coobybook Chapter 153 You come here and let me cut you once, I'll give you dumplings too.
Chapter 153 You come here and let me cut you once, I'll give you dumplings too.
As dawn broke, the mess outside was gradually cleaned up, and the blood-soaked road surface was washed by nearby residents carrying water according to the section of the road.
Although it was a chaotic battle last night, it was discovered in time, and only a few uninhabited old houses were burned down. The fire was also extinguished early on.
But after this ordeal, the distance between the villagers seemed to have shortened a bit.
Some families who usually couldn't stand each other were now able to sit together around the fire and talk peacefully after fighting side by side last night.
Perhaps they were afraid the pirates would launch a surprise attack, or perhaps they were waiting to see what Murakami would do next.
People were all assigned to guard the intersections as arranged the previous night.
Little Niu, Little Mountain, Little Tree, Big Head, and several others told everyone they met about the battle exploits of Xu Gun'er, Gu Silang, Zhou Li, and Little Goldfish from the previous night.
Right now, almost half the village's children are gathered around there.
Fearing that the children would go hungry, Gu's mother simply asked Aunt Zhou and a few close women to wash the rice and cook it into brown rice porridge in a large pot over the fire.
Each household brought their own bowl to drink the porridge.
If a wealthy family couldn't afford rice or flour, they would roast potatoes and sweet potatoes over a fire or cook them together in a pot so that more people could have porridge.
With everyone working together, the air in the village was soon filled with the aroma of food.
Gu Dalang and his wife went home early to grind soybeans, and Gu Ersao helped to cook the soy milk.
The dumplings that we didn't have time to eat last night were reheated. A bucket of soy milk and a bucket of dumplings were covered with a dust cloth and delivered to the ancestral hall by Gu Dalang and Gu Erlang.
When they arrived, Lin Chang'er and the others had just finished speaking.
With Lin Chang'er around, the Gu brothers simply handed over the items to her for distribution.
There were definitely not enough bowls, but Lin Chang'er didn't make a fuss. She told the families who stayed at the ancestral hall to get their bowls back home. "We only have this much soup and dumplings. Let's leave the injured ones for now. The rest of you can take your bowls and go to the pot at the end of the village to get your porridge."
Those remaining in the ancestral hall, besides the old woman doctor and Lin Chang'er, are mostly relatives of the injured. They understand that she did this to ensure the injured receive adequate nutrition, so they have no objections.
Some kind-hearted elderly people even put their hands together in gratitude, saying, "This old woman has been praying to gods and Buddhas for decades, and only now do I know what a Bodhisattva looks like. It's just like Sanlang's wife. Thank you, thank you..."
Lin Chang'er turned away, not daring to accept the gift. "Grandpa, they were all injured while protecting the village. I happened to have some, so I took some out to give back to everyone. There's no need for this. Go and eat something!"
Soon, the family members who had taken the bowls and chopsticks returned with containers, and the food began to be distributed in an orderly manner at the ancestral hall.
After the men finished distributing the dumplings, there was still a bowl of dumplings left in the bucket. Lin Chang'er offered it to Old Man Huo, but he declined, saying, "Leave it for the children!"
Lin Chang'er shoved the bowl into his hands, saying, "You'll be in charge of village affairs for a while, so you can't go without eating!"
Old Master Huo nodded, "Then I, this old man, will take the liberty of eating this bowl of dumplings. You can all go about your business as usual, especially Chang'er. Deliver goods or do business as you wish."
Though they were too embarrassed to say it, everyone knew in their hearts that resisting the invasion of the sea pirates was a protracted war.
Even though the men in the village worked together, without material support, the cleanup work after each battle was impossible to carry out.
Villagers are going hungry, and the injured are not receiving the treatment they deserve.
If this happens a few more times, who will want to stay? This village will be ruined sooner or later.
Lin Chang'er said, "I know, but if my brother, Uncle Hai, and I go to the city together, we'll need to find a few capable men to help you with things in the village. You should close your eyes and rest for a while; there's plenty of time in the future."
