Chapter 172 Harvest
Seeing Shen Jinneng go out hunting, a bunch of boys in the valley rushed home after their morning reading as usual, took out their bows and arrows, and gathered in a small open space inside the valley to play with them, having a lot of fun.
Because the brothers Xu Wenqing and Xu Wenhong joined them, they were able to get together and continue studying for an hour every day. Wang Yunzheng and others also went to practice archery.
Sang Luo practiced calligraphy on a slate at home when she had nothing to do. Xu Wenyin and Shen Ning followed her. Wei Lingzhen was so happy when she saw this, but she didn't bother them. She went back and told Mrs. Xu, "Having a good neighbor is really better than anything else. Wenyin never had such peace of mind at home before."
Old Madam Xu laughed when she heard this and said, "You haven't seen Yun Zheng and Xiao An, they are also competing so hard that Wen Bo feels embarrassed to slack off."
All the children in this valley study, but the ones who work the hardest are actually my two children and Shen An. Well, there is another one, probably the child named A Xu from Lu Erlang's family. He likes to follow Shen An and the other two the most. After reading under the tree, he will go to their home or Shen's home to study together. He is young and cannot keep up with the progress, but he doesn't ask what the meaning is, and just follows them anyway.
When Wei Lingzhen heard that her son had made progress, her eyes curved into smile lines: "It's good that he's making progress, but it's a pity that Wenqing and Wenhong aren't paying attention to this."
Mrs. Xu was quite open-minded and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't focus on this. You should learn to recognize and write characters, and learn to do accounts. It's the same with learning business from their father. You said that Yuanchang didn't have time to teach them before, but now he has time. Just study hard in the mountains. If you learn well, you won't have to worry about your future when peace comes outside. If you study hard, Yunzheng will have some hope in the future. For a family like us, we can't think of any future."
Nowadays, it is very difficult to earn your own way from poverty to wealth, or to cross social classes. If you want to enter a certain social class, you must first look at your family background. Just studying and wanting to move up? How easy is that? This has been the case for many dynasties and generations. The old lady didn't expect much at all. She let her children study, but that was just to enlighten them and increase their knowledge and skills. There was no need to think about anything more.
Wei Lingzhen nodded, then thought of something and said, "I see that Yun Zheng is much more cheerful now, and loves to laugh and talk."
Mrs. Xu smiled and said, "We brought this child out this time. Although the families in the valley live in poverty, everyone is simple and warm-hearted, and the children are well-educated. He is facing these people every day here, how can he not be happy? Isn't this much better than being in that pile of thorns and needles?"
Wei Lingzhen felt relieved: "Stay here for a few years, and you will be able to protect yourself when you get out. My little sister will be relieved if she knows about this."
Speaking of the Wang family, they can't help but worry about their parents and the safety of their old master, but it's in vain. The mountains and rivers are long and there is no way to save them. In the words of Mrs. Xu, "Everyone has their own fate. The old man of the Wang family is also a man who knows how to adapt. He may be able to save his family. But you and your daughter are lucky to be able to save your lives."
Isn't it just luck?
This is also the character of Chen Lie and Chen Dashan.
…
The clouds and mist in the valley dissipated late. Although it was summer, the sun did not set until after noon. Sang Luo noticed the change in light. She turned her head and looked away. Her brows relaxed. She put down her pen and called out to Shen Ning: "Aning, come with me to move the drying rack and pour out half a bag of grain to dry it."
Xu Wenyin also reacted: "I will go back and tell my mother and grandmother to dry the grain."
Grain stored in the cave for a long time is easily affected by moisture. Since bamboo was brought in to weave baskets and build drying racks, as long as the sun is out, each family will pour the grain on the drying rack in turn to dry.
In Yun Valley, each family was drying their grain. Outside Yun Valley, Chen Lie took Shen Jin to set traps, pick wild vegetables and mushrooms along the way. During this time, they saw flocks of pheasants several times, and everyone went straight to using bows and arrows. After all, Shen Jin was still young, and had just switched from a slingshot to a bow and arrow, so he was not used to it. Therefore, Chen Lie, Chen Dashan, Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang all had some gains, but Shi Da, Shi Er and Shen Jin did not succeed.
Shi Da couldn't use a bow and arrow, and Shi Er's archery skills were even worse than Lu Sanlang's. They occasionally got something by setting traps, and occasionally they had to fight wild animals head-on in close combat, and they would also get a share. The two brothers were quite calm, and they watched Chen Lie and the others pick up pheasants with a smile.
There are marks on the bamboo arrows, so it is easy to tell who shot them.
Around 7:00 p.m., as the group was walking, Chen Lie raised his hand to stop and listened attentively.
Chen Dashan was very familiar with his reaction, so he listened carefully and reacted after a while: "Is there water?"
Shen Lie laughed and motioned for everyone, “Let’s go.”
People need to drink water, and so do animals. Finding a water source is the easiest way to find animal traces. When a few people went there, they walked slowly, carefully looking for traces on the ground all the way.
This was a mountain stream. Chen Lie saw gnawed grass and dug-up soil not far from the stream. After seeing a few hoof prints, he confirmed: "There are quite a few wild boars."
He stopped moving forward and said, "Retreat. Don't leave any traces here. Come back in the afternoon."
Shen Jin was a little puzzled, and Shen Lie was willing to teach him: "Wild boars are more likely to appear in the evening, and it is difficult to encounter them at this time. If we stay here for too long, there will be smells and traces. It would be more convenient to ambush them in