Chapter 015

Chapter 015

Xiao Zhen applied the medicine himself and tidied up the bathing items in the southern room. After tying his hair neatly, he went to look for the old man.

The grandfather and grandson headed together to the Li family's residence, where the village headman Sun lived.

The Sun surname was the most prominent in Lingshui Village. Through generations of marriages with families from neighboring villages, the Suns had become a well-known clan far and wide. Even if their daughters married far away, they never had to worry about being bullied by their in-laws, as a complaint back home would bring a large group of Suns to confront them, intimidating even the most powerful in-laws.

Sun Xinghai, the patriarch of the Sun clan and also the village headman, was in his early fifties—neither too old nor frail. Over the years, he had accumulated enough respect and authority through handling clan and village affairs.

When Xiao Zhen and his grandfather arrived, they found a crowd of villagers surrounding the Sun residence. Sun Xinghai was mediating a dispute: a dog from the Li family had run to the Wang family next door and eaten all the leftover food on the low table.

Wang's wife: "I just went to the outhouse for a moment, planning to clear the table when I returned. Who knew this beast would take advantage and ruin my dinner! Either you compensate me for the meal or give me that thieving dog to settle the score!"

Li's wife: "Leftovers, my foot! You probably ate it all yourselves, and our dog just licked the empty plates clean. You're taking advantage of its inability to speak!"

At the first disagreement, the two women were about to fight again.

The men from both families stood silently on the side, as was common in village disputes, preferring to let the women handle the situation.

Sun Xinghai, standing in the courtyard, felt a headache from the commotion. Seeing Xiao Zhen and his grandfather, he immediately smiled and walked out, calling, "Thousand Commander Xiao, you're a rare visitor. Please come in, please come in!"

The surrounding villagers parted to make way for them.

Xiao Mu, at seventy, was old but still tall and robust, with a straight back. As he passed, the villagers looked up at him and his grandson.

"You continue your work," Xiao Mu said politely, glancing around the courtyard.

Sun Xinghai thought quickly and feigned concern. "To be honest, I'm at a loss here. Both sides have their reasons. Could you help me decide?"

Upon hearing this, the women from both families rushed to argue their cases before Xiao Mu.

This was a thankless task; siding with one would incur the wrath of the other. However, as the village headman, maintaining fairness was crucial for long-term trust. Even if one family resented him, others would still turn to him for help in the future.

Xiao Mu knew Sun Xinghai might either be genuinely stuck or trying to make him offend someone. Regardless, it was foolish.

"Words alone won't do. Bring the dog here."

Without any pleasantries, Xiao Mu demanded the dog's presence. There was no time to waste on such trivial matters.

Li's wife panicked and asked nervously, "Why do you need the dog?"

Xiao Mu only looked at Li's husband.

Intimidated by the old thousand commander's presence, Li's husband agreed and ran off to fetch the dog.

Sun Xinghai instructed his son Sun Wei: "The dog isn't leashed, so it might run. Go help catch it."

Sun Wei followed suit.

About two candle marks later, they returned with a thin black dog tied with a makeshift leash.

Xiao Mu examined the dog's belly.

The dog was skinny, making its bloated stomach very noticeable. If not for the obvious bulge, one might think it was pregnant.

"Goodness, how much did it eat?"

Hearing this, Li's wife hastily defended herself: "We fed it ourselves. We made extra food today, so we let it eat its fill."

This was a weak argument. Everyone cherished food, and no one would feed a dog like that.

The crowd sided with the Wangs, but Li's wife insisted there was no evidence.

Xiao Mu then addressed the men from both families: "Follow me."

After a brief discussion, they returned to the courtyard.

Xiao Mu announced to the puzzled crowd: "I asked them what they had for lunch. The Wangs had mixed grain rice and sauerkraut stew, while the Lis had wild vegetable cakes and leftover corn porridge. If we make the dog vomit, everyone will see if it stole food."

Wang's wife jumped excitedly: "Make it vomit, quickly!"

Li's wife's face turned pale, glaring at her husband for revealing the truth.

Seeing Sun Dian and Sun Wei about to restrain the dog, Xiao Mu stopped them and said to Li's wife: "Since the dog has eaten the food, forcing it to vomit would be wasteful. Since you'll have to compensate the Wangs anyway, why not give them a bowl of mixed grains and a bowl of sauerkraut? No need to trouble the dog."

Reluctantly, Li's wife agreed. Her husband finally spoke up, embarrassed: "Let's do as Thousand Commander Xiao says. We didn't know the dog had eaten, but we should have compensated earlier. Now everyone is laughing at us."

Some mocked them, while others watched quietly.

As the Li and Wang families left, the crowd dispersed.

Sun Xinghai and his sons invited Xiao Mu and Xiao Zhen into the main hall.

Sun Dian joked, "Did you suddenly feel merciful and agree to marry Liu Chu to me?"

Xiao Mu ignored him entirely.

