Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Chapter 599 Threatening to Seek Medical Treatment

That night, some of the people from Niujiazhuang were bold enough to choose to return to the village and sleep on the kang (heated brick bed), while others remained huddled in the ditch, including the entire Ji family.

And so, five days passed without incident.

The bandits rested and recuperated in the fortress, while Huo Zhenglian's men endured the elements outside.

The Ji family also returned to the village yesterday. Perhaps because they slept on the familiar kang (heated brick bed), Ji Yongling slept exceptionally well that night, feeling much more at ease.

The next day, as dawn broke, the villagers began their busy day, sweeping the yard, feeding the pigs, feeding the chickens... Life gradually returned to normal, as if the panic brought by the bandits a few days ago was just a dream.

To ensure they could look after each other, Grandpa Ji, Madam Yang, and Ji Yongfei stayed at Ji Manchuan's house starting yesterday. Because they were worried about Ji Manchuan, no one was in the mood for anything else. Ji Manqing and his wife tidied up their house early and then came to Ji Manchuan's house to wait for news.

Ji Yongning and the others could no longer go to school, nor could they run out to play with their friends. So after helping the adults with their chores, they practiced boxing, stick fighting, and gun fighting in the yard. Zhao Yuanbao and Zhao Chunni also joined in the practice.

The Ji family's staff fighting style was originally an unorthodox style, emphasizing speed without chaos and unpredictable changes. Now, under Lin Shengwen's guidance, Ji Yongning and the others have made new improvements to their staff fighting style. Not only are the transitions between moves smoother, but the power is also controlled just right.

Seeing Ji Yongning wielding a long staff with great skill and flair in the courtyard, his movements clean and swift, sometimes sweeping horizontally, sometimes thrusting straight forward, Grandpa Ji repeatedly praised, "Your staff skills are much better than what you used to have. You really have to learn from the best of everyone!"

Ji Yongning stopped his stance, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a smile, "Master, although I've incorporated the Beijing-style fighting techniques taught by my brother Lin into our Ji family's staff techniques, it's mainly because I'm exceptionally talented and intelligent! Otherwise, even a clumsy person wouldn't be able to integrate!"

Ji Yongling, standing to the side, was speechless and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, you are exceptionally talented. Even your yawn is like a gale. If Jiang Boyue from Tianshui came, he would have to call you a hero!"

"Hehe, of course!"

Having many children is a good thing. With Ji Yongning and a few others around, the courtyard is lively and not lonely, easily dispelling any bad moods. Just like now, a few words from Ji Yongning seem to have made people forget the existence of the bandits.

A moment later, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Before anyone inside could ask who it was, Ji Manchuan's weary voice came from the doorway, "Ling'er, open the door!"

"Father!" "Third Brother!" Ji Yongling and Ji Manqing stood up and called out at the same time.

When everyone welcomed the exhausted Ji Manchuan into the courtyard, they saw that apart from his fatigue and dark circles under his eyes, he had no other abnormalities, so they knew that he was not injured and were relieved.

Ji Manchuan was indeed exhausted, hungry, and sleepy, and had no strength to speak. He wolfed down two steamed buns with the boiled water that Jia Ronghua brought him.

After finishing his steamed buns, he finally regained his composure and recounted the events of the past few days at Bacunyuan to everyone. Finally, looking at Ji Yongling with a troubled yet serious expression, he said, "I came back today mainly for another matter, one that concerns Ling'er!"

"What's wrong with Ling'er?" Jia Ronghua asked hurriedly.

Ji Yongling could roughly guess, so he asked with a smile, "Father, it must be that guy surnamed Ma who asked me to treat his brother's illness?"

Ji Manchuan nodded, then asked in confusion, "How did you know?"

Ji Yongling smiled slightly and said, "Hu Bingwei said at the time that he kidnapped me in order to treat his brother surnamed Ma. However, I suspect that was just a pretext, and the one who was really sick was Ma Chenfang himself."

Ji Manchuan frowned and said, "These past few days, Ma Chenfang hasn't shown up. He had his men hang the villagers and children he kidnapped on the city wall. I was terrified just looking at them. Today, those bandits shouted that they wanted you to come and treat their second-in-command's illness. They said if you didn't go, they would kill one civilian a day."

"Outrageous! These beasts are utterly inhuman! They actually used the lives of ordinary people to threaten a young girl into coming over to treat them!" Lin Shengwen slammed his fist on the table, furious.

Ji Manchuan raised his hand to suppress Lin Shengwen's anger and said, "Not to mention you, I was so angry when I heard that I wanted to climb over the wall and chop off that bandit's head! But, alas, there are so many people being held hostage by the bandits, and we... alas... plus Lord Huo has already spoken up, saying that it's like he's begging us!"

"This is indeed a difficult task!" Old Master Ji frowned and sighed.

Ji Manchuan took a breath and composed himself before saying, "However, Lord Huo has repeatedly said that he will protect Ling'er's safety!"

"Protect? How can we protect them? There are only a few soldiers in the county, what good are they! Hasn't Qingzhou Prefecture sent any troops yet?" Lin Shengwen, abandoning his usual noble demeanor, said irritably.

Ji Manqing pulled Lin Shengwen to sit down and said, "Don't be in such a hurry, don't be in such a hurry! Putting everything else aside, we know Lord Huo's character! There's no better official than Lord Huo. He's already offered his services, how can we refuse?"

Grandpa Ji nodded: "It would be a good thing if we could keep that bunch of bandits in Bacunyuan. At least they won't come out to harm people, and everyone can have a few days of peace."

Ji Yongling nodded and said, "That's right! It's just me going there alone to treat them. I'm not afraid. I can agree, as long as he keeps his promise and releases the kidnapped people!"

"Ling'er—" Jia Ronghua said worriedly, "You're just a child, you can't go on such a risk! Those bandits are ruthless killers, they can turn on you faster than flipping through a book. What if they not only don't release you, but also kidnap you?"

Madam Yang chimed in, "That's right, that's right! You're just a child, don't go! These are adult matters, let the adults figure it out!"

Ji Yongling shook his head and said, "Grandma, if I don't go, these bandits will not only kill the people they kidnapped, but they may also come out and harm other people."

Ma Chenfang's bandits were all horse bandits, numerous in number and quick in action. Bacunyuan also held a strategic advantage, with ample and stable logistical support, making it impossible for the government to besiege them until they collapsed without a fight. If they wanted, they could easily find an opportunity to break out of the fortress, burn, kill, and loot, then easily move to a new location.

Since they dared to send her to Bacunyuan for treatment, that's fine, it just gives her the opportunity to make her move!

“Mother, Grandmother, don’t be afraid, I have a way to deal with the bandits,” Ji Yongling said.

Seeing Ji Yongling speak with such confidence and certainty, Jia Ronghua still couldn't help but worry, saying, "What kind of remedy could you possibly have? Oh, but these are a bunch of bandit leaders who don't even have any remedies for the government! You can't afford to be so presumptuous!"

Ji Yongling understood Jia Ronghua's feelings as a mother, and comforted her with a smile: "Mother, I really do have a recipe! Don't just sit around doing nothing, help me gather the euphorbia that we brought back from Guazi Village last year, I have a use for it!"