Ye Wenxue quickly tore several pieces of cloth, wet them, and gave one to each person: "Cover your mouth and nose and lie down, don't inhale the thick smoke and ash."
Da Zhuang quickly put down Si Wang, caught the cloth, and pressed it tightly against his mouth and nose, imitating Ye Wenxue as he lay down on the ground by the lake.
Shuangshuang and Sanyuan did as she was told, each of them pressing firmly against Ye Wenxue on one side, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Black smoke billowed overhead, and animals cried out all around them. None of the children had ever experienced anything like it, and they were filled with fear.
Ye Wenxue held onto the wooden basin containing Xiao Yuanyuan with one hand, and didn't let go no matter how many times Yuanyuan kissed and clung to her.
"Cough cough..."
A faint, choking sound reached my ears.
Ye Wenxue gritted her teeth, got up, and quickly made a simple cloth cover using the limited materials. She carefully tied it to Yuanyuan's face and held her hands down to prevent Yuanyuan from pulling it off.
Yuanyuan was wearing a cloth mask and her hands were gently pressed down. She thought her mother was playing with her and kept giggling.
The children, including Dazhuang, smiled helplessly, thinking to themselves that as a family, they would accept whatever danger they might encounter.
Besides... besides, Mother is very capable; she would never let anything happen to them!
Just as Ye Wenxue was carefully observing her surroundings and the children were feeling uneasy, the wildfire spread rapidly, igniting the mountains surrounding the lake.
It was dusk, and the billowing wildfire was particularly noticeable in the dim, yellowish sky.
Ye Wenxue couldn't help but hug the trembling chicks tightly, paying no attention to the honking goose beside her.
Dazhuang also noticed the approaching wildfire. He was older and had seen wildfires before, especially in the area behind Shuixi Village.
There was a wildfire last spring when we went for a spring outing. It happened at night, and the fire turned half the sky red. The village of Shuixi at the foot of the mountain was also affected, and many people died in the fire.
Shanqing Village was neither too far nor too close. Dazhuang and the rest of the villagers saw the fire in the mountains from afar. The fire burned for a whole day before being extinguished by the belated spring rain.
This is one of the reasons why the village chief of Shanqing Village did not initially intend to escape into the deep mountains.
Wildfires are merciless and come on fiercely; there is no other way to extinguish them except by sending heavy rain.
Dazhuang looked at the gloomy, reddish sky and figured it was unlikely to rain anytime soon.
This wildfire will likely burn until there's nothing left to burn before it stops.
Ye Wenxue kept thinking about solutions to the fire. There was no need to burn the firebreak; the dried mud from the lake was a natural firebreak since there were no plants in it.
There's no need to pay attention to the wind direction anymore; the fire has already reached the lakeside, so there's no point in worrying about it.
After much thought, she realized that lying by the lake and waiting for the wildfire to burn out was the only option.
They waited for most of the night, and the kids were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the spot.
Ye Wenxue remained vigilant about the surrounding noises, fearing that snakes, ants, rats, insects, tigers, wild boars, or the like might come and hurt the children.
Fortunately, nothing happened overnight.
The next morning, when Dazhuang opened his eyes, he saw black smoke covering the sky above the lake, and the surrounding mountains had been burned to a crisp, with everything covered in charcoal.
The mother was sitting on the ground holding the sleeping Yuanyuan, her eyes looking slightly tired.
Da Zhuang got up, avoiding the thick smoke overhead, and glanced casually at the lakeside. His pupils suddenly contracted.
He quickly woke up his younger sister and brother, rushed to Ye Wenxue's side, and looked her over, feeling very guilty: "Mother, are you alright? It's my fault, I shouldn't have fallen asleep last night."
Ye Wenxue shook her head, pointing to the large snake cut in two and the two wild boars not far away, as well as a lame tiger: "It's nothing, they just tried to ambush me and I killed them. Are you hungry? Shall we make some barbecue?"
"I'm a little hungry." Dazhuang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his mother was not injured. "Mom, I'll roast the snake and have it for breakfast."
He learned a couple of tricks from his mother, so he still knows how to handle snakes.
Ye Wenxue nodded: "Go ahead, it won't be so dangerous after the wildfire has passed. We'll go back to the valley to take a look at it at noon."
Despite her outwardly calm demeanor, she was secretly distressed about the stored grain and the mud house she had painstakingly built.
Now that the wildfires have burned down these hills, it's time to go back and take a look.
Dazhuang hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."
I hope all the stuff I've stockpiled at home is still there and in good condition, otherwise it would be such a headache.
Animals in the mountains tend to avoid danger and don't dare to provoke Ye Wenxue because of the bloody smell in her area. The family watched helplessly as the hungry tigers and wild boars fought and ate each other, and they all turned their faces away with some reluctance.
After having a simple meal of snake meat, Ye Wenxue climbed up the cliff and glanced at the area affected by the wildfire. Some trees and grass were not completely burned, and there were still scattered embers burning.
Despite trying his best to avoid the still-burning areas along the way, Siwang's face was still flushed from the heat. He gritted his teeth, looked at his mother, older brother, and older sister ahead, and remained silent.
Ye Wenxue had considered leaving the children by the lake and going back to the valley alone to take a look.
However, there were too many wild animals near the lake, and the safety of the children had to be considered. In addition, there was the fear that the wildfire would spread back and cause the family to be separated.
Therefore, Ye Wenxue dared not let everyone split up and could only ask the children to make do for a while.
Before long, the family returned to the path in front of the valley.
The weeds on the path had been completely burned away, and the area near the path had been burned as well, leaving everything charred and covered in ashes.
They walked quickly to the vegetable garden and the earthen house, and everyone frowned at the same time.
The weeds and trees around the earthen house and vegetable garden had already been cleared, so the wildfire did not reach the earthen house.
But the cliff next to the valley was burned and cracked, and the mud house narrowly avoided it. Large rocks rolled into the vegetable garden, crushing the cabbages and radishes that Dazhuang had planted and the peppers that Ye Wenxue had planted. They even crushed the chicken coop, duck coop, and rabbit coop, killing a rabbit and a duck that had been bought.
The other animals, quite cleverly, escaped the fence and went to the cellar, and nothing happened to them.
Ye Wenxue stuffed Yuanyuan into Dazhuang's arms, and went into the earthen house. She was immediately choked by the thick smoke.
The valley was filled with billowing smoke and dust. The earthen houses were not spared; their outer walls were blackened, and thick black smoke swirled inside.
Unless a strong wind comes, it's probably not safe to stay here for a while.
Several caves were also burned, their walls blackened, making it easy to guess how fierce the wildfire had been the previous night.
When Ye Wenxue came to her senses, she immediately went to check the wild boar meat being smoked in the cave. The wooden frame that had been set up to smoke the meat had been burned, but apart from the charred edges, the wild boar meat, which was mostly smoked, was otherwise fine.
As long as it's edible, it's fine.
Ye Wenxue checked the cellar several times, and found that all the grains, rice, and flour stored there were safe and sound. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Ye Wenxue frowned, glanced at the thick smoke overhead, picked up a hoe, walked into the cave where she had been sleeping for a while, and slammed it heavily against the blackened cliff wall.
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