When Gu Jiu entered the house, her two younger sisters quickly came out from the inner room.
“Big sister, who came just now?” Gu Rong had been staying in the inner room guarding their younger siblings, but she was already anxious to the point of agony. The moment she heard the gate close, she rushed out.
“It was Liu Guihua from the village,” Gu Jiu said calmly as she walked inside with the axe.
“Aunt Guihua always takes advantage of others. Last month she even got into a fight with Chen Ergou from the village over a chicken egg she picked up. She snuck into our house—she definitely had no good intentions!” Gu Rong said firmly.
Gu Xiaoman also came out. Hearing her sisters’ words, she clenched her tiny fists and muttered, “Aunt Guihua is not a good person!”
“Anyway, now that we’ve split from the family, we have to be careful. Especially at night. I’ll set up traps at the entrance later so no thief can get in.”
The two younger sisters nodded in unison. “We’ll listen to big sister!”
While speaking, Gu Jiu already scooped up half a bowl of wild vegetable rice, preparing to feed Gu Changle.
Suddenly, a wind blew outside. She noticed the sky had darkened—it looked like it might rain tonight.
Their house wasn’t even good enough to shelter from rain; even wind at night could make the children catch a cold.
“Rong’er, feed little brother. I’ll go gather some dry grass to fix the roof. While I’m gone, don’t open the door for anyone. Remember?”
“Got it! I’ll take care of Xiaoman and Changle while you’re gone. Be careful, Big Sister, and come back early.”
Gu Rong was already feeding her younger brother, acting very much like a responsible elder sister.
After reminding them, Gu Jiu left with her basket.
Outside the gate, she paused instead of leaving immediately. Something still felt unsafe about just locking the door.
Liu Guihua sneaking into their courtyard in the afternoon had warned her.
From her “infinite storage,” she took out a large iron lock without any branding. She rubbed it with mud and grass so it looked old and dirty.
Even if someone saw it, they would just think it was something she picked up nearby.
Then she scattered two boxes of thumbtacks across the ground at the entrance, completely surrounding the gate. The tacks were as small as earrings and were hidden under grass, making them almost impossible to notice.
Gu Jiu originally thought her storage might not have animal traps, but unexpectedly it did. She took out two traps and hid them outside the gate under grass as well.
At this time, everyone in the village had already finished dinner. In rural life, people worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. Normally no one would wander outside at night.
Anyone coming at night would not be good news.
After setting the traps, Gu Jiu finally left to gather dry grass.
She walked into a small forest in the village. Most of the trees were already withered, with almost no green grass left, but dry grass was plentiful.
She quickly filled her basket and headed home.
On the way back, she had to pass through the middle of the village. It was already evening when she suddenly saw a short, fat figure rushing out hurriedly.
She stopped on purpose and waited until the person came closer before recognizing her—it was Liu Guihua.
“Aunt Liu, where are you going?” Gu Jiu’s voice suddenly rang out in the dark.
Liu Guihua screamed in fright, then quickly remembered everyone should be asleep, so she immediately shut her mouth.
“You damn girl, why are you here?”
Earlier in the afternoon, she had stirred trouble at the Gu household. But so much time had passed and nothing had happened. She assumed the Gu family hadn’t acted yet—meaning the meat in Gu Jiu’s house was still there.
Children were usually deep sleepers at night. If she sneaked in quietly, she could take the meat without anyone knowing.
“What a strange question,” Gu Jiu said calmly. “I came out to gather dry grass. But Aunt Liu, why are you out here in the middle of the night?”
“I… I ate too much and came out for a walk,” Liu Guihua quickly replied, changing the topic. “You just came back from the forest, right?”
Gu Jiu had already noticed the flaw in her words and guessed she was up to no good.
“If nothing’s wrong, I’ll go home now,” Gu Jiu said.
After walking a while, she realized someone was following her.
She sneered inwardly.
If you want to follow me to your death, go ahead.
Liu Guihua followed her sneakily, thinking that before the Gu family arrived, she could steal the meat herself.
Gu Jiu avoided the traps and thumbtacks, opened the gate, and went inside.
She quickly climbed onto the roof and took out a plastic rain sheet from her storage space, covering the hole in the roof. Then she spread dry grass over it and used tiles to weigh down the edges.
A faint low groan came from outside the gate, then stopped.
Gu Jiu glanced over—it was Liu Guihua.
The woman had stepped on the thumbtacks and was holding her foot in pain.
It seemed Gu Jiu had indeed set traps at the gate.
Biting her teeth in frustration, Liu Guihua finally left.
Gu Jiu smiled faintly when she saw her go.
But just as she was about to jump down from the roof, she noticed several figures approaching under the bright moonlight.
It was Old Madam Gu Zhao, the first branch couple, and the second branch couple.
Some of them were even carrying sacks and weapons.
They were clearly up to no good.
Gu Jiu didn’t hurry down. Instead, she calmly sat on the roof and waited to watch the show.
Gu Zhao marched aggressively to the old house gate, raising her stick and trying to push the door open.
But suddenly, something pierced the sole of her shoe.
A sharp, stabbing pain shot up her foot.
“Ah!”
She screamed, but Gu Laoda quickly covered her mouth and whispered urgently:
“Mother! Don’t shout! You’ll alert them. If Gu Jiu wakes up, how are we supposed to take the things quietly?”
Gu Zhao’s face turned pale with pain. “Something stabbed my shoe! That damn girl must have set something up—it hurts like hell…”
She forced herself to stay quiet.
Second daughter-in-law Qin quickly supported her. “Mother, take off your shoe and see what it is.”
But Gu Laoda and his wife couldn’t wait. They rushed forward and pushed the door.
And instantly, both of them stepped onto dozens of thumbtacks.
Their straw sandals had thin soles, and the sharp tacks easily pierced through.
“Ahhh! Help!”
“It hurts! It hurts so much!”
Their screams echoed through the night and woke Gu Rong and the others inside.
Gu Rong told her younger sister not to go out and stepped outside cautiously.
At the same time, Gu Jiu’s voice came from above the roof:
“Rong’er, don’t open the door. Outside are a group of bandits.”
The Gu family naturally heard it too.
Gu Laoda and his wife tried to jump away in pain, but that only made the tacks dig deeper. They lost balance and fell, getting covered in even more spikes.
Their screams grew even louder.
Gu Laoda also got his butt caught in an animal trap, while his wife had one leg trapped as well.
Both were covered in blood under the dim moonlight—an extremely horrifying sight.
Seeing this, Gu Laoda and Qin were too terrified to move at all.