The Fatty found a spot in the front row on the other side, standing still so he could gather intelligence from the other villagers and not miss anything happening in the middle of the encirclement.
This time, he didn't immediately choose to ask people himself. Instead, he observed the situation in the middle of the encirclement, keeping his ears pricked, and quietly listened to what the surrounding villagers were discussing.
"Zeng Niu, Li Qiang, Long Yuan, Kang En, those few are all heavily injured this time. Bringing back the sheep was truly dangerous. Such things rarely happened before."
"Yes, yes. But I saw a few sheep that were quite badly injured. It seems they can't be kept. They need to be slaughtered and eaten quickly, otherwise, who knows when they might die or lose weight. It would be too much of a loss to pay such a price and not even have meat to eat."
"Alas, it's good to have sheep to slaughter and eat. Weren't the last batch of sheep in our village slaughtered yesterday? I was worried we wouldn't have meat for several more days. Now it's all good, and we don't have to worry about not having meat to eat... But the price paid this time is indeed too great. It seems bringing back sheep is not as easy as it used to be."
"Isn't that the truth? Zhuo Cheng and Duan Feng, neither of them returned. Could they have perished out there? To perish outside... Alas, it's truly a pity."
"Tsk tsk, you really dare to imagine things. But I don't see Brother Da Zhuang back either? That can't be right. With Brother Da Zhuang's strength, how could he perish outside? This time, it's actually so dangerous?"
"You're talking about Zhao Da Zhuang? He doesn't seem to have perished. I just heard them say that Zhao Da Zhuang hasn't returned yet. It seems he took on two sheep, and one of them is a lamb. However, his situation is a bit tricky, so he'll be a bit later. Don't worry, Zhao Da Zhuang has never failed. We just have to wait to eat meat."
"That puts my mind at ease. When Brother Da Zhuang takes action, he's worth ten. There definitely won't be any problems. Perhaps Brother Da Zhuang will be back before long."
After listening to their conversation for a while, the Fatty looked at the people and the sheep in the middle of the encirclement. Inadvertently, his gaze met that of a sheep.
He couldn't quite explain it, but the Fatty inexplicably felt that in the sheep's eyes, he saw emotions very similar to human ones, like pleading, like a cry for help, filled with intense fear and sorrow.
For a moment, the Fatty's heart softened immensely. He even wanted to rush into the middle of the encirclement and release all the sheep, granting them freedom. But the Fatty was, after all, still rational.
He knew that even if he rushed into the middle of the encirclement, he couldn't save the sheep. In fact, it might even provoke the villagers. Moreover, the Fatty felt he was being too inexplicable. What kind of saintly compassion was this?
He had eaten plenty of chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, and sheep. The Fatty considered himself a cook as well, and he had cooked them often. So, it made no sense.
The Fatty felt that the sudden compassion, akin to the sorrow felt when a rabbit dies and a fox grieves, in this situation, and given his identity as a human, was truly laughable. It would be more fitting to call it crocodile tears.
He sighed deeply, lowered his head, and shook it, thinking that his mind must have been quite problematic lately. Not only was he thinking of all sorts of random things, but now he was also developing some uncalled-for saintly compassion.
If there were people tied up in the encirclement, it would make sense for him to want to rescue them. But now, the Fatty felt that he, his good brother Ye Tiancheng, and the little fox, the three of them were all like mud bodhisattvas crossing the river, barely able to save themselves. To worry about a few sheep destined to end up in human bellies would be too ridiculous.
In the very center of the encirclement, the village chief announced that to appease and reward the villagers who were injured while bringing back the sheep, he had decided to slaughter a few sheep as a commendation.
The Fatty listened for a while longer. Seeing that there was no other useful information, he stopped listening and squeezed out of the crowd, heading back.
He wanted to go back and tell Ye Tiancheng and the little fox about what had happened today. Because he hadn't seen Ye Tiancheng and the little fox at the scene, they might have already returned when the incident occurred, so they wouldn't know about it.
The Fatty felt that both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were smarter than him. Perhaps there was some important information contained within what had happened in front of the village chief's house today.
It was just that he himself wasn't smart enough to perceive or interpret it. But the Fatty firmly believed that Tiancheng and the little fox definitely could. They were both very intelligent and quick-witted people, always able to see more details than him. The Fatty admitted he couldn't match them in this regard.
On the way back, the Fatty unexpectedly overheard another piece of news, and he heard a familiar name – Zhao Da Zhuang, the one the other villagers had mentioned as being particularly formidable.
"Bringing back sheep this time was really too dangerous. We even lost people. It's a pity that even... couldn't be brought back. It's truly a pity. But I heard they encountered someone very powerful."
