Jiang Zhi was mentally prepared that the road up the mountain would be difficult, but she realized she had underestimated the difficulty once she actually set foot on it.
The mountains here are not earthen mountains, but rocky mountains, and the so-called roads are just drainage ditches between the rocks, narrow and uneven.
The sharp rocks, washed by the rain, hurt the soles of your feet, and the loose stones would roll around under your feet. If you didn't take a firm step, you would tumble down the mountain with the loose stones.
Xu Errui had been going up and down this mountain since he was a child, and he could chop firewood with ease every day. It was no challenge for him.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhi also grew up in the countryside. In places where the road network did not reach, she still had to walk over mountains and valleys.
Moreover, the original owner of this body was a capable and efficient farm woman.
She simply adjusted her pace a little, and then, carrying her own things, followed Xu Errui ahead.
The foothills near the village are often felled for firewood, leaving only bare tree stumps and withered, yellow grass.
As the mountain gradually rises, miscellaneous trees appear on both sides of the path, and mountain spring water gurgles from the cracks in the rocks, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden. There are even faint green shoots by the water, all of which are grass sprouts waiting for the arrival of spring.
Image from the internet
This is practically a paradise for modern people to spend money on hiking, but Jiang Zhi was so tired she wanted to curse.
Walking under the tall oak trees, stopping and starting along the way, we finally arrived at our own charcoal shed, which was a small, roughly ten-square-meter flat area that had been painstakingly built up in a sloping oak forest.
This is roughly what the online image looks like.
The people of Xujia Village are still considered kind-hearted; the shed is still there even though it hasn't been used for two years.
Wooden sticks form the walls, and tree bark forms the roof. It looks like a roof, but it leaks rain; it looks like a wall, but it lets in the wind.
As soon as Jiang Zhi went in, her face was covered in cobwebs.
Xu Errui put his own basket into the shed, then put Jiang Zhi's basket in as well, before wiping his sweat with his sleeve.
Jiang Zhi looked around the shelter, panting. Because it was a coal dump, the ground was covered with layers of black coal ash, and there were some broken coal slag piled up in the corner.
These were previously unsellable scraps that could only be discarded, but now they are valuable items for those who have fled.
Seeing that his mother was interested in the charcoal slag, Xu Errui pointed to the back of the shed and said, "There's more waste charcoal in there; we used to dump it out."
"Okay, clean up the ground, put on some fresh soil, and repair the shed again." Jiang Zhi quickly gave the instructions and then checked the surrounding area again.
The wooden shed didn't collapse, which saved a lot of trouble. Those few pillars can still be used; all that's needed is to replace the roof.
What pleased her most was that there was a mountain spring right next to the charcoal shed.
Although small, a thin stream of water gathered to form a pond, the water clear and bright, but it was filled with fallen leaves, making it look messy.
The two said they needed to clean up the charcoal shed and would start working immediately after resting for a while.
Jiang Zhi used the hoe she brought to shovel soil, while Xu Errui used a machete to cut the vines and brambles growing next to the shed.
After working busily for an hour, during which they ate half a grain cake with spring water, the two finally finished cleaning the charcoal shed.
The old soil, thorns, and fallen leaves were piled up in the oak forest, while the charcoal shed was covered with fresh, yellowish-brown soil, which looked pleasing to the eye.
This was the first time Jiang Zhi had ever felt so relaxed and happy.
It was already getting dark, so we needed to hurry down the mountain and go home.
It is often said that going up a mountain is easy but going down is difficult, but in some ways, going down is easier.
Their baskets were empty. Except for taking the first step, which was voluntary, the rest of the journey was almost entirely a scramble and tumble, a struggle against their will.
It takes two hours to go up the mountain, but only thirty minutes to go down. Standing at her doorstep, Jiang Zhi's legs were still trembling.
Although the original owner was already a grandmother, she was only in her thirties, which would still be considered a young and strong person in modern times. Otherwise, she would have been exhausted from all this.
In the evening, daughter-in-law Qiaoyun took out a clay pot and cooked a pot of sweet potato and mixed grain porridge.
