It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

Chapter 377

Braised pork ribs, shredded radish with braised pork belly... Despite the lack of seasonings, Grandma Hong still managed to satisfy her appetite under Jiang Yan's persistent nagging.

The manager was also very satisfied with the meal and asked them, "Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll go look in the storeroom."

Leaving the village is out of the question; there are too many people and too much gossip. If our whereabouts are exposed, why bother coming here at all?

Currently, only nineteen people can freely enter and exit the entire estate.

Jiang Yan pushed open the door and was startled by the cold air that rushed in. She looked at the white frost on the ground not far away and asked Chunying, "Young Master Fu is almost a month old, haven't they decided who will win yet?"

In their Dongshan Village, this time would have been spent on winter wheat seedlings, pressing all the cliff fruit oil to make money, and repairing the roofs, walls, and windows, and piling up tall firewood.

Chunying, who had spoken with Nineteen more, replied, "It's almost over, but there are still some clean-up things to do."

"I hope so." Jiang Yan wasn't very confident. Last night, she had faintly seen firelight reflected in the sky over the prefectural city.

In the latter half of the night on November 5th, Guard Nineteen and Tian Jiu issued sharp warnings one after the other.

Someone has broken into the village!

Jiang Yan instantly jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her coat and ran to the next room to meet Chunying. Then, she protected Fu Xiaolangjun and Nanny Yuan and quickly hid in the pre-arranged tunnel.

Not long after, Granny Hong also came through another tunnel with some dry food.

The tremors from the people running around overhead caused small bits of soil to fall from the newly dug pit, which was only simply separated by wooden planks. Yuan, the wet nurse, was terrified, fearing that the pit above would collapse and she would be buried alive on the spot.

Chunying reassured her in a soft voice, "Don't be nervous. This is something we just dug up. Apart from the manor manager, no one else knows about it. Even if they find it, we can fight back."

Although Yuan's expression gradually improved after hearing the words of comfort, she was honestly not very confident about Chunying's counterattack.

Because Jiang Yan, who was directly in her line of sight, pulled out a long-handled shovel from somewhere and held it herself, while handing Chunying a long-handled spade, and Granny Hong dragged out a large wooden basin from the bend in the road.

These things are difficult to even move freely in the narrow tunnels, so how can they fight the enemy?

Jiang Yan felt more at ease. Despite the rudimentary equipment and the fact that Grandma Hong's large wooden basin was not the large iron pot she had been hoping for, she couldn't help but feel excited. It was a simplified version of tunnel warfare!

Knowing that they would have to stay in the manor and only escape back to Heding Prefecture as a last resort, Jiang Yan's joy in raising and eating pigs during the day turned into anxiety before bedtime.

From the perspective of a non-professional like her, who only has one foot in the field, this requirement is very unreasonable for Shijiu, Chunying, and even more so for her and the other servants on the estate.

Whether they are on the same side or the opposing side, everyone has subjective initiative. They are not puppets who perform everything exactly according to the process and the expected plot. They are not superheroes who can turn the tide in times of crisis.

Why, knowing that there is a high probability of unexpected events, are the scope of responsibility, the number of personnel, and the available time so strictly limited?

The day after they hid in the manor, Nineteen sent a secret message to Thirteen and Rongcheng County. Chunying also sent a letter, hoping that more people would be sent to provide more protection. However, no reinforcements have arrived yet.

Nineteen also made excuses to defend it, saying that the situation in the prefectural city was too complicated and that no manpower could be spared for the time being, while the manor here was safe enough and the few of them were enough to protect it.

He himself didn't have much confidence in saying such blatant lies, so Jiang Yan certainly wouldn't believe him.

But since we can't escape in advance, let's persuade everyone (actually only nineteen) to slaughter the sheep, eat and drink their fill so they can conserve their energy and plan for a better chance of survival, such as digging more tunnels to save lives.

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Only an oil lamp illuminated the tunnel with a dim, yellowish light. Chunying and Jiangyan took turns keeping watch, their sense of time gradually diminishing.

Jiang Yan suddenly shuddered. She felt her breathing become somewhat obstructed and gently shook Chunying, saying, "The tunnel seems to be blocked. The air isn't circulating well."

To avoid the risk of everyone suffocating in the tunnel, they drilled many hidden "L" or "<" shaped breathing holes in the concealed areas of the tunnel route. The most important airway was connected to a dry well in the village.

Given the current situation, the only possibility is that the airway on the well side is blocked.

Should we go and have it checked?

The two woke up the drowsy Granny Hong and Nanny Yuan, and then carefully groped their way toward the well.

Worried that the faint light from the oil lamp might give away their location, Jiang Yan extinguished the flame once they were close to their destination.

Total darkness.

My eyes lost their function, but my sense of smell and touch became more acute—there was a strong smell of blood, and the soil beneath my feet became damp and muddy.

Chunying and Jiangyan tightened their grip on each other's hands simultaneously, and then, relying on their memories, they thrust forward the weapons they were holding tightly in their other hands.

One above, one below, and then the arc lands on the ground.

There was a slight bounce ahead, but the ground was just the ground, with no other unusual noises.

Jiang Yan already had a guess in her mind.

The airway was located slightly below the middle of the dry well wall. Someone had accidentally piled it up to this height, almost wiping them out without them even realizing it.

Chunying pulled Jiang Yan forward a couple of steps, then lowered her voice and said, "Let's work together and see if we can push those things away and make room for air intake."

"Come on, one, two, three... one, two, three..."

Just as Jiang Yan felt herself straining so hard she was about to faint from lack of oxygen, a faint breeze finally blew in, the fishy smell intensified, and there was also a faint smell of smoke.

She took two deep breaths to relieve her dizziness and headache, but then she felt unwell again.

Young Master Fu began to whimper anxiously, which Jiang Yan quickly covered with her hand. He couldn't cry now; they didn't even know if the people who had just walked by outside were friend or foe.

This was not a place to stay for long. Chunying took Fu Xiaolangjun from her, and had Yuan Nai Niang take Hong Apo's large wooden basin. Hong Apo took her iron shovel and began to turn back to the other tunnels.

This time, Jiang Yan chose a tunnel terminal located three feet outside the village wall. This made it easier to break through the mud layer and escape while the enemy rushed into the village to search.

However, now the main purpose is to create a few new ventilation openings.

As for why he didn't come here first... Jiang Yan made a deep self-examination about this.

Although the thick layer of soil blocked the howling wind from the ground, the cold air still seeped in from all directions.

The four of them grew colder and colder as they stayed there, and eventually they could no longer maintain their defensive positions. They huddled together back to back to keep warm, and Jiang Yan even shook her limbs in an attempt to generate heat through movement.