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

"Village head, these two children saw wolves in the mountains, and after returning to the village..."

Ye Youliang stood in the room leaning on a crutch, one leg weak, his body swaying slightly.

"father!"

Ye Qingqing stepped forward with a displeased look, grabbed her father's arm, and gestured with her chin towards the chair, "Sit down and talk."

I hate the way the village head is so prim and proper!

Ye Youliang was stunned.

"Yes, yes, sit down! Sit down quickly."

The village head seemed to remember something and quickly said politely, "Look at me, I've been so busy talking that I've neglected you, brother."

"It's alright, it'll all be over in a few words."

Ye Youliang waved his hand, but Ye Qingqing still pulled him to sit down. "Village head, the two children also found traces of wolves at the foot of the mountain. They're probably watching our village. We have to be on guard this morning!"

Don't let it descend the mountain and wreak havoc on the village like it did that year.

The village head frowned. "Wolves? It hasn't even snowed yet, and there's already a wolf infestation this early?"

"Of course it's early!"

The village head's wife sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) inside the house mending clothes. She raised her hand, scratched her scalp with a needle, and said with a pout.

"All the prey on the mountain has been hunted out; it can't find any food, so it's no wonder it comes down the mountain to cause trouble for others!"

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow.

This woman is very resentful; she keeps saying she's been robbed of everything.

Is this person talking about her?

She immediately retorted, "Auntie, what you're saying is ridiculous. How many wolves could possibly go hungry on such a big hill? Those wolves are really stupid!"

Besides, hunters live off the mountains. There are so many hunter families in the four or five villages at the foot of the hill. If they were afraid of hunting all the prey on the mountain and attracting wolves, wouldn't they have starved to death long ago?

The village headwoman curled her lip in a sarcastic tone, "I've never seen any other hunters bring prey home every day!"

Ye Qingqing sneered, "That's because they don't have the ability! If Auntie had that ability, the yard would probably be piled high with meat by now!"

The village head's wife scoffed.

"Second girl, I wasn't talking about you, why are you in such a hurry?"

Ye Qingqing retorted, "Why should I be in such a hurry? I'm not like others who are eating other people's meat while coveting their yards full of pork, and who don't even have the ability to get any themselves, getting all jealous!"

Behind him, Ye Dazhuang raised his hand to cover his lips.

He disliked this kind of backstabbing and verbal sparring, but Ye Qingqing's way of roasting people was unique and made people feel comfortable.

"you……"

The village head's wife choked on her breath.

"Alright!"

Seeing that his wife hadn't gained the upper hand and had instead been ridiculed, the village head finally frowned and reprimanded her.

"You old woman, go stay inside and behave yourself! Who gives you the right to interrupt when the men are talking?"

Are you trying to put her down again?

Ye Qingqing blurted out, "Didn't you hear that? Even the village head can't stand your spiel!"

Ye Dazhuang subtly raised the corners of his mouth.

This girl is exceptionally interesting.

The village head was taken aback, "..."

Is that what I mean?

This girl didn't realize at all that I was talking about her?

"Village head, let's quickly gather the able-bodied men in the village and guard the village entrance and exit."

Ye Youliang quickly steered the conversation back on track, saying anxiously, "The wolf pack will come down the mountain tonight, and our village might be in big trouble!"

The village head rolled his eyes, then let out a long sigh and said...

"It's tough... Brothers with grain, it's not that I'm unwilling to call on everyone to guard against the wolf attack, it's just that nowadays every family is starving, where would we find the strength to fight wolves?"

Besides, gathering able-bodied men is for night watch and patrols, and if they encounter wolves, they'll have to fight to the death. The village will have to provide food, but you know there have been disasters in the past two years. Where in the village would we find extra food to feed so many people?

Ye Qingqing finally understood that the village head meant to control her father and extort money from her family!

Sure enough, you can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people. These two old bastards are no good either.

Ye Youliang could easily understand the hidden meaning in the village head's words, so he silently took out his pipe and pondered how to say it.

"Village head, preventing wolf attacks is a matter for the whole village. Last year, someone's family was ravaged by wolves. Didn't the people in the village see it?"

Now, if we call people to guard against wolves, who wouldn't come? If someone doesn't come, the wolves will run to their house and no one will care.

Ye Qingqing crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow slightly, "Unless the village head finds it troublesome and doesn't want to gather everyone together!"

We discovered the wolves coming down the mountain, and we told you immediately. If you hadn't told the villagers, they would have come looking for you when something happened, but they wouldn't have been able to trace it back to us.

"Alright, Dad, I've said everything I needed to say. Let's go home."

"Hey, didn't I say I didn't care? Second daughter, what's with your temper?!"

The village head's expression changed, and he cursed under his breath. He said repeatedly, "Can't we discuss this slowly? Brother Youliang, I might as well speak frankly."

We definitely need to gather able-bodied men to defend against wolves, but you know the difficulties in the village. Here's what I'm thinking...

Look at your house, you have wild boar meat, roe deer meat, mandarin fish, rice and flour. Even if wolves come down from the mountain, they'll smell the aroma and go to your house to cause trouble first, won't they?

The main purpose of the anti-wolf team is to protect your home. To avoid any suspicion, how about your family takes care of the anti-wolf team's meals?

In that case, the people in our village can't say anything.

Ye Youliang paused in his act of sucking on his pipe. He knew the village head was going to trick him, but he hadn't figured out how to say it.

"Village head, the way you're talking makes it sound like we're the only family in the whole village."

Ye Qingqing sneered, "Just because someone has grain and meat doesn't mean they have to feed the anti-wolf team. If that's the case, then your family is the richest in our village, so if anyone's going to take anything, it's you!"

It wasn't that she was unwilling to provide the grain; she had over a thousand taels of silver in her hands, so it wasn't that she couldn't afford it.

Moreover, she originally planned to contribute more, because only when you're well-fed and have plenty of energy will you be motivated.

Those with money should contribute money, and those with strength should contribute strength; this is only right.

But she was unwilling to be tricked or coerced by others; she insisted that anyone contributing food or money must do so willingly.

"Second girl, the adults are discussing matters, why are you interrupting?"

The village head took a breath, his face stern, and reprimanded, "Who taught a young lady to be so ill-mannered!"

Ye Qingqing chuckled, "No manners? Well, I learned that from you, Uncle Village Head."

"Learn from me? I... I haven't been disciplined at all!"

The village head was taken aback.

"The rule in any village, including our Kaoshan Village, is that when a wolf comes, the whole village contributes its manpower and strength to defend against it, and the whole village benefits."

"When it comes to you, it becomes like you're doing chores for my family, and my family has to provide food and money."

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm just learning from you on the spot. If we don't follow the rules, everyone will follow the rules, and then we'll all be eaten by wolves!"

Anyway, my family isn't afraid...

As she spoke, she raised her hand and patted Ye Dazhuang's thick arm, a smirk playing on her lips.

"My cousin Dazhuang has been learning martial arts at Wudang since he was a child. He is as strong as an ox and his archery skills are first-class. You have seen him."

My older brother is also quite strong. If there really is a wolf attack, we can just lock the door, with our two guardians standing watch. What are we afraid of being eaten by wolves?

As soon as she finished speaking, the village head gasped, thinking to himself, "Oh no, I've been choked by this brat again!"