Old Liu was stunned by Jiang Yimian's words, somewhat surprised. After a while, he said incredulously, "You mean Dafei's wife ran away with Xiaofei and his son?"
While it's not fair to speculate about any relationship between the two, the fact that they rushed down the mountain and left immediately after Liu Dafei's death makes it hard not to overthink things.
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
It was Zhao Xing'er's annoyed voice that broke the silence, "Let them do whatever they want. It's better if they leave, so they won't cause trouble on the mountain all day and disturb our peace."
She had never liked the two brothers, and their departure suited her perfectly.
As for how Liu Dafei died, it had little to do with them.
Liu Dayong shared the same thought; ever since those two brothers led refugees to rob grain, he no longer considered them family.
What happens to those two is none of their business; they just need to live their own lives.
Old Liu thought so too. He only asked how Liu Dafei's body was disposed of. After learning that Wang Zhuzi had buried the body, he stopped talking.
*
The small depression has been bustling with activity again these past few days. With winter approaching, people are worried about the cold in the mountains and have started building stoves in their houses.
As Old Liu listened to Jiang Yimian's words, he nodded, his eyes full of surprise. "This kind of stove is great. In winter, we can not only warm ourselves by the fire, but also cook in a pot. When we eat, the whole family can gather around it, and it's so warm and cozy."
Moreover, since they live in the mountains, they don't have to worry about running out of firewood.
If we cut down more trees these days, split them, and dry them, we won't lack firewood in the winter.
Zhao Dashu's eyes were also filled with joy.
He originally just wanted to build a small stove so that the whole house would be warm when the firewood was lit in winter. He never expected that he could also have a fire table.
Jiang Yimian just smiled.
She had originally planned to build a kang (heated brick bed), but then she thought that the winters here shouldn't be that cold. In addition, as a southerner, she had never used a kang before and didn't know if she would be used to it. So she thought of a modern fire table instead.
A fluffy blanket covered the square table, making it warm to sit at.
As for the sleeping room, a small stove can be built near the window, with the chimney left outside. Once the fire is lit, the whole room will be warm and smoke-free.
Everyone approved of the fire table, finding it both novel and useful. Even in other seasons when a fire wasn't needed, the small square table could be used to dry clothes or boil water.
Everyone got busy, mixing grass stems and chopped straw into the wet yellow mud, then pressing the mixed mud into brick shapes using molds made of several wooden boards. After drying, it could be used to build fire tables.
Apart from thatched huts, the most common houses in Xinghua Village are those built with yellow mud bricks. Old Liu and his son are very familiar with the brick-making process.
If it weren't for the time constraints and the difficulty of making mud bricks, they would probably have lived in mud-walled houses back then.
However, the cabin is also very nice. Apart from having to be extra careful with fire, it is very comfortable to live in.
Fortunately, the fire table and stove they built weren't too big. In just a few days, the yellow mud bricks they needed had dried, and everyone started building the stove and fire table.
With the help of Zhao Dashu and the other two, the fire table and stove were completed in just two days.
Everyone was overjoyed to see that each room now had heating equipment.
In the past, only those families in the village who were relatively well-off would build a stove. After all, a stove required a lot of firewood to burn. Apart from the firewood they used themselves, they could take the rest of the firewood to town to exchange for money. A bundle of firewood could be worth one coin!
They couldn't bear to waste it like that, but they would only go up the mountain to collect some damp firewood to burn and warm themselves when they were really too cold. Every time, the smoke would make their eyes water and make them feel terrible.
Now, they not only have new coats, but each house has a small stove, so they don't have to worry about not having enough firewood. Their lives are so much better than when they lived in the village.
After the stove was built, Old Liu tested the smoke extraction to make sure the smoke could escape from the bamboo joints to the outside. Then he smiled and said, "That's great, we'll have a stove this winter too."
Although the winters in the Great Jin Dynasty are not exactly bitterly cold, they are still quite frigid. When it snows, everyone stays at home, afraid to go out for fear of catching a cold from the wind.
Although it's cold at home, it's still better to have a house to shelter us from the wind and snow.
Liu Dayong nodded with a smile, "That's right, this fire table is really nice. Once the fire in the cave is lit, the whole table is warm, and your hands will naturally warm up when you put them on it. You don't have to worry about the food getting cold quickly when you eat in winter."
The children were overjoyed, looking curiously at the fire table and stove in the room.
Jiang Yimian then went to check on the injured man.
Seeing that the other person was still unconscious, Jiang Yimian had no choice but to change his medicine again and instructed Zhao Dashu to feed the person the medicine she had prepared before leaving the small depression with her basket on her back.
She's been busy making the stove these past few days and hasn't been able to go out. She needs to go and ask Wang Zhuzi how things are going in town.
Upon exiting the cave, one is greeted by withered branches and fallen leaves. The once lush and green leaves have withered and almost all have fallen to the ground.
Only a few scattered maple trees still have leaves, a mix of red and yellow, standing out against the withered branches and fallen leaves of autumn.
In summer, the maple trees are hidden deep in the forest, blocked by green branches and leaves, until this golden autumn season when they finally emerge from the dense forest.
This was the first time Jiang Yimian had ever seen maple trees in the forest.
Maple trees have great medicinal value. The Compendium of Materia Medica records: "Maple branches are weak and sway easily, hence the character for maple contains the radical for wind, and it is commonly called fragrant maple."
Its resin is white and fragrant; for rashes, itching, and edema, boil it in water and use it for bathing.
It is also effective for toothache, all kinds of carbuncles, boils, sores, scabies, and hemoptysis caused by metal wounds. It promotes blood circulation, tissue regeneration, pain relief, and detoxification.
Burn your teeth and clean them; you'll never have dental problems again.
As for the bark of the maple tree, it can treat edema and stop cholera, while its roots and rhizomes can dispel wind, relieve pain, and improve gastrointestinal function. (Source: Internet)
Jiang Yimian glanced at the maple trees and guessed that the leaves would fall in a few days, so she quickly picked some maple leaves.
She only stopped when she had filled a whole basket.
Fortunately, the leaves are light, so even if you fill a whole basket, it doesn't weigh much.
Jiang Yimian walked briskly for more than an hour and finally reached the outer edge of the mountain.
The scene before her made her pause in surprise.
The hilltop that used to house fifty or sixty people is now mostly empty, and the crowded thatched huts are practically deserted.
Right now, there are only about twenty people scattered around on the hilltop, packing their things, and they seem to be leaving as well.
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