Border Soldiers: My granaries are full of grain and meat, and I guard this region.

Qi Feng dismounted from his horse, lay on the ground, and gazed at the setting sun in the west, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Liu, the head constable, ran over and squatted down beside him, calling out, "Master Qi."

Qi Feng did not respond, so Liu Dutou took off the water pouch from his waist and handed it to Qi Feng.

Qi Feng took the water and drank a big gulp, then poured it over his head, and only then did he slowly begin to feel alive again.

After the dizziness subsided, Qi Feng slowly sat up.

Many soldiers from the county were sitting on the ground nearby, panting heavily.

They ran all the way from Qijia Village to here, a full six miles, and almost exhausted themselves.

It was thanks to Qi Feng's prior training that they were able to fight; otherwise, given their previous physical condition, they would have been completely incapable of fighting.

Ye Ling Shuang's quiver was empty. She rode a nag to Qi Feng's side and helped him up.

Qi Feng was supported by Ye Ling Shuang. He was not unharmed in this battle. When the eight riders attacked him together, his right shoulder was unfortunately hit by a scimitar, and blood was seeping out.

Qi Feng came to Huli Shi's side, bent down and took off the wolf-head iron plaque from his waist, turned it over to look at it and put it in his pocket, then directed Liu Dutou to lead everyone to clean up the battlefield.

Before long, the nine corpses were tied to the horses, and all the scimitars and bows were disposed of.

Qi Feng sat down on a rock to rest. Ye Ling Shuang checked the bandaged wound again to make sure the bleeding had stopped before she stopped and stood up.

Liu, the head constable, rushed over with great enthusiasm, his smile dispelling his fatigue.

"Master Qi, we've struck it rich this time! We've captured all six finest warhorses, along with nine sets of leather armor, and top-quality scimitars and bows!"

Qi Feng took a long breath; this would become his capital for future success.

"Alright, take the brothers and hurry back, it'll be dark soon. Don't forget there are still three corpses in Qijia Village, collect them there too. Keep them safe when you get back to the county, they'll be your assets for future promotions."

Hearing Qi Feng's words, Liu Dutou could not hide his excitement.

Having served as a common soldier for so long, he had basically climbed the ranks through seniority. It was nothing like today, when he actually wiped out twelve cavalrymen of the Great Rong.

This is no ordinary bandit; these are the elite troops of the Great Rong. This alone is enough to earn him a large reward.

With Ye Ling Shuang's help, Qi Feng mounted his horse and led the way, heading towards Qi Family Village.

Compared to these spoils of war, Qi Feng knew that his greatest achievement was annihilating the twelve cavalrymen without suffering any damage.

Compared to the dead, the fact that he could bring everyone back unharmed was even more shocking to Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan than the spoils of war.

"After this matter, I should be able to secure a minor official position."

Qi Feng thought to himself that only by obtaining an official position could he better fulfill his duties.

After a brief period of tidying up, the villagers of Qijia Village gathered again at the village entrance, all looking westward.

From afar, everyone spotted a group of people. Qi Xiaoliu immediately ran over, and when he got closer and realized it was Qi Feng, he immediately called out to the villagers behind him.

"Brother Feng is back!"

Qi Changlai stood at the village entrance, followed by fifty or sixty villagers. When Qi Feng dismounted, Qi Changlai took a step forward to greet him, looked him up and down, and finally focused his gaze on the bandage on his right shoulder.

"How badly are you hurt?"

Qi Feng shook his head: "It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."

Qi Changlai nodded: "Xiao Liu, take some men to make arrangements for the brave warriors, boil water, and prepare a meal."

Qi Xiaoliu responded and left with Qi Shitou and Qi Erniu.

Qi Feng squatted under the old locust tree to rest for a while and drank half a bowl of water that Qi Changlai handed him.

Liu, the head constable, gathered all three corpses from Qijia Village together, then borrowed a cart from Qijia Village and neatly placed all twelve corpses on the cart. In addition, there were several spoils of war, all of which were leather armor, weapons, and bows and arrows.

But what attracted the most attention were the six tall horses. Everyone in Qijia Village gathered around, and they couldn't help but sigh with admiration.

"We owe it all to Qi Feng this time. If it weren't for him telling us to reinforce Qi Family Village, we would have been in real trouble."

"Yes, Qi Feng even brought troops to support us. Sigh, thinking about how we treated him before, isn't that a bit unfair? After all, Qi Feng is still a member of Qi Family Village..."

Qi Changlai coughed lightly upon hearing this.

"Alright, let's not dwell on the past. From now on, you must all remember that Qi Feng is our great benefactor who saved us, and you must never forget that."

Everyone nodded.

Qi Feng rested for a while, then got up and walked towards the east side of the village.

There was a gap in the wall where it had been trampled flat, and the newly piled adobe bricks were half-dried and had not yet been filled.

Qi Changlai followed behind him, leaning on his cane. Qi Feng pointed to the gap and said, "We need to add another row of wooden stakes here. If they try to go around from this side, they're too short; a horse could just jump right in."

Qi Changlai nodded: "I'll have someone take care of it tomorrow."

Qi Feng remained silent for a moment before speaking again:

"Village chief, you should know that these are not ordinary bandits. I won't hide it from you, but the Great Rong might move the battlefield here in a while. Qi Family Village should make preparations as soon as possible."

"I run a shop in the city, and I need some people to lend a hand on weekdays. If there are people in the village who can't get enough to eat, they can come to Ye's Restaurant in the city and I will do my best to help them."

Upon hearing this, Qi Changlai's eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed to Qi Feng.

"That's great. I told them today to go and seek refuge with relatives in the city. People will die in this war, so it's best to leave as soon as possible."

Qi Feng nodded without speaking further, but a rough idea had already formed in his mind.

He needs to recruit his own team; he needs manpower everywhere.

Ye Family Restaurant needs to expand its production capacity and needs people to assist with the brewing process. He also needs to build his own personal guard, and he needs trustworthy people.

But he was a little uneasy about recruiting other people, so the people from Qijia Village were a good choice.

After everyone had dinner that evening, Qi Feng was about to lead the county soldiers back to Fuxing County to report back.

Before leaving, Qi Feng boarded the cart, lifted a corner of the cloth covering it to check what was inside, and finally jumped down to speak to Qi Changlai.

"Village chief, after the wall is built, the village still needs to arrange for people to stand guard at night."

Qi Changlai stood under the old locust tree at the village entrance and nodded to Qi Feng: "Okay, I understand."

Qi Feng nodded and led the group away towards Fuxing County.

Watching Qi Feng and the others walk away, Qi Changlai stood at the village entrance for a long time, leaning on his cane, until their figures had completely disappeared before slowly turning around and returning to the village.