Xu Errui, who was listening nearby, saw that his mother wanted to change the person, and hurriedly said, "Mother, you said there are refugees on the road, is it convenient to let Xiaoman go?"

He still felt that Xiaoman was too young to be of any help, and he was also worried that his mother would run into trouble.

Jiang Zhi, cutting the medicine, said, "Xiao Man is impatient; you can't stop him by force. Besides, his grandfather and Da Zhu are there; they'll eventually persuade him."

If he really wants to come down the mountain with me tomorrow, you should still pick him up halfway down the mountain.

It's only a matter of time before Xiaoman goes down the mountain. His family needs someone to be out and about, and it's not convenient for Chunfeng to show her face.

Grandpa Xiaoman and Xu Dazhu know their child's temperament and will give him careful instructions.

"Okay, I'll come down the mountain as soon as possible!"

Xu Errui was relieved to hear that he could pick her up on the way.

"By the way, did you finish cleaning up the charcoal kiln I asked you to clean up the other day? Make sure the tarpaulin and soil on top are covered tightly." Jiang Zhi suddenly remembered something.

"Okay, it's done. I've also removed a layer of soil from the kiln walls!"

Okay, Jiang Zhi is very satisfied.

Xu Errui has little knowledge or vision; his only redeeming quality is that he is very obedient, and now he keeps every word he says in mind.

In the summer, Jiang Zhi thought of planting wood ear mushrooms and even set aside the mushroom logs that had grown wood ear mushrooms.

Even a simple planting shed requires digging a pit one meter deep and covering it with plastic film to keep it warm and moist.

Digging a pit on this mountain is a troublesome task, and in winter, when there is a lot of rain, water will accumulate in the pit. There is no plastic film, so the project has been put on hold for a long time.

Wood ear mushrooms do not need sunlight to grow; they prefer a warm and humid environment, and some diffused light is sufficient.

So Jiang Zhi immediately thought of those abandoned charcoal kilns.

Xu Errui's own charcoal kiln had collapsed. All he needed to do was clear out the soil and rocks, cover the collapsed top, and then pile in fresh sweet potatoes.

The sweet potato's respiration mechanism ensures that temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels are all within normal limits.

Anyone who has ever been inside a sweet potato cellar knows that in winter the temperature inside is higher than outside, and white steam billows out as soon as you open the cellar door.

Sometimes, if too many sweet potatoes are piled up, the humidity will be too high, and water droplets will appear on the sweet potatoes and the walls of the cellar.

It's so damp and humid, you'll see fungi growing if you just throw a stick in there.

This is also what Jiang Zhi remembered about other people's techniques for cultivating Ganoderma lucidum.

Both Ganoderma lucidum and wood ear fungus are fungi; as long as Ganoderma lucidum can be grown, wood ear fungus can also be grown.

In other words, as long as Jiang Zhi finds Ganoderma lucidum spore powder, theoretically he could grow a "thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum" that would be worth the price of tofu in modern times.

Jiang Zhi told Chunfeng about growing wood ear mushrooms, and Xu Dazhu said it was a good idea. They set up a charcoal kiln to grow wood ear mushrooms, and the sweet potatoes harvested by the two families would also find a place to be stored, killing two birds with one stone.

I hadn't planned on storing sweet potatoes in a cellar, thinking that since there wouldn't be much of a harvest, I could just find a section of eaves gutter behind the house and fill it up.

Unexpectedly, after digging out all the sweet potatoes from the cracks and ditches in the rocks over the past few days, the yield was unimaginable in previous years, a full thousand kilograms.

Although the sweet potatoes growing in the grass are riddled with holes from the grass roots, those growing in the cracks of rocks are squeezed into odd shapes, and some sweet potatoes are just tough and mushy...

It may look ugly, but it's a genuine sweet potato, and there's a generous portion. Just a quick boil and you have a bowl of fragrant sweet potato soup.

Grandpa Xiaoman would also pick out the prettier sweet potatoes, tie them into knots with vines, and hang them under the eaves. The dried sweet potatoes would taste especially sweet.

There are plenty of sweet potatoes on the mountain, so there's no need to worry about going hungry.

The grain harvest in the mountains this year was extremely low. It was truly a case of "sow one grain in spring, reap two in autumn; there is no idle land under heaven, yet farmers still starve to death."

At this moment, Xiaoman was being scolded at the bottom of the cliff!

