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Chapter 142 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (3 chapters in one) _3
Chapter 142 - 140: Avoiding Bandits (3 chapters in one) _3
Chapter 142: Chapter 140: Avoiding Bandits (3 chapters in one) _3
Translator: 549690339
In the mushroom shed, not only was there no golden mushrooms, even the wooden shelves were gone. Inside the chicken coop, not a single chicken was left.
Suddenly, Jiang Sanlang thought of his little girl. Could it have been Baobao’s doing? But how is it possible?
He quietly climbed over the wall and saw his elder brothers, each carrying a large square table.
“What are you guys doing?” A puzzled Jiang Sanlang asked.
Jiang Dabang replied, “It’s raining, isn’t it? There’s no cover in the bamboo grove. We can’t let ourselves get drenched all night. These big tables can give us cover.”
Jiang Sanlang: …
Alright, his elder brother had a point.
The three brothers entered the bamboo forest as the sky was completely dark.
Walking with one foot deep and one foot shallow into the depths of the bamboo forest, a dim light was visible from a bamboo shed.
After putting down the big square table, Jiang Dabang crawled into the bamboo shed.
Inside the bamboo shed were only old man Jiang and his wife, Mrs. Jiang Liu, and Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan.
The two kids were curled up asleep in the bamboo bed. Old man Jiang and his wife were awake, waiting for their sons to return, by the light of a dim oil lamp.
“You’re back!” A surprised and joyful Mrs. Jiang Liu called out upon seeing her oldest son and looked outside, “Where are Erlang and Sanlang?”
“They’re here, too.” A weary Jiang Dabang replied, sitting on a thin bamboo branch.
Mrs. Jiang Liu handed him a steamed bun, “Eat something quickly.”
Jiang Dabang took a bite of the bun handed to him and then took the water gourd handed over by his mother and drank it all in one go.
No kidding, the gourds they had grown themselves came in extremely handy. Their benefits were clear in times like these.
“How are things outside?” Old man Jiang asked.
Jiang Dabang took a sip of tea and said, “There are quite a few bandits in the village. They’ve taken over and they’re not going to leave anytime soon.”
“Oh, what are we going to do?” Mrs. Jiang Liu frowned.
Jiang Dabang: “The government will eventually send people to get rid of the bandits. We just have to tide over this period.”
At this moment, Jiang Sanlang also crawled in.
“According to the villagers, these bandits don’t just occupy this place. Some of their teams have already gone towards the county town. I estimate that government officials won’t be able to attend to us for the time being.”
Old man Jiang was surprised, “How come there are so many bandits?”
Jiang Sanlang: “There seems to be some major trouble in Zhouhe County and Donglin County. There are uprisings in many places. From the accents of these bandits, most of them are from those areas. Their leader is not simple either. He is actually planning to incite a rebellion among the villagers.”
“Rebellion?” Old man Jiang stroked his beard, finding it hard to believe.
Who would willingly rebel if their life wasn’t unbearable? That’s a capital crime that implicates nine generations.
“Ah, it’s such a disaster.” Mrs. Jiang Liu sighed.
Jiang Sanlang and his two brothers ate something, rested for a while, but still felt uneasy.
The three of them discussed with their father and set up several traps in the bamboo forest overnight and cut many bamboo arrows.
After a short nap, as the sky was gradually brightening, Jiang Sanlang got up to check out the situation outside.
The rain was still falling, pitter-patter, the weather was growing even colder.
Soon, Jiang Sanlang ran back again, panting, “Get up! The bandits are coming up the mountain.”
Yingbao and her younger brother, who were sleeping soundly squeezed in the bamboo bed, were promptly lifted up by their father. “Get up quickly, have something to eat. If the bandits break into the bamboo forest, we should run deeper.”
Yingbao hurriedly put on her shoes, urging her two brothers to get dressed.
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were obedient and without making a peep, they quickly put on their clothes and shoes.
Under the guidance of their two elder cousins, the two youngsters paid their respect, washed their hands and faces with the water from the large gourd, and then accepted the steamed buns handed over by their mother and began to nibble.
Seeing the water gourd, Jiang Quan looked at his younger cousin with a resentful expression and asked in a low voice, “Where are the two King Gourds? Why didn’t you bring them?”
Yingbao replied annoyedly, “How was I supposed to carry such large gourds?”
“You shouldn’t have thrown them at home though.” Jiang Quan sounded quite heartbroken.
He hadn’t even sold off the King Gourds yet when this happened. What a shame.
“If it’s not thrown at home, who will carry it?” Yingbao retorted him without flinching.
Now of all times, he was still obsessed with the King Gourds. What if her second older cousin impulsively ran home across their wall? Then he would surely discover her big secret.
Jiang Quan hung his head and sighed.
Jiang Sanlang glanced at his daughter and then exited the bamboo forest.
He still had to go out and investigate to see how many bandits actually arrived.
Lady Wen and her daughter had an unsettled sleep throughout the night, always being awakened by the sound of wind rustling the bamboo grove.
They got up early and moved around with her daughter, who dismounted from the carriage to stretch their legs and also to relieve themselves.
Yingbao, who was wearing a small bamboo hat, came out from the bamboo forest and quietly asked, “Master, did you guys not bring raincoats?”