Seeing so many people sign up for the village protection team, even Cui Hongyu was bewildered.
"Husband, why are they all joining the village protection team? You told them there wouldn't be a single coin at the end of the year, yet people still rushed in without hesitation." Su Dan Novel Network.
Chen Xiaobei smiled. Although he couldn't guess their true intentions, he knew it was most likely related to Da Lao Hei's visit.
In this era, common people were the weak, subject to the government's control, and utterly defenseless against mountain bandits, left to their mercy.
Looking at his own village protection team, they were boisterous on normal days, effective against people like Chen Ermao, but asking them to fight bandits with swords and spears would be a pipe dream.
So, their joining the village protection team was nothing more than a psychological comfort, making them feel that as a captain under him, he would look out for them if anything happened.
While Chen Xiaobei didn't care much about this, for the village head, Chen Anbang, it was a matter of utmost importance.
This evening, Chen Ping specially prepared two fish for his grandfather and poured him a pot of wine.
But it was clear that Chen Anbang had no appetite.
"Grandpa, you've been frowning since noon. What are you worried about?"
Chen Anbang looked at his grandson and shook his head slightly.
"Did you hear? Chen Xiaobei was quite the celebrity today. He repaired his house, and Da Lao Hei, the big chieftain of Wugong Ridge, personally brought over a sheep."
"Grandpa, what's so special about that? Perhaps they have some connection."
Chen Anbang glared, "Nonsense! If they had a connection, would Da Lao Hei have kidnapped Cui Hongyu?"
Chen Ping scratched his head, "That's true. Grandpa, then why do you think it is?"
Chen Anbang sighed, "Don't you think Chen Xiaobei has been a bit different lately?"
Chen Ping shook his head, "I haven't noticed that. I just feel that ever since Chen Xiaobei married Cui Hongyu, his luck has been unstoppable."
Mentioning Cui Hongyu struck a chord with Chen Anbang again.
"I'm going out for a bit, you guys eat first!"
Chen Anbang hurried out of his house and went straight to the neighboring village.
Cui Banxian was dozing at home, humming a tune and drinking wine. Suddenly, the door was kicked open.
The sudden commotion startled him. Upon seeing Chen Anbang, his face immediately broke into a smile, "Ah, isn't this Village Head Chen? You've come at the perfect time. Come, come, sit down and have a drink, have a drink."
Chen Anbang stepped forward angrily and grabbed his collar.
"Cui Banxian, you've deceived me terribly! You kept telling me Cui Hongyu was a widow-maker."
"I exhausted all my efforts to have Cui Hongyu marry Chen Xiaobei. This is not a widow-maker at all, it's a prosperity bringer! Look at Chen Xiaobei now, in the village, everyone has to bow and scrape to him. He's even brothers with the big chieftain of Wugong Ridge."
Hearing this, Cui Banxian also felt a bit panicked.
Whether Cui Hongyu was a widow-maker or a prosperity bringer, how would he know? His so-called half-immortal was just fooling people for a living.
"Village Head Chen, you can't say that. His current glory is only temporary. Didn't I tell you that Cui Hongyu is a widow-maker? The three men before her died, isn't that evidence? Don't worry, Chen Xiaobei will eventually be killed by her, and Cui Fugui's property will be yours and your grandson's sooner or later."
This time, Chen Anbang did not leave as satisfied as usual. Instead, he put on a fierce expression.
"Cui Banxian, let's make things clear. I'll give you half a month. If Chen Xiaobei is still alive and kicking by then, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"You know best how Cui Hongyu's three men died."
Unexpectedly, Cui Banxian, who was always meek, suddenly stood up straight.
"Chen Anbang, Chen Anbang, you are truly useless, unable to even deal with one Chen Xiaobei."
"Now you're blaming me. You were the one who told me you fancied Cui Hongyu and Cui Fugui's fortune."
"Enough, don't feed me that nonsense. I'll say it again, half a month's deadline. I want to see Chen Xiaobei's head on a platter." With that, Chen Anbang left without looking back.
Watching Chen Anbang leave, Cui Banxian's expression turned grim, and finally, a hint of ferocity appeared in his eyes.
"Fine, Chen Anbang. Since you've fallen out with me, this will be easier. I won't need half a month; I'll send you on your way tomorrow."
After dinner, Chen Xiaobei strolled towards the large locust tree in the center of the village.
Before the rules changed, he still had to sleep here.
But the scene before him left him dumbfounded.
Under the large locust tree sat the densely packed members of the village protection team who had signed up today.
Seeing him arrive, they all stood up in unison.
Lidong and Dayong stood at the front, greeting him with smiles.
"No, why are you all here? We don't need so many people for night duty!"
Lidong and Dayong said almost in unison, "Isn't the rule of the village protection team to be on duty here at night?"
Yes, they were supposed to be on duty at night, but a small village like Hetou really didn't need over twenty people.
Chen Xiaobei was about to speak, but then he thought, wasn't this a good opportunity for reform?
He had been married for a while, but hadn't had his wedding night yet. If he changed the duty system, even if he was willing, would Cui Hongyu be?
"Alright, since everyone is here, let me say something."
"From today onwards, the village protection team members don't need to be on duty here every night. We'll divide into groups."
"Let's divide into four groups first. Group one will be on duty tonight, group two tomorrow, group three the day after, and so on."
He counted the number of people. With four groups, each group would have at most seven and at least six members, which was suitable.
Next was to assign team leaders.
Chen Xiaobei had already planned for the four team leaders: Lidong, Dayong, Chen Xiaobo, and himself. Of course, he deliberately kept Chen Xiaowen in his own group.
"Let's set up the groups like this for now. We can adjust them later when we have more people."
They would only come for night duty once every four days. During the day, they would mostly work, or if there was no work, they would stand at the village entrance.
After this adjustment, the happiest people were the old members like Chen Daqiang and Chen Xiaobo. In the past, they had to sleep here every night, and the hardships were unimaginable, but thinking of the few dozen copper coins they would receive at the end of the year, they endured it.
Now, with only one night of duty every four days, it wasn't too important even if they received nothing at the end of the year.
Besides, relying on Chen Xiaobei as a strong support, even if no year-end bonus was given, everyone was still delighted.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei return, Cui Hongyu was very surprised.
After he told her about the group division, Cui Hongyu couldn't help but laugh, "You're quite clever, putting yourself in group four, so you'll be on duty last."
Chen Xiaobei chuckled and pulled Cui Hongyu into his arms.
Then he kissed her fiercely.