Li Lanzhen nodded and looked at Xue Bao.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Wu thought that Li Lanzhen might be asking about her family situation, so she smiled and said...

“My dear in-laws, our house is quite spacious. It’s a large cave with two smaller caves inside. It’s big enough for people to live in and store things.”

Gou Dan quickly said, "Grandma Lanzhen, it's enough room for me and Grandma."

Han Yinan complained to Gou Dan, "I told you to choose a big cave, but you insisted on choosing the small one."

Gou Dan chuckled, "Uncle Xue Bao said that smaller caves are warmer in winter. Besides, it's just me and Grandma, so one small cave is enough. I didn't expect that one small cave would have another small cave inside it. Grandma said that she and I can each have a room, and there's also a place to cook and store miscellaneous items inside."

After saying that, he grinned and chuckled.

San Niu also stepped forward, holding a bowl. His lips were smeared with wild vegetable paste, making him look like he had a black beard, which made everyone laugh. He stuck out his little tongue and licked it clean before saying to Li Lanzhen, "Grandma, our cave is so big, so very big. It's a big cave, and Grandma says we can cook there and work during the day. Grandpa and Grandma have a small cave, and Dad and Mom have a small cave. My dad said he's going to build a wooden house inside for the three of us brothers to live in."

Li Lanzhen smiled happily as she looked at her in-laws, noting that her parents and Gou Dan's family had all been well taken care of.

Xue Laohu said, "I always feel that these caves were dug out by man, but they have been there for a long time, probably several decades."

Li Erhan and Zhang Deshui nodded in agreement. Li Erhan said, "Yes, I also noticed that the rocks here have been carved out."

Zhang Deshui said, "Looking at this small plain in the valley, I think it must have been covered with crops a long time ago."

Li Lianzhen asked them somewhat nervously, "Are you sure this happened decades ago?"

Li Er chuckled and said, "That should be the case. Don't be afraid, daughter. There are so many of us here. If anything happens, we'll all be there for you."

Wu glared at Xue Laohu and muttered under her breath, "Always making a fuss, scaring people!"

Xue Laohu laughed heartily and said to Li Lanzhen, "That's right, there's nothing to be afraid of, in-laws. I took a walk around this morning, and this place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as we guard the entrance well and do a good job of disguise, no one will be able to get in."

After breakfast, Xue Nizi and several women were cleaning up the dishes when the old village chief and Han Shunde came over.

"Lanzhen, have you eaten?"

"Old village chief, is something the matter?"

"I just wanted to ask about the sweet potatoes and potatoes you mentioned. Is it still too late to plant them now?"

Han Shunde said, "I think the temperature in this valley is much hotter than outside."

So my dad thought about planting them to see if he could harvest a little bit.

So that everyone can get through this winter.

Li Lanzhen thought for a moment and said, "You can't, but I can. I can germinate the seedlings in the space warehouse and plant them directly." But she couldn't say that.

I said, "Yes, it's best to first plant the sweet potato and potato seedlings in a warm place. Once they've sprouted, plant them directly in the field, especially sweet potatoes, as the seedlings grow faster."

There's no way to do it with potatoes; you have to sprout them and plant them directly in the ground.

Han Shunde quickly said, "How about this? We have a few empty caves. After we lay soil in those caves, we can first encourage the sweet potato and potato sprouts to grow. When it gets cold, we can light a fire inside to raise the temperature."

Li Lanzhen thought about it and realized that it was indeed a good idea, so she nodded and said, "I think this is a good idea."

"Old village chief, I have some sweet potatoes and potatoes here; you can plant them."

The old village chief chuckled and said, "Alright, I thank you on everyone's behalf."

Li Lanzhen waved her hand, without replying.

After they left, Li Lanzhen looked at her family and said, "I don't know how cold it is here in winter. There's no way to light a fire to keep warm in the cave. I'm thinking of building a kind of heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed) where you can move a fire around to keep it warm."

Based on her own life experience, Li Lanzhen knew that when she lived in Hanjiacun, she had never seen a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed). Every household slept on a bed, and some people slept on a few planks of wood.

However, Li Lanzhen was afraid of the cold, so she wanted to repair the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

Everyone is a bit confused, what is a pitfall?

Li Lanzhen took a small stick and drew on the ground, talking to Li Erhan as she drew.

"Dad, look, this is how it's set up, that's what we call a kang (heated brick bed)."

As Li Erhan watched Li Lanzhen draw, he told her how to navigate the fire pit and where to build a stove for heating.

Once you understand how it's set up, how the flue works, and where the smoke exits, you'll understand.

After thinking for a moment, he said to them, "I think we can build a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove)."

The materials used to build the kang (heated brick bed) must be stones. Even if mud bricks are used, they must be made of mud mixed with soil and straw, and smoothed out beforehand. This is for both stability and safety, as the fire needs to be kept burning.

Li Lanzhen looked at her father happily, "Dad, you're so great, so smart, you knew as soon as I told you."

At this moment, Gou Dan asked a question that everyone wanted to know.

"Aunt Lanzhen, you're so clever! How did you know about heated brick beds?"

Li Lanzhen thought to herself, "Oh no, I only thought about building the kang (heated brick bed) and didn't think about how to build it." She looked up at everyone, whose eyes were full of questions.

She chuckled and said, "Before I fled the famine, I went to the county town and rescued the son of the young master Jin Fulai. While we were eating at their house, I overheard them talking about this kang (heated brick bed). I listened for a bit and thought it was a good thing, so I asked them about it in detail."

Everyone suddenly realized that it was Jin Fulai's young master who had brought them these benefits.

They had heard the name of Jin Fulai, the young master, many times along the way, and were very grateful to him. The food they ate, and the firecrackers they used to repel the soldiers conscripted by King Jin, were all provided by Jin Fulai; otherwise, they didn't know if they would have made it this far.

Li Lanzhen silently apologized to Jin Fulai, the young master, for always dragging him out to take the blame.

The men gathered together, discussing how to build a wooden house in the cave, how to construct a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), and how much material they would need.

After everyone had agreed on their plans, they began to divide the work and cooperate.

The women then arranged the furniture inside the cave.

There wasn't much to decorate, because they had only simple baskets, their own bedding and clothes, a few wooden buckets for water, and pots and pans, as they had fled from the famine. However, being near the mountains, the women brought back tree stumps and flat stones from the mountains...

In short, they obtained a lot of "furniture" from the mountains.

At this moment, Han Shunde blew his whistle, and the children shouted and ran, conveying the old village chief's words.

"Attention! Attention! One person from each household, gather at the old village chief's house. We need to assign tasks!"

Li Lanzhen didn't move, but arranged for the eldest brother to go and listen.

The old village chief kept talking about planting sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Li Lanzhen suddenly remembered the matter of the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), and said to Li Erhan, "Dad, go and tell the old village chief how to build the heated kang."

If every household in the village wants to build a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), tell them how much and what kind of materials they need, and let them prepare accordingly. Once you have successfully built it, each household can send one person to come and learn how to do it.

"You don't need to go door-to-door; it's too tiring."

Li Erhan looked at his daughter, who doted on him, chuckled, and walked away happily with his hands behind his back.