Gu Qingcheng stood under the banyan tree, her expression unchanged, except for a white bandage wrapped around her neck, which stood out starkly.
Seeing this, the villagers were immediately reminded of Gu Qingcheng's composure when Wu De had held a knife to her throat the previous night.
A sense of admiration for the seemingly frail young master Gu grew within them.
How could they not worship Young Master Gu, who remained fearless in the face of danger and had subsequently saved the village, killed the bandit leader, and captured dozens of outlaws?
Gu Qingcheng, seeing the villagers rush over, said apologetically:
"Fellow villagers, I've gathered you here in such haste because there are things I wish to inform you of promptly to put your minds at ease.
I'll be brief, so as not to keep you out in the wind and cold as the night grows dark.
The situation is this: the bandits from yesterday have been handed over to the authorities. They've been imprisoned, and will be sent to the frontier. Our village has also been awarded 30 taels of silver.
The key person in preventing the massacre was Fu Dadi. He was the first to notice something was amiss with Xiao Long and reported it promptly. Later, he bravely pretended to get close to Xiao Long, risking his life, to extract information.
Don't be fooled by his mere drinking and chatting with Xiao Long; it was incredibly dangerous. If Xiao Long, in his drunken state, had decided to slit his throat to silence him, Fu Dadi would be dead.
To reward his heroic act of fearlessness in the face of danger, I will give Fu Dadi the 30 taels of silver awarded to our village by the magistrate, as a form of commendation. Does anyone have any objections?"
"No."
The villagers shouted in unison, and many began to applaud.
Fu Dadi was called to the front by Gu Qingcheng and, upon receiving the 30 taels of silver, became so overwhelmed with emotion that he fumbled.
Holding the heavy silver, Fu Dadi's face broke into a simple, honest smile, eliciting a round of laughter from the villagers.
Gu Qingcheng also chuckled and said:
"See? Fu Dadi is both meticulous and brave, and he loves our village. Now he's received a substantial reward. He's still single, so any young ladies who fancy Fu Dadi should make their move quickly!"
Another wave of laughter swept through the village.
These were all refugees who had fled from afar. Most of their families had been broken, and now that they had found a stable life here, the suppressed longing for family resurfaced.
Several pairs had already been showing interest in each other.
After all, in Phoenix Village, the traditional social constraints were no longer so strict, so the villagers were understanding of Gu Qingcheng's rather unconventional words.
Seeing that some girls were indeed eyeing Fu Dadi, Gu Qingcheng added fuel to the fire:
"If you're too shy to express yourselves, you can come to me, and I can help convey your feelings."
"Young Master Gu, can you help us arrange a matchmaking visit? You helped Scholar Huang with his matchmaking successfully not long ago, didn't you?"
The conversation had veered off track again.
Gu Qingcheng quickly steered it back, smiling and saying:
"We'll discuss that later. Let's focus on today's main business. Another important matter is expanding the hunting team. Each member's monthly salary will be increased by one tael of silver. Anyone interested in signing up should speak directly to Yan Xin.
There will be a one-month trial period, during which you'll need to practice martial arts, swordplay, and go hunting in the mountains. Only those who can endure the trials will be retained."
Upon hearing Gu Qingcheng's announcement, many immediately showed eagerness.
The hunting team enjoyed good benefits and high status. Seeing how Fu Dadi had just received a 30 tael reward, who wouldn't be envious?
Of course, their envy of Fu Dadi wasn't unreasonable, as the situation yesterday had indeed been as dangerous as Gu Qingcheng described. If Fu Dadi hadn't possessed courage or good fortune, he would be dead by now, and the villagers would be preparing for his wake.
"We want to protect the village, and we're not afraid of hardship. I want to sign up!"
A young man raised his hand.
With one person stepping forward, many followed suit. The sheer number of applicants delighted Yan Xin.
Recently, the hunting team had been taking on more tasks, and he was stretched thin. Having new members join the team was undoubtedly a good thing.
Dai Fa, seeing that Gu Qingcheng had led the villagers in driving out the bandits, but his own contributions hadn't been mentioned, nodded approvingly in his heart.
After Gu Qingcheng finished speaking, he dismissed the villagers.
The villagers dispersed in small groups.
Fu Dadi, clutching his silver, was on his way home when a young woman approached him.
Fu Dadi found the girl to be quite attractive and his face immediately lit up with a smile. He was, of course, happy to chat with her.
Having clarified the aftermath of the incident and reassured the villagers, Gu Qingcheng returned home to eat.
Sai Hu no longer drank sheep's milk. Mi Guo had minced beef and fed it to Sai Hu, who ate with great relish.
Since starting on meat, Sai Hu grew visibly larger almost every day, as if catching up with the wind.
Gu Qingcheng asked, "How is Sai Hu? Is it biting you?"
"No, it doesn't bite me. It's very docile when it sees me, nuzzles up to me, and treats me like family."
"Alright, if it likes meat, feed it more."
Gu Qingcheng went back to her room, drew a bucket of hot water, poured in some rose essential oil to relieve fatigue, and sank into the bathtub.
It was so comfortable. She hadn't had such a relaxing bath in days.
Ever since receiving Fu Dadi's message, she had been anxious and preoccupied with the situation. Now that it was resolved and the threat removed, she could finally completely relax.
After her bath, with her hair still damp, Gu Qingcheng grabbed a cotton towel, dried her hair as much as possible, and then took out a rechargeable hairdryer from the storage cabinet, blowing her hair dry with a "whoosh."
Ever since she discovered rechargeable hairdryers at the Mountain Cat Supermarket, Gu Qingcheng had felt like she had struck gold. She had bought several and given them to Mi Guo and her family.
Because they were rechargeable, she could get power from solar panels.
She usually placed the solar charging panels in the backyard to charge. When she was not home, she would lock the backyard gate to prevent outsiders from entering. In the evenings, she would bring the solar panels back inside. Generally, five to six hours of charging was enough to meet her usage needs.
After drying her hair, feeling refreshed, Gu Qingcheng lay down in bed and read by the bright light of a rechargeable lamp.
This was her normal life, no longer filled with anxiety and the constant fear of being raided by bandits.
When she got tired of reading, Gu Qingcheng put away her book and lamp into the storage cabinet. Then, she took out an SD card loaded with 5,000 songs, inserted it into her tablet, and listened to familiar pop songs, falling asleep unknowingly.
At dawn, Gu Qingcheng was woken by the enticing aroma of Mi Guo's cooking.
Thinking of the scare her sister had endured and the injury to her neck, Mi Guo had prepared a pot of calming lily and lean meat porridge that morning, along with pan-fried meat patties, and two poached eggs for each of them.
After Gu Qingcheng got up and washed, the porridge was at the perfect temperature. It was warm and comforting as she ate, warming her entire body.
The meat patties were handmade by Mi Guo. She used fresh flour, added eggs and milk, kneaded them into the dough, then filled it with minced meat. Finally, she sprinkled chopped scallions on top and fried them until golden brown on both sides. They were incredibly crispy and fragrant with every bite.
Gu Qingcheng didn't need to watch her figure, so she finished her entire portion, her stomach comfortably full.