Chapter 242: Restore Order to Mountain Spring Town
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Song Que glanced at Qin Xiaoyao and knew that he could not stop her.
He nodded helplessly.
And so, the first day of the mountain bandits’ takeover of the town passed just like that.
When night fell, Qin Xiaoyao carried a bamboo backpack and went out.
She packed some bean sprouts and half a bag of biscuits in it and went to the Liu family’s house.
After handing the items over to Liu Dalang, she returned home.
Following that, she carried another bamboo basket that she had packed in advance and went to Big Girl Li’s house.
Qin Xiaoyao only left after she made sure that both Big Girl Li and her second sister-in-law were fine.
After that, they began their life remaining holed up in their home all day.
The couple enjoyed two days of leisure without any shame or embarrassment.
Finally, on the third day, some mountain bandits came knocking on their door.
After instructing her family to stay put, Qin Xiaoyao personally went to open the door.
She nodded and bowed to the mountain bandits who were holding sabers, appearing to be quite attentive.
When he saw that Qin Xiaoyao was so tactful, the mountain bandit leader didn’t use force on her.
“The general has ordered us to inspect every household in Mountain Spring Town.”
“With regard to the families in Yong An Lane, each household must pay 50 catties of grain or food, plus three taels of silver!” the mountain bandit leader said.
His gaze swept across the Song family’s courtyard.
The mountain bandit leader felt that the living conditions of this house should be pretty good, so he had no intention of going in to cause any destruction.
There were many families in Yong An Lane. If he had to lead people to search and smash every household, how long would he have to take before he could collect all the things that the higher-ups wanted?
These people were really too much. Couldn’t they just cooperate a little? Why did they have to force him to use force?
“Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment, officers.” Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly nodded and bowed. She even addressed the mountain bandits as “officers.”
“I’ll go and get the stuff for you, Sir!” she continued.
Naturally, it would be best if she could send these demons of pestilence away peacefully.
“Mm-hmm. Hurry up!” The mountain bandit leader was very pleased with Qin Xiaoyao’s way of doing things.
Following this, he left a mountain bandit behind to wait for Qin Xiaoyao’s supplies.
He then left with the rest of the people.
As for Qin Xiaoyao, she quickly returned to her room before going to the kitchen.
Thereafter, she carried a bag of food and returned to the courtyard.
Qin Xiaoyao put on a fawning smile when she saw the mountain bandit’s impatient look.
“I’m really sorry, officer. This is the only food we have at home.”
She saw the mountain bandit’s expression change.
“How about I give you an extra tael of silver to make up for it?” Qin Xiaoyao quickly added. As she spoke, her eyes were filled with a pleading look.
Immediately after that, Qin Xiaoyao quickly handed over five taels of silver.
“The other one tael is for your hard work, officer.”
“I hope you can make an exception, officer.” Qin Xiaoyao said with an apologetic laugh.
How many families in Mountain Spring Town could afford to give out 50 catties of grain?
If she were to give this amount to him without any hesitation, she might bring trouble to herself.
It was better to give more money to appease them.
The mountain bandit took the silver and lowered his head to check the amount. He was satisfied.
Then, he took the sack from Qin Xiaoyao’s shoulder with a sullen face.
He checked it and weighed it in his hand.
He found that the weight of the grain should not be less than 35 catties. He knew what to do then.
“At least you’re sensible!” he spoke up.
The amount of 35 catties was actually enough.
According to the amount set by the higher-ups, each family only needed to give 30 catties of grain, plus two taels of silver.
The excess was added by their leader.
This was to guard against the possibility that they couldn’t collect sufficient food or silver.
Of course, based on the current situation, whether it was grain or silver, the amount collected was enough.
Anyway, when the time came and there was excess, their leader would take the lion’s share while the rest of them would also get a share.
“Thank you, officer!” Qin Xiaoyao quickly thanked him and bowed again to pacify him.
The mountain bandit glared at Qin Xiaoyao in annoyance before he continued, “Our general has ordered that from tomorrow onward, order will be restored to Mountain Spring Town.
“All businesses have to open for business. You commoners should go on the streets and not stay at home!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Qin Xiaoyao quickly responded.
From the looks of things, the chaos in the early stage was finally over, and the mountain bandits had the intention of occupying the town for a long time.
At any rate, it would not be so dangerous for her to go out. It was a good sign.
The mountain bandit glared at Qin Xiaoyao again before leaving with the food.
Qin Xiaoyao heaved a sigh of relief. She only closed the door after the man had left.
After closing the door, she returned to her room.
When Song Que saw that his wife had returned, a heavy weight was finally lifted from his shoulders.
He was about to step forward and say something to Qin Xiaoyao.
However, they heard movement outside.
It turned out that Madam Liu and the others had come out of the house and were walking towards them.
“Sanya…” Madam Liu quickly reached the door and called out to Qin Xiaoyao worriedly.
“Sister-in-law / Mrs. Song!” The rest of the people also came up.
All of them had worried expressions.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao turn her eyes away from her husband and look at the others.
“The person has already been dealt with and he has left. Everything is fine,” she said with a smile.
Immediately after that, she went out of the room to help Madam Liu into the outer room and got her to sit down at the table.
Then, she told everyone what the mountain bandits told her, which was to restore order to Mountain Spring Town the next day.
“Looking at the situation, it will be much safer to go out from tomorrow onward,” Qin Xiaoyao said.
When she saw Madam Liu and the others heave a sigh of relief, Qin Xiaoyao continued, “However, these mountain bandits are too brutal. If they take control of Mountain Spring Town, it is likely that it won’t be very peaceful outside.
“So, from now on, if you don’t have to go out, it’s best if you don’t.
“If you really need to go out, just let me know and I’ll do it.”
Everyone looked at each other and then nodded.
The only one who could make decisions at a critical time and take charge of the family was indeed Qin Xiaoyao.
Qin Xiaoyao comforted the crowd for a while before sending them out of her room.
Only then did the couple have time to be alone.
“You don’t go out either.” Just as she closed the door, Qin Xiaoyao was hugged by Song Que from behind.
A warm sensation welled up in the woman’s heart.
“Alright. If there’s no need to go out, I’ll stay at home too,” she answered.
He was telling her not to go out? How could she allow that?
She still didn’t know what was the situation with Big Girl and Second Sister-in-law. She wanted to go and take a look.
Furthermore, order would be restored in the town tomorrow, so the town gates should be open.
After all, she still had to make a trip to the Zhang family’s village.
Nonetheless, she still had to put her husband’s mind at ease.
At the end of the day, she was still a good wife!
When Song Que heard this, his body stiffened momentarily.
He knew that his wife would not be so obedient.
After hugging Qin Xiaoyao for a while and calming down, Song Que finally let her go.
Then, he reached out and pulled Qin Xiaoyao to the soft couch to sit down.
The couple began acting lovey-dovey with each other again.
The next day, many shops on the streets of Mountain Spring Town opened.
The commoners also came out of their houses.
Qin Xiaoyao heard the commotion outside and was about to go out to take a look when Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu arrived.
Before long, Liu Daniu and Wang Dashan also came to her house.
When Qin Xiaoyao found out that the Qin family and the Liu family were safe, she felt a little more relieved.
However, when she heard that these people had come for the bean sprouts, she was quite surprised..