In the late autumn mountains and forests, there is still mist in the morning.
Half-withered leaves and vines, like cold, venomous snakes, occasionally cling to the skin, making one feel uneasy.
The villagers of Qingshui Village silently pulled their sleds, carried loads on their shoulders, and pushed wheelbarrows, making their way through the mountains and forests.
Initially full of confidence, after three days of arduous trekking, little remains.
This trip into the mountains was completely different from the one in Jin'an County.
The two mountains next to Jin'an County are not high. People often cut firewood or gather herbs, mushrooms and wild vegetables, and simple paths have been worn through them.
But the forests they traversed this time were deep, remote mountains with few signs of human habitation.
It was almost as far as the group went, and the road had to be cleared for that distance.
Beneath my feet lies muddy ground piled high with years of fallen leaves, surrounded by old trees growing wildly and vines swaying in all directions.
Even the birds are much bolder than those outside. Occasionally, they will fly quite far with the flock, just to watch the excitement a little longer.
Last night, Li Laosi and the able-bodied men in the village discussed it.
Two people are assigned to clear the way with machetes and sickles every hour, cutting down the annoying vines and weeds, and scaring away the insects, snakes and small animals in the grass.
We'd rather walk a few miles less each day than compromise on the safety of the young and old.
After three days in the mountains, the group had only made it out of two mountains.
Suddenly remembering the idea of crossing forty mountains in a month, wasn't that a bit too presumptuous?
But no one was willing to think about it too deeply, since they were already inside.
Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back!
To keep themselves occupied and relieve the boredom and fatigue of the journey, the villagers started chatting and playing with the children.
Eventually, it evolved into the whole village teaching the children to speak.
And the main target is... Jiayin!
The reason was that yesterday, Jiayin was afraid that her mother would get too tired carrying her, so she climbed into Uncle Zhao's arms and hitched a ride on the sled.
Uncle Zhao loves children the most. He held Jiayin and taught her to recognize the wild grass and flowers by the roadside.
Jiayin was a little listless; the journey had been too tedious and arduous.
Uncle Zhao became worried and called out loudly to Old Lady Li and Tao Hongying, who were walking behind him.
“Fu Niu is already over a year old, why doesn’t she speak yet? I remember that when Gou Sheng’er from the front yard turned one, she could speak fluently.”
When Li Laotai and Tao Hongying heard this, they also became a little anxious.
Almost immediately after Jiayin turned one year old, the family began a frantic rush to harvest and escape.
Jiayin would occasionally call out "Grandma" or "Dad," or say she was hungry.
They didn't take it seriously. Could it be that the child has some kind of problem that's causing the delay?
So, during the midday break, Dr. Zhang was invited to examine Jiayin.
But after all that trouble, the old man came to a conclusion.
"This child is fine, except... he's too lazy. You should teach him more and tease him more."
Jiayin's little scheme was exposed; she was indeed a bit lazy.
The child's tongue and throat are not fully developed, so she was too lazy to parrot him every day and too lazy to correct him over and over again.
It's better to wait until they're fully developed before they start talking.
But her family didn't think so; they were afraid she would become mute in the future.
So the whole family, and even the whole village, devoted all their free time to teaching her to speak.
"Little sister, call me brother!"
"Fu Niu, call him Uncle!"
"Fu Niu, call her Auntie!"
That day, Jiayin finally had a midday break. After eating her fill, she felt drowsy and nestled in Uncle Zhao's arms to doze off.
Just then, a man came over to return the bowl, shaking her little hand and shouting in a deep, muffled voice.
"Fu Niu, call him Uncle, Uncle!"
Jiayin got angry and loudly replied, "Hey!"
The man didn't react in time and kept saying, "No, it's uncle, uncle!"
"Yes!" Jiayin responded clearly again.
The man blinked twice, finally realizing that something was wrong.
But everyone around them was laughing so hard they were practically rolling on the ground!
Uncle Zhao hugged Jiayin tightly, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.
"This girl, haha, hahaha, she's definitely got no problems. This girl is really smart!"
The man scratched the back of his head, belatedly realizing that the young girl had taken advantage of him.
He wasn't annoyed; his smile was both honest and helpless.
Grandma Li stepped forward and hugged her granddaughter, wiping away tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, and scolded her granddaughter, "Why are you teasing your Uncle Dazhuang? Call him Uncle."
Jiayin reluctantly called out, "Uncle!"
This surprised Da Zhuang. "Wow, Fu Niu understands what I'm saying!"
"Of course!" Grandma Li was extremely proud, and she told everyone about Jia Yin's clever deeds. On the basis of her granddaughter's good fortune, she added the persona of a smart girl to her granddaughter.
Jiayin was helpless. In order not to ruin her image, she could only start diligently learning to speak, struggling against her unruly tongue and throat...
So, on their journey forward, besides the occasional instruction from people near the Li family's sled, Li Lao Er also began to lead his little niece and other children, reciting their lessons as they walked.
"At birth, human nature is inherently good..."
The sound of reading aloud made everyone forget the fatigue and hardship under their feet, and also brought a bit of vitality to the desolate and even somewhat gloomy mountain forest.
Everyone was very lucky today. In the evening, we happened to come to a clearing in the mountains where spring water flowed through the grass, forming a stream that was only two steps wide.
The crowd almost cheered as they quickly set up camp.
Having been away from home for so many days to escape the famine, everyone had gotten used to it and their teamwork was extremely seamless.
The elderly gathered the children, arranged the sleds and luggage, forming a circle with a diameter of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).
The able-bodied men quickly cut down the withered grass, chopped down branches as thick as their arms, and gathered a large pile of dry firewood.
Dry grass was laid in the enclosure, branches were propped up, and tarpaulin was placed on top to build a simple shelter.
The shack, once lined with bedding, became the little children's territory.
Including Jiayin, there are only eight children under the age of five in the village, and now she is the village's precious darling.
Whenever they rested, Uncle Wei and Uncle Wang would stand guard by their side, watching over them without blinking.
After all, the children are too young. Even a small insect brought back from a tree branch can make them cry.
Uncle Zhao, carried on Jia Yi's back, followed Li Lao Si and Liu Biao Tou, leading Liu Yang and the village's young men to survey the terrain and identify traces of wild animals.
It would be even better if we could also hunt some pheasants and rabbits along the way.
The boys studied diligently, and since they didn't have bows and arrows, they used large slingshots.
Occasionally, if you're lucky enough to catch a wild pheasant, you're as happy as if it were New Year's Day. Among your friends, that's enough to make you hold your head high and be proud for three to five days.
Doctor Zhang's medicine powder is very effective; both Chief Escort Liu and Liu Yang suffered from external injuries, and they have almost recovered in the past few days.
The village women originally thought that Madam Liu would be difficult to get along with, after all, the Liu family was much wealthier than the rest of them.
Unexpectedly, Madam Liu spoke gently and softly, even quieter and more polite than Zhao Yuru.
Everyone was happy and pulled her to cook, dig wild vegetables, and pick mushrooms together, and they quickly became familiar with each other.
The little children in the shack got into a fight over two wooden trinkets.
Jiayin wasn't paying attention and almost got her face scratched, so she quickly fled the scene.
She called out loudly, "Grandma, Grandma, hug me, hug me!"
Sure enough, Grandma Li rushed over.
Hearing that her granddaughter had almost been scratched, Grandma Li felt sorry for her, so she found a bamboo basket, carried her granddaughter on her back, and then took her to pick mushrooms.
This is exactly what Jia Yin wanted!
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