What disappointed him was that after waiting for a long time, it was still dark, and the grass was completely silent. There was no movement at all. They waited for a whole hour.
A gust of wind blew by, and Chen Qiao'er couldn't help but shiver. "Brother, I'm so cold."
Alright, it seemed the wild chickens had abandoned this nest.
Chen Xiaobei jumped down from the tree, lit the torch, and, along with Qiao'er, collected some of the wild chicken eggs, covering the rest with grass.
There were too many wild chicken eggs to gather at once, and Chen Xiaobei didn't dare stay too long at night.
Holding the torch, he lit the way on the mountain path, walking quickly with Chen Qiao'er towards the mountain exit.
Hidden in the dark, Chen Dachun waited until they had gone far enough before hurrying over. He took off his outer jacket and wrapped up several wild chicken eggs, excitedly heading back.
Chen Xiaobei and Qiao'er had just walked a few steps out of the mountain when something felt off.
Though the torch lit up the path, he couldn't clearly see what was ahead. However, he had a vague sense that the few dark shapes in front seemed to be moving.
Chen Xiaobei stopped and instinctively shielded Qiao'er behind him.
"Who's there? Who's there?" Chen Xiaobei called out twice, but the shadow disappeared.
After waiting for a while, and being certain nothing abnormal was ahead, Chen Xiaobei cautiously held up the torch and slowly moved forward with Qiao'er.
After walking about ten meters, suddenly, a cloud of white mist rushed towards them.
Not good.
Chen Xiaobei reacted quickly. He threw the torch forward, turned his body, and shielded Qiao'er.
A strong, pungent smell made him cough uncontrollably.
Damn it, it was lime.
Chen Xiaobei immediately realized he had been ambushed. He crouched down, grabbed Qiao'er, and sprinted back.
Chen Ermao and the others, hiding in the dark, were frustrated after their failed attack. However, they didn't dare chase after him right away, as Chen Xiaobei had disappeared into the darkness and would be hard to find.
Reluctantly, they hurriedly left the scene.
As they walked, Chen Ermao kept complaining. "Monkey, what kind of stupid idea was that?"
Monkey felt awkward as well. "Who would've thought this kid would react so fast and dodge our ambush?"
Er Leng, who was nearby, couldn't help but speak up. "We waited half the night, got bitten by a dozen mosquitoes, and in the end, got nothing."
Chen Ermao kicked Chen Erleng's butt. "It's because you didn't throw it right."
Chen Erleng rubbed his bottom and quickly put on a smile. "Brother Ermao, what can we do? We've been waiting all night."
Hearing this, Chen Ermao also looked frustrated. "Who would've known that damn Chen Xiaobei suddenly changed his tactics?"
"By the way, if we still can't get Qiao'er, each of you needs to give me ten wen, so we can send back the deposit from Zhao Yuanwai."
Upon hearing this, Monkey was the first to complain. "Brother Ermao, I only had one bowl of wine, ten wen is too much!"
Chen Erleng couldn't help but speak up. "Cut it out, that meal was on you, fifty wen would still be considered cheap."
"Alright, stop arguing. Let's go to the village entrance and wait. Tonight, we must get Qiao'er." Chen Ermao said, quickening his pace.
The three of them grumbled and went to the village entrance, finding a dark spot to crouch down. This was the route Chen Xiaobei would take to go home.
At that moment, Chen Xiaobei had met up with Dachun. In the distance, the crescent moon appeared, and the entire world seemed much brighter.
"Dachun, what are you doing here too?"
Dachun smiled awkwardly. "I happened to be out. I heard you were taking Qiao'er out and wasn't sure, so I followed you. But you were walking too fast, and I couldn't catch up."
Well, it felt more reassuring to have company on the way home.
With Dachun there, Qiao'er felt a little less anxious, proudly showing Dachun the wild chicken eggs she had found.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation. Earlier, when he had been running with Qiao'er in his arms, he had thrown the bag of eggs into the grass, and quite a few of them had broken. But Qiao'er had held onto her bag of eggs tightly, not losing a single one.
Hidden in the dark, Chen Ermao had been eagerly waiting for Chen Xiaobei to return. However, when he listened closely, he realized that Dachun had also joined them.
The three of them were immediately deflated!
Dachun was known for his great strength. Together with the fearless Chen Xiaobei, they had no chance of succeeding.
When Chen Xiaobei finally got home, Monkey was the first to try and leave, but was stopped by Chen Ermao.
"Don't be in a hurry. Chen Xiaobei has been up all night and is probably tired. Let's wait a little longer. When he's asleep, we'll climb over the wall and take Qiao'er."
Chen Xiaobei certainly never imagined that Chen Ermao and his group were still unwilling to give up and were still planning to take Qiao'er.
He was indeed exhausted, having run to the county in the day and then gone to the mountains to lie in wait at night. After a quick wash, he lay down at home.
However, he couldn't fully relax, thinking about Qiao'er. He didn't dare to fall into a deep sleep.
Of course, Chen Xiaobei had also made some preparations.
Previously, Chen Xiaobei and Chen Qiao'er had slept in separate rooms.
Now, he had moved Qiao'er's bed into his room, so they were both in one room.
Chen Ermao and the others had been hiding outside for nearly half an hour before they quietly came to the outer wall of Chen Xiaobei's yard.
Chen Ermao crouched at the wall, grabbed a small stone, and tossed it into the yard.
"Clink!" The stone made a clear, ringing sound.
It was this small noise that caused Chen Xiaobei to immediately open his eyes, alert.
Next, he heard a few dull thuds from outside, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.
In an instant, Chen Xiaobei realized someone had entered the yard.
Chen Ermao and the others snuck into the yard and crouched in the corner for a while. Seeing that there was no reaction from inside, they gained more courage. They stood up and quietly moved toward the door.
Listening to their footsteps, Chen Xiaobei deduced they were approaching the house. He silently got up, gently placing Chen Qiao'er under the bed.
Then, he reached under his pillow and grabbed the kitchen knife—this was the only weapon he had, and he always kept it under his pillow when he slept.
Chen Xiaobei moved stealthily and quietly approached the door, hiding behind it.
With a few soft scraping sounds, Chen Ermao outside used his hand to push aside the door bolt and gently opened the door.
Chen Xiaobei seized the opportunity, lunged forward, and let out a loud yell at Chen Ermao.
The still night air was suddenly pierced by his shout, and a black shadow flashed through the weak moonlight. Chen Ermao and his companions were startled, shouting "Ah!" as they fell to the ground.
By the faint moonlight, Chen Xiaobei could see the outline of Chen Ermao. He judged the distance and, with a bluff, waved the kitchen knife twice at Chen Ermao.
While waving the knife, he shouted, "Help! We're being robbed!"
Monkey and Er Leng, terrified, jumped to their feet and ran off.
Chen Ermao, still on the ground, was so scared that his soul nearly left his body. He used his hands to crawl backward, shouting, "Xiaobei, don't shout, don't shout! It's me, it's Chen Ermao!"
Chen Xiaobei, holding the kitchen knife, glared at him angrily. "What do you want here?"
"I just wanted to see you, just wanted to see you," Chen Ermao said, taking the opportunity to stand up.