Gu Qingshan quickly killed the fish and then gathered some dry grass to spread on the ground. He decided to leave the fish for later.
Liu and Qin Sanniang laid the straw mats on the dry grass, and then covered them with an old thin quilt. Everyone was tired, so they would take turns resting after dinner and make plans after they had recovered their strength.
Knowing that Gu Qingshan must be very tired from walking the whole way, Qin Sanniang told him to go and rest first.
The sky was already beginning to lighten, and it seemed unlikely that any large animals would come by; tonight should be safe. Gu Qingshan nodded. Even someone as tough as iron needed rest after such a long journey, and he felt relatively at ease having Qin Sanniang keep watch.
Soon, heavy breathing filled the cave. After drinking the hot porridge, everyone was exhausted and fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the ground.
As for the fish soup, we'll simmer it on the stove later and let the kids drink it when they wake up.
Qin San Niang wasn't idle either. Who knew what snakes, insects, ants, and beasts might roam in these deep mountains? She needed to do something to repel them. While supermarkets did sell insecticides, those were only effective against ordinary mosquitoes; their effectiveness against snakes and insects was probably very limited.
Not far from the cave entrance, she had already discovered several herbs that could be used to repel snakes and insects, and took the opportunity to collect them all.
However, they dared not stray too far, staying only near the cave entrance. Even so, they collected quite a few eight-petaled lotuses. These plants have eight leaves that look like lotus leaves, hence the name eight-petaled lotus.
The saying goes, "If you know the eight-petaled lotus, you can sleep with a snake." This is enough to illustrate its effects.
While collecting eight-petal lotus, she unexpectedly discovered several plants of the famous Paris polyphylla. This flower can not only repel snakes but also detoxify snake venom, making it a rare and valuable medicine! Since she had come across it, she had to gather them all, as they would come in handy.
At midday, as the sun rose, white mist filled the air, indicating that the forest was quite moist, which also meant that they had indeed entered a deep forest.
This is both good news and bad news. The good news is that they should be relatively safe now, but the bad news is how to get out of there.
Should they follow the wheel tracks? Gu Qingshan said this was unlikely. First, the weather was dry, so the tracks wouldn't be very deep. Second, even if they returned the way they came, they would likely encounter the bandits again. If they couldn't find much food, these bandits would inevitably risk going into the mountains.
After discussing it, the group decided to rest here for a while before heading out of the mountains along another route.
Finding Gu Qingshan's words so certain, Qin Sanniang suspected that he had walked this road before.
Gu Qingshan neither confirmed nor denied this, which was taken as tacit agreement. He simply said that by following the other side of the mountainside, they could bypass this section of the official road and return to their normal route.
Since that's the case, what else is there to say? This is even more useful than a map, and Qin San Niang felt a little more at ease. She decided to take the opportunity to gather some food in the woods and also pick through the supplies in the supermarket.
"Madam Qin, I'm going to take a look around and see if I can hunt some game for everyone to have a treat. I'll leave Azhi in your care."
Besides hunting, he also wanted to tan more hides so that everyone could use them to keep warm in the winter. In his eyes, kapok was certainly good, but animal fur was warmer and less likely to get wet from the rain.
Gu Qingshan's skills should be safe, so Qin Sanniang nodded, telling her not to worry about Azhi, as the little ones were still fast asleep on the bed.
Besides the eldest child who had already gotten up to help the chubby girl dig for wild vegetables and gather firewood, Wu had also finished preparing and was drawing water to boil for stewing fish soup.
"Third Sister, you should go and rest at Auntie's place. I'll stay here and watch over things. There's also Fatty and Da Wa!" Wu said quickly when she saw the big dark circles under Qin Third Sister's eyes.
“Okay, then sister-in-law, could you help me dry the herbs I picked? They’re for repelling snakes and insects, we’ll need them.”
Qin San Niang yawned. She was indeed a little sleepy. She was probably too excited to sleep at night. Now she was finally relaxed. She was worried that she would oversleep and not be able to cook the fish soup. So she instructed Wu to fry the fish in oil, then pour in boiling water, add wild scallions, ginger, peppercorns and other seasonings, and then put it on the fire to simmer slowly.
Wu Chunhua thought about how the fish soup involved frying in oil, boiling in water, and adding so many seasonings. She thought to herself, no wonder the fish soup is so delicious. Just the seasonings and oil alone are worth a lot of money, not to mention the complicated steps of frying and then boiling. In all her years, she had never seen anything so elaborate.
She admired and praised, but not jealous. Wu Chunhua was easily satisfied and a kind-hearted peasant woman.
When Qin San Niang woke up, it was past noon, and the sun was already hanging in the west.
The children excitedly surrounded Gu Qingshan, assuming he had hunted something good again. And indeed, it was quite something—there was a wild boar baby! Even Liu Shi and Wu Chunhua were watching from the side.
He said he found the wild boar in a trap he had set beforehand; it was a lone boar and looked to be about six months old. Qin San Niang thought of roasting suckling pig, but this pig was clearly larger than a suckling pig; she wondered how it would taste.
You'd really be willing to eat such an adorable little pig? Don't be ridiculous. These days, it's not easy for anyone to survive. Qin San Niang has always believed that the saying "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame" is absolutely true. When even survival is a problem, who has time for all this other nonsense? Melancholy and sentimentality are not her style.
Besides, look at the children's bright eyes and the excited looks on Liu Shi and Wu Chunhua's faces. It's all because they have meat and food. It means they can have more security in these deep mountains. It means the children can eat more meat and grow stronger so they can run faster when they encounter refugees and avoid being eaten!
After Gu Qingshan slaughtered the wild boar, it was cut into small pieces. Today, they only ate the wild boar's offal and internal organs. The rest of the meat was salted under Liu's instructions and then slowly air-dried, so it could last for a long time on the road.
The wrinkles on Liu's weathered face deepened even further. Receiving such respect from these younger generations made her feel vigorous despite her age, and that she could still do many things.
In Qin San Niang's words, it's about feeling needed, especially for older women like Liu Shi, who value this very much.
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