Divorced woman with child travels through time

The next day, Ah Li arrived early with several government officials. Wang Erniu knew that the government was coming, so he did not go to the town.

Brother Nie led them to see the traces left on the mountainside. Ah Li told the men to split up and search. The traces led deeper into the mountains and extended to the official road, where they lost their trail.

After everyone explained the situation, Ah Li said to Wang Erniu, "Master Wang, this matter should be as you said. These should be left behind by a few scouts. If it's just a few people, it should be easy to deal with. The problem is that if there are many people coming, it will be difficult to handle. However, you also know that this is just our speculation. Our county government only has about thirty yamen runners. After deducting those who are on duty, we can only spare about ten people. Without solid evidence, I have no way to ask the higher authorities to send more people. I hope you can understand."

Ah Li spoke sincerely, and Wang Erniu understood that he could come in person because of Chen Wenfang. Otherwise, he could have just sent someone to take a look. This kind of thing could be big or small. If it weren't for the fact that Chen Ji has emerged in Wangjiazhuang and has become famous, and that the monthly taxes are paid in full, they would probably only be able to rely on the able-bodied men in the village to organize themselves to defend against the enemy.

Wang Erniu clasped his hands in a salute and said, "I understand, but sir, if we can confirm the number of bandits and the time of their arrival, I wonder if we can send troops to arrest them?"

Ah Li stared intently at the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Even if there is evidence to show the number of bandits coming, I cannot guarantee that I can get troops to come. But we can guarantee that we will protect you and stand with you through thick and thin." Ah Li did not guarantee that troops could be brought in, which made his words truly convincing.

Wang Erniu took a step back, bowed, and the people behind him followed suit, bowing in unison. "Thank you, sir!" they all said in gratitude.

Deeply moved, Ah Li helped Er Niu up and said, "It is because the villagers think highly of me that I should do this. Please get up."

Everyone then stood up. Ah Li then discussed with Wang Erniu and Brother Nie how to deal with the possible appearance of mountain bandits.

Wang Erniu said, "We have already organized people to patrol every night, but if bandits suddenly come, how can we notify you in time?"

Ah Li pondered for a moment and said, "How about this? I'll send a skilled man to guard Wangjiazhuang. If anything happens, he can come directly to the county office to notify us, and we'll come immediately. What do you think?"

"This arrangement is excellent, thank you very much, sir!" Wang Erniu said, clasping his hands in thanks.

“Alright, then I’ll head back to the county office first. I have official business to attend to, so it will be inconvenient.” Ah Li spoke quickly, mounted his horse, left Ma Liu behind, and departed with his colleagues.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Excellency!" Everyone bowed in unison.

Wang Erniu asked Wang Xiaoguang to arrange a room for Ma Liu, and then returned to the inner courtyard.

"My dear wife, I'm going on a long trip. I should be back in about two days," Wang Erniu said softly, putting his arm around Chen Wenfang's waist from behind and resting his head on her shoulder.

Chen Wenfang turned around to face him and asked, "Where are we going? Is it dangerous?"

Wang Erniu looked at her tenderly and smiled, "It's not very dangerous, you should trust your husband."

"Are you going to find the bandits? Who are you taking with you?" Chen Wenfang asked worriedly, naturally aware of their conversation.

“My wife is so clever. We can’t just wait to be beaten. Besides, we have the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. If they really attack, I’m afraid we won’t be able to save any of them. We should take the initiative and find their lair before they come. We should wipe them out. Even if we can’t wipe them out, we can at least know when they will come. We can only win if we are prepared.” Wang Erniu pinched her small nose.

Chen Wenfang nodded knowingly, "Then be careful. Or we can bring more people with us, and I'll prepare some food for you to eat on the way."

Wang Erniu hugged her tightly and said, "I really don't want to leave you. Don't run around at home. You need someone to accompany you when you go out. At least two people should be with you. Don't worry about things here. I'll take care of everything."

Chen Wenfang wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "I know, I know. Your wife isn't stupid, so don't worry. Just be careful and don't get hurt. If you get hurt, you're not allowed to sleep in the bed with me when you get back."

Wang Erniu chuckled and said in a low voice like muffled thunder, "You little vixen, didn't you clean up enough last night?" It was rare for Chen Wenfang to be so talkative, and he quite enjoyed it.

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "No, I've tidied up enough, but I can make sure you can't get into bed."

Wang Erniu's eyes darkened as he said, "If you can't get on the bed, there's still the couch, the table, the chairs..."

"You're such a scoundrel! Stop talking!" Chen Wenfang covered his mouth. "You're going too far. Go on with your work. You really can't talk about sex with men; you'll never win."

After humiliating his wife, Wang Erniu turned and left with a sense of satisfaction, intending to ask a few people to accompany him.

Chen Wenfang went to the kitchen to make some dried meat for them to take on the road. Seeing the fifty catties of pork and thirty catties of mutton that had just been delivered to the kitchen, she asked Aunt Liu and Chunlan to help her. Since they had an oven, they could make some quickly.

Wash the meat, cut it into small pieces and soak it in water for a while. Then pour in ginger and scallion water, add soy sauce and marinate for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. Then cook it in the same pot of soy sauce for half an hour. After cooking, drain the water slightly and put it directly into the oven to bake.

When it was time for lunch, the people Wang Erniu had called arrived. Wang Erniu brought Wang Xiaoguang, Li Huanqiu, and Lü Xiong, and unexpectedly, he also brought Chu Yi. The meat was already grilled, and Chen Wenfang packed some mooncakes and sachima according to the number of people.

After finishing his meal, Wang Erniu looked at the large bag of things and laughed, "Wife, I'll be back the day after tomorrow, why are you carrying so much stuff?"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Then we can eat it as a snack!"

Wang Erniu said with a laugh, "I'm not going out to play. I'm not bringing anything except dried meat."

“If you don’t want to bring him, then don’t. But, is it really appropriate for you to bring Chu Yi along? He doesn’t know any martial arts.” Chen Wenfang was a little worried.

“He wanted to go on his own, don’t worry, I will protect him. He’s not a child anymore, this is good for him to gain experience. He’s not very good at martial arts, but he’s not weak either. My wife, don’t worry. He hasn’t missed a single day of practicing his basic skills this past year.” Wang Erniu patted her shoulder.

"Alright!" Chen Wenfang couldn't refuse either, but she specially called Chu Yi over. "Chu Yi, your godmother is worried about you. Why don't you not go? Let's find someone else to go."

"Godmother, don't worry, I'm going. I'm not a kid anymore, and I'm still pretty good at fighting," Chu Yi said earnestly.

Wang Erniu thought to himself, "Not only is he good at fighting, but he's also incredibly cunning. This kid never suffers a loss. However, he's absolutely devoted to his wife. Whenever he hears something is going on, he insists on going. He's also quite clever, so it'll be good to take him along for some practice..."

Unable to persuade either of them, Chen Wenfang could only say, "Then you must be careful, don't get hurt, and don't be reckless..."

"Understood!!" the two replied simultaneously. Wang Erniu gave Brother Nie a few instructions, then led a few men up the back mountain, following the tracks left by the bandits, and disappeared into the vast mountains.