Chapter 86

Since there were few people in Da Jiang Cun at the moment, Liu Yu and the others at home did not know what had happened in the town.

Only from her two older brothers did Liu Yu learn everything, but what worried her most was Jiang Jinshi out there, fearing he might encounter such vicious bandits.

Li Xinyue said nothing the whole time, silently listening beside them, until finally her brows knotted tightly.

During this period she had indeed relaxed a bit, relying on the many points in the mall system and not seeking new ways to earn points.

Now the area she is in has become so chaotic that she must find a way to exchange for more points.

Though Xiao Jiang Shan is called 'small,' it is actually not small, encompassing several villages; Li Xinyue had previously been active only around Da Jiang Cun, but with the situation now so urgent, she must go deeper into Xiao Jiang Shan to seek items of higher point value.

Li Xinyue, still lost in thought, even failed to notice that Jiang Jinshi's two uncles had already risen and left; Liu Mu's face had lost its smile as she gazed toward the village entrance, continually praying for Jiang Jinshi's safe return.

When Li Xinyue came to her senses, she made up an excuse and hurriedly ran toward Xiao Jiang Shan.

If she could find a large patch of high-quality nanmu wood like last time, she might be able to directly find a nice place to enjoy her twilight years.

After Jiang Jinshi finished his work, he slept straight through until sunset.

Now there is no threat left on Lianhuan Shan, so the earlier idea of bringing his family up the mountain can be put on the schedule.

Coincidentally, the villagers of Da Jiang Cun were just preparing to go down the mountain back to the village; Jiang Jinshi thought, 'Why pick another day when today will do? Let's go together!'

The villagers who came out to work this time were all able-bodied; the elderly, children, and disabled remained in Da Jiang Cun waiting for their families to return with news of safety.

So the eager crowd didn't even have time to eat dinner, rushing hastily toward Da Jiang Cun.

Jiang Jinshi also took the opportunity to voice his idea, suggesting the group send the elderly or children from their homes to Yangguangzhai, which would be safer.

Upon hearing this, the crowd was naturally overjoyed; they had actually had this idea themselves, but dared not speak up, fearing Jiang Jinshi would refuse.

Now that Jiang Jinshi had proactively suggested it, they certainly had no reason to refuse.

Especially someone like Jiang Ze, whose household labor force is just himself; if he goes out on business, his family members need others to bring them meals.

Having been strong since childhood, he most fears causing trouble for others; if he lived in the stronghold, he could not only work peacefully alongside Jiang Jinshi but also let his family eat better.

However, another problem now troubles Jiang Jinshi: not everyone is suited for banditry; the drawbacks may not be apparent in the short term, but they will surely appear over time.

Moreover, there are too many logistics personnel now—do we really need that many just to cook a meal and wash some clothes?

Clothes don't need washing every day, and banquets like today's aren't daily affairs; most of the time the logistics staff are idle.

If we could put these people to use creating value, then Yangguangzhai would develop more quickly.

The idea is good, but Jiang Jinshi has no clue how to implement it.

After all, logistics personnel are either the elderly/children or women, and whatever he can think of is unsuitable for them to do.

Now the stronghold's population has exceeded five hundred, while the bandit forces number only about four hundred, even counting the villagers and the surrendered bandits.

These logistics personnel are not unwilling to work; every nook and cranny of Yangguangzhai is swept spotless each day, leaving truly nothing for them to do!

They also fear that if they don't work and just eat free food all day they'll be kicked out of the stronghold, so they scramble for any little task.

Jiang Jinshi pondered countermeasures in this way, and without realizing it he arrived at the entrance of Da Jiang Cun, where he stopped and addressed the crowd.

"Do you all think we should bring your families up the mountain today, or wait until tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiang Cai stood up first: "Better to do it today! A little fatigue is no problem; that way everyone's hearts can settle sooner."

The crowd immediately echoed Jiang Cai, all saying they weren't tired and making another trip would be fine.

Since that was the people's will, Jiang Jinshi did not press them further and immediately began making arrangements.

"Then let's do this! We still need to stay in the village, so don't move everything away; first bring up the elderly and children, after which only the bandit personnel will remain stationed here."

After all, Jiang Jinshi's idea is to bring the surrounding villages under his control to ensure complete command of the resources near Jiangcheng.

Seeing the crowd's high spirits as they prepared to go home and pack, Jiang Jinshi promptly reminded them: "First prepare the fire and cook; eat dinner before we go."

Now the crowd need not worry about firewood; they grab their hatchets and go cut trees, those going home for the big pot fetch it, others find the village head to move grain or go to the river to draw water.

Everyone could find something to do, and everything proceeded in orderly fashion.

Jiang Jinshi, having nothing to do, took Xiao Hu and Ye Chang home so the family could tidy up in advance and later go up the mountain together.

Ye Chang is quite capable; Jiang Jinshi intends to have him serve as the "instructor" training the bandits, so he keeps him close for a while to instill some of his past-life thinking on orders and prohibitions.

Pushing open the door, Liu Mu had not expected that the son she had been longing for just moments ago would appear in the house; for a moment she was so happy she could not speak, merely staring at Jiang Jinshi until she confirmed he was uninjured, then she relaxed.

Jiang Li was also overjoyed; she just didn't say it, but that doesn't mean she wasn't worried about her brother.

After the two had looked him over, Jiang Jinshi puzzledly asked, "Where's Xinyue?"

Xiao Li shook her head: "I don't know; sister-in-law said she went to the back mountain and hasn't returned yet."

Liu Mu, being thoughtful, saw Jiang Jinshi behind him with two people and quickly called Jiang Li to go cook.

"Xiao Li, hurry and make dinner; are these two your friends, Xiao Shi?"

Jiang Jinshi nodded and said to the two, "No need to cook; we'll eat together with the villagers later."

Liu Mu hesitated a bit: "Won't that be not quite proper?"

"What's wrong with that? Those grains are mine, so just eat without worry." Jiang Jinshi waved his hand grandly, bearing the air of a local tycoon.

"You… yours?" Jiang Li and Liu Mu gasped, mouths agape.

"Yes! Didn't the village head tell you?" Jiang Jinshi was puzzled by their reaction.

"He didn't say anything! What on earth is going on?" Liu Mu anxiously pressed for an answer.

Seeing that the village head really hadn't said anything, Jiang Jinshi sighed, gathered his thoughts, and said: "You know I've become a bandit, right?"