Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Manbao Hurts

“Why are there wolves again?”

Someone asked with a trembling voice.

But now, no one had the time or energy to answer such questions.

Looking at those glowing green eyes, everyone felt breathless.

Some of the timid ones were already starting to sway, losing their footing.

Qi Quanjin was also terrified, but he still grabbed his axe and shouted, “Everyone, stay calm! Grab your weapons! Dalang, quickly lead the others to light the bonfire!”

Qi Dalang was also very scared, after all, he was only sixteen, but he was obedient.

Hearing his fourth uncle’s shout, he hurriedly pulled Qi Erlang along to gather firewood.

Wang Daya saw this and hurriedly rushed over, clutching one of her sons and running into the crowd.

“Mother, why are you holding me? Let go quickly, I need to go light the fire!”

Qi Dalang struggled a bit, not daring to use too much force, afraid of hurting the other.

Wang Daya stubbornly refused to let go, muttering incessantly, “You’re still so young, these things are for the adults to handle, quickly come to the back with me!”

“But those are wolves! So many wolves! Can they be compared to those wild chickens from before? If something happens to you two, what will I do? What will I do?”

Wang Daya kept pulling her two sons as she cried.

She was truly terrified today; if something happened to her sons, what meaning would life hold for her then?

Qi Dalang also grew angry hearing this, “Mother, what you’re saying is wrong! If we don’t work together to scare off the wolves now, even if there are more elders later, they won’t be able to stop the wolves’ attack!”

“I don’t care! I only have you two children in my life; if something happens to you, even if the wolves retreat, your mother won’t survive!”

Wang Daya, in her agitation, unknowingly raised her voice a lot.

The voice was so loud that it caught the attention of some who were tensely watching the wolves.

Qu Laodi couldn’t stand this sight of her older sister-in-law and immediately said, “Sister-in-law, Dalang and Erlang are sixteen and fourteen, practically little adults. If they don’t go help now, are we supposed to count on the little kids at home?”

Wang Daya, hearing this, felt a surge of anger, shouting at Qu Laodi, “You from the second family, if you know so much, why don’t you let your boys, Sanlang and Silang, go? Sanlang and Silang are thirteen and ten, they’re practically little adults too!”

“You!”

Qu Laodi hadn’t expected Wang Daya to turn on her and even suggest sending her own sons out, causing her anger to flare up instantly.

Yi Meng, who was supporting Mrs. Qi holding Qi Manman retreating towards the river, heard the argument between her sisters-in-law and felt a rise of anger herself.

“Sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, at this time, why are you two arguing? Hurry to the back!”

Yi Meng couldn’t believe that a usually united family would have an argument at a time like this.

Those were wolves, not some cats or dogs; if they couldn’t scare off or fend off those wolves, how could they survive?

Wang Daya cried, “I don’t care, but my Dalang and Erlang can’t go!”

Qu Laodi also clung to her own Sanlang and Silang without letting go, clearly unwilling to let her sons face danger.

Seeing this, Yi Meng was so angry she wanted to curse.

But it wasn’t the time to dwell on these matters, so Yi Meng directly said to Mrs. Qi, “Mother, protect Manbao, as well as Liulang, Balang, and Jiulang, I’ll go help at the front.”

“You’re a woman, what can you do to help? Don’t go, let, let…”

Mrs. Qi was panicked, not knowing who to send to help for a moment.

Yi Meng couldn’t bother with all this now; time was of the essence, if they didn’t light the fire pile quickly, they would all be doomed when the wild wolves charged.

“Mother, stop talking nonsense!”

Yi Meng, in her urgency, spoke less politely.

But she didn’t forget to ask the third sister-in-law, Mu Yunniang, and the fourth sister-in-law, Ai Zhaodi, to help look after the children.

After a quick word, Yi Meng rushed to the front.

Qi Dalang saw his fourth aunt running out to help and grew more anxious.

He quickly pulled Erlang’s arm and stuffed him into his own mother’s arms.

Wang Daya was unprepared, staggered by the sudden push, and instinctively let go of Qi Dalang’s arm.

“Mother, you have two sons, let Erlang accompany you!”

With that, Qi Dalang ran out.

Wang Daya reached out, trying to grab her eldest son again but grabbed nothing but air.

On the other side, Yi Meng had already joined a few young men from the village at the forefront.

They were all panting heavily, anxiously and fearfully carrying dry wood.

At this moment, it didn’t matter whose wood it was; whatever could be found was brought to the front and arranged in a line.

Although it was called dry wood, it was only partly dry.

Such firewood, only some tiny bits were easy to ignite, but as it burned, the flames quickly died down.

Seeing the hard-earned flames quickly turn into embers, everyone was anxious.

“Oil! Whoever has oil, bring it out quickly to light the fire!”

Yi Meng shouted, running to where her family kept the kitchen supplies.

They brought back a lot of wild chicken today, and although the chicken fat from wild chickens wasn’t as much as from domestic chickens, the Qi family wives were thrifty.

They saved the chicken fat, rendering it into oil to store.

This way, even if they ran out of the few stored pork fats, they could make do with chicken fat.

Yi Meng was going to get those chicken fats now.

The chicken fat in the tube had somewhat solidified, so Yi Meng just used her hands to scoop it out, smearing it on the firewood.

“Quick, quickly, smearing the oil on the wood!”

Yi Meng instructed others, who had returned carrying jars, to get busy.

The sticks had sharp splinters that pricked and hurt Yi Meng’s fingers.

But she couldn’t relax for even a moment.

Now, time was life, and if they didn’t hurry, the suffering they’d endure later would be far more than a prick.

While those at the front were working in a panic, those who had retreated to the creek were crying, or praying to God.

Not far away, an old lady was vocally begging God to open his eyes and grant them a way to survive.

Hearing this, Mrs. Qi suddenly thought of her precious granddaughter for some reason.

“Yunniang, Zhaodi, cover me a bit!”

Mrs. Qi quickly instructed her third and fifth daughters-in-law to move closer, as she hugged Qi Manman, hiding behind them.

Mu Yunniang and Ai Zhaodi were also shivering with fear but instinctively followed their mother-in-law’s instructions.

The two of them huddled together, with the young boys of the family surrounding them at the front, back, and sides.

Mrs. Qi, tense with anxiety, held Qi Manman tightly, causing the little girl to fidget uncomfortably.

“Grandma, loosen up a bit, Manbao is hurting.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep