Chapter 47: Jiang Dong's Daughter-in-Law

  The soldiers were all astonished by what he said, there were more than 20 women, and it would cost a lot of money to accommodate them, not to mention the houses they lived in, just the food was no small number!

  And the women who heard it also didn't dare to believe that this was true. Most of them had no home to return to, and even if a few still had families, they were kidnapped by bandits and taken back to their dens. Even after being rescued, it would be difficult for them to get married again, and they would have to add burdens to their families, living in hardship and suffering under the cold gaze of others. The hardships of their days can be imagined. Such a heavy burden - could this young man named Li Qin really bear it?

  Li Qin said loudly: "I know what you are thinking, this world is not easy for anyone to live in, but precisely because it's not easy, we should support each other even more! Today you have difficulties, if I don't help, and tomorrow when I'm in trouble, others won't help either, if everyone acts like this, how many people can survive on this poor border land?"

  He paused for a moment, then said: "Follow me back to Fu Jiao Village. Whether it's doing handicrafts or everyone working together to farm the land, we can all make a living. No one is better than anyone else, as long as everyone works together and lives a happy life, do you need to rely on others? If no one wants to marry you, then you can just find husbands who will come to your door!"

  Jia Lian nodded and said: "The words are rough, but the reason is not rough. Indeed, relying on heaven, earth, and parents, there will always be a day when you can't rely on them. It's better to rely on yourself!"

  Shen Yi stroked his bald head and laughed, "Yes, yes, we're all miserable people, who can despise whom?" He had been a bachelor for half his life, and didn't care about chastity or etiquette; he wouldn't mind marrying one!

  He quite liked that strong-willed woman and went over to ask: "What's your surname?"

  The strong-willed woman replied: "My maiden name is Qiao, originally from Jiangdong. I followed my husband to Xiliang, but unfortunately fell into the bandits' lair. My husband and entourage were all killed. If you can deliver a message to my brother for me, he will surely reward you heavily. My brother's name is Qiao..."

  Before she could finish speaking, the women around her knelt down on the ground, kowtowing to Li Qin and calling him "Benefactor", and she followed suit.

  Shen Yicai didn't care whether Qiao girl was married or not, he liked her and if she was willing, then he would dare to ask for her hand in marriage. However, under the current circumstances, in front of everyone, he couldn't ask anything more.

  Li Qin waved his hand to let the women not be too polite, he looked at the fire scene and said: "The village was burned clean, nothing can be taken away, we should leave quickly. Losing things is a small matter, as long as people are alive it's okay."

  Just as they were about to leave with the crowd, Qiao Nu suddenly spoke up. She was grateful to Li Qin and felt that she had to do something for him. Qiao Nu stood up and said to Li Qin: "Sir, I know that the treasure cave of the Sha Luo family is what Sha Luo Zhan said when he got drunk. That cellar is not in the stockade, but outside the valley."

  Qiao girl pointed to the outside of the valley, but the direction was not the entrance where Li Qin and others came in, but another one in the opposite direction. She is beautiful, far surpassing other women, let alone in Fuping, even in Zhongyuan, she is a top-notch beauty, so Sha Luo treated her with special favor when he was alive, and she knew more things.

  Li Qin exclaimed, "Why did the bandit chief bury the treasure outside the valley?"

  Qiao girl said: "The leader of the bandits is afraid that the government soldiers will destroy their stronghold and take away their wealth, so they hide it outside the valley. In this way, even if the stronghold is burned down, they can still live a wealthy life."

  Jia Yu was overjoyed and said: "The cunning rabbit has three burrows, the leader of the bandits hides things, it's just right for us to go dig them up!"

  The soldiers were also delighted. Since it was a treasure trove, there must be no shortage of things inside. Maybe they're even more valuable than these war horses!

  Li Qian waved his hand and said, "What are we waiting for? You lead the way, let's take all the treasures that the robbers have hidden away and give them to him!" The soldiers helped the women up, drove the horses, and followed Qiao Nu to the back of the valley.

  The big fire in the mountain village lit up the road for them, and although they didn't walk very fast, they arrived at the back of the valley steadily. The back mountain of Zhugou Gorge was even more treacherous than the front, with two round mountains converging into a single tunnel-like pass at the end of the gorge. To get past, they couldn't ride horses and had to dismount and lead their horses on foot.

  The entrance was covered with a large pile of withered branches, and there was no one guarding it. It must be that the robbers thought this place didn't need to be guarded, as only they themselves knew about it, and outsiders wouldn't know.

  Pushing aside withered branches, the crowd emerged from the valley one by one. Outside the mouth of the valley was a small patch of flat woodland, and all else was hills.

  Li Qin asked Qiao Nu: "Where is the cellar?"

  Qiao girl has not responded yet, Jia Yu followed from behind, patted the cloak and said: "If she knew, wouldn't it be like escaping? In my opinion... that cellar must be in the woods, can't be too far away, otherwise the bandits would not feel at ease."

  The woman immediately said: "Yes, I heard from Shiluo Zhan that it was under a large stone at the center of three large pine trees."

  Li Qian waved his hand, and Wu Danzi immediately ran into the forest. As soon as he entered the forest, he heard Wu Danzi laughing loudly and shouting: "What a coincidence! I found it! It's really easy to find! There are only three pine trees in this forest, and there is indeed a big stone in the middle!"

  Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this, and they all rushed into the forest. It turned out to be just as Wu Dangzi had said - there were indeed only three pine trees, with a large stone in between them. However, although the marker was simple, who would think to turn over the big stone if they didn't know about it?

  Shen Yi and Wu Xiao San walked forward together, both using their strength to push the big stone to one side. Underneath the stone, they found another slab of rock, which they moved aside to reveal a coffin inside!

  "Thief head's treasure, won't it be their family's ancestral tablet? Why is it a mouth coffin?"

  Li Qin laughed and said, "Who have you seen put their ancestral tablets in a coffin? Coffin, coffin, promotion and wealth, this is a good omen! There must be treasure inside the coffin, let's open it and take a look!"

  The soldiers worked together, prying open the nails and opening the coffin lid. Inside the coffin was an iron-plated box with a considerable volume, and next to it was a long rectangular wooden box that was almost as long as the coffin!

  Wu Xiaosan swung his curved knife and with a loud crash, the lock on the iron trunk was smashed off. As soon as the lid opened, a dazzling light burst forth before everyone's eyes, shining so brightly it seemed to produce flowers. Inside the trunk were piles of precious jewels and beautiful jade, leaving onlookers dazzled and bewildered!

  Everyone was overjoyed, although not many people had seen good jewelry before, but everyone knew a little bit, that is, things that shine brightly must be valuable. The things in this box were so dazzling, they must be very valuable!

  Jia Xun shouted: "Quickly open the wooden box and take a look, the treasure inside must be even more valuable!"

  He looked at the jewelry and immediately understood that if the thief had only buried this box of jewelry, he would not have used a coffin as large as this. The thief must have used the coffin to hold this long wooden box, and what was inside the box must be even more valuable treasure!

  Shen Yi and Wu Xiaosan listened, immediately took the wooden box out of the coffin, and both shouted: "It must be more valuable, this box is heavy!" The two of them threw the wooden box to the ground with a loud crash, and it shattered into pieces, revealing an object inside that was not jewelry, but a large knife!

  Everyone exclaimed in unison, "What a valuable knife! It's actually being put away separately?"

  Li Qincheng took a deep breath, and he saw that this big knife was different from the others. The long blade was as long as five feet, while the handle was only four feet long. At the end of the handle, there was a large iron ring. Under the reflection of the firelight, the blade emitted a flowing water-like luster, giving people a chilling feeling!

  "Ah, this is a special style of broken-back knife! What a fine blade! If we take it to Luoyang to sell, who knows, it might be worth even more than this whole box of jewels!"

  Li Qin bent down to pick up the knife, but felt that it was unusually heavy. He threw the knife back onto the ground and shook his head, saying: "It's all show and no substance, who can wield such a heavy weapon?" As soon as he finished speaking, someone suddenly appeared in his mind - that giant of a man who looked like a god, probably only he could wield this big knife. But it was still quite astonishing!

  Wu Xiaosan raised his big knife and said, "It's probably nearly a hundred catties, made entirely of fine iron, it's really heavy!"

  Li Qian was taken aback for a moment, this big knife is unexpectedly heavier than Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade! How strange, who would forge such a heavy knife?!

  "This sword is much more magnificent than ordinary horse-cutting swords, with a longer blade. It's not for cutting horses, but for cutting camels! As I expected, it was probably made by some master craftsman to show off his exceptional skills, and it's only good for display or intimidating children!"

  Ma Chao listened and pulled Li Qian's sleeve, saying in a low voice: "Xiao Chao is not intimidated!"

  Li Qinfang patted his head and said: "Xiao Chao is so brave!"

  He looked at the knife, which was somewhat similar to the Tang Dynasty's Mo Dao, but heavier and more luxurious. If this style were improved, it might be possible to produce a batch of Mo Dao, which would be a luxurious formation for equipping an army. However, good blacksmiths are not easy to find, and whether the Mo Dao array is really effective remains to be studied in the future.

  Wu Xiaosan said, "I heard that there is a Di person named Bian Bu, whose craftsmanship in making knives is unparalleled. The ancestors of his clan were once iron slaves during Emperor Wu's expedition against the Xiongnu, and after the expedition ended... actually I'm not too clear about it either."

  At this moment, there is no time to discuss deeply. Li Qin waved his hand and said: "Put it away, put it all away, let's go now, don't stay here any longer." He looked around and didn't want to return to the valley, wanting to take a detour and hurry back to Fuping.

  Li Qinchu sent Wu Danzi to scout ahead, while the others took the opportunity to rest. Once the road was clear, they could hurry along.

  After waiting for a long time, Wu Danzi hurriedly ran back and shouted: "Something's wrong, something big! The robbers are back, they haven't entered the valley yet, but they're running extremely fast, I reckon they've seen the firelight!"

  Everyone who heard this jumped up, and Li Qin shouted: "You saw the firelight, so you came to rescue? How is that possible?"

  Jia Yu also jumped up, he thought for a moment and said: "It must be that they have suffered a defeat, otherwise it would not be possible to return so quickly, they can only be fleeing back!"

  "Shen Yi shouted: 'Lost a battle? Defeated by those useless soldiers from Fucheng? What a joke!'"

  ——

  Chapter 2 has been updated today! If brothers and sisters see this, please click on the "Add to Bookshelf" button below the chapter to collect the book "Master", thank you for your support, peace be with you!