Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 343 - 343 344 Assault on the Village_1

Chapter 343: Chapter 344 Assault on the Village_1 Chapter 343: Chapter 344 Assault on the Village_1 Muniang shook her head, “If the government were to issue such uncertain, questionable official documents, it would only cause public panic.”

“Oh, I see, then it must have been because Sir cares too much about Lady that he mentioned it, after all, our Daqian Dynasty has been in chaos with the Qilian Kingdom for over ten years, and with so many losses on their side, even if some scattered soldiers snuck in to harm the civilians, I haven’t heard of such incidents occurring in Chatu Town. Generally, this kind of thing only happens in small border towns. Lady should rest easy.”

“Mhm.” Muniang never liked to fret over unconfirmed rumors anyway, so she naturally didn’t take it too seriously. Besides, Yu Ze would be back soon, what was there to fear?!

However, as much as she thought this, Muniang knew she couldn’t be too careless, so she instructed people to still inquire about news from time to time. Should there be any sign of trouble, it was always good to be prepared, wasn’t it?

But a month had passed without incident, and Muniang started to calmly count the days on her fingers for Yu Ze’s return.

——

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been working in the embroidery room every day, and you don’t have a single silver coin? Don’t think I don’t know, Qiao Muniang’s embroidery house is making a good profit, and she has always been generous, never stingy with your wages. Now you can’t even come up with this bit of silver?”

Dabao’s Mother anxiously replied, “Mother, don’t I need to contribute to the family expenses?”

“Hmph, even if you’re contributing to the family, why don’t you give Dabao money?”

“Isn’t Dabao just going to waste the money? How can I always let him have his way?”

“Don’t give me that excuse. Would you really begrudge your own son? Dabao is now in the prefectural city learning blacksmith skills from his father, working hard every day. What’s wrong with spending a little more money? Hand over the money!” Mrs. Jin glared at her and reached out her hand directly.

Dabao’s Mother had no choice but to fumble for the coins from her purse, only to have them snatched away by Mrs. Jin in one grab.

Muniang happened to see this scene when she was heading over to the embroidery room and saw Dabao’s Mother sighing deeply.

“What’s the matter? Is your mother-in-law asking you for money?”

“Alas, my mother-in-law always dotes on Dabao. This time, Dabao went to the prefectural city to learn from his father, and I was worried he’d be seduced by the city life and spend money lavishly, so I didn’t give him much. But then—”

Muniang chuckled, “Never mind, it’s just a child, and your mother-in-law loves him too much, afraid that he will suffer outside.”

“Hmm, did Muniang come specifically to check on our progress? Please come in first,” Dabao’s Mother said.

“Yes, the next new design will be released soon. I want to see if it’s too busy here; otherwise, I might have to hire more people.”

“I really admire you, how do you come up with these designs? It’s incredible,” Dabao’s Mother said without any pretense.

Muniang smiled, “It’s just something I think of casually. I’m planning to open a new embroidery house in the prefectural city as well. If you’re worried about not being able to take care of the children, you can work there in the future—it will be the same.”

Dabao’s Mother’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

“Of course,” Muniang laughed, “The child is young, proper education always does good, and you worry about him enough as it is.”

“Isn’t that so,” Dabao’s Mother also started laughing, and the two of them went inside, chatting and chuckling.

In the small grove at the entrance to the village, figures were shifting from time to time, their hands holding gleaming knives as they scoped out Tupo Village, eyeing it like prey waiting to be slaughtered.

After preparing for a while, it seemed the right moment had come. The leader made a sign with his eyes to the scattered soldiers behind him, and a group of them charged into the village.

The villagers were so frightened by the knives that they turned pale, standing still in shock. The intruders indiscriminately began to hack away, sending the villagers into a panic as they fled in all directions. Some brave men grabbed scythes and directly engaged in fighting to protect their families, while other terrified villagers thought to flee the village, but the entrance had already been blocked.

Quite a few villagers had been struck, and now, hearts raced with fear as the scattered soldiers went from house to house, capturing people. They numbered around twenty, not a large contingent, but all well-trained military men with knives in hand—not opponents the villagers could match.

But Muniang’s house was rather remote, and those scattered soldiers, not being locals, hadn’t expected to find anyone dwelling in such an out-of-the-way place, so they hadn’t come near.

The scattered soldiers gathered the villagers into one place, with their leader arrogantly sitting at the head: “You lowly subjects of the Daqian Dynasty, I’m sparing your lives today as a favor. If you obey me, I might consider being lenient. But if any of you dare to resist or harbor crooked thoughts, your end will be just like this.”

No sooner had the scar-faced man’s words fallen than he plunged his knife into a man’s left chest, killing him almost instantly with a distorted face of agony—one who had just now “overestimated his own strength” by fighting them.

All the villagers inhaled sharply, their legs turning to jelly from fear, and those with faint hearts couldn’t help but start crying. The scar-faced man bellowed, “The next one who makes a noise, I’ll kill right away!”

Everyone immediately fell silent, their hearts squeezing with pain.

“You better behave! Now, I want all your family’s wealth. Spill where you hide the silver coins willingly, and I’ll let you off light. If you don’t, and we find it ourselves, you and your lowly kin will only have death to look forward to,” the scar-faced man said with the arrogance of a bandit chief, evidently looking to regain his sense of achievement he’d lost on the battlefield right here.

“Next, present the most beautiful women from each household. At least one from each. If anyone dares to give less, not only will I be displeased, but my brothers here won’t be happy either!” As the scar-faced man spoke, he let out a sickening laugh, and his followers also burst into loud guffaws.

The villagers’ hearts turned to ice, couldn’t feel colder.

It was bad enough to be robbed of their possessions, but now they wanted their women too! The village women were all chaste, decent ladies—how could they be defiled by this pack of beasts?!

The villagers let out a pitiful wail, clearly unable to accept this.

The scar-faced man threatened, “Move it, and don’t drag your feet! Let me tell you, if any family dares not hand over their women, I’ll kill the whole lot of you!”

The villagers shivered with fear and hurriedly agreed.

“Big sister, haven’t you always said you’re the prettiest? Then the woman our Niu Family should send is you!” Niu Qingfang immediately started pushing someone forward.

“Why should it be me? I’ve got a husband and two children to look after. If something happens to me, think how heartbroken they’ll be. Why don’t you go yourself?” Mrs. Zhu almost jumped with agitation.

“I’m still a virgin, how could I let myself be sullied? Big sister, you’re already experienced, it wouldn’t make much difference if you went, and our Niu Family will surely never look down on you. Brother, am I right?”