Today, they finally saw wild eggs, brought by Ming Lu. Meng Qingping asked Fang Shi to cook a plate of them, and the rest were to be saved for Bao Er, the child was too pitiful.
...
The ten young men brought by Qi Yuanshan belonged to a small banner. It was this small banner's turn to rest today, so he brought them out to work.
This was not the first time they had come out to do private work. When they left the garrison, Qi Yuanshan had warned them.
"Uncle Meng is a good person. The official documents from above also clearly mentioned that Uncle Meng migrated here with those Meng clan members. Their family is not a banished criminal. When you go there, speak with discretion."
"Yes." The young men from the garrison were sharp and could see that their commander treated this Uncle Meng differently from others.
Respect was hidden between the lines, and they could hear it with their hearts and ears.
They respected their commander's character, and the people their commander respected, they also respected. This was another way for them to show respect to their commander.
Therefore, the scene here was exceptionally harmonious.
These young men were all capable, and with the tacit understanding developed during their usual training, building a shack as large as two small rooms was really not difficult.
In fact, it only took them a little over an hour to build the frame and roof with wood.
Qi Yuanshan was satisfied with their efficiency. Seeing that Meng Qingping was equally satisfied, he told him about the next arrangements: "Uncle Meng, I already spoke with the brothers this morning. After the village is done, someone will bring the straw."
Meng Qingping was aware that the straw Qi Yuanshan mentioned was to be used for roofing.
"Let's build the walls with mud and straw now." Qi Yuanshan was also in a hurry and wanted to finish building Uncle Meng's shack today.
"That would be great, I'll listen to you."
Although Meng Qingping didn't say it out loud, he always felt that his family meeting Qi Yuanshan was an extremely fortunate thing.
After arriving here, many things were handled by Qi Yuanshan.
If they had to solve these problems themselves, he really didn't know what to do.
This friendship could not be explained in a few words, and it was enough for their family to remember Qi Yuanshan's kindness to them.
As they were talking happily, Meng Qingping had even planned what to buy in town tomorrow.
Then, they heard the terrified screams and angry curses of women from the village, followed by the sounds of fighting.
Qi Yuanshan heard that the sounds were wrong and said to Xiao Linzi, who was the fastest: "Xiao Linzi, hurry and go see what happened in the village."
"Yes." Xiao Linzi responded, not bothering to wash the mud off his hands, and ran towards the village.
Not long after, they saw four girls dragging a little boy, crying and running towards them desperately. Even when they fell, they didn't bother to check, got up, and kept running.
Then, they saw Liu Shi, accompanied by Concubine Tao, Li Shi, and Little Li Shi, along with Meng Yutang, fighting with two men, all to stop the two men from chasing the four girls in front.
Da Mei Shi and Xiao Mei Shi also followed behind with disheveled hair. They might have been scared silly, not only unable to help but also always causing trouble for Meng Yutang.
"What's going on? Where is Xiao Linzi?" Qi Yuanshan was wondering where that kid had gone.
Just then, they saw Xiao Linzi appearing at the intersection, holding one man in each hand, trying to stop them from chasing forward like they were dragging dead dogs. However, there were people behind them egging them on and pushing and shoving, so Xiao Linzi had a bit of trouble.
Although they were far away, everyone could see that it was definitely some of the old bachelors in the village who were harassing the girls again.
"You bunch of bastards, Huang Dou, Wang Dabao, Yang Dali, Chen Xiaomao, you four, go help too. Drag those four scoundrels over. I want to ask them if they have nothing better to do."
"Yes. Your subordinate guarantees to complete the mission." The four young men put down their work and darted over to help.
The four girls running ahead, seeing four young men running towards them, became even more pale with fear, thinking they had escaped from the tiger's den only to encounter hungry wolves.
Fortunately, their goal was clear. When they saw that the four young men were wearing the uniforms of garrison soldiers, they, still shaken, continued to pull the little boy towards the river.
Finally, they reached the river. Regardless of its depth, they rushed into the water.
Fu Yu had already seen that these girls were from the eldest and second branches of the Duke's Mansion. Strictly speaking, they were his grandnieces.
Kind-heartedly, he pointed to them from the opposite bank: "The water is deep here. Walk a few more steps forward and cross the river from there."
The girls saw Fu Yu and Meng Qingping, and it was like seeing their greatest reliance. Their tears flowed even more.
They stumbled across the river, and regardless of how disheveled they were, they all knelt before Meng Qingping, "Second Grand Uncle, please save us."
The girls cried their hearts out, and Meng Yulin directly threw himself into Meng Qingping's arms, sobbing loudly.
He had also been scared just now, those bad guys actually wanted to snatch away his sisters. If it weren't for his mother, Concubine Tao, his grandmother, Concubine Li, and his cousin desperately resisting, allowing his sisters to run with him to Second Grand Uncle, he would probably have been beaten to death by those bad guys.
"Wuwu." He was so scared.
Meng Qingping patted Meng Yulin's thin back with stiff movements. The small body trembled in his arms like a startled cub.
Looking at the girls, they were also trembling with fear, collapsing on the ground, unable to move.
Meng Qingping was also furious. He could guess what these children had gone through without even asking.
"Stop crying, sit down and rest, drink some water to calm your nerves. Chief Qi has already sent people over, and this matter will be resolved soon."
"Thank you, Second Grand Uncle." The eldest of the four girls, Meng Yulian, with a pale little face, sat with her younger brothers and sisters around their Second Grand Uncle.
Meng Xiaohe, who was already timid, was in a good mood today. But seeing the plight of the girls from the eldest and second branches, she also turned ashen.
"Sister-in-law, I, I'm scared." Meng Xiaohe tightly grasped Fang Shi's hand, her body trembling continuously.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Fang Shi held Meng Xiaohe's hand. Although she was comforting Meng Xiaohe, she also felt lingering fear when she recalled what had happened that morning.
In this village, even the women bullied them without scruples, let alone the men.