On the mountainside, a narrow path that had been worn down by people was now covered with sand and mud. A large, deep pit had also appeared on the hillside next to it, as if the mountain path had been washed away by rain and had not been cleaned up in time.
It's certain that the sand and gravel piled up on this road won't be cleared away for at least ten days to half a month.
Jiang Yimian finally breathed a sigh of relief, her heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally calmed down considerably.
Just as I was about to leave, I saw a lot of smoke rising from the village below the mountain, lingering in the sky and dissipating, indicating that someone was cooking.
But Jiang Yimian frowned as she stared at the rising wisps of smoke.
She was in such a hurry yesterday that she didn't have time to properly check the village before she was encountered by the bandits, so she doesn't even know how many people are in the village now.
But now, seeing the smoke rising from every house in the village only made her heart pound with fear.
Xinghua Village has a population of over two hundred, roughly estimated to be more than thirty households, making it a large village in the vicinity.
Down the mountain, there were more than a dozen houses where people were cooking, almost filling the entire village except for those in remote areas.
The fact that so many people are eating proves that there are quite a few people in the village. Even if each household has two people, there are at least twenty people down the mountain. The six people I saw yesterday were not all of them.
If these twenty-odd people really have designs on the mountain, no matter how powerful she is, she can't protect everyone. She might not even be able to easily protect her mother, Xiao Ye, and Xiao Nuan'er.
Right now, it's more important to find a place to hide as soon as possible. The best way is to keep people from the foot of the mountain from knowing that there are still people on the mountain.
But with Wang Ergou around, this is basically impossible to guarantee; it all depends on that slippery guy's conscience.
The more Jiang Yimian thought about it, the more worried she became. She lost interest in watching any longer and headed straight for another hilltop.
She had searched almost the entire hilltop these past few days but hadn't found a single cave where she could hide. She had to look elsewhere.
*
For several days, Jiang Yimian searched among the mountains, hoping to find a hidden cave for her family to hide in. But the more she wanted something, the more it seemed like fate was against her, and the less she could get it.
After several days, Jiang Yimian hadn't found any caves, but she did find several rabbit burrows and caught five or six wild rabbits of various sizes to take back with her.
The two little ones were overjoyed. After eating the big rabbit, they decided to raise the little rabbit first, spending their days in the forest gathering grass for it.
Seeing that Jiang Yimian was about to go out again, Xiao Ye immediately became excited. She even put down the grass she was feeding the rabbit and hurriedly said, "Sister, are you going to find rabbit holes again? I'll go with you. I know how to find rabbit holes. I'm sure I can catch a lot of rabbits to bring back for rabbit meat."
He used to search for rabbit burrows in the fields with the village children. He found them several times and caught the rabbits inside. Unfortunately, all the rabbit meat ended up in his grandparents' stomachs, and he didn't see a single scrap of meat.
But things are different now. If he catches a rabbit, his family eats it. He has eaten a lot of rabbit meat in the past few days, such as spicy rabbit head, braised rabbit, and stewed rabbit with mushrooms. Every dish is delicious.
He couldn't wait to taste it.
Jiang Yimian's lips twitched. Was she looking for a rabbit hole? After walking around for several days straight, she felt like her legs were about to give out, and yet she hadn't found anything. It almost made her lose her mind.
Don't they say time-traveling women have cheat codes? Where is hers? I can't even find a cave.
Zuo You also planned to rest today and take a look at the situation down the mountain. She nodded, "Okay, I'll take you to find the rabbit hole."
The two, one big and one small, carried baskets on their backs and headed towards the woods halfway up the mountain.
As soon as Ono entered the forest, he became incredibly excited, picking wild vegetables, gathering mushrooms, and searching for rabbit holes, having a wonderful time.
He had already thoroughly cleared the woods near the shack, leaving nothing of wild vegetables or firewood. The woods were growing faster than he had dug them up. Lately, he had only gone in to pick some weeds to feed the rabbits, and he was already tired of it.
Now, seeing fresh wild vegetables everywhere is like a locust swarm passing through; in no time, my basket is full.
Jiang Yimian looked at the large patch of muddy ground that had been cleared up in an instant and found it amusing. This guy was trying to wipe out all the wild vegetables, pulling them out by the roots and leaving no way for them to survive. If this continued, there would be no wild vegetables growing on this mountain for at least a month.
She quickly offered a few reminders and instructed the other person not to dig up the wild vegetables that hadn't grown properly before looking down the mountain.
The village was relatively quiet today, but the liveliness was undeniable. Occasionally, shouts could be heard coming from the village, and it was clear that there were more people inside.
Jiang Yimian guessed that they were intercepting passing refugees to expand their ranks, so she turned her attention away.
Judging from this situation, Zhao Sandao must be planning to set up camp here.
They intercepted the grain of passing refugees, recruited talent to expand their power, and then robbed and plundered nearby homes, forming a cycle.
If there were no war, the situation here would have been known to the imperial court much sooner, and they would have quickly sent troops to suppress the bandits. But now the imperial court is preoccupied with its own problems, so where would it find the extra troops to suppress the bandits?
At present, Zhao Sandao's attention is focused on passing refugees or the remaining wealthy merchants in other villages and towns, and he will not set his sights on the mountain for the time being.
They can rest easy for a while.
As for the bandits who haven't yet gained any real power down the mountain, Jiang Yimian wasn't so presumptuous as to try and suppress them; that was the government's business, and besides, she didn't have that much ability.
The analysis showed that the current situation was not so dangerous, which made Jiang Yimian feel much more relaxed.
Now I can appreciate the lush greenery all around me.
Aside from the weeds growing all over the mountains, she also discovered many good things.
A few wild onions growing tenaciously among the weeds and a few bright red fruits on green leaves brought her some joy.
Having been on the mountain for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen dogwood.
Cornus officinalis, also known as "Yuejiao" or "Aizi", is an evergreen and fragrant plant with insecticidal, disinfectant, cold-dispelling, and wind-dispelling effects.
Cornus officinalis is further divided into Evodia rutaecarpa, Cornus officinalis, and Cornus officinalis var. edible, all of which are well-known traditional Chinese medicines. (Source: Internet)
These few plants are *Evodia rutaecarpa*, which has a spicy and stimulating taste and is considered a type of pepper that can be used as chili peppers.
During my time on the mountain, I've used up almost all the seasonings, especially dried chili peppers. I used them all up when I made spicy rabbit heads several times, and for several days in a row, I only added salt to the dishes I ate.
Because it contains meat, the taste is not bad, but for someone who loves spicy food, it's a bit bland.
Jiang Yimian was delighted to see the dogwood. She picked a lot of bright red dogwood fruits and put them in her basket. She then carefully dug up a dogwood plant, along with its green branches and roots, intending to take it back and plant it.
After doing all that, I picked a few more scallions and, seeing that it was getting late, I had to call Ono back.
When he turned around, he found that Ono was nowhere to be seen in the woods.
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