mtl008 Chapter 171: Initiating a Riot
Chapter 171: Initiating a Riot
During the days when she stayed in the tiankeng and did not go out, Xia Qingyue lived a comfortable and peaceful life, eating, drinking and sleeping every day.
The vegetables planted in the vegetable garden this year were all soaked and destroyed by the rain. I don’t have to take care of the crops. I just feed the poultry every day and practice archery in the morning and evening. I do these things to help a little.
It’s much easier than before.
Some of the camellias planted around the pond are exposed to rain, but this year they were affected by the weather and produced far fewer flower buds than last year.
At this time last year, the sacred, white camellia flowers as white as snow were in full bloom. This year, there are very few flowers, and most of them were blown down by the rain after just a few days of blooming. However, they are still fragrant, and because of the humidity, the fragrance is clear.
In the past few days, Xia Qingyue collected all the fallen camellia flowers, spread them out on a bamboo raft, and when the fire was lit in the stove, she took them over to dry and made them into dried flowers.
While there were fresh flowers, she picked a few flowers along with their roots, put them in a bamboo tube filled with water, and placed it on the bedside table in the room, filling the room with fragrance.
She has a lot of free time every afternoon, so she would read a book. When she got tired, she would go to sleep and practice calligraphy when she woke up.
The days were well arranged, but she felt that each day lasted too long.
She knew very well that it was not because she was too idle, but because she was missing someone in her heart.
Han Zhibai, who stayed in the valley, looked at the wooden door leading to the outside world every day, with endless thoughts like a tide.
Six days later.
It rained heavily last night, but it gradually subsided in the second half of the night.
Around five in the morning, Xia Qingyue got up early and it was drizzling.
After morning exercise, I fed the poultry.
The mother rabbit who drank goat's milk recovered well after giving birth. She looks more energetic than before and has plenty of milk. The baby rabbits are chubby and very cute.
After squatting and watching the baby rabbit feed for a while, she went out to make breakfast: red bean porridge, stir-fried rabbit meat with kimchi left over from last night, and a bowl of juicy tender eggs.
Thinking that she would be outside for a long time today and might not be able to get back by noon, she chopped some wild onions, beat four eggs into the flour, and added water to make a yellow batter.
She didn't eat the pheasant she caught some time ago, but kept it for laying eggs. Maybe she got enough nutrition, and she got a few fertilized eggs two days ago.
Twenty pancakes were fried with a large bowl of batter, some of which did not have onions and seasonings, and were given to Heihei and Xiaobai to eat.
After everything was packed up and the sky was getting light, Xia Qingyue left the tiankeng in the dark.
More than an hour later, we arrived at a dense pine forest.
Han Zhibai and his family from the Li family arrived first as usual, bending over to pick mushrooms. When they saw Xia Qingyue coming, they stopped what they were doing.
Chen Yuzhen held Xia Qingyue's hand and asked about her well-being. She listened and her eyes uncontrollably glanced at Han Zhibai.
Han Zhibai also looked at her, and the two of them looked at each other silently, smiling happily.
"Someone may have come here too. We didn't find any wild vegetables today. Most of the mushrooms we found were brightly colored and looked like poisonous mushrooms, but they were actually the non-toxic mushrooms that Sister Qingyue taught us to recognize."
Xia Qingyue was slightly stunned by what Li Weikang said. She stopped smiling and said seriously, "I came out a few days ago and met the Qian family here."
"The Qian family? Is it that young master Qian who has bad intentions and looks shifty?" Li Weisheng raised his voice a little and looked unsightly.
She nodded, with a hint of sadness in her eyes, "I wonder if they came here to do something."
The Li family is also worried about this.
"Hey, Sister Qingyue, you came out again later. Did you encounter any difficulties?" Li Weikang asked with concern.
When asked, Xia Qingyue became nervous for a moment, grabbing the hem of her clothes with her hands. Then her body began to heat up, especially her cheeks. She looked at Han Zhibai and opened her mouth to speak.
