A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chen Dafu felt extremely apprehensive as several people stared at him.

An Qinghe patted Chen Dafu on the shoulder forcefully, grinning like a villain, "Old Chen, well done!"

He Jinglan smiled and said, "The thieves haven't even made a move yet, and you've already wiped out their hidden weapons. That's truly a great achievement."

Chen Dafu let out a long sigh of relief, "I thought it was something else, they were all staring at me like that, but I was scared."

He wiped his face with his sleeve and said, "Everyone's on guard against thieves lately, including our Chenjia Village. But our village has a hidden path in a remote corner, next to a sinkhole. It's very dangerous, and nobody ever uses it. But the night before last, two reckless thieves sneaked in."

"Fortunately, the patrolmen spotted them in time when they were climbing over the wall and caught them. When they shone a light on them, they realized they were just teenagers. When questioned, they learned that the two had heard that robbers had been robbing people in the area and had stolen a lot of food. They had also been tempted to try their luck and just wanted to get some money to spend."

An Qinghe frowned, "Sneaking around like thieves and dogs, taking advantage of troubled waters."

He Jinglan glanced sideways, "This time they didn't use any wrong ones."

An Qinghe continued, "What's even more outrageous is that when the petty thieves were brought to the yamen at dawn, the courtyard was already full of people tied up as soon as they entered the vermilion gate. I heard the jailer complaining that in the last three days alone, they've caught so many thieves that they can barely keep them all in jail."

Everyone stared in astonishment.

Sister-in-law Qin exclaimed in surprise, "I even went to town to sell some medicinal herbs before the wheat harvest, and I didn't realize it was this chaotic then. How did it suddenly become like this?"

Gu Xixi said calmly, "It's not a sudden change, but rather that those who intend to take advantage of the chaos have been eager to act for a long time. They are observing and testing the waters, and when this mentality accumulates to a certain degree, it will erupt all at once."

The attack on Huachidu Village today is also a manifestation of declining public security in chaotic times.

Chen Dafu sighed heavily, "I just don't understand. This world is in chaos, it's the problem of those in power, what does it have to do with us ordinary people? Why are we all living our lives like normal people, and why are we all getting into chaos too?"

Several people fell into deep thought.

Gu Xixi looked at the pile of things on the ground. "There aren't many decent weapons; they're all pieced together from various places. It seems these thieves aren't very well-off."

"Without these, they'll probably be left empty-handed."

She looked up and glanced at the group. "In my opinion, we should take action now."

An Qinghe and He Jinglan immediately perked up.

He Jinglan: "There are ready-made weapons here, I'll pick one!"

An Qinghe: "I have read the criminal law of the Daye Dynasty. Killing a robber does not incur any criminal liability!"

Their eyes were burning with desire, like hungry ghosts waiting for a feast to be served.

Sister-in-law Qin silently covered the two children's eyes, then, after thinking for a moment, covered their ears instead.

It's too brutal. Children shouldn't listen to this.

Gu Xixi glared at her two friends, "Do you two have to be so excited? This isn't a joke."

"Especially you, He Jinglan, have you ever been in a fight? Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Stop fighting and killing all the time."

The two lowered their heads in response to the glare.

"……Oh."

"understood."

Gu Xixi turned to the most normal-looking person present, "Uncle Chen, I need to go to the village entrance to check the situation. I'd appreciate it if you could tell the brothers one by one and get everyone together."

"Although those people may not dare to force their way in without their weapons, we still need to be careful."

"Firstly, you are all scattered across the wheat field working, and if thieves sneak in, those who are alone will be unsafe. Secondly, we need your help to keep an eye on things here. If you see that there are many of them, run to call for help immediately, and don't confront them head-on."

Chen Dafu nodded solemnly, "Then the wheat harvesting job?"

Gu Xixi said, "Let's leave it for now. Harvesting wheat is not as important as saving lives."

She knew the workers were looking forward to the wheat harvest, and she smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, the village is only so big, it will only take an hour or two to see the results."

Chen Dafu said seriously, "Understood. I will distribute these weapons to everyone for self-defense later."

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Anyway, it's free, so you can use it however you like."

She then said to An Qing and Zheng Zhong, "Brother An has experience fighting bandits several times. Could you please stay here and take my and Sister-in-law Qin's place, and keep Uncle Chen and the others company?"

An Qinghe immediately objected, "No, there's danger at the village entrance. How can I be there if I'm not by your side..."

Before he could finish speaking, he received a sharp glare from Gu Xixi.

Anqing reluctantly shut his mouth.

Gu Xixi gave an incredibly gentle smile, "Is it...okay?"

An Qinghe was sweating profusely, nodding pitifully, then nodding again.

On the way back, Gu Xixi carried an axe and walked quickly, giving instructions as she went, "Jinglan, you take Qing'er and Shitou home. Sister-in-law, you..."

Sister-in-law Qin said, "Dogwa's father must have arrived by now, and I need to go to the village entrance to help."

As she spoke, she brandished the long knife she had just picked up, its movements powerful and swift.

He Jinglan said indignantly, "We are all women, why can you go while I have to take my child home?"

Gu Xixi said, "This is also a responsibility. The village is not safe right now. Who can guarantee that no thieves have already infiltrated? You can't just let the two of them go back on their own, can you?"

Shi Tou said with high spirits, "Sister Xi Xi, just let Sister Jing Lan take Qing Er back. You can't do without a man to protect you."

Little Qing'er glanced at Brother Stone and said sensibly, "Then Qing'er will protect him too!"

He Jinglan wasn't unreasonable. She gently tapped the two little devils on the head, both amused and exasperated, and said:

"You two, stop making things worse. When children encounter bad people, they should seek protection from adults. Otherwise, what are we adults for?"

The stone still tried to struggle.

He Jinglan gave no room for negotiation, "Shut up, don't even think about it. If you two little ones don't go back soon, Sister Meng and Auntie will worry."

As they approached the fork in the road and were about to part ways, He Jinglan was still somewhat worried about Gu Xixi.

Gu Xixi told Sister-in-law Qin that she wanted to give her a few more words of advice.

She stepped forward and whispered in He Jinglan's ear, "Don't worry, I won't be in any danger. Don't forget we still have people hiding in the shadows; they're much better than that rabble."

“When you get home, lock the gate. The elderly and children in the family are all in your care.”

He Jinglan gave Gu Xixi a deep look, "Don't worry."

There was no one in sight outside at the moment; it seemed that everyone who could go out had gone to the village entrance.

Only Gu Xixi and Sister-in-law Qin remained.

Sister-in-law Qin laughed and said, "Besides sending the two children back, you were also looking for an excuse to get Miss He out of the way, weren't you?"

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "I have to protect her."

There are three reasons. The first is naturally Gu Xixi's sisterly affection for He Jinglan.

Looking closer, He Jinglan was not from this village, nor did she seem to have the experience and strength of An Qinghe.

There's no need for her to risk her life for Huachidu Village.

As for the rest...