As winter approached, the brigade leader organized each household to send someone to the mountains to chop firewood.

This time, Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia also went up the mountain to chop firewood with An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng. More people means more strength, and they could chop more firewood because they were afraid of the cold.

Birch, poplar, and elm can all be used as firewood.

An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng were responsible for cutting down some dead and withered trees, while Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia picked up some dead branches that they could find.

An Qingbai even borrowed a sled to make it easier to transport firewood back later.

Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia had collected enough, so they tied the dead branches together and carried them on their backs to take them back first, and then came back to collect more, since their house was not far from the foot of the mountain.

Zhuang Zhimeng can carry a lot at once, but Jiang Yanxia can't. She'd be exhausted after just one trip. "Zhimeng, I really envy your strength. I can't do it. I'm going to die from exhaustion!"

"You still don't exercise enough. You'll get used to it after walking it a few more times!"

"Zhimeng, you don't love me anymore!"

Zhuang Zhimeng rolled her eyes, ignored her antics, and continued climbing the mountain.

Seeing that she was ignoring her, Jiang Yanxia quickly chased after her, calling out, "Zhimeng, wait for me!"

Zhuang Zhiwu also wanted to help go up the mountain to chop firewood, but Zhuang Zhimeng stopped him, saying it was better not to exert too much force on his arms too early.

However, Zhuang Zhiwu still let Zhou Kangcheng go up the mountain to chop firewood with him, along with An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng.

By the time we brought all the firewood home, it was already dark. We'd have to keep going tomorrow; it would take several days to chop enough.

Every household has a stack of firewood in front of their door, with the firewood neatly piled on top. This will last for the whole winter; if there's not enough, they'll freeze.

Zhuang Zhiwu was extremely anxious because he couldn't help his younger sister go up the mountain to chop firewood. When they brought the firewood back, he simply used his right hand to help pass it to her. Zhuang Zhimeng saw that he was unhappy about not being able to work, so she didn't stop him.

An Qingbai and Su Mengmeng climbed up the ladder, while the others helped pass it up.

After all, there are three companies involved, and they all operate in this way.

An Qingbai has his own family, including his father, older brother, second older brother, and younger brother, so he helps Zhuang Zhimeng and the others with their work.

After several busy days, they finally gathered enough firewood, and tall stacks of firewood were piled up in front of every household.

Before it snowed, An Qingbai came over to check on the thatched roof of Zhuang Zhimeng's house to see if there were any gaps or sparse areas, and to tidy it up.

Once An Qingbai climbed the ladder to the roof, Zhuang Zhimeng supported him from below.

Seeing this, Su Mengmeng and Jiang Yanxia both asked their Brother An for help, since neither of them had any experience.

An Qingbai agreed and helped the three of them inspect the house. After all, the house had only been built a few months ago, and the straw mats were very sturdy.

He looked at the window again, took two pieces of kraft paper, sandwiched a net-like hemp rope between them, pasted it onto the window frame, and then evenly coated it with soybean oil.

Zhuang Zhimeng was very curious upon seeing this: "Why are you doing this?"

"This way, the paper won't be exposed to wind and rain while it's drying!"

"There are so many rules!"

"Um!"

After checking again and finding nothing wrong, An Qingbai finally felt relieved.

Zhuang Zhimeng and Jiang Yanxia worked for several days to harvest all the vegetables in the garden. Some of them were dried, and some that could be stored for a long time were placed in the cellar.

The Chinese cabbage harvest was plentiful. Taking advantage of the remaining sunshine, the cabbages were dried for a few days before Zhuang Zhimeng decided to pickle them into sauerkraut.

The sauerkraut jar I bought back then was also cleaned and sun-dried.

Remove the old leaves and cut off the root. Cut the Chinese cabbage in half, blanch it in boiling water, rinse it with cold water, and drain it.

Place a layer of salt at the bottom of the jar, then add the drained cabbage, layering cabbage and salt, pressing it down firmly.

A few hours later, add a small amount of water and a little bit of white wine to the jar, then use a clean stone to weigh down the cabbage, ensuring that the cabbage is completely submerged in water. Finally, cover the top with a layer of gauze to prevent dust.

It can be eaten after being placed in a cool, dark place for a month.

I also plan to pickle some mustard greens, radishes, kimchi, and small potatoes.

She also took out all the duck eggs in her house and pickled them. After 20 days, she had salted duck eggs that were sandy and oily.

These duck eggs were all brought to her by the children in the village. Whenever the children found them, they would share a few with her, and once they had collected them, they had a lot more to give her.

I took out the wild boar skin while I had some time, planning to make pork skin jelly.

It used to be kept in the warehouse; I never had the time or thought of making it.

Wild boar hide is harder than domestic pig hide, so it takes longer to process.

Now that it's cold, it's the perfect time to make this. Once it's done, you can store it in the warehouse so you can have it whenever you want.

I also made some roasted chestnuts to keep as a snack.

This task was directed by An Qingbai, and it required constantly stir-frying in a large pot. An Qingbai couldn't bear to let his Zhizhi suffer.