When we returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, many people had gathered inside and outside.

Ning Yi walked into the courtyard and glanced at the room. Tan'er had come back. She was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at Ning Xi on the bed, her face was ashen, and little Ning Xi, who had a bandage on her head, was stammering towards her mother.

He was explaining something. Ning Yi asked the doctor at the door for a few words, then his face relaxed slightly and he walked in.

"Dad." Ning Xi looked at him from the bedside and pursed her lips slightly, "I really wanted to catch the rabbit... I almost caught it..."

Ning Yi walked over and pinched his face, then looked at the bandage on his head: "Does it hurt?"

"It didn't hurt at first, but now it hurts a little."

"It's okay." Ning Yi smiled, then waved towards the door, "The doctor said it's okay, why are you all running over here! Ning Yi, look who's coming to see you."

"Grandpa Zuo." Ning Xi bowed to the old man who followed him. Zuo Duanyou looked serious. They all had dinner together the night before and didn't show much kindness to Ning Xi, but at this time, he couldn't keep a straight face.

, came over and reached out to hold Ning Xi's shoulders and let him lie back: "Don't move, don't move, what happened?"

"I went to pick wild vegetables with me in the first grade of junior high school. There were guests at home and we didn't have much to eat. Then I found a rabbit and I went to catch it. Then I fell and hit my head... I had caught the rabbit, so what happened?

Big, it’s a pity that my wrestling scared me in the first grade of junior high school, and the rabbit ran away..."

The child was talking about this, stretched out his hands and gestured, and was quite frustrated. He finally caught a rabbit and even fell and injured himself. Min Chuyi even let the rabbit go. Wasn't this a waste of water in a bamboo basket?

Zuo Duanyou turned back and glanced at Ning Yi. Ning Yi was comforting Su Tan'er at this time: "It's only when boys fall and beat that they can become successful in the future. The doctor also said it's okay. Don't worry." Then he went aside and said,

He comforted the female soldier with a guilty look on her face and said, "Children, they should have their own space. I told you not to follow them too closely. This is not your fault. You don't have to blame yourself."

This small disturbance gradually subsided. The atmosphere in Xiaocanghe seemed peaceful, but in fact it was tense. The internal food shortage was a problem. Outside Xiaocanghe, there were also enemies of this kind, who were always staring at this place.

, everyone knew it in their hearts without saying it on the face. Something happened to Ning Xi suddenly. Some people thought it was the enemy outside who had finally taken action, so they all ran over to take a look. When they saw it was not true, they dispersed.

Xiao Ningxi's head was bleeding. After persisting for a while, she fell asleep exhausted. Ning Yi sent Zuo Duanyou out, and then went to deal with other things. Accompanied by his entourage, the old man walked halfway up the Xiaocang River.

The time is exactly afternoon, tilted

In the sunshine, the sounds of training in the valley could be heard from time to time. Every construction site was in full swing, and people were running around. In the far reservoir, several boats were casting nets, and some people were fishing by the water. They were catching fish.

Fill the food vacancy in the valley.

When these things fall into the field of vision, they look ordinary, but in fact, there is an atmosphere brewing that is completely different from other places. A sense of tension, a sense of crisis, and a certain atmosphere that is contradictory to that tension and sense of crisis. The old man has already

He was used to seeing many things in this world, but he still couldn't figure out the reason why Ning Yi refused to cooperate with the Zuo family.

As the helmsman of a large family with roots all over Hedong Road, he came to Xiaocang River, of course, for profit considerations. But on the other hand, he was able to start planning last year and try to contact this place. Among them, his friendship with Qin Siyuan is

It plays a big part. Even if he has demands for Xiaocanghe, he will never go too far. The other party should also be able to see this. It is with such considerations that the old man took the initiative to propose this matter today.

thing.

Just to avoid being put forward by the Zuo family? Does he have to reject it so simply? Does he really have a way out? Here... he is clearly on the cliff.

He was thinking about this in his mind, and then asked his followers to go to the valley, find the spies he had originally arranged to enter the Xiaocang River, and come over to inquire about the matter one by one to confirm the fact that there was a shortage of food in the valley. This only made him confused.

Deeper.

However, there were some things happening quietly in the valley at this time that he didn't know or didn't care about.

In order to supplement the meat in the soldiers' daily rations, war horses were slaughtered in the kitchens in the valley. That evening, a soldier ate finely chopped horse meat in the dishes. The news spread, and in a short time, half a dozen

The cafeteria was silent, and then the leading soldier placed the bowls and chopsticks in front of the counter in the cafeteria and asked: "How can you kill a horse?"

Many people stopped using their chopsticks because of this, and one person said: "Has the valley reached this point? Even if we are hungry, we don't want to eat horse meat!"

"We don't have to have meat every day! Those who are used to poverty can also eat wild vegetables and tree bark!" someone echoed.

Everyone was anxious and uncomfortable, but fortunately the order in the canteen was not disrupted. A moment after the incident, General He Zhicheng rushed over: "If you are treated as a human being, you will not feel comfortable, right!?"

The rules in the army were good, and soon after, he suppressed the matter. At the same time, on the other side of the canteen, a group of young soldiers walked into the dormitory with swords and guns, looking for the founder of the Huayan Society whom they were more convinced at this time.

Luo Ye.

"Brother Luo, have you heard about what happened today?"

Luo Ye was coming back from training, covered in sweat, and turned to look at them: "What's going on? What do you want to do?"

"Something happened to the eldest son of the Ning family. I heard there was blood on the mountainside. I'm guessing that the gang of cowards outside the valley couldn't bear it any longer and wanted to fight!"

