Chapter 24: Making Shoes from Bamboo Rafts

Everyone then started eating with some doubt.

As soon as he put the cattail into his mouth, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly picked up the food and put it into his mouth without even having time to speak.

Sang Xinghao was not very skilled in using chopsticks and could not grab the chopsticks from others. He was almost crying in frustration.

His mouth was full and he couldn't speak. He could only open his two big eyes and look pitifully at this and that, hoping someone could help him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Sang Yu took his bowl and chopsticks and scooped a full bowl for him from the edge of the pot.

"Don't fight over it. There's enough for you. If you don't have enough, make more."

The cattail leaves were quite popular, but the two bird eggs were disliked and were pushed around. In the end, after all the vegetables were eaten, there were still quite a few bird eggs left in the pot.

Bird eggs are a good thing, but without salt or seasoning, the inherent fishy smell cannot be covered up.

Most people won’t want to take a second bite after taking one.

After eating the cattails, everyone had a bowl of cattail soup, and they were so satisfied.

Old Madam Shi was full of praise: "Yu'er's cooking skills are truly amazing. I'm afraid they're not inferior to the imperial chefs in the palace."

It has no salt or oil, so even if it tastes good, how good can it be? This statement is naturally more of a compliment.

When Sang Yu was a food blogger, she heard all kinds of compliments. She was tired of hearing those people in the comment section, each one more impressive than the other.

But she still thanked Mrs. Shi: "Grandma, you are so kind."

After dinner, the family sat down to digest the food and discussed plans for tomorrow.

"Jiaer and I will go chop trees tomorrow and buy some delicious food after we get paid." Sang Yongjing had great expectations of making money by chopping wood.

Life is already hard as it can be, but as long as I can make money, things will definitely get better in the future.

Sang Yu sat aside without commenting, but only said: "I will go there together tomorrow to see if there is a market."

Sang Yongjing's eyes lit up: "Yes, with so many people, even if there is no market, there should be some bartering."

Sang Yu nodded slightly, she thought so too.

As the population increases, various demands will also increase, and simple markets will emerge to meet the needs.

They had no money now, but they still had some cattails left to eat.

It would be best if you can exchange it with someone for some oil, salt, or a hatchet. If not, just take it back and eat it yourself.

After sitting and resting for a while, Sang Yu stood up and walked towards the trimmed bamboos.

It was really inconvenient without a knife. Sang Yongjing and Sang Xingjia worked on it for a long time, but some of the side branches of the bamboo were still not cleaned up.

She brought back these bamboos not to make beds. Without bedding, no one would be willing to sleep on a bed made of bamboo. It would be very annoying.

As she was picking cattails, she had thought that using vines as a mat was not a long-term solution. If she fell or they got scattered, she could easily get stuck in the swamp.

At that time, she thought of bamboo. Bamboo itself is very light and has great buoyancy. In many places, there is a custom of using bamboo to make bamboo rafts to cross rivers.

It's just a swamp, so bamboo is naturally a problem.

She took a sharp stone and began to smash the bamboo. Each piece was about the same length, about the length of her forearm.

She stopped only when the number was sufficient, and couldn't help shaking her right hand which was numb from the shock.

She took leaves from the cattails she had set aside and returned to the bamboo sections that had been cut into pieces.

The leaves will be more resilient if dried, but the effect will be similar if you make them first and then leave them to dry slowly.

First arrange the bamboo joints in order, then stack three cattail leaves together to tie the two bamboo joints together.

After tying up two bamboo joints, use new folded cattail leaves to pass through the two bamboo joints and tie the third bamboo joint.

Repeat this process until all the bamboo joints are tied together.

Afraid that it wasn't strong enough, Sang Yu even added a few more knots in the middle. She bent it hard twice to make sure it was tied firmly enough, and then she made another one in the same way.

The two bamboo rafts are about twenty by thirty in size, with two pull rings woven with cattail leaves near the front and back of the center.

This is the good idea that Sang Yu came up with, making shoes with bamboo rafts, which are light and safe.

Moreover, she deliberately made the bamboo raft larger, so that if she accidentally fell off, the buoyancy of the raft could ensure her life safety.

She did not waste the remaining bamboo. She broke it from the top of the bamboo node and then pierced through the upper layer of bamboo membrane. The simple cup was completed.

Although mountain spring water is good, it flows down from the mountain and carries a lot of mud and sand. It needs to be settled before use, otherwise it is easy to taste mud when you drink it.

Sang Yongjing and Sang Xingjia followed her example and each made a pair of bamboo shoes, walking back and forth in them, wishing they could pick some more cattails.

It took Sang Yu a lot of persuasion to finally convince the two of them to stop.

It was getting dark. Entering the forest at this time would be fatal, not to mention the possibility of being attacked by wild beasts. Just accidentally stepping on air and falling from the mountain would be fatal.

Lying in the shed at night, leaning against the dried mud wall, I could see the dark night sky with twinkling stars when I looked up.

Sang Yu suddenly remembered that there were still several big holes on the roof of the shed.

She thought to herself that now that she had found the staple food, the next step was to buy salt.

Although the coarse flour bread on the road to exile was moldy, it was actually the salt in it that gave everyone the strength to reach Lingnan.

People can go without salt for a few days, but if they do not eat salt for a long time, they will become weak, dehydrated, and even die.

Salt is not just an optional condiment, but a necessity for survival.

Every once in a while, a large number of refugees are exiled here. It is impossible for everyone to choose to farm like them. Most people probably go to chop wood for a living.

With so many people, feeding them every day must be a problem.

Maybe she can go there and set up a stall to sell some food to make money. As long as the food is cheap, good quality and can fill the stomach, there should be a certain market for it.

Looking at the beautiful stars and thinking about future plans, Sang Yu fell asleep unknowingly.

Sang Yu was naturally awakened by his biological clock again. He had completely given up resisting. He couldn't fall asleep again with his eyes closed after waking up anyway, so he might as well get up directly.

After the three of them had breakfast, they took the picked and washed cattails and went to the place where they chopped firewood.

When registering outside the city, although Sang Yongjing chose to farm, the registration officer also said that he could go chop wood at any time, and the wages would be paid immediately, with one day's work paid for one day's work.

This time they went there without fear of being turned away.

The place where they chopped wood was not far from where they originally registered. It was next to the official road. On the way here, they saw people chopping wood in the mountains from afar.

The three of them walked south along the official road. To the east of the official road was Lingnan City, and a few miles to the west they could see a team of woodcutters.