Old Master Huo hummed in agreement, not wanting to put her in a difficult position.
Wu Qingfeng shared the same sentiment: "Don't worry about the county government. Let Uncle Hai come with me; it won't take too long."
Finally, he looked at Lin Chang'er and said, "I'm taking those knives with me."
Lin Chang'er: "..." Do you know what you're saying?
Lin Chang'er protested, saying that what they seized was of course theirs.
Wu Qingfeng explained to her in a low voice, "Reporting to the higher-ups requires equipment, and we're not exactly comfortable using these things. I'll approve a batch of weapons for you as a reward later, what do you think?"
Lin Chang'er opened her eyes wide. "A gentleman's word is his bond."
"A journey of a thousand miles cannot be overtaken."
Lin Chang'er: "Deal. I'll be waiting for your good news."
Wu Qingfeng nodded. "As for the reward money, it needs to be reported to the higher-ups first, so it probably won't be that quick."
Lin Chang'er was aware of this, and besides, the imperial court had not yet fully resisted the invasion of the sea pirates, so whether it could even do so was another matter.
However, there is the example of the small fishing village to the south. The village of Linshui spontaneously organized a resistance and won, which is certainly worthy of praise.
So I won't make things difficult for him.
After the discussion was completed, Lin Chang'er, Wu Qingfeng, and Zhou Hai prepared to leave.
A large group of people surged into the gate. Lin Chang'er couldn't see them clearly at first, but after passing through the first courtyard and crossing the threshold of the second courtyard, she realized that they were still very young.
Only then did they realize that the leader was Lin Quede's son, Lin Dashan, who had been relatively well-behaved lately.
Upon entering the second courtyard, he raised his arms and shouted, "Look, they really are eating dumplings! Why should we have to drink brown rice porridge and sweet potato porridge, while they can drink soy milk and eat dumplings?"
Then someone chimed in, "Exactly, why should we eat worse than them?"
Lin Chang'er was stunned when she heard this. Did these people even know what she was saying?
She looked at Lin Dashan, wondering why those pirates hadn't killed him last night.
Why did he have to jump out and annoy her at a time like this, stealing food from the wounded? What was he thinking?
Zhou Hai and Master Huo were very angry and stepped forward to reason with them, "This was specially sent by the Gu family for the wounded. Are you wounded?"
Lin Dashan didn't care about any of that. "What wounded soldier? He just got a few scrapes on his hands and feet. He's still alive and kicking. Why should he get preferential treatment?"
Lin Chang'er laughed angrily, "Why should I? Because these things belong to my family. I can give them to whomever I want, and I won't give them to you. What can you do about it?"
"You worthless bastard, if you had had this kind of spirit when you were fighting the pirates last night, you would have been dead and I would have given you a grand funeral."
"Right now, we're all fighting the bandits together. We can't get them in from the outside, so why don't you lead your men to start looting from the inside? Alright..."
He drew the soft sword from Wu Qingfeng's waist. "You got a cut on your hand or foot, didn't you? Come here and let me cut you once, and I'll give you dumplings too. Come here!"
Without waiting for them to come forward, he grabbed his sword and started hacking wildly, terrifying Lin Dashan and the group of thugs he brought with him.
They just wanted to take advantage of the chaos and extort some food, so why did they get stabbed?
Unfortunately, Lin Chang'er was agile and acted erratically, not like someone joking. The group wailed and scrambled to escape, fearing they might actually be slashed by a sword, which was not worth it.
He didn't even dare to turn around to pick up his lost shoe. Lin Dashan was a beat too slow, and Lin Chang'er caught him red-handed. Lin Chang'er cleaved his hair ribbon in two with her sword, and then cut his belt open with another. Lin Dashan was already wide awake and had fainted from fright. When he fell to the ground, a small puddle of foul-smelling liquid was still flowing out from under him...