After setting up the overturned table and benches from the daytime, Qiaoyun first ladled a bowl of dry food from the bottom of the pot for her mother-in-law, then ladled a large bowl of thick food for her husband, Xu Errui. Finally, she rinsed the remaining bits of porridge from the edge of the pot with water and made it her own.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, there were clearly three people in the room, but Nie Fantian was missing. Yet, the room was deathly silent, and no one spoke.
Jiang Zhi looked at the dark, mushy porridge in the rough earthenware bowl in front of her, and the bowl of finely chopped pickled vegetables that Qiao Yun had specially prepared in the middle of the table. Her heart was in turmoil.
She was very familiar with this kind of food; she had eaten it like this since she was a child.
Especially these pickled radish greens, the taste is just like the Sichuan pickled vegetables that have remained unchanged for thousands of years.
Am I in the book, or in some parallel world of Sichuan?
Jiang Zhi stood there blankly without picking up her chopsticks, and Qiaoyun and Xu Errui next to her dared not eat, even though the two young people were already starving.
Under the table, Qiaoyun nudged Xu Errui's leg, urging him to speak.
Xu Errui stammered, "Mother, Xiaotian... he's a heartless bastard. Don't be angry, Mother. He's gone anyway. We'll just disown him from now on."
Jiang Zhi slowly came to her senses: "Who are you talking about?"
Xu Errui opened and closed his mouth twice, then stammered, "Xiao Tian... he's heartless, Mother, don't be angry!"
"Xiao Tian!" Upon hearing this name, Jiang Zhi gradually understood.
In the book's ending, that brat is destined to become the regent, and as long as I survive to the end, I'm sure I can return to reality.
Yes, we must survive.
The world in the book is too cruel; it's time to get back to reality.
We only realize the value of something when we lose it.
It was only then that Jiang Zhi realized that the peaceful era and the comfortable life that were commonplace in modern times were something that others dreamed of.
Seeing that his mother was lost in thought after saying "Xiao Tian," Xu Errui didn't know what to do.
He thought that Xiao Tian wasn't family to begin with, so he shouldn't bring it up again.
Urged on by Qiaoyun, he was about to speak again when his mother pushed the bowl away: "Qiaoyun, pour the three bowls of porridge into the pot and stir them together, then serve them to us."
Qiaoyun stood up in shock: "Mother, I dare not!"
Jiang Zhi took matters into her own hands and poured the three bowls of rice back into the pot: "Qiaoyun, remember, from now on, you must serve the same amount of rice."
"I'm the elder, so I should eat well. Errui is the breadwinner of the family, so he should eat well too. And you, with the baby in your belly, should eat even better. From now on, we'll eat well every meal."
Jiang Zhi grew up in the countryside, and no matter how poor her family was, she had never heard of anyone dividing a pot of rice into different grades.
In short, it all boils down to insufficient food and a lack of resources.
Watching the pregnant woman drink clear soup made me lose my appetite.
Xu Errui rubbed his hands together, a simple smile spreading across his face: "Mother, what good food can we eat?"
Qiaoyun clutched the hem of her clothes, her face flushed: "Mother, this...this is against the rules!"
Back when she lived with her parents, she was always the last to eat the crispy rice crust soaked in water.
When they arrived at the Xu family home, although the mother-in-law had a bad temper, she still made sure that Xiao Tian ate his fill of plain rice and soup, while Xiao Tian ate only rice with water and crispy rice crust.
Now that Xiaotian is gone, it's natural for him to eat by himself.
Jiang Zhi slammed her hand on the table: "What rules? As long as I'm in charge in this family, you all have to listen to me, and that's the rule."
Thus, Qiaoyun ate the most equitable meal of her life.
Although it wasn't the kind of meat we eat during the Lunar New Year, it still felt comforting.
However, this was not the time to eat and sleep comfortably. The family of three had just put down their bowls when they heard someone knocking on the courtyard gate again. Xiaoman shouted in her loud voice, "Aunt Jiang, Errui, the refugees have entered the village!"
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