Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Daddy’s Back!

Some villagers left, but a few families familiar with the Qi Family stayed.

“Why don’t we go in and look as well? A few more people won’t hurt.”

Someone suggested.

Immediately, there were people who agreed.

Seeing that a few young men were about to head into the forest, Qi Zheng finally spoke up: “You all stay put, guard the village. They’re all young and strong, they’ll be fine.”

If he said he wasn’t worried, that would definitely be a lie.

But Qi Zheng couldn’t possibly ask others to risk danger for his own kids at a time like this.

Moreover, the sky was about to turn dark; if some wild beast rushed out of the forest, there were so many elderly and children in the village, and they really couldn’t be unprotected.

A few men, after hearing Qi Zheng’s words, were momentarily unsure whether to go or stay.

Mrs. Qi, standing by, had already shed tears, wiped them, and then said, “You all go back first! If they’re not back soon, I’ll send Ercai to ask for your help.”

Now that even Mrs. Qi has said this, everyone couldn’t insist anymore, comforted her a little, and then headed back to their respective homes.

Yi Meng was still with her mother-in-law, worried about her husband who went into the forest; she wanted to cry but didn’t dare to, fearing that if she cried, others might start crying too.

After seeing the outsiders walk away, Qi Zheng then came to Qi Manman, picked up the child, and moved to the side.

Qi Manman tilted her head, looking at her grandfather.

Seeing her grandfather’s tightly furrowed brow, she couldn’t help but reach out to touch it: “Grandpa, don’t frown, it doesn’t look good.”

Frowning makes one look fierce, really not pleasant.

Being told this by his granddaughter, Qi Zheng’s brow indeed relaxed somewhat, he held his granddaughter’s hand, and asked softly: “Manbao, tell Grandpa, will your father and the others return safely?”

Asking such a question, Qi Zheng felt he must be bewitched.

It’s not a natural disaster, his little granddaughter can’t handle it!

But, he still had to ask, even knowing she couldn’t, he wanted to hear one reassuring word from her, just for psychological comfort.

Qi Manman blinked: “Grandpa, Dad and the others will definitely come back fine! Manbao is still waiting for a big chicken leg!”

“Hmm?”

Qi Zheng suddenly realized something and quickly asked: “What chicken leg? There’s wild chicken at home; when they come back, your mother will make it for you.”

“That’s not enough.”

Qi Manman shook her head: “Just two wild chickens, not enough to eat. Dad and the others will bring back more chicken legs, and then everyone can eat together.”

The little girl didn’t forget to share the tasty food with everyone, just like the egg custard before; only after her brothers eat does she find it delicious!

Qi Zheng choked, suddenly a sense of bad premonition climbed his heart, tentatively asked: “Manbao, tell Grandpa, why did your big brother have to go into the forest at this time?”

“To catch wild chickens!”

Qi Manman answered confidently: “There’s a lot of wild chickens in the forest, Brother Shi and I can’t catch them, so I let the big brothers go.”

After she spoke, Qi Manman thought of something and grinned, smiling mischievously: “Now that Dad and the uncles have gone, they sure can catch a lot!”

Qi Zheng: …

He knew that although the boys at home were sometimes mischievous, they were definitely not the type to be naughty enough to enter the forest at night. But today, they suddenly acted out of character; there was definitely a problem here.

And, the problem was right here in his arms.

At this moment, Qi Zheng really wanted to spank the little girl in his arms, telling her not to cause such trouble again.

But facing the little girl’s big, bright eyes, Qi Zheng’s anger just couldn’t be vented.

Forget it, forget it, the little girl said they’d come back fine, so just wait a little longer!

Qi Zheng’s mood was far from simple.

The Qi Family had no mind to make dinner now, all of them staring at the forest, hoping that the next moment they’d see their family emerge from it.

Time slowly ticked by.

Different aromas of food began to drift up by the riverside.

Though there’s not much delicious food now, but as every household cooked, the smells piled up and were very enticing.

The village folks felt a wave of sympathy for the Qi Family.

If those who went into the forest didn’t come back, the Qi Family’s able-bodied men would be greatly diminished, and the rest of the journey would be tough.

The sky eventually became completely dark.

By the river, due to the many bonfires, it was bright.

But such brightness made the forest seem even darker, with a terrifying vibe that made hearts tremble.

Suddenly, a noise of birds startled and flying up from the forest caused the Qi Family’s hearts to skip, everyone stood up, craning their necks to look toward the source of the sound.

Villagers closer to the Qi Family noticed this, also looked toward that direction.

One family told another, almost in the blink of an eye, the entire village was looking in one direction.

Crackle!

The sounds from the forest grew louder, and the hearts of everyone by the river grew tighter.

No one knew the source of those sounds.

Perhaps it was the few from the Qi Family, or perhaps…a wild beast.

“Everyone, everyone grab your weapons!”

The village chief suddenly shouted, startling quite a few people.

But the men immediately grabbed various tools beside them after regaining composure.

Just as the tension reached its peak, a little girl’s clear and cute voice suddenly rang out: “Daddy’s back!”

Everyone was startled again, looking toward the sound, only to see Qi Manman in Yi Meng’s arms, waving her arms and yelling toward the forest.

“What’s with this Qi Family granddaughter, still not knowing what might come out from the forest, yelling blindly like that!”

Someone was displeased: “What if she attracts something, then what?”

Someone spoke, and others agreed.

For a moment, the villagers were not happy with Qi Manman’s shouting.

But the Qi Family was very excited at this time.

Manbao, the child, seemed to have a sense, previous incidents were as the little girl said.

Now, the little girl said the fourth had returned, it must be true!

Sure enough, Qi Manman shouted a couple of times, and they saw a few figures walking out from the forest.

The footsteps weren’t very brisk, they could even see someone walking bent over.

Is he…hurt?

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

Qi Ercai was already leading the others in his family to greet them, even Mrs. Qi was being helped forward by the third daughter-in-law.

“Dad, Mom, we’re back.”

Qi Quanjin’s voice came from the front.

As he got closer, everyone finally saw that he had things hanging on his shoulders and waist.

“Did everyone make it back?”

Mrs. Qi hurriedly asked.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep