.

Clan Chief 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 Jiang also gave some noodles to the children.

At this moment, someone at the foot of the mountain suddenly shouted: "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 bandit!” Everyone panicked.

Chief Chen shouted: "Don't panic! Those who know how to shoot, come quickly! 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 don’t know if they have anything to do.

In the cave, everyone took their positions under the command of Chief Chen. Some took bows and arrows to aim at the mountain path, while others held long bamboo poles to guard the entrance.

Fortunately, the entrance of the cave did not face the mountain road directly. The bandits fired a few arrows and saw that it was of no use, so they screamed and squeezed onto the plank road.

Chief Chen sneered: "What a fool." He rushed onto the plank road like this, he was looking for death.

The bandit turned around the mountain wall and was stabbed down by a long bamboo pole as soon as he showed his head.

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.

The other one was also stabbed 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 did not dare to run around. They huddled in the arms of their little master and remained silent.

Ying Bao didn't feel scared. She and her first cousin 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 down, he will not die but will be disabled.

After the bandits suffered several casualties, 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.

 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 they all carry weapons and bows. They are probably here to seek revenge."

Last night Jiang Sanlang and the others 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 seems they even 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 what happened to Sanlang and the others.” Old Man Jiang was worried.

He is not worried about his side. Anyway, as long as they don't go down the mountain, the bandits can't do anything to them.

But my three sons are still outside. What should I do if I accidentally fall into the encirclement of bandits?

Chief 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 them. You don't have to worry."

These words did not comfort Old Man Jiang at all.

If the three sons were unexpected, how could he live with his wife.