A Shui crouched at the corner. He recognized the voices as Uncle You Gen, Uncle Osmanthus, and Brother San Gui; the leader was the Hunter, Uncle Xu.
If he didn't know better, A Shui would have suspected this group really was a band of bandits.
Seeing the panic in his subordinates' eyes, A Shui made a gesture for them to stay steady and not move.
Uncle Xu's voice came from the courtyard again:
"Furthermore, you might not know yet, but Master Qian has already offered his allegiance to the mountain stronghold. He will bring all his treasures and his capable confidants to the stronghold to become the Fifth Leader.
We came this time specifically to solve the trouble of those displaced people for him.
Otherwise, who could afford to feed so many mouths if they followed us into the mountains?"
San Gui chimed in:
"Third Master, you should have said so earlier! If we had known this was a done deal, we wouldn't have had to worry, haha."
"That man named Qian is quite observant; he thought of a way out early on. No wonder Third Master had to lead us through the mountains and go to all this trouble to come to this shitty Tianjia Village."
"Then we're going to make a fortune this time. As for those commoners, if they die, they die."
Once these conversations ended, a sudden, loud, and thunderous roar of battle cries erupted in the courtyard, scaring the few people crouching under the outer wall so much they fell on their backsides.
A Shui hurriedly pulled the others away to escape.
After running outside the village, the few of them sat down to catch their breath. Someone asked anxiously:
"Boss, we're all going to be sold out."
"Boss, that Master Qian is going to run. He's going to become a bandit and give all the grain and treasures to them."
"Boss, what should we do? Do we escape now?"
"We can escape now, but where to? Will we have food and drink if we run?"
"What else? If we don't run, we'll die tonight."
The subordinates were as anxious as ants on a hot griddle. A Shui waited for them to vent before speaking:
"I originally thought we had encountered Government Soldiers, but who knew they were actually bandits?
Master Qian actually had me bring you here to test the waters. I understand now; he plans to eliminate us in batches.
Otherwise, why would he only send this many of us when he clearly knows there are over fifty people in Tianjia Village? To wipe them out, he should have sent at least a hundred.
He just sent us here to die to reduce the number of enemies for their operation tonight."
This statement gained everyone's agreement. They were now all grasshoppers on the same string. A Shui's words had struck their sore spot.
"Boss, then can we only wait here to die? Escaping means death, and not escaping means death."
"If I had known I couldn't escape death, I wouldn't have handed over my wife and children."
"Father, Mother, we will meet again soon."
Someone cried out in grief.
Seeing that the emotions were sufficiently stirred, A Shui said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry, everyone. Things haven't reached a dead end yet.
I have a plan. Would you all like to hear it?"
Everyone nodded in unison:
"Boss, tell us quickly."
"We go back to the Town now. Half of you come with me to ask Master Qian for grain. The other half, go contact the brothers you know. If Master Qian agrees to distribute the grain, we still have half a day to take the grain and money and run for our lives."
This was immediately questioned:
"What if Master Qian doesn't give it? I don't think he'll share the grain with us."
Without A Shui needing to speak, many people directly drew their knives:
"Then we'll kill them, snatch the grain, and every man for himself."
"Right, if he doesn't give it, we kill them."
"Those things were snatched by us risking our lives. It's only right that we take them back."
"Let's do it."
Seeing them unite to choose fratricide without his guidance, A Shui's admiration for Qin Sang reached its peak.
The fifty subordinates all decided to do this, and finally, their gaze fell on A Shui. Only then did A Shui nod heavily:
"Since everyone plans to do this, I can only agree. But I want to tell everyone, before Master Qian shows his attitude, don't act rashly so as not to alert the enemy, understood?"
The subordinates were very moved:
"Boss, we'll all listen to you."
"If you go to see Master Qian, you must be careful."
"Right, Boss, once we succeed, we'll all follow you."
"Right."
A Shui nodded solemnly:
"Good, then we return to the Town now. Quick."
Qin Sang saw A Shui leading all the Rebel Soldiers back to Songbai Town through the Binoculars. Only then did she put them away and lift A Jing onto the Horse's back:
"We're going down the mountain."
It took only the time of a cup of tea to ride the Horse down the mountain. Qin Sang knocked on the courtyard gate:
"It's me."
Tian Dazhuang opened the gate excitedly:
"Mother, did A Shui come?"
Qin Sang nodded and looked at the villagers in the courtyard:
"Alright, now everyone, continue making armor and shields."
In ancient times, civilians could forge knives and spears, but it was strictly forbidden to secretly possess or manufacture armor.
An armored soldier could withstand three to five enemies. With armor, even if hit by a blade, a fatal wound could likely become a minor one.
So Qin Sang had everyone make simple armor yesterday.
Without refined iron, they used tree bark and bamboo strips.
Stringing them together and hanging them on the body could protect vital areas.
Only a few sets of armor could be made in a short time, but shields were much simpler. They took down the door panels from several houses. With Carpenter Zhao's sons there, it didn't take long for about ten wooden shields to appear amidst the clanging.
Qin Sang didn't feel this was a waste of effort. She hoped everyone in the village would come through fine and return whole.
Once a set of armor and a shield were ready, Qin Sang had them undergo adaptation training.
Fortunately, they were all men used to physical labor, so having an extra ten pounds of wooden blocks on them wasn't a big problem.
She also assigned them to groups of three, making sure they covered each other's backs so there were no gaps for the enemy to exploit.
No one questioned whether what Qin Sang was doing was useful because they all knew Qin Sang's husband was a military man. These things used for troop formations and fighting must have been taught to her by Qin Sangs deceased husband.
While everyone was busy training, Qin Sang was cooking.
For this meal, she had to make sure everyone ate their fill.
Sweet potatoes and potatoes were placed in the fire, and Sausages were skewered on bamboo sticks and roasted by the fire. A large ceramic pot was hung in the middle, cooking Pumpkin soup.
Another ceramic pot of white rice was cooking on another fire, with slices of Preserved Meat added. Before long, a rich aroma of meat and scorched rice wafted out.
The roasted sweet potatoes and potatoes were especially fragrant and sweet. In particular, the sweet potatoes Qin Sang had swapped for were Honey Potatoes from a later generation. When peeled, the core inside was as golden as a salted duck egg yolk. One bite filled the mouth with a sweet, sandy, and soft texture, as if eating honey. It made one want to swallow it in one gulp.
The Preserved Meat rice had a faint saltiness mixed with a strong fatty aroma. The villagers each held a ball of Preserved Meat rice, eating ravenously.
The Sausages were roasted crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Finally, they had a bowl of Pumpkin soup to wash it all down. Each one ate until their bellies were round, sighing:
"I've never eaten this full in my life. To be able to eat such a good meal, even if I die today, it'll be worth it."
This statement was immediately met with a chorus of "ptui":
"Don't say such unlucky things. Da Zhuangs Mother spent so much of her family's resources to give us food and drink because she wants us to have the strength to kill the Rebel Soldiers."
Qin Sang nodded, stood up, and said loudly:
"No regrets in death just for this?"
"Rest for the time of a cup of tea, and then we set out for Songbai Town.
I promise everyone, if we come back safely this time, I will definitely reward you with an even more sumptuous feast—chicken, duck, fish, meat, and all the white rice you can eat!"
Everyone responded in unison:
"Good!"