Chapter 371: A Huge Sum

Yan Yu was busily collecting the bodies of the Northern Rong from the forest, much like a hamster moving its nest.

Killing monsters brings pleasure, but gathering the spoils is even better.

Through Maomao, she learned that her father and uncle had already reunited, and both were positioned at Crouching Tiger, which reassured Yan Yu even more.

The Northern Rong bodies had been identified, and those killed by Gufeng’s reinforcements were set aside separately, as were their weapons and personal belongings.

There were quite a few Northern Rong killed by Xiao’an Village, distributed throughout the village.

Gathering them all together took some time.

The weapons were collected in a unified manner.

Having learned from the previous incident where six Northern Rong were found hiding banknotes, Xiao’an Village conducted a very thorough search of the bodies this time.

By the time Yan Yu came down from the mountain, daylight had already broken.

The people of Xiao’an Village were still busy, turning the filthy earth upside down, fetching water from the riverside to pour over it, and scattering fallen leaves and grass on top; Master Lu even suggested covering it with some lime.

In short, they wanted no trace left of the Northern Rong.

Xiao’an Village arranged the Northern Rong corpses in a unique manner.

They basically corresponded to the number each villager had killed.

Though they stopped short of marking names on the ground, if they could.

Those who could confirm their kill count had it easy, but those who were unsure or had shared kills found it all a tangled mess, eagerly awaiting Yan Xiao’er, the best accountant in the village, to sort it all out…

Yan Yu first confirmed the total number.

Good heavens! Truly astounding!

The Northern Rong came in three waves.

The first batch had 48 people.

The second had 325 people.

The third batch was the largest, with 431 people.

The first two groups were completely wiped out by Xiao’an Village.

In the last batch, 268 were killed by Gufeng’s reinforcements, with her uncle accounting for 36 of them!

Adding it all up, their village killed a total of 572 Northern Rong!

Even calculating with Crouching Tiger’s rate instead of Yongning’s two silver taels per head, this still amounted to a huge fortune!

Breaking it down further, the most Northern Rong were killed by the village children, with Yan Yu’s achievements included, the Young Scouts were way ahead.

Then came Hu Da, Hu Er, Yan Huaiwen, and Li Xuemei, who remained consistently accurate as archers.

The Qi Family Three Brothers were also very impressive.

The men of the village, forming door shield squads, ensured safety but didn’t lead in enemy kills, each sharing the credit without surpassing the young ones in the Arrow Tower.

With this comparison, everyone had an idea of their standing.

Indeed, the Arrow Tower was a great asset, a worthy investment.

This made everyone even more grateful to the Yan Family, as their innovation and insistence on a quick construction helped ensure the village’s safety against the Northern Rong this time.

When assessed by family, the Yan Family was still at the top.

Even Yan Yu herself found it incredible how strong her family was!

Uncle was impressive, her mother was remarkable, and she was the bravest of the village!

After a rough calculation, Yan Yu began to daydream of a downpour of silvery riches…

Hey!

Suddenly energized, her sleepiness vanished!

With renewed enthusiasm, Yan Yu immersed herself in the tedious work.

She documented individual kills.

She tallied the team kills.

She confirmed the cause of death for the Northern Rong – whether shot, hacked, bludgeoned, or crushed by door shields…

The main challenge lay in attributing kills from the Arrow Tower, which were difficult to pinpoint to individuals.

After consulting with everyone, Yan Yu decided to estimate a rough figure based on the frequency and accuracy of the shots.

When all the kill counts were finally confirmed, Xiao’an Village was as joyous as a festival.

They had every reason to celebrate.

Despite the hardships, they had persevered and achieved significant results.

When the Northern Rong transformed from feared enemies into piles of potential reward silver.

Fear faded away, replaced by sheer joy.

Previously, when they killed those six Northern Rong, they hadn’t felt much.

But this time, when Yan Yu told them they might earn over a thousand taels of silver overnight.

Everyone’s gaze toward those Northern Rong bodies shifted.

Most notably, the Young Scouts showed remarkable change.

After a night of bloodshed.

The children of Xiao’an Village had matured astonishingly.

No longer did anyone underestimate these children, nor dismiss their ambitions to surpass adults as mere jest.

The adults at home counted on their fingers and suddenly realized that their little ones earned more than they did…

…

The Prefectural City army left a detachment to help Crouching Tiger rebuild the city’s defenses.

The rest returned to Yongning.

As they reached the vicinity of Dashi Bridge, Pengshu remembered the Heir Apparent’s earlier order and thought to visit Xiao’an Village to assess the situation.

This little village had merits of delivering messages and building bridges, and they even killed several Northern Rong…

The first two contributions were for the Heir Apparent to decide the reward, but regarding the latter, it was a good time for him to clarify it personally. Otherwise, it would require another trip, wasting time and effort.

Pengshu requested permission from the Heir Apparent to temporarily leave the troop.

The Heir to Prince Ying was still contemplating how to explain this situation to his father. Taking responsibility for helping Crouching Tiger was not an easy task.

After pondering, he decided to accompany Pengshu to Xiao’an Village.

This was a refugee village, newly registered under Crouching Tiger, where the fleeing villagers had left the deepest impression on him, especially the Yan Family.

He was somewhat curious about what Xiao’an Village was really like.

…

What is Xiao’an Village like?

If you don’t look closely, it’s hard to see any traces of battle.

Everything is concealed.

Having learned from the previous incident with the six Northern Rong being left in the village for a long time, this time they acted quickly, immediately covering several hundred Northern Rong with lime.

They scattered it with a heavy heart.

The lime was needed for important purposes, as there was still a significant gap in the village’s walls that needed to be built.

After staying up all night, everyone returned to rest.

Only the Arrow Tower had people rotating to keep watch.

Yan Yu enjoyed a thorough bath, scrubbing herself twice. Now, she was lying on the kang in a drowsy state, chatting with her mother.

“…If it’s divided by family, our family will definitely get the most, yours, mine, Uncle’s… a lot of money… I don’t know when they will distribute it. Mom, why hasn’t Dad come back yet? I miss him so much… If they don’t return soon, I’ll go to Crouching Tiger to find them…”

Li Xuemei lay at the other end, responding with two faint “hmm” sounds while her eyelids grew heavy.

“Xiao Er, Xiao Er!”

Little Gouzi called to her from the window.

Yan Yu was sleepy, burying her head, unwilling to respond.

“The Heir Apparent has arrived! The Heir Apparent!”

Yan Yu’s eyes flew open, and she quickly mustered the energy to move.

She swiftly got off the kang, deftly tying her hair into a bun, finding a strip of cloth to wrap and secure it.

Then she dressed and shod herself quickly, dashing out of the house.

“Where did they come from?” Yan Yu asked while running.

“From Dashi Bridge, along the river,” Little Gouzi replied. “Da Tie asked me to call you, and he’s gone to get the Village Elders.”

(This chapter ends)