The refugees, who felt that their future was bleak, finally followed the footsteps of Qiu Degui and his party and left, and a group of people who really didn't have the courage to go down came to the burned Xihe Village and decided to stay here.

The weather is getting colder and colder day by day, and there is no stable place to spend the winter if they go down, and they are afraid that they will die on the road if they are not halfway through.

After Qiu Degui personally went up the mountain to check the terrain, he also decided to let the Qiu family live here.

Judging from their footsteps, this place is already seventy or eighty miles away from the county seat of Xin'an.

Backed by the mountains, you can run into the mountains when there is wind and grass, and there are cabbage, radish, sweet potatoes and so on that have not had time to be harvested in the field.

Precious food gives a group of people who have fled here a great sense of security.

The refugees, who had fled the famine for more than half a year, finally had a place to stay, and they were actively building houses that could shelter from the wind and snow, which were thousands of miles away from their hometown.

After seeing the mountains and rivers in the south, those who abandoned their families and businesses and fled here have no intention of returning to their hometowns.

The new Xihe Village, a small village of just over 40 people, is slowly taking shape in the hands of hard-working refugees.

Everyone wisely centered on the Qiu family's house and built the house at the foot of the mountain, with the burned houses in the village as a shelter, which could also give them a buffer time.

…

The Qiu family, who work a lot, is the only one who has built two half-stone and half-wood houses, with men and women living in two separate rooms, and a simple stove at the door.

The rest of the houses are all in the same room, and the family lives together regardless of gender, and they can keep each other warm in the winter when they lack everything.

In the case of survival first, there is not so much attention.

In their eyes, as long as there is a place to shelter from the wind and rain, it is already a great happiness.

The destroyed houses were rummaged through by a group of people who lacked everything, and some of the pots and bowls, knives and shovels and farm tools were also found.

A group of people did not dare to make a fire to cook during the day, so they could only cook hot food at night, and eat sweet potatoes and vegetable soup around the muddy stove, which was comparable to the delicacies of the mountains and the sea for them.

Qiu Degui, who had his own plans, took the second child of the Qiu family to drill into the mountains, and sometimes carried one or two small prey down the mountain, which became the best life in the eyes of others.

…

Ziyu, who stayed in the village of Kan'er, looked around the village to check the terrain, and from time to time pointed out where to strengthen the defenses.

The clever Lu Tong took the initiative to take on the task of patrolling, and he would take everyone to exercise in the morning, and instruct him to do one or two tricks of superficial kung fu.

These are all in Ziyu's eyes.

"Lu Tong, hire you as the chief guard of Kan'er Village, are you willing?"

"Castle Master, Lu Tong is willing!"

Lu Tong, who didn't expect the surprise to come so quickly, immediately agreed.

Sure enough, Dad has a point, as long as he is down-to-earth and diligent, the castle owner will see it.

"One hundred taels of silver a year, two horses of muslin in a season, and enjoy the same treatment as a steward in food."

The conditions given by Ziyu made Lu Tong ecstatic, which was higher than him being a guard outside.

Lu Tong thought that there was no need to spend silver money in the fort, and after saving for five years, there would be thousands of taels of silver at home, which was a number that their family could not even imagine.

"Lu Tong thanked the castle owner, determined to work hard for dogs and horses, and swore to defend Kan'er Village to the death."

Lu Tong, who had finally found a way to survive, responded loudly, clenching his fists and solemnly making a promise to the young castle lord in front of him.

"Okay, I'll take office today!

The five mountains behind the village of Khar, including those who do not listen to the persuasion, are all private territory, and those who do not listen to the persuasion can be expelled.

Three warnings to those who don't listen, kill! ”

Ziyu's words made Lu Tong stunned, who would have thought that this large area of mountains was privately owned by the castle owner.

Or is he too shallow in knowledge, he always thinks that the rich and noble families in Xingyuan Mansion are rich people, and it turns out that the real rich are the castle owners.

"Obey the orders of the castle lord, Lu Tong must be carried out according to the rules!"

The head of the guard of Kan'er Village was born in a few words from the two.

…

The two families who came with Old Man Hu chose to sell themselves into slavery after several considerations for the sake of a stable life.

As for the county magistrate's wife's family, for the sake of the county magistrate's good sake, Ziyu did not mention to them about selling herself and signing a long-term job.

There is a lot of strength in numbers, and the four families live in the newly built house, and the earthen thatched house cannot be compared with the house of Daxia Castle.

For the four families who are used to living in dilapidated houses, it is a blessing to have a place to live, and who will dislike it.

…

For the sake of long-term consideration, the construction of houses in Kar'er Village has not stopped, and the village is changing at a speed that is visible to the naked eye.

All the food and daily necessities transported from Daxia Fort were also distributed, allowing the four families to live a normal life.

After the lunch one day, Ziyu sat in front of the fire pond with Sha Dalang, Lu Tong, and Sheng Xuelin, discussing the defense of Kan'er Village in winter.

"Bell~Bell~Bell!"

The alarm bell rang at the entrance of the village, and the adults of Kan'er Village threw down their work one after another, and rushed to the guard point that had been assigned long ago with the weapons in hand.

Lu Tong led fifteen guards from Kan'er Village, armed with iron guns and broadswords, behind the gate.

…

Ziyu, who climbed up the wall, looked at the group of people with torches below, the unfamiliar faces under the firelight were a little embarrassed, but they calmly carried the burden.

Among the roosters and dogs barking of men, women and children, there was also an old ox and a big horse, and there were all men with knives and guns.

"Who's coming, this is private territory, please leave quickly!" Lu Tong shouted as he looked at the group of people outside through the crack in the door.

"Brother inside, we are from Xihe Village, we have escaped from the disaster, please open the door and let us in."

Tian Da's eyes flashed slightly under the torch, when did the village of Kan'er where birds don't poop become private territory, and the walls were higher than the county seat of Xin'an.

Looks like a good place to stay!

"This is private territory, no outsiders are accepted, please leave quickly.

After three warnings, don't blame us for being ruthless! Lu Tong once again loudly declared.

Ziyu, who was lying on the wall, watched the group of people below gesticulating to each other, and the four of them scattered along the root of the wall with torches.

"Brother inside, we'll only stay overnight and leave early tomorrow morning.

You see that there are old and young of us, and there are wolves in the mountains, and it is very unsafe, so let us in! ”

Tian Dayou looked at Lu Tong in the crack of the door kindly, and approached the torch in his hand to let the people inside see his appearance clearly.

"Big brother, I'm Tian Dayou, the head of Xihe Village, please take care of things and speak!"

…

"Woo~Woo~Woo~Woo!"

"There's a wolf, open the door and let us in!"

"Mother...... There are wolves...... Wow! ”

In the long torch procession, the cries of old men, women, and children were heard, and the howls of wolves were getting closer.

"Bang bang bang...... Open the door! ”

"A group of black-hearted people want us all to die in the wolf's mouth, and give birth to a son without an asshole!"

……

The spicy woman slammed the wooden door with a scolding and squeaking sound.

"Castle Master, what should I do?"

Lu Tong, who had nothing to do for a while, climbed up the wall to find Ziyu for an idea.