Farmer's eldest sister becomes rich

Chapter 378: Bandits Looting Food

"These grains were sent to me by the villagers who had all their surplus grains packed up from house to house."

Qin walked forward with her handkerchief covering her nose, crying, "From now on, I'm afraid we'll have to chew tree bark!"

The village chief patted Qin's shoulder to comfort her, then turned to the official and said, "I hope the officials can send the relief grain to us soon. We are still waiting for it to be put into the pot!"

"Don't worry! After we bring the grain tax back to the county, as long as the county magistrate orders us to send the grain, we will deliver it as fast as possible."

An Yue asked the police chief, "The wheat was harvested before it was ripe, and the grains were not full. How can it be used as grain tax?"

"If the county magistrate investigates and charges us with 'passing inferior goods as good ones', what should we do?"

"Under the natural disaster, I'm sure the county magistrate has his own considerations."

As the chief constable spoke, he directed his men to count and record the food on the ox cart one by one, and then move it to their horse-drawn carriage.

......

The leading bandit hiding in the dark whispered, "Brothers, the villagers have handed in the food."

He leaned over to the ear of the person squatting next to him and whispered, "Hurry up and tell the brothers over there to get ready. As soon as the officials deliver the food to our ambush area, we will act immediately."

The person next to him nodded and tiptoed to inform his fellow bandits who were lying in ambush along the way.

......

At this time, a group of officials were unknowingly pulling horse-drawn carriages, carrying several large carts of grain taxes and silk cocoons, heading towards Shijing Town.

The village chief, his family of three, and An Yue stood there, looking at the officials leaving Baili Village. The two stones in their hearts finally fell.

There is another stone hanging in everyone's heart.

They were secretly worried that the bandits not far away might take the opportunity to attack.

No one knew whether the bandits would, as expected, directly rob the food being escorted by the officials.

The villagers were in a low mood because the government sent people to plunder half of their stored grain.

The village chief called his son Li Jing to come closer to him and said, "Jing'er, run ahead and quietly inform the villagers to go to the west end of the village for a meeting. It's best to let them spread the word quietly."

"Okay, Dad."

After Li Jing responded, he ran to the front and whispered to everyone, "Everyone, tell the villagers to gather at the west end of the village for a meeting."

"Everyone, go to the west end of the village for a meeting..."

The village chief said solemnly: "Although we have dealt with it temporarily, I don't know if the bandits will come to rob our village next time."

An Yue comforted him, "Don't worry, uncle. Let's think about it carefully. There is always a way to deal with the bandits."

The village chief nodded and called to the villagers at the east end of the village, saying, "Tell two young men from the east end of the village to stay here to guard. If they find any movement of bandits, they should immediately ring the gong and run to the west end of the village."

"Okay!" the villagers responded.

Qin walked up and said, "Huairen, Yueyue, let's hurry back to the west end of the village! I think all the villagers are here now."

"Uncle, you two go first! Yueyue still has to go home to make some simple arrangements for her family. I will rush to the west end of the village immediately after that."

"Okay, okay, go ahead! Girl, remember to come early and help your uncle think of a way to deal with the situation." The village chief waved his hand at An Yue and said.

An Yue said "hmm", then turned around and ran towards home.

......

At this time, a group of officials were unaware of the impending danger and were still very happy about receiving grain taxes.

They moved forward slowly, and the grain taxes and silk cocoons on the carriage swayed slightly with the bumps of the carriage, making a dull creaking sound.

In the woods on both sides of the road, the high-pitched chorus of cicadas seemed to be providing cover for the bandits.

Soon, the officers were about to enter the bandits' ambush area.

The leading bandit led a group of bandits and surrounded the officer from behind.

The officers escorted the grain and silk cocoons to the best location for the bandits to plunder.

With a whistle of fingers, the bandits from all directions surrounded the officials.

The officers were frightened by the sudden attack and panicked. Before they could react, several of them were captured by the bandits.

The officers held their swords in their hands and half-crouched alertly.

The head constable threatened, "How dare you! How dare you rob the imperial court of grain taxes!"

"Stop talking nonsense and put down the carriage and food!"

The leading bandit walked up from behind the officer as he spoke.

"If you put down the food obediently today, we will let you go!"

After saying that, he flicked the blade in his hand with his fingers. The sound was so crisp and sharp that it made people's hair stand on end.

The head constable's eyes widened with anger, and he shouted loudly: "You bandits are so audacious! You dared to rob the grain tax. The court will definitely send troops to encircle and suppress you. When the time comes, you will not be able to escape even if you have wings!"

The leading bandit sneered, "Humph, waiting for the imperial court to send troops? The common people in this area are waiting for the imperial court to distribute disaster relief grain."

"So far, the natural disaster has passed, but we still haven't received any relief food, right?"

"If you leave your carriage and food today, we will let you go and we promise not to embarrass you."

After saying this, the bandits moved closer to the officers step by step, gradually narrowing their range of activities.

The head constable began to look timid and said, "How dare you! You..."

"You should know that before the imperial court sent troops to encircle and suppress us, you would have been beheaded."

After these words were spoken, the officers were so frightened that they dared not say anything more.

They were pressed closer and closer, and finally gathered into a group.

There were more than fifty officers in total, and the bandits who came and went numbered nearly two hundred.

"Are you villagers from nearby?" the chief constable asked doubtfully.

"It was in the past, but unfortunately it is no longer the case now. Now we are bandits who do whatever we want! Bandits who kill and burn people, hahahaha..."

After the leader of the bandits finished speaking, he laughed coldly.

Then, he asked the other bandits: "Brothers, how about following me to make a big profit today?"

The bandits on all sides raised their knives and shouted, "Good! Good! Good!"

The sound was as powerful as a rainbow, permeating the entire forest.

The officers were so frightened that they looked at each other and their legs and feet trembled.

As time passed, the two sides remained in a stalemate and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

"I'll give you another ten seconds to think about it. If you still resist, don't blame us for being rude!"

"One breath."

"Two breaths."

"Three breaths."

The officers asked one by one: "Boss, are we going to die here?"

"Boss, I have old people and children at home, I can't die yet."

The leading bandit's shout was like a sharp needle, piercing the heart of every officer again and again.

With every word they spoke, the bandits moved one step closer to the officers.

The officers were sweating profusely, and some of them even wet their pants out of fear.

The leading bandit continued to count: "Nine breaths."