"Nian'er, He'er, come out and see! Look what we caught!" Li Qiang walked over excitedly from not far away, carrying two fat fish in his hands.
Madam Tian frowned. "Why are you shouting so loudly? You startled me."
"Look, a crucian carp!"
Tian Niangzi glanced at it and her eyes lit up. "It really is a crucian carp! There are crucian carp in this river!"
Song Xiaoyu was speechless. "Which river doesn't have crucian carp? They're the most common fish!"
Song He'er smiled and said, "Fish are quite common, but how to catch them is the problem."
"That's right! I almost fell in. The water in that river was freezing cold. If someone fell in, they would probably freeze to death." Li Qiang said as he put the fish into the wooden basin.
Song He'er felt that the most important issue at the moment was not the fish, but the issue of keeping warm.
Wang San was absolutely right. They did need to move to a sheltered place to keep out the cold wind and make it warmer for everyone at night.
"Third Uncle, the wind was too strong last night. We should find a good place to move quickly. Look at those meddlesome women next door, quite a few have already moved away. If we keep hesitating, they'll take all the good places, and we'll really have nowhere to live."
Song Xiaoyu looked at the children's little hands, which were red from the cold, and her thoughts changed slightly.
"Yes, the wind was really strong last night. We couldn't keep warm even with just one quilt. We should move out as soon as possible. It's all my fault for being too rash that day and wrongly blaming their good intentions."
Zhang Xiu'e rolled her eyes at him. "Now you know you're repentant? They left with the child a long time ago. In this cold weather, I don't know how they're going to survive..."
"Hey, it's not like we won't see each other again in the future. Xinzhou is just a small place. Maybe we'll bump into each other again in a few days. Don't be so sentimental. Let's hurry up and stew the fish soup. Eat something fresh and warm your body. Li Qiang and I will go ahead and see if there are any good places."
"Okay." Zhang Xiu'e was unusually gentle. After listening to Song Xiaoyu's words, she went straight to the side to clean the fish.
Before the person had even left, Ruizhen stepped forward and said, "I do have an idea, but... we'll have to see if you think it's good..."
Song He'er looked at her and smiled, "Good auntie, tell me quickly."
“The place I used to live was a dilapidated cave. Of course, it was very old and couldn’t compare to your tent. But if you sealed it with bricks and tiles, it would be a closed room! And it wouldn’t require as much work as building a house, and it wouldn’t use much material. These adobe bricks would be enough!”
Ruizhen's method may not be the best, but it is indeed very applicable to the current situation.
After all, the wind howled fiercely at night, and the tent was too light. If it snowed a few times, it would collapse sooner or later!
Qin Xiaoniang hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward first to agree, “This is a good idea. What’s wrong with it? Which of our ancestors didn’t live in a cave dwelling? There were kerosene lamps and charcoal fires inside, and it was just as warm. When we go to see those merchants tonight, we must buy some charcoal. We can make it last for as many days as we can.”
Song He'er also thought this was a good idea. After all, the cave was a safe place; it couldn't be broken or burned through. If someone came to cause trouble, they wouldn't dare to mess with the house.
Ruizhen used to have a hard life because the cave entrance was too big and there was no shelter, making it too cold inside. But it's different for them. They can build up these mud bricks, and they're just like walls.
Ruizhen looked at everyone and continued, "There are a few persimmon trees planted outside the cave. I planted them in the fall, and they will bear fruit next fall. Since the place is just sitting there, I might as well move there to live."
When the topic of planting trees came up, Zhang Xiue suddenly remembered that the seeds she had stolen from the soldiers had not yet been put to use. She had been too busy before and had no time to plant.
If the housing problem is solved in the future, she really needs to put in the effort to explore farming so that they won't have to rely on purchasing food anymore.
"Let's get right to it! Let's start moving now!" Zhang Xiue said, heading towards the tent to pack her things.
But at this moment, Nian'er ran out and grabbed Zhang Xiu'e's sleeve, refusing to let go. "Mother, let's not move to Aunt Ruizhen's house. That uncle is really fierce. I'm so scared!"
The person Nianjie was talking about was Zhao Changming, who had terrified the children because of his trouble-making last time.
Qin Xiaoniang stepped forward to comfort her, "Nian'er, be good, that uncle will never appear again..."
"real?"
"real."
Hearing them say that, Ruizhen felt a little guilty.
"I'm sorry... That scoundrel Zhao Changming suffered a loss at your hands last time, and I'm afraid he'll cause trouble again, so perhaps..."
Zhang Xiue interrupted her directly, "What are you afraid of? Does that place belong to him? We'll live our own lives, let him try coming again!"
Ruizhen didn't say anything more, she just smiled faintly.
When they first arrived, they didn't have much stuff, but after living there for a while, their belongings became quite numerous and complicated. Everyone had to use their hands, but they couldn't move everything at once and had to go back and forth to move things around.
“Aunt Ruizhen, you take my third aunt and my stepmother and go ahead first. I know the way, and I will follow behind with my third uncle and the others.”
Ruizhen was somewhat surprised. "You know the way? You've been there before?"
Song He'er was a little embarrassed, "Oh... I was picking wild vegetables once, and I happened to pass by your place and saw you..."
"I see. We'll be going now."
"good!"
After saying this, Ruizhen led Zhang Xiue, Qin Xiaoniang, and other female relatives away.
Although the cave is a bit dilapidated, it can be a very comfortable place to stay if it is cleaned up.
Previously, Ruizhen's mother-in-law lived here, so it was inevitable that she couldn't keep things tidy. Now that the old lady has been taken away by Zhao Changming, the place has become more spacious, and a tent can be put inside. This way, the women can live inside, and the men can live outside.
It took the group half a day to move all the things they had brought.
"It's getting late. Let's hurry up and stack those bricks, then gather some firewood. That way, we can make do for the night."
Zhang Xiue reminded her.
Upon hearing this, Li Qiang and Song Xiaoyu went to gather firewood from the side.
Song He'er glanced at the path they had come from. It ran east to west, so the distance from here to the river was still the same.
As long as the river surface glistens, she can still spot it at a glance.
"Hey? Where did this group of people come from? Get out of the way! We were the ones who spotted this place first!"
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