Sun Xinghai slapped him: "Get lost, you insolent brat! This is none of your business!"

Sun Dian grumbled and left, while the scholarly-looking Sun Wei remained behind his father.

Sun Xinghai apologized to Xiao Mu: "My son is used to being unruly. Don't mind him. What brings you here?"

Xiao Mu let his grandson speak. Xiao Zhen briefly recounted the incidents of refugees stealing chickens in Taohuagou and bandits occupying the mountains.

Sun Xinghai's brows furrowed deeper: "It's been less than a year of peace, yet another famine in the west. In previous years, officials would try to send refugees back or provide shelter nearby, but now they're all too preoccupied to care about refugees."

Xiao Mu: "In recent years, the village has lost more than half of its male population. Many households now only have elderly, weak, and women. If refugees sneak in at night, theft and property damage would be minor issues, but we must fear for lives being lost."

Sun Xinghai nodded: "It's a problem. What do you suggest?"

Xiao Mu: "Arrange for eight people to patrol and guard at night, four each for the first and second halves of the night. Register all men between eighteen and fifty years old in the village, and rotate their shifts."

Sun Xinghai glanced at his son and pondered: "It's a good idea, but I'm afraid people won't be willing."

Xiao Mu: "That's why you need to explain it clearly to everyone."

Sun Xinghai sighed: "Alright, I'll try my best to convince them."

To the north of Lingshui Village is the Lingshui River, and within the village is a nearly two-acre pond. When there are important matters to discuss, villagers gather around a large stone millstone by the pond.

Sun Xinghai called his two sons and went to the pond with Xiao Zhen and his grandson.

As soon as the gong sounded, idle villagers gathered, with at least one person from each household present.

Seeing that most people had arrived, Sun Xinghai stood on the millstone, cleared his throat, and relayed the news brought by the Xiao family's grandfather and grandson. He then proposed patrolling at night: "Everyone knows that Xiao Qianhu is well-informed. I fully support this method. If everyone agrees, let's make a list now and select those who will guard each night."

Sun Wei sat by the millstone, with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone laid out before him, looking serious.

Upon hearing this, the villagers began discussing animatedly.

"Before, we didn't have many thieves here. Isn't this overreacting?"

"That's right. Even Taohuagou, with so few people, caught some thieves. If they come here, we can catch them together. Why bother keeping the men up all night?"

"Xiao Qianhu is great in other ways, but he likes to treat us like soldiers."

Homes with adult males felt secure and were unwilling to protect families with only the elderly, weak, and women, as guarding would be tiring and require extra food preparation.

Families with only the elderly, weak, and women wanted to support the idea but hesitated due to the disapproving looks from their neighbors.

Seeing this, Xiao Mu reminded them again: "If refugees come to steal, they won't check which houses have male inhabitants in the dark. Some might even bring knives and weapons."

This alarmed some of the villagers, but many clung to a sense of luck, and the majority still stood in opposition.

Without official orders, the village head couldn't force the villagers to comply.

Some even flattered Xiao Mu: "Don't worry, with you here, those refugees wouldn't dare come."

Xiao Mu shook his head and walked away from the crowd with Xiao Zhen.

---

At dinner time, Grandfather Xiao Mu looked displeased.

Xiao Yan huffed: "Good intentions treated like donkey liver pâté. They'll learn the hard way sooner or later. Grandfather, don't worry about it. We have enough people; we can catch any intruders ourselves."

Xiao Ye: "Exactly. It's just half a night each. Look how lazy they are."

Xiao She: "Why don't we brothers take turns? Second Brother and Fourth Brother can guard the first half of the night, and Third Brother and I can take the second half."

Just as Xiao Yan was about to scold his foolish brother, Aunt He at the next table got upset, slamming down her chopsticks and glaring at her youngest son: "What did they give you to make you work for them? If you're bored, go hunt more game in the mountains. You're driving me crazy! How could I have given birth to such a fool?"

Xiao She looked at his grandfather with a wronged expression.

Xiao Mu: "How long can you brothers keep this up? This needs the whole village's effort to sustain."

Xiao She: "But what if thieves come tonight?"

Xiao Yan: "It's up to each family's luck. We're not monks; reminding them is already doing our duty as fellow villagers. Second Brother, don't you agree?"

Tong Sui, quietly eating, glanced at the other table and saw Xiao Zhen nodding briefly.

Seeing that even Second Brother disagreed with guarding alone, Xiao She gave up the idea.

Tonight, the main house was responsible for the meal. After dinner, Tong Sui and Liu Chu stayed behind to wash dishes and feed the pigs and horses. They divided the tasks, with Tong Sui taking the job of feeding the pigs and mules because she was stronger, carrying two buckets of swill to the backyard.

The backyard was vast, and the dim light from the middle row of houses didn't reach far. Tong Sui was focused until her gaze swept past the mule cart beside the stable, triggering unwelcome memories.