These people were all in high spirits and their eyes were red. Luo Ye frowned: "I heard about Mr. Ning Xi's injury. He just stumbled while catching a rabbit. What are you doing? To say the least, even if it's true,

Is it you who have the final say on whether you have something to do or not?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and one person said: "We can't bear it anymore. If there is really an invasion from outside the mountain, we have to do something. Brother Luo, you can come forward on our behalf and ask Mr. Ning for a fight!"

"You guys have been carried away!" Luo Ye said, "Besides, there is no such thing at all. Who are you going to fight? You also said that you want to do something big, so you can't be calmer."

A group of people had heard that something had happened, and they all ran over excitedly without thinking about it. Seeing that it was a rumor, the atmosphere gradually cooled down. You looked at me, I looked at you, and I felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

One of them slapped the steel knife on the table and sighed: "It's such a big thing, what else can we do? Seeing that the valley is starting to be short of food day by day, we... want to do something, but there is no way.

Let's get it. I heard... they killed two horses today..."

This man talked about the matter of killing horses and felt depressed. Luo Ye just heard it and frowned slightly. Someone else also sighed: "Yeah, I don't know what can be done about this food matter."

"Could it be that you can't trust General Qin, Mr. Ning?" Luo Ye said, "The adults above have not been lazy even a day."

"Of course it's not that I can't believe it, but seeing that even the war horses have been killed, we are also worried. If the war horses are all killed, how can we fight with people? Brother Luo, on the other hand, you originally said that there are familiar big clans outside, so you can think of some ways, but later you

I told Mr. Ning about this and never mentioned it again. If you know anything, please tell us..."

"I have some guesses, but it's hard to say." Luo Ye shook his head, "Anyway, you should put more effort into training on weekdays. That's it. The higher-ups will find a solution!"

"Has anyone here ever been lazy during training?"

"Yeah, now that I'm in such a hurry, I really think... it's better to have a fight. Now I've started to kill horses. Even though Mr. Ning still has a clever plan. I feel... oh, I still feel unhappy..."

"Brother Luo, if you know it, just tell it. We won't spread it randomly."

"How can I know everything about what Mr. Ning and the others are planning? I've only made some speculations these days, and I can't say whether they are correct or not." Everyone was shouting, and Luo Ye frowned and said in a deep voice, "But I estimate that this matter will not be solved until now.

It’s been a few days”

The noise in the dormitory has not stopped for a while. In the valley shrouded in unbearable heat, similar things happen everywhere from time to time.

The old man in the room on the mountain listened to some detailed reports, and became more convinced that the food shortage in Xiaocang River was not a lie. On the other hand, these trivial matters will add up to big and small things every day.

The short reports were classified, and now Xiaocanghe Gao

Several people on the floor passed it on. Every day when the sun sets, Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, Qin Shaoqian and others will gather in the office for a short time to exchange the meaning behind these messages. On this day, due to Ning Xi's encounter

Tan'er's expression couldn't be considered happy.

After some things were decided, Qin Shaoqian left here, while Ning Yi and Su Tan'er had a simple dinner together. Ning Yi comforted his wife, and when they were alone together, Su Tan'er's expression became a little weak,

He nodded and snuggled up with his man.

When the sun was setting and the afterglow was gradually fading away from the horizon, Zuo Duanyou, who had had dinner accompanied by Qin Shaoqian, went out for a walk in the mountains and met Ning Yi who was walking back from the mountain road. I don’t know why, but at this time Ning Yi

Putting on a new set of clothes, he cupped his hands and smiled: "The old man is in good health."

Zuo Duanyou looked at him: "Master Ning, there is still something else to do."

"There was one at night, but it's empty now."

"Then go for a walk with me."

"Okay." Ning Yi spread his hands and said, "Mr. Zuo, please."

On the mountain road blown by the night wind, the two of them walked one after another. On the left, Youzhu held a cane. After walking for a while, he slowly spoke. This time, his tone was much calmer: "Over the years, I have always thought that palm

Those who are in authority in a place must not act on their own initiative."

On the side, Ning Yi nodded respectfully.

"This afternoon, when I opened my mouth, I thought there wasn't much to talk about. But now I'm just curious. How much of Liheng's words today were motivated by emotion?"

"...Not even 10%."

"I think so too. So, I am even more curious."

Zuo Duanyu held on to his crutches and continued to move forward.

"The shortage of food in the valley is not a lie."

"It's true."

"The Jin people sealed the north, the Xixia surrounded the southwest, and the Wu Dynasty. As far as I know, no one dares to grant or accept this private relationship with you. Your Qingmuzhai is currently cut off from all trade routes, and there is nothing you can do. These news,

Is there anything wrong?"

Ning Yi was silent for a moment: "We sent some people out to match up with some large households according to the previous information. Some of them were successful. This is a fair transaction, but the harvest is not much. There are several people who want to help privately.

We took the risk and came over to talk about cooperation. The lion opened his mouth and was rejected by us. The pressure on Qingmuzhai was very high, but we were able to hold on for the time being, and we were busy arranging the autumn harvest without giving up. We couldn't care about this barren mountain. But no matter what

That's not wrong..."

"Are you afraid that my Zuo family will also open its mouth like a lion?"

"There is no such thing." Ning Yi replied.

"Okay." Zuo Duanyou nodded, "So, you have no way forward, but you still reject me. And you are not motivated. It is very strange to put these things together. What is even more strange is that since you are not willing to follow me

Talking about business, why do you spend so much time with me? If it's just out of sympathy for Lao Qin, you don't have to do this. You must ask for something when you are polite to others. You are inconsistent, or I really guessed it.

What, or you are lying. Do you admit this?"
To be continued...