Cui Hongyu obviously understood what was meant. She wanted to scream for help, but when she looked at Chen Qiaoer in her arms, she could only reluctantly respond, "Oh... Dàchūn ge, it's... nothing, it's just that Chen Qiaoer startled the wild chickens."
She said it slowly and hesitantly, hoping that Chen Dàchūn would notice something strange.
But clearly, her wish was unfulfilled. Upon hearing this response, Chen Dàchūn quickly turned around and went back into the house.
They waited for the noise to die down from the house next door, and it was then that Wai Zui and San Shui took Cui Hongyu and hurriedly headed toward the outskirts of the village.
The group left the village and walked for about two kilometers. Wai Zui put his pinky in his mouth and whistled. Someone from the grass in the distance responded.
Then, a cart emerged from the nearby woods.
Upon seeing this, Cui Hongyu had a bad premonition. She feared these men were taking her to a faraway place.
Wai Zui and San Shui settled Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer into the cart and got on themselves.
Chen Ermao, seeing this, smiled and tried to climb into the cart but was stopped by Wai Zui.
"Brother Ermao, don't rush to get in. Go back to the village and tell Chen Xiaobei that his wife and sister are in our hands. If he wants to save them, he has to come alone to Wugongling."
Ah! Chen Ermao was stunned. "Wai Zui ge, I... I escaped from the village, I need to go back..."
Wai Zui laughed loudly. "Don't worry, Chen Xiaobei won't do anything."
"Go ahead, we'll wait for you here."
Chen Ermao, with no other choice, turned and walked back to the village. When Wai Zui saw him leave, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go, we'll head back to the camp first."
San Shui hesitated for a moment. "Brother, this isn't right, after all, Chen Ermao is the nephew of the Great Leader."
"Don't worry, he knows the way. Besides, we have the hostages. If we're delayed and Chen Xiaobei catches up with us, it'll be a problem."
Not to mention, Wai Zui's reasoning was quite solid and left no room for rebuttal.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei had already returned home. Seeing that the courtyard door was open, he thought to himself that Cui Hongyu must have gotten up really early.
He entered the courtyard and called out twice, but there was no response.
Chen Xiaobei thought that Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer had fallen back asleep, so he cautiously stepped forward, pushed open the slightly ajar door, and went inside. But as soon as he stepped in, he tripped and almost fell to the ground.
Looking down, he saw it was a bundle. Wasn't this Cui Hongyu's bundle?
He looked around and saw several more bundles on the ground.
"Shit, someone's robbed the house!" Chen Xiaobei thought to himself.
He quickly turned around, ran into the yard, and shouted toward the house next door, "Dàchūn ge, Dàchūn ge!"
Hearing the shout, Chen Dàchūn came out into the yard. "Xiao Bei, what's going on?"
"Tell Hongyu to hurry up and come back, we've been robbed."
Chen Dàchūn looked confused and scratched his head. "She... she went home early this morning."
"This is bad." Chen Xiaobei had an ominous feeling. He had been talking to Cui Hongyu yesterday, warning her that the bandits might come back for revenge. Could it really be happening now?
Before he could finish the thought, he heard hurried footsteps. Chen Xiaowen rushed over.
"Xiao Bei, you need to go check it out. Ermao is at the village entrance, calling for you."
Chen Ermao.
Hearing this name, Chen Xiaobei's heart skipped a beat. It was the bandits, just as he feared.
"Xiaowen, go gather all the village guards and meet me at the village entrance."
Chen Xiaobei quickly grabbed the bundles on the ground and stuffed them back into the ceramic jar, then covered it with the wooden lid.
After a moment, he remembered and grabbed his old quilt from the bed, placing it over the lid.
Just then, there was a clang.
Something fell to the ground.
It was the badge that Liu Rumei had given him. Later, Chen Xiaobei had casually tucked it under his pillow.
Looking at the badge, he suddenly recalled the scene when they went to the county office.
Well, this badge could be useful. He quickly tucked it into his coat.
From a distance, he could already see Chen Ermao standing at the village entrance, hands on his hips, looking smug as he chatted with the village guards who had arrived first.
"You'll see soon enough how Chen Xiaobei kneels and kowtows in front of me."
Hearing his words, a few of the guards couldn't help but laugh.
"Ermao, don't you remember how you left? And now you dare to come back?"
"Ah, that's all in the past. Now, let me show you a good show." When he saw Chen Xiaobei approaching, Chen Ermao shouted even louder.
"Chen Xiaobei, come over here and kowtow three times to me. If you do, I might just plead with them to let go of Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiaoer."
The village guards were all confused and stunned by his words.
So it was Chen Ermao behind all of this! Chen Xiaobei was immediately filled with rage.
He grabbed the half-length wooden stick from Chen Xiaobo's hand and rushed up to Chen Ermao. Without a word, he swung it and started hitting.
Chen Ermao had already felt the power of Chen Xiaobei's brick before, so when he saw the situation, he immediately took two big steps back.
"Chen Xiaobei, have you lost your mind?"
Chen Dàqiáng, feeling guilty, quickly stepped forward and grabbed Chen Xiaobei's arm. "Xiao Bei, brother, calm down. Let's talk things through first."
Chen Xiaobei pointed at Chen Ermao. "This bastard kidnapped Hongyu and Qiaoer."
The village guards, seeing Chen Ermao, already had some anger in their eyes.
After all, Chen Xiaobei was now their leader. To get more copper coins at the end of the year, they had to perform well.
Chen Ermao clearly didn't realize the situation had changed. He still smiled smugly and said, "Chen Xiaobei, listen up. If you want to get Hongyu and Qiaoer back, kneel down and kowtow to me."
After saying this, he laughed triumphantly. "Hurry up, or I'll change my mind."
Chen Xiaobei's eyes were nearly bursting with fury. He shook off Chen Dàqiáng's grip and charged forward, swinging at Chen Ermao.
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobo, Chen Xiaowen, and the others naturally joined in. They surrounded Chen Ermao and gave him a beating.
After all, they were all half-brothers of Chen Xiaobei, sharing the same father.
At this point, there was no longer any trace of Chen Ermao's arrogance. He was covering his head and repeatedly shouting, "When two countries are at war, don't kill the envoy."
"Chen Xiaobei, you're really going too far!"
Chen Xiaobei kicked him in the ass. "Two countries? You're nothing but dog shit."
Soon, Chen Ermao was knocked to the ground, groaning as he covered his head.
Chen Xiaobo looked at Chen Xiaobei. "Captain, what should we do?"
Chen Xiaobei looked down at Chen Ermao. "Tie him up and send him to the county office!"
Hearing this, Chen Ermao screamed from the ground, "Chen Xiaobei, if you dare send me to the county office, be prepared for Hongyu and Qiaoer to lose their lives!"
Xiao Bei swung the stick again and hit the bastard twice more. "Say another word, and I'll kill you right now."
Chen Dàqiáng, feeling guilty and afraid that Chen Ermao might expose the fact that he had been hiding at his house, quickly stepped forward and pretended to persuade him. "Xiao Bei, brother, I think it's better not to send him to the county office. Let's go to Wugong Ridge and use Chen Ermao to exchange for Hongyu and Qiaoer."