In the dimness, the two large black mules faced her motionlessly, while the grunting from the pigpen slightly distracted her.

Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind.

Tong Sui's hand trembled as she turned around, seeing a blurry figure holding a lantern.

"It's me." The person raised the lantern higher.

Recognizing Xiao Zhen, Tong Sui relaxed and asked: "Why are you here?"

Xiao Zhen, approaching, said: "It wasn't convenient during the day. I came to wash my sword by the river at night."

Tong Sui recalled the iron sword almost stained red with blood, understanding that it needed to be washed by the river to avoid questions.

"Be careful," Tong Sui said casually.

Xiao Zhen acknowledged and took one of the swill buckets from her, feeding the mules for her.

Tong Sui carried the empty bucket back to the courtyard entrance when Xiao Zhen left the northern gate of the main yard with his lantern and sword.

---

Returning to the eastern courtyard with Liu Chu, the east wing room was dark since the occupants were not home.

Tong Sui, having been startled at the stable, didn't want to be alone and told Liu Chu: "Second Master hasn't returned yet. I'll stay with Sister-in-Law for a while."

Liu Chu: "Good. These past two days, while you were away, Mianmian missed you quite a bit. But she's too shy to show it in front of you."

The sisters-in-law walked side by side to the main room.

Eight-year-old Mianmian had already heated up a pot of water and washed her feet before getting into bed, reminding her mother to soak her feet as well.

Tong Sui smiled at Liu Chu: "Mianmian is truly considerate."

Liu Chu's face was full of gentleness. After her husband's death, it was fortunate to have such a caring daughter by her side; otherwise, she wouldn't know if she could carry on.

Tong Sui: "While the water is still hot, Elder Sister, go ahead and soak your feet. I'll chat with Mianmian for a bit."

Liu Chu went to mix the water.

Mianmian lay on her back, blinking her eyes at her second aunt sitting beside her, and asked softly, "Second Aunt, Auntie said that all refugees are bad, they steal things and even eat children. She told us to run home if we see any refugees. Is that true?"

Tong Sui paused for a moment, then stroked the little girl's forehead and said, "There are indeed vicious refugees like what Auntie described, but there are also refugees who don't do bad things. It's just hard for children to tell the difference. If you encounter them, it's best not to pay attention and avoid going out alone during this time."

Mianmian nodded.

Liu Chu came in with the footwashing basin, and the three of them chatted about other household matters.

As if understanding Tong Sui's concerns, after washing her feet, Liu Chu took out her sewing basket, indicating she wasn't ready to sleep yet.

Tong Sui felt a bit embarrassed. Suddenly, Xiao Zhen's voice came from outside the window: "Elder Sister, is Xiaoman here?"

Tong Sui's heart skipped a beat. He actually called her "Xiaoman."

Liu Chu gave her a knowing smile and winked.

Tong Sui hurriedly went out and found that Xiao Zhen only held a lantern in his hand; presumably, he had put the iron sword back in the compartment of the carriage.

"Has Fourth Younger Brother gone to bed?"

Seeing the darkened western room, Tong Sui found a topic to ask.

Xiao Zhen: "He's with Fifth Younger Brother. He doesn't sleep that early."

Tong Sui: "Did they sneak out to patrol?" Xiao She is simple-minded, but Xiao Ye is enthusiastic.

Xiao Zhen: "Fourth Younger Brother wouldn't do such a thing."

As he spoke, he pushed open the door of the eastern room, waiting for Tong Sui to enter before locking it.

The northern pot had also been filled with hot water.

After they each washed, Xiao Zhen went to pour the water out, while Tong Sui got onto the kang to spread the quilts. After finishing, she blew out the lamp and lay down as usual.

Thinking about the morning's danger, she believed Xiao Zhen wouldn't have any other intentions tonight.

But it turned out that either she didn't understand Xiao Zhen or she didn't understand men in general.

Despite his injured arm, he refused to rest, even tangling her long hair in the process.

Being held tightly by such a strong man, Tong Sui forgot about those heavy matters.

When he lifted the quilt and stood up, Tong Sui thought he was going to get a small cushion, but unexpectedly, Xiao Zhen wanted her to get up.

Tong Sui looked up in confusion.

Xiao Zhen directly supported her under the armpits and lifted her down, making her stand between him and the edge of the kang, facing the window.

Tong Sui's underclothes had already been thrown to the center of the kang by him.

What was he doing?

She tried to crawl back.

Xiao Zhen held her waist and whispered in her ear, "This way, we don't need a cushion. It's more convenient."

Tong Sui didn't care. She would rather deal with the trouble herself and wash the cushion by the river the next day!

"No, let me go."

Xiao Zhen didn't release her.

Tong Sui lowered her head and bit his arm, matching his persistence with her own ferocity.

Seeing that she genuinely couldn't accept it, Xiao Zhen finally put her back under the quilt.