Cui Hongyu understood what Chen Xiaobei was worried about!
She thought about it too. If there were women and children at home, and bandits came, Chen Xiaobei wouldn't be able to fight properly.
But what Chen Xiaobei was thinking was that as long as Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer weren't at home, if the bandits came, he could run if he couldn't fight.
Early the next morning, Chen Xiaobei was awakened by a clear sound of a gong. The one ringing the gong was the village head, Chen Anbang. As he rang the gong, he loudly shouted, "Attention, everyone! Starting today, Chen Xiaobei is the village guard captain!"
He went around the village, ringing and shouting, making three full circles.
Soon, Da Chun called out from behind the wall, loudly shouting Chen Xiaobei's name.
"Xiaobei, what's going on? Why are you the captain?"
Chen Xiaobei helplessly shook his head. "Da Chun, I... I'm being forced into this. I didn't want to be the captain."
Da Chun chuckled, "This is good, this is good. You'll be able to get a few hundred copper coins a year."
Chen Xiaobei thought to himself, Da Chun only sees the small salary and doesn't realize the effort required to be the village guard captain.
"Da Chun, if you think it's good, then you should take the job."
Da Chun immediately withdrew his head. Chen Xiaobei thought for a moment and shook his head. It was laughable. Da Chun was about to go to the city, so why would he want the position of village guard captain?
After breakfast, Chen Xiaobei walked to the village entrance.
No matter what, since it was his first day on duty, he had to make a good impression.
Some villagers who were leaving the village to farm saw Chen Xiaobei standing at the entrance with the gong and greeted him warmly.
Seeing their bright smiles, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
In his memory, these same people used to glare at him, but now, each one of them seemed eager to embrace him.
People are so realistic.
At that time, Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer were also busy. Cui Hongyu took the umbrella net and led Chen Qiaoer to the riverbank.
She placed a few pieces of meat bones in the net and threw them into the water, then imitated the action, tying the rope to a nearby reed.
But she didn't wait long, nor did the reed shake. She slowly pulled the umbrella net back.
What she wanted wasn't big fish, but fish fry.
After a day and night, the lowland had been filled with river water and had turned into a high-standard fish pond.
So now, she needed to add more fish fry to it.
Cui Hongyu cast the net and indeed caught quite a few, several dozen small fish. She carefully reached into the net and took them out one by one.
She placed them into the prepared wooden bucket, which had just a little water in it.
Qiaoer carefully carried the bucket to the edge of the pond, slowly pouring the fish into the pond. Watching the fish swim happily, she clapped her hands and cheered.
The two of them worked happily, one catching and the other releasing the fish, not realizing that it was almost noon.
Chen Xiaobei had been standing at the village entrance for a while. When he saw the villagers returning home, he knew it was time for lunch. But when he reached his doorstep, no one was there.
This startled him, but upon closer inspection, he saw the door was locked, which meant nothing had gone wrong.
After a moment's thought, he lifted his leg and walked towards the village exit.
From a distance, he saw Cui Hongyu and Qiaoer busy, and he smiled.
When Qiaoer saw Chen Xiaobei, she quickly ran over and tugged at his sleeve. "Brother, brother, this morning we caught a lot of fish and put them into the pond. Sister-in-law said that when the fish grow big, we can sell them for silver."
Chen Xiaobei nodded and gently patted Qiaoer's head. "You caught a lot. Now it's time to rest. Let's go home and eat."
Qiaoer happily agreed and ran to Cui Hongyu. "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, we're going home to eat."
At this time, the village guard member Chen Daqiang, who had worked in the fields in the morning, had returned home for lunch. He had a bowl of porridge and was about to lie down for a rest.
But then he heard someone cough in the yard.
Chen Daqiang was a bachelor and lived alone, so no one usually came to visit.
The sudden sound of coughing startled him. He jumped up from his bed and headed towards the door. Just as he reached the door, it swung open.
The sudden light blinded him, and he squinted, trying to adjust. He was almost frightened out of his wits.
"Ermao."
Before he could even shout out the name, Chen Ermao covered his mouth.
"Big Brother Daqiang, don't shout. I'll let go of you, but don't make another sound. I just need to ask you a few questions."
Chen Daqiang's eyes darted around and he saw two other figures in the yard.
Even if he had more courage, he wouldn't dare shout now.
"Ermao, brother, what... what are you doing back here?"
Chen Ermao lowered his voice. "I want to ask you, who was it that captured Yang Dazhi and the others yesterday? Was it Chen Ping?"
Chen Daqiang shook his head. "No, no, when our guard team arrived, Yang Dazhi had already been tied up. I heard it was Cui Hongyu who knocked him down."
"How could Cui Hongyu, a weak woman, possibly beat Yang Dazhi?" Chen Ermao said, his face full of disbelief.
Chen Daqiang quickly added, "Then, that must've been Chen Xiaobei."
"That's right, it was Chen Xiaobei driving the cart, and he had Chen Ping and the others deliver them to the county office overnight, saying 'the night is long and full of dreams.'"
Chen Ermao spat angrily, "Chen Xiaobei, I'm not done with you."
After cursing Chen Xiaobei, he asked, "By the way, this morning I saw Chen Xiaobei walking around the village entrance with the gong. What's going on?"
Chen Daqiang smiled awkwardly, "Brother, it's strange. Ever since we sent those two bandits—no, those two brave men—to the county office, when we got back, Chen Ping resigned from being the village guard captain, and insisted that Chen Xiaobei take over."
Chen Ermao was also surprised, "You mean Chen Xiaobei is the village guard captain now?"
Chen Daqiang nodded, "Yes, he's the new captain. Today it's his turn for duty."
After hearing this, Chen Ermao thought for a moment and a smile appeared on his face.
"Da Qiang, I'm tired. Let me rest here for a bit. By the way, can you get us something to eat?"
Chen Daqiang was stunned, "What? Ermao, you... you..."
Chen Ermao laughed, "Don't worry, we'll leave by nightfall."
Chen Daqiang looked at the two men in the yard, shaking his head helplessly. He secretly thought to himself that, from now on, there probably wouldn't be any more meat buns to eat.
As night fell, after dinner, Chen Xiaobei personally took Cui Hongyu and Qiaoer to Da Chun's house, reminding them to be careful, and then hurried off to the big locust tree in the middle of the village.
Next to the big locust tree were two rooms.
Inside were a few simple beds—just wooden planks, but even these were better than the beds in many households.
After all, this was technically the accommodation for public officials.
Since it was still early, no one was asleep. Some people lay in bed, others sat around chatting idly.
The first patrol group was Chen Daqiang and another person.
They went out early, did a quick round, and returned to report.
Seeing their performance, Chen Xiaobei frowned. This was too half-hearted.
At that moment, a few shadowy figures quietly approached the outside of Chen Xiaobei's house.