When Xu Xinning returned after delivering the food, she ran into Xu Mingyang's wife on the way.
Her belly was already showing, but she still had a lot of work to do. She had to participate in the busy farming season, take care of the family, and look after the child. Now, she was the one who did almost everything at home.
She used to be thin, but she had a rosy complexion, which showed that she was living a good life. Now, she is thin as a skeleton, with sunken cheeks and her eyes looking particularly big. Coupled with her protruding pregnant belly, she looks strange.
Out of politeness, Xu Xinning greeted her as she approached.
Perhaps due to a family crisis, and one that was related to Xu Xinning's family, Xu Yaoyang's wife had a strange expression when she saw Xu Xinning. She became much more dazed and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
Xu Xinning heard that Xu Yaoyang hadn't come back to participate in the busy farming season these past few days, using the excuse that he was busy at work, and hadn't even gone home once, staying at his workplace the whole time.
The couple from the second wife's family were also responsible for the entire brigade's fertilizer problem. Besides, these two loved to act like patriarchs, so Xu Yaoyang's wife became an important source of labor for the second wife's family.
Xu Xinning watched her departing figure, truly fearing that she might lose the baby in her womb.
Alas! Marrying a man means having clothes to wear and food to eat; marrying a wife means enduring hunger and thirst.
If a man lacks responsibility, not only will he not go hungry for his wife and children, but he can't even lend a hand when it comes to managing the household.
As the busy farming season was drawing to a close, Xu Laosan, perhaps feeling restless, secretly dragged Mu Jingheng to the place where he harvested honey. Xu Laosan had a feeling that something good was waiting for them.
When they arrived at the location, Mu Jingheng was startled. The terrain looked extremely dangerous. He mustered his courage and peered down from the edge. The area below the cliff was shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see how high it was.
Mu Jingheng felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about how Xu Laosan was actually lying on the edge cutting honey all by himself. He stood up and gave Xu Laosan a flick on the forehead.
Mu Jingheng: "You're incredibly reckless! Coming to such a dangerous place to harvest honey all by yourself, are you out of your mind?"
Xu Laosan gasped in pain, not expecting Mu Jingheng to hit so hard. He clutched the spot where he had been flicked, looking very aggrieved.
Xu Laosan: "Brother, this place looks dangerous. My sister and I know this place very well."
Mu Jingheng was shocked again. Did the Xu family's children grow up with the courage of bears and leopards? How could they be so familiar with such a dangerous place?
Seeing Mu Jingheng's surprised and somewhat frightened expression, Xu Laosan felt a little smug. But he still explained, "This place looks like a cliff, and it seems like the bottom is bottomless, but it's not as high as you think. Let me tell you a secret, there's a pool of water down there, but the water is hot and steaming. My sister says it's a hot spring, and it's good for your health."
Mu Jingheng asked in surprise, "You went down there?"
Xu Laosan patted his chest proudly: "Of course I went down there. I went down with my sister. My sister told me not to tell anyone else. She said there were herbs she needed there and she was afraid they would be wasted."
Mu Jingheng asked curiously, "How did you get down there? Was there a path leading down?"
Xu Laosan: "My sister found this crevice in the rock while she was collecting herbs. My sister and I have only been there twice. There is a cave below, but my sister said it is dangerous. My sister is very capable. She even climbed down from the top with a rope to secure herself. She said there are also herbs she needs on the cliff face."
Cave?
Mu Jingheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
Xu Mingyang was very familiar with the mountains. He led them to search almost every cave on the mountain, but they still couldn't find what they were looking for.
Could that thing be in the cave below?
Mu Jingheng was a little excited; he really wanted to go down and take a look right away.
Mu Jingheng: "Third brother, come on, take me down to take a look."
Xu Laosan looked resistant and replied, "Brother, it's not that I don't want to take you down, it's that my sister won't let me take anyone down. She said it would be very dangerous there without her."
Mu Jingheng couldn't think of any danger, except perhaps for the presence of large animals?
But wasn't it said that it's just a crack in the rock that a person can fit in? Large animals shouldn't be able to get in, right?
Mu Jingheng didn't want to make things difficult for Xu Laosan, so he thought he would go back and discuss it with Jiang Juecheng and Xu Mingyang. Since it wasn't very high, they could just come down from there.
With this idea in mind, Mu Jingheng was quite eager to try it out. He also wanted to experience how Xu Xinning gathered herbs, and if possible, he would even like to help Xu Xinning gather herbs.
Although the cliff wasn't high, Xu Xinning was, after all, a girl.
Mu Jingheng felt extremely distressed at the thought of Xu Xinning being suspended by ropes while collecting herbs; he felt that the medicines at the medical station were being sold too cheaply.
Seeing that Mu Jingheng was still standing there in a daze, Xu Laosan pulled him away and walked elsewhere.
He had already harvested the honey here for several months. He thought there might still be beehives around here. After all, there were many wildflowers on the mountain and few people came here. Wouldn't this become a natural beekeeping farm?
Actually, it was only Xu Xinning and Xu Laosan who were bold enough to stumble upon this place. The villagers around Xujia Village were all afraid of this area. The older folks said that this area was an ominous place, and some even said that it was a place where one could never return.
This may also be related to the danger that Xu Xinning mentioned.
Xu Laosan was unaware of how dangerous the place was, so he didn't take it to heart and naturally wouldn't tell Mu Jingheng any useful information.
The two men did not find any beehives in the vicinity, which disappointed Xu Laosan, who said that his sister loved wild honey and even used it in medicine.
Xu Laosan was grumbling, but Mu Jingheng took it to heart.
However, the two were still lucky enough to hunt pheasants and rabbits.
Perhaps it was because of the hot weather, but Mu Jingheng noticed that the wild rabbits and pheasants didn't seem as agile.
On their way down the mountain, the two encountered Wang Zhaoguo, who was maintaining the utility poles, and Wang Ying, who was picking mushrooms and digging for wild vegetables.
Seeing the two men carrying baskets down the mountain, Wang Ying asked, "Did you two go deep into the mountains?"
Xu Laosan: "It's not exactly deep in the mountains, Auntie, you've picked quite a few mushrooms."
Wang Ying: "There haven't been many mushrooms lately because it hasn't rained. There will probably be more after it rains for a while. If you really want to pick good mushrooms, you have to go further in. It's more humid there, and the mushrooms grow better there."
Mu Jingheng: "Auntie, it's better not to go in. We're not short of food at home. Safety first."
Wang Ying: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
In fact, Wang Ying had also been to the place where Xu Laosan and Mu Jingheng went today. Seeing that the cliff was really dangerous, and after throwing a few clods of dirt down without hearing a sound, Wang Ying never went there again.
She had heard the legends circulating in the brigade, and while she wouldn't believe them too much, she wouldn't completely forget them either. If there was such a legend, there must be a reason for its existence.
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