"Xiaoman, we've only had a few days of peace and quiet, and you're already getting restless? Your Aunt Jiang went down the mountain on business, why are you following her?"

Grandpa Xiaoman's hands were busy, whittling bamboo chopsticks with a knife, while also scolding his grandson.

Xiaoman squatted down beside him, helping to sort the bamboo strips, and argued, "Grandpa, I didn't mean to play. I just thought we should go and exchange them for some grain."

Aunt Jiang's family trades medicinal herbs for feed, so we trade with the rabbits in their pen. Feeding too many rabbits is a hassle, and besides, I want Nini and my older brother to eat more refined grains.”

Xiaoman stopped what he was doing and looked at Xu Dazhu beside him.

Xu Dazhu was making straw sandals when he heard Xiaoman's words, so he put down the straw he was making.

Both of them knew that Xiaoman was right; they should try to find a way to exchange for some grain and oil.

On both occasions when Jiang Zhi went down the mountain to exchange medicinal herbs for supplies, Xiao Man's grandfather did not share any grain, but only took some salt.

Those medicinal herbs were all picked by other people; he was just eating and drinking for free and taking things for free. He couldn't bear the shame of that.

But one can't live on a single breath; one also has to think about other family members.

"If only you had a calm and steady personality like Errui!"

Grandpa Xiaoman had been down the mountain before and knew that the people at the medical shed wouldn't make things difficult for him. At this moment, he also wanted Xiaoman to find some food, but he was worried that Xiaoman would get into a conflict with those refugees.

Xiaoman frowned: "Grandpa, I know what's important now. Besides, I'm sixteen years old. My older brother started supporting the family when he was sixteen. You can't just not let me do anything!"

When the old days are mentioned, Xiaoman feels bad. Dazhu was his helper when he was sixteen. In the summer, he worked in the town under the scorching sun, and in the dead of winter, he sold charcoal.

Just when life was getting better and better, everything collapsed overnight.

Xiaoman is now sixteen years old...

Thinking that although the child was impatient, he was still sensible, Xiaoman sighed and said, "You can go down the mountain, but you have to be obedient. You have to do whatever your Aunt Jiang says and you can't come up with your own ideas."

Xiaoman nodded repeatedly: "Grandpa, I will definitely be obedient!"

Xu Dazhu thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa, you still need to go and tell Aunt Jiang that Xiaoman has caused her trouble!"

"Yes! I'll take Xiaoman over in a bit!" Xiaoman's grandfather started whittling the bamboo chopsticks again; this kind of thing requires the parents to step in.

After dinner, Xiaoman's grandfather took Xiaoman to the cliff and told him about coming down the mountain with him: "Second Aunt, don't worry, we've already told Xiaoman to be good. If he dares to talk back, just give him a good beating!"

Jiang Zhi asked Xiaoman to tell his family, not because she lacked confidence in him, but because although Xiaoman was impatient, he still knew right from wrong.

Seeing that Xiaoman was speaking too sternly, he quickly said, "Xiaoman is sensible and obedient. Let him come down the mountain with me tomorrow! If you have anything you want to exchange, then take it with you!"

With the matter settled, Xiaoman's family began packing.

Xiaoman said she would sell some rabbits, which is true; rabbits reproduce so prolifically.

We found two baby rabbits when the wildfire started, and by the end of May they had their first litter. Every two months thereafter they had five or six offspring in each litter, and the rabbit pen was already full of rabbits of all sizes.

Now the first litter of rabbits is about to have more babies, and the number will increase exponentially. We can't afford to raise them anymore. Just gathering hay for the rabbits is a huge undertaking. Nini has already been laid off.

Although there is now spring wind to gather grass for rabbits, with the arrival of winter, there is a shortage of tender grass outside, and feeding them only dry grass is troublesome. We must sell some or kill them for meat.

Meat is not in short supply now, so it's more reliable to switch to grains and cotton.

In addition, Xu Dazhu has made a lot of straw sandals these days, all woven from straw and hemp. They are smooth and sturdy, and the two families can't wear them all, so some can be disposed of.

Chunfeng also collected a lot of dried wood ear mushrooms and fungi, which could be exchanged for grain.

I didn't expect to gather so many bits and pieces and end up with a whole basketful. If I could exchange it for grain, that would be great. If not, I'd exchange it for salt.

The next morning, Xiaoman, carrying the hopes and instructions of her family, finally followed Jiangzhi down the mountain.