"What's the point of being powerful? They caused our village to lose people. Anyway, I heard that Zhao Da Zhuang has taken over, and he'll definitely resolve it. We can completely rest assured and wait for Zhao Da Zhuang to return."
"I'm really looking forward to it. The sheep Zhao Da Zhuang brings back this time will definitely be spirited. I love that kind of meat the most. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
Since he couldn't do it too obviously, the Fatty only listened to a few sentences here and remembered them, planning to discuss them with Ye Tiancheng and the little fox when he returned. Perhaps there was some valuable information hidden within.
Upon returning to the dilapidated earthen house where the three of them were temporarily staying, the Fatty indeed saw that both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were already inside the house.
As soon as he saw the Fatty return, the little fox was the first to bounce over, exclaiming, "Brother Fatty, you've been out for a long time today. What were you delayed doing this time?"
"Oh, it was over by the village chief's house. It seems they said some villagers brought back sheep again, so I went to watch. You two didn't know? It was quite lively over there. They brought back quite a few sheep. The village chief even said he would slaughter some sheep to reward the villagers who brought them back. I didn't expect bringing back sheep in the village to be such a dangerous thing. Some people were injured, and some even perished outside and didn't return."
When the Fatty heard the little fox ask him, he honestly told both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox about what he had just witnessed, without hiding anything.
Hearing the Fatty say this, the little fox laughed, "What's so strange about this that you have to go watch? Aren't you hungry? Isn't it time to eat?"
Seeing the little fox so uninterested in these matters, the Fatty couldn't quite figure out whether these matters were truly not worth being curious about, or if the little fox was just childishly more focused on satisfying his appetite. However, filling one's stomach was indeed a major priority, so the Fatty didn't say anything to the little fox.
"I saw some excitement, so I gathered around. Don't people love to watch excitement? It's nothing. If it's not a strange thing, then it's not a strange thing. But if we're hungry, maybe there's no food right now."
"I think most of the people in this village have gathered in front of the village chief's house. The meals we usually eat are all given by the villagers, right? They prepare them first, then serve them to us. Since they've all gathered at the village chief's place, they probably don't have time to cook. The food today might be delayed."
The little fox shook his head dismissively, saying with a giggle, and then bounced out the door, "There will definitely be food. Since Brother Fatty is back, I'll go get the food. Don't worry, the villagers responsible for cooking definitely didn't gather there, otherwise, they'd get scolded. If they anger the village chief because of it, they'll be made into dishes, hehehe~"
The Fatty looked strangely at the little fox's retreating back, "I really don't understand why he seems so happy. Did something good happen today? Are we able to go back?"
"He's a child, you expect a child to be very serious? Just let him be. What do we care about him? As long as he's comfortable, what can't he do?" Ye Tiancheng smiled indulgently.
"Fatty, you sit down and rest for a while too. When the little fox brings back the food later, we can eat. You've been out all day, don't you feel tired?"
The Fatty could only sigh and sit down, "Here, how dare I feel tired? But how are you so sure there will be food now? Have you already understood things in this village so deeply? Unlike me, I'm not that smart and not careful enough. I feel like I haven't discovered anything useful yet."
"Fatty, why would you think you're not useful? You could say that you are the most useful person here. Don't underestimate yourself." Ye Tiancheng comforted the Fatty with a smile.
Not long after, the Fatty first smelled a familiar aroma of meat wafting into the house. Then, he saw the little fox indeed returning with the food. The Fatty hadn't expected that the place in front of the village chief's house had been so lively not long ago, yet the villagers who cooked had already prepared the food early.
Moreover, this time when the little fox brought back the food, the Fatty noticed that the meal the village had prepared for them was exceptionally rich. So, the lunchbox the little fox was carrying was very heavy and large. Seeing this, the Fatty quickly hurried over to help, taking the lunchbox from the little fox's hands.
"Why is there so much? Little fox, why didn't you come back and tell us to help you, Brother Ye and me, and carry such heavy things back yourself?"
The little fox didn't refuse the Fatty's help. After the Fatty took the lunchbox, he shook his sore hand and said with a smile, "I could carry it, and it wasn't very far, so I did it myself. Didn't I bring it back successfully? I'm fine, Brother Fatty, don't worry about me."
"But the dishes today are indeed richer, much richer than usual. Brother Fatty, you know, the situation is special today. The village chief wants to reward the villagers who brought back sheep, right? So, the village is slaughtering sheep, and that's why the dishes distributed to us today are so rich. We're benefiting from it, aren't we? Otherwise, what other reason could there be?"