During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Ye Dazhuang.

Ye Dazhuang slammed his axe heavily into the ground at the opportune moment, the blade sinking half an inch into the soil, the muffled sound sending shivers down people's spines.

He said nothing, but his eyes, carrying a cold, murderous aura, swept over the three riders.

The dark-skinned, thin man's expression changed.

He hadn't expected this country girl to be so difficult, refusing to listen to either soft or hard approaches, and even carrying a hint of official airs.

The fat rider's hand, which was resting on the knife handle, clenched involuntarily, and he nervously glanced at the thin, dark-skinned man.

The atmosphere was tense and somber.

After a brief standoff, the dark-skinned, thin man suddenly laughed again, but this time it carried a hint of feigned admiration.

"Okay, girl, you're a smart girl. We won't take advantage of you, a local."

He turned his horse around and said, "Let's discuss the grain loan again. Remember my town, Qing Shi Town? You'll be coming here to bother me quite often in the future."

Ye Qingqing snorted coldly, "Goodbye and don't bother seeing me off."

The sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, and the mule carts behind them turned around and left.

The villagers, who had been holding their breath just moments before, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Ye Qingqing.

"Second Girl, this guy doesn't look like he's up to any good. He's probably a bandit!"

Old Wang wiped his sweat and said with lingering fear.

Ye Qingqing smiled faintly.

"What's the use of being afraid? If I were afraid, my family would be robbed clean! The grain is in my hands, so if they want to borrow it, they can only do it according to my rules."

After saying that, he turned and went back into the house.

The villagers watched her retreating figure and whispered among themselves.

"See that? That second girl isn't even afraid of thieves, and you still dare to try and take advantage of her?"

"If you ask me, anyone who wants to take advantage of someone else's family should just give up!"

"I see now! That second girl is only asking us for grain because she's being nice. If we ever anger her, we won't be able to borrow a single grain of sorghum!"

……

Back in the house, Ye Qingqing sat cross-legged on the earthen bed, picked up her bowl, and slowly took a sip of tea.

The situation these past few days has been exactly as she had predicted, if not exactly the same, but rather even worse!

Those families who were starving heard the news and rushed over to borrow grain.

Most of the seven or eight hundred catties of mixed grains, rice and flour, were lent out, and the people in the village had food to eat, which put their anxious hearts at ease.

If these people get desperate for food, they're probably capable of anything!

But some heartless scoundrel spread the news that her family had grain out of the village, attracting the covetous eyes of bandits.

Ye Qingqing silently considered how to defend against such a move.

"Second girl, you were really upright just now!"

Li Chunyan clutched her pounding heart and gave her a thumbs up repeatedly. "When I saw those guys riding horses and carrying knives, looking so fierce, I was almost scared to death!"

How can you be so shameless and dare to set rules for them?

Ye Qingqing glanced at her and said casually,

"If I don't set rules for them, they'll set rules for us."

"What's there to be afraid of? Big Zhuang can take on all five of them by himself!"

As she spoke, she looked at Ye Dazhuang with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Brother Dazhuang. I'm so glad you're here at home, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."

Ye Youliang hurriedly added, "That's right! These past few days, everyone at home has been coming to borrow grain. If it weren't for your brother Dazhuang, your father really wouldn't be able to handle it."

"It's what I should do."

Ye Dazhuang nodded to her, his face expressionless.

The village gradually returned to its former tranquility.

These past two days, Ye Qingqing has been busy with family matters and hasn't had time to consult the divination. This morning, as soon as she opened her eyes, she first performed a divination for those three bandits.

"Clang..."

The shimmering divination sticks appeared before my eyes, and after a few shakes, golden characters appeared:

[Middle threat: There are over thirty bandits in the Qingshi Mountain stronghold in Qingshi Town. Their three leaders are eyeing our grain. We must guard against a night raid to steal our supplies.]

[Zhongji: A family of five fled here; the three brothers are all martial arts practitioners and are highly capable.]

[Extremely ominous: Bears are known to roam the North Peak; provoking them could be fatal.]

Ye Qingqing frowned. It turned out that those three guys were bandits from the mountain stronghold!

No wonder they're so arrogant and domineering.

At that time, the dark-skinned, thin man deliberately left the phrase "Qingshi Town," which was a roundabout way of telling her that they were from Qingshi Mountain Village.

It seems that the little bit of food we have at home has become prey in other people's eyes.

Although Ye Qingqing was somewhat surprised, she was not afraid.

there is always a solution to a problem.

When bandits come, we have hunting knives...

She blinked, and soon the second divination slip brought her a "hunting knife"?

The family of five has three brothers who are skilled in martial arts and are "of great use," perfect for guarding the house!

She casually picked off the first and second fortune sticks.

"Splash..."

The divination slips transformed into starlight and disappeared in her slender hands.

As for the third divination slip, the big bear had been hanging on it for several days, making Ye Qingqing's heart itch with desire.

Once she recruited three brothers as guards, along with the extraordinary Ye Dazhuang, she considered going up the mountain to skin the bear.

Hang it on the divination slip every day, and you'll be safe in the land of battle!

Looking at the sky outside, she slept until the sun was high in the sky, her stomach growling with hunger.

The aroma of stewed turtle soup and pickled cabbage stewed with pork wafted into the courtyard. Ye Qingqing took a deep breath, got up, dressed, and washed up.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Ye Dazhuang sitting in the woodshed... No, now the house is built solidly with a tightly sealed roof, so it can't be called a woodshed anymore, it should be called a side room.

A heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) was also installed in the side room. It had been burning for two days to dispel the cold, and he had already moved back to live there.

His older brother and sister-in-law thoughtfully placed a brazier in the room for him, keeping the firewood burning constantly, afraid that he would get cold.

Despite being a quiet and reserved person, Ye Dazhuang is loved and respected by his family, who genuinely treat him like one of their own.

Ye Dazhuang was sitting at the stone table in front of the side room, his back straight, his face with its strong features expressionless, as quiet as a stone man.

The heated kang bed in the side room was very warm, and there was a constant supply of firewood and charcoal in the brazier, but he was actually a little unaccustomed to it.

I came out to sit and sunbathe because I felt it was hot and humid.

Another thing is that he dreamed of a bloody battle again last night. Ye Dazhuang woke up in the middle of the night with a start, and the bloody scene lingered in his mind for a long time.

He disliked that dream and felt an inexplicable resistance in his heart!

Ye Dazhuang grew to love the peaceful, lively, and warm days at Ye Qingqing's house.

Good morning, Brother Dazhuang.

Ye Qingqing casually greeted him, "It's cold outside, why don't you go inside and rest?"

Ye Dazhuang's deep eyes looked at her, and he smiled faintly, saying...

"morning."

Ye Qingqing didn't notice the glint of light that appeared in his deep eyes the moment he saw her.