Chen Yuzhen and Li Benfu, a couple standing by, looked at Xia Qingyue, then at Han Zhibai, then looked back at each other, understanding each other's thoughts.
"Qingyue will tell us if she encounters any difficulties. How about we go to the place where we found cinnamon persimmons last year to look for mountain products? It's a bit far over there, but I think it's safer than here." Chen Yuzhen naturally changed the subject.
No one objected to this proposal.
Everyone set off for the journey, being extremely careful and vigilant along the way, and indeed they found a lot of wild vegetables and mushrooms there.
At noon, they found a good place. There was a large rock protruding from the slope above, which acted like an eaves to block the rain. Xia Qingyue took out the pancakes she had fried and shared them with everyone.
The Li family prepared steamed buns with wild vegetables.
Han Zhibai brought plums and peaches.
The little things a family has together add up to a lot. The plums and peaches are the most surprising. It’s not that there are no wild fruits on the mountain, but because of the heavy rain and large number of people this year, they are basically impossible to find.
After a busy morning, I was very hungry, so I sat cross-legged to eat. After I was full, I leaned against the earth wall to rest.
They had originally planned to rest for only about three quarters of an hour, but unexpectedly the sky suddenly darkened, the sky was covered with thick dark clouds, darkness enveloped the earth, and heavy rain poured down.
There was no choice but to hide under the slope for a longer time.
About three miles away in the forest, a hole was dug in an inconspicuous place in the forest. The yellow mud that was dug out was everywhere. Rainwater kept dripping down and hitting the mud, forming puddles of muddy yellow water on the ground.
In the dim cave, a figure moved back and forth, and the sound of excitement that could not be suppressed was muffled by the noisy rain:
"Found it, I finally found it, you all belong to me, hahahaha..."
Far away on the other side, near the outskirts of the village, a group of people were hiding in the dark and spying on the village.
A man lowered his voice and said, "Brother Shan, God is really helping me. According to the time, the medicine should take effect. We will rush in and arrest Qian Zhongsheng. We will threaten him with his life. He will have to speak even if he doesn't want to!"
The man called Shan Ge was Guan Jianshan, who stared at the patrolling soldiers sinisterly.
After a while, soldiers began to fall to the ground, one after another, like dumplings being dropped.
The refugees outside the village were confused when they saw this. Just as they were talking and at a loss as to what to do, a group of ferocious-looking men with knives suddenly rushed over, scaring them so much that they fled in all directions.
There were about thirty men. Guan Jianshan led most of them into the village. Just as they ran under the eaves, two men ran out to support them.
"Brother Shan, we have tied up Qian Zhongsheng. He is in his room."
Guan Jianshan looked dignified and ordered, "Stay outside and act according to the plan!"
After saying that, he went into Qian Zhongsheng's room alone.
Qian Zhongsheng was tied up with ropes and fell to the ground unconscious.
With a slight "swish" sound, Guan Jianshan drew out the sharp sword he was carrying, a cold light flashed, and he stabbed Qian Zhongsheng's arm with the sword.
In severe pain, Qian Zhongsheng woke up in a cold sweat and screamed at the top of his lungs.
A cold and melancholy voice pressed, "Tell me, where did you hide all the money and food on the mountain?"
Outside the village, Guan Jianshan's men brought out piles of prey and sacks of food from somewhere and placed them in front of the refugees.
Guan Jianshan's confidant shouted:
"Don't panic, we won't hurt any of you. In troubled times, corrupt officials are greedy and embezzle the life-saving relief grain. The innocent people are miserable. We are here to save you on the orders of Guan Jianshan and Brother Shan. Everyone can eat meat and grain. Come, cook the meat and grain and distribute them to the people!"
Someone immediately set out to process the prey, making a fire and setting up a pot. With so many people, they cooked the food in no time.
The people who were originally frightened were amazed when they saw this scene. They had been eating wild vegetables for more than a month, and some of them could not even find many wild vegetables to eat recently. They were starving, but when they smelled the fragrance wafting from the air, their eyes lit up.