On a small hill five li outside Xihe Bay, an old man with a broken arm was leading his grandson and granddaughter carefully searching for something in the woods.
The granddaughter was eight years old, the grandson six years old. All three carried small bamboo baskets on their backs.
They had come from another village to seek refuge in Xihe Bay. The old woman and daughter-in-law had both entered the textile factory, but due to the old man’s broken arm, he could not work. He could only bring his two grandchildren to the mountains to dig some herbs to supplement the family income.
“Ah, Grandpa, look over there. There is a patch of phoenix tail grass. Old Tan was still collecting it yesterday.”
The little grandson pointed excitedly at a pile of chaotic rocks not far away.
In the crevices of the rocks grew clusters of emerald green wild grass.
This wild grass was called phoenix tail grass. It had the effects of clearing heat and dampness, cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It was not a precious medicinal herb, but this patch of phoenix tail grass was quite a lot. Digging it back, whether selling to the village’s barefoot doctor Old Tan or to Zhou Jin who had recently become interested in Chinese medicinal herbs, could exchange for a few copper coins.
“Sell it to Sister Xiao Jin. She has been collecting herbs recently. Maybe she needs phoenix tail grass…”
As the little girl was speaking, she suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, “Grandpa, come quick and see. There are so many people over there!”
The old man looked along the little girl’s finger. His eyes widened in an instant. “Oh no, bandits!”
As he spoke, he had already pulled the two children behind a tree to avoid being seen by the bandits.
“Bandits?!”
The two children were scared, their little faces pale.
People in the mountains used bandits to scare children. They had grown up hearing bandit stories. Their fear of bandits was already deep.
“How can there still be such a large group of bandits in Jinchuan?”
Although he had only glanced briefly just now, the old man could confirm that the number of this group of bandits definitely exceeded a thousand. The team lined up on the mountain road stretched out of sight.
Where did so many bandits come from?
The old man quietly moved to the nearby bushes, peering through the gaps, squinting his eyes to look carefully.
Suddenly, the old man spotted a one-eyed man carrying a large knife in the crowd.
This man went to their village every year to collect annual grain.
His daughter-in-law had once been bullied by this one-eyed man. The old man would never forget it for the rest of his life.
“Was Hutou Mountain not surrounded by the escort masters from Xihe Bay? How could this group of beasts appear here? Could they have escaped?”
The old man’s mind raced. “Oh no, they are not planning to attack Xihe Bay, are they?”
Thinking of this, the old man’s palms sweated in anxiety. He also felt angry enough to kill.
His son had died on the battlefield. Now the family only had him and his wife, the daughter-in-law, two daughters, and the grandson and granddaughter.
With him as the only male labourer in the family, they were really forced by the bandits’ annual grain to the point they could not survive. That was why they left their hometown to seek distant relatives in Xihe Bay.
Fortunately, they came relatively early. The old woman, daughter-in-law, and daughters all successfully entered the textile factory.
He then brought the children to the mountains every day to gather herbs. If lucky, he could catch a snake to make snake soup for the children.
The family no longer went hungry and had settled in Xihe Bay.
Seeing the days gradually improving, who knew the lingering bandits would come again!
“No, I must hurry back to notify the old village chief!”
In just an instant, the old man made his decision.
His old woman, daughter-in-law, and daughters were all still in Xihe Bay. If the bandits entered the village, he dared not think of the consequences.
“Da Ni, Niu Wa, Grandpa has to go back and tell the village about the bandits. You hide here and absolutely do not make a sound. Understand?”
The old man hid the two children in the bushes and whispered instructions.
“Mm-hmm!”
Children who had suffered hardship were especially sensible. The two children’s little faces were scratched by the bushes, yet they did not make a sound. They just nodded heavily as an answer to Grandpa.
The old man arranged the bushes again, then turned and ran.
He was once an old hunter. Running through the mountains, his speed was much faster than the bandits.
…
On the high ground outside Xihe Bay village, the old village chief looked worriedly into the distance.
Although Jin Feng had sent someone back yesterday to report safety, he still had not returned. The old village chief could not help but worry.
Moreover, the men in the village were not there. Although men from Guanjia Bay came to reinforce, the young and strong from the Tiger Hunting Team were also taken by Guan Zhuzi to rescue Jin Feng. Those left in Xihe Bay were all old, weak, sick, and disabled.
The old village chief felt uneasy.
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard quarreling below.
An old man was shouting something and rushing up the high ground, but was stopped by the female soldiers arranged by Xiao Yu.
A bad premonition rose in the village chief’s heart. He hurried down the high ground.
From afar, he heard the old man shout, “Girl, I am really not lying. The bandits from Hutou Mountain are really coming!”
The village chief’s heart skipped a beat. He involuntarily quickened his pace. “Xiao Lian, quickly let the old man go!”
“Old brother, I am the village chief of Xihe Bay. What did you say just now?”
“Big brother, I knew you were the village chief, so I came to find you.”
The old man said anxiously, “I went to Iron Horn Mountain to gather herbs just now and saw bandits from Hutou Mountain coming this way. The team is so long I cannot see the end. Village chief, you must prepare quickly!”
“The bandits from Hutou Mountain are surrounded by Da Liu. How could they appear here?”
The female soldier obviously did not believe the old man’s words.
“I do not know how they got out, but the beasts from Hutou Mountain come to our village every year to collect annual grain. If not paid, they beat and kill people. I absolutely will not mistake them.”
The old man stamped his feet in anxiety. “Village chief, you must believe me!”
“Old brother, I believe you, but this matter is serious. I must confirm it.”
The village chief prepared to arrange female soldiers to confirm. Suddenly, three smoke columns rose from a small hill in the distance.
“Three red smoke columns?!”
The female soldier and the village chief’s faces changed drastically at the same time.
Jin Feng had long realised the inconvenience caused by backward communication. But with Dakang’s conditions, making instant communication devices like telephones was like a pipe dream.
Helplessly, he could only refer to the border army’s method and use smoke columns to transmit messages.
For this, Jin Feng made several different fuels. When burned, the smoke columns not only lasted longer in the air without dispersing, but also had different colours.
However, wolf smoke had always been a means for the border army to transmit military information. Ordinary people were not allowed to use it. Using it once or twice occasionally was fine. If asked, one could say there was a wildfire in the mountains.
But continuous use would suspect false reporting of military intelligence.
Jin Feng had not yet thought of a reasonable way to avoid it, so he did not promote it among the old soldiers.
Not many people knew this method. Besides Jin Feng, only Zhou Jin, Wan Niang, Man Cang, and a few laboratory regulars knew.
This time the situation was urgent. Zhou Jin, fearing changes, told Xiao Yu about it.
After Xiao Yu took over Xihe Bay’s defence, she had been worrying about early warning. Hearing Zhou Jin mention such a good thing, she immediately had Zhou Jin take Jin Feng’s made fuels from the laboratory, then sent female soldiers to set up watchtowers at key points around Xihe Bay.
Once suspicious enemies were spotted approaching, light the smoke columns as a signal.
Different colours and numbers of smoke columns represented different enemy situations.
And three red smoke columns indicated the most dangerous enemy situation.
Recalling the old man’s words just now, the village chief’s cold sweat flowed down at once.
“Xiao Lian, quickly fire signal arrows. Fire three!”
