Although the straight-line distance from Black Wind Ridge to West River Bay is very short, without the suspension bridge, returning to the village from Black Wind Ridge requires a long detour. The fastest route would still take more than a day.
Without Iron Hammer’s reinforcements, the regular forces in West River Bay are left with only one company of escort masters.
Even with the fortresses, that number of people is far too few.
After hearing Tang Dongdong’s reminder, Little Jade immediately came to her senses and turned to run off.
Tang Dongdong also stood up and followed her.
The situation was now too dangerous. She needed to get first-hand intelligence.
After the two left, Guan Xiaorou sat silently at the table, recalling every detail of the first half of her life.
Before meeting Jin Feng, there was nothing worth remembering. She spun thread every day, went hungry, and lived a life as dull and rough as a black-and-white photograph.
After meeting Jin Feng, her life became vibrant.
No more freezing or starving, no more beatings and scoldings from her brother and sister-in-law, no more worrying about taxes.
She went from being a despised jinx whom everyone avoided to a baron’s wife envied by all.
Now whenever she went out, who in the village would not respectfully call her “Madam”?
Guan Xiaorou knew very well that all these good days were brought by Jin Feng.
In her heart, Jin Feng was the most important person!
And Jin Feng’s roots were right here in West River Bay!
The laboratory, the iron smelting workshop, the textile factory, the glass factory, the cement factory…
All these things were far too important. If anything went wrong, Jin Feng would suffer a severe blow!
At this thought, Guan Xiaorou’s gaze gradually turned sharp.
Before Jin Feng left, he had told her to guard the home well. No matter the cost, she would never allow bandits to break into West River Bay!
Guan Xiaorou sat at the table like this for nearly half an hour.
Then, as if she had made some firm decision, she clenched her fist and walked out of the room.
“Madam!”
Aju, who was guarding the door, saw Guan Xiaorou and paused for a moment.
She had known Guan Xiaorou for quite some time. After Jin Feng left, she had become Guan Xiaorou’s personal guard, and the two were inseparable.
Aju could say she knew Guan Xiaorou very well.
But at this moment, she felt Guan Xiaorou seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
Her appearance had not changed at all. She still wore a simple coarse cloth long skirt, with only a plain hairpin in her hair.
The change was in her demeanour.
The previous Guan Xiaorou had been like a little white rabbit, timid and gentle.
But now her steps were firm, and her eyes carried a trace of madness.
She seemed like a completely different person from the Guan Xiaorou Aju usually saw!
“Aju, where is Dongdong?” Guan Xiaorou asked.
“She seems to have gone to the textile factory,” Aju replied.
“Call her over,” Guan Xiaorou said, “and also call Little Jade, Third Master, the village head, and Grandfather Zhao. Bring them all here!”
These were probably the busiest people in the village right now. Aju could not help but glance at Guan Xiaorou again.
Seeing the resolute look in Guan Xiaorou’s eyes, she said nothing more, nodded, and went to arrange for her subordinates to fetch them.
The textile factory was only separated from Jin Feng’s home by a single wall, so Tang Dongdong arrived the fastest.
As soon as she entered, she asked, “Xiaorou, I was in a meeting. What is the matter? Tell me quickly!”
“Wait a moment. We will talk together once Little Jade, the village head and the others arrive,” Guan Xiaorou said. She poured Tang Dongdong a cup of tea and pushed it over.
When Tang Dongdong had rushed in earlier, she had not noticed anything unusual about Guan Xiaorou. Now, hearing the tone of her voice, she realised something was wrong and looked at her carefully.
Tang Dongdong knew Guan Xiaorou even better than Aju did. She immediately sensed that Guan Xiaorou was not herself.
She stepped forward, took Guan Xiaorou’s hand, and asked softly, “Xiaorou, what is wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“I am fine,” Guan Xiaorou shook her head.
Just as Tang Dongdong was about to speak, Little Jade, the old village head, Guan Third Master, and Old Zhao Shan all entered together.
“Madam, Factory Manager Tang, the matter with Old Tian is all my fault!”
The old village head thought Guan Xiaorou had called him here to hold him accountable. He lowered his head right away and admitted his mistake. “Madam, if you want to beat or punish me, I accept it all. But this matter has nothing to do with Little Jade…”
“Village head, your mistake will be dealt with by the boss when he returns,” Guan Xiaorou interrupted him. “I called you here for something else.”
“Then what is it?” the old village head asked.
Guan Xiaorou did not answer him. Instead she turned to Little Jade. “Was Dongdong’s guess correct just now? Have bandits appeared around our village?”
“Yes!” Little Jade nodded. “There were six bands of bandits originally active in the South Mountain Township and Liujia Township areas. But one hour ago, they suddenly turned and charged straight towards our village. Right after that, the suspension bridge was burned!”
“How many people do they have?”
“The largest band has over two hundred men. The smallest has more than eighty. Six bands together make roughly eight hundred people!”
“How far is the nearest band from our village now?”
“Less than twenty li remain. At their current marching speed, they will arrive in two hours.”
“Two hours…”
Guan Xiaorou pondered for a moment, then turned to Tang Dongdong. “Later I will have Wan Yuhong deliver a batch of crossbows to the textile factory. From now on, everyone must stay on high alert. Every female worker who can shoot must have a crossbow in hand. If the bandits attack, they must go and protect the village immediately!”
“Understood!” Tang Dongdong nodded, then asked, “Should we stop work?”
“No,” Guan Xiaorou shook her head. “If we stop work, they will all go home. The assembly speed would definitely be slower than when they are already at the factory. At night if they are asleep, it would be even slower to gather.”
“That makes sense!” Tang Dongdong nodded.
After instructing Tang Dongdong, Guan Xiaorou turned to the three village elders. “Village head, Third Grandfather, Grandfather Zhao, you three notify all the workers at the construction sites and the kilns to stop work immediately!”
“Why stop work?” Guan Third Master asked.
“The escort masters are short-handed. The male workers must form a Tiger Strike Team to patrol the village. Their wages will continue as normal. If the bandits attack, they must assist the escort masters in fighting them!”
Guan Xiaorou continued, “Tell them that this concerns the life and death of our village. No man can shrink back. Anyone who does should get out of West River Bay right now!
But those who perform well this time will be recorded. When the boss returns, I will make sure he rewards them heavily!”
“Understood!” The three village elders had never seen Guan Xiaorou speak so sternly before. They quickly nodded.
“Then go and get busy right away!”
Guan Xiaorou saw Tang Dongdong and the three village elders out of the room, but kept Little Jade behind.
“Sister-in-law, is there something else?” Little Jade asked.
“Send a message to Zhong Ling’er immediately. Tell her to withdraw all the escort masters from Guangyuan and the surrounding counties!”
“All of them? What about the Merchants’ Guild?” Little Jade asked.
“The Merchants’ Guild people withdraw together.”
“What about the shops?” Little Jade asked. “With things so chaotic now, if no one guards the shops, everything inside will surely be stolen clean.”
“Forget the shops for now!” Guan Xiaorou said. “If the shops are lost, we can open them again later. The most important thing right now is to protect the village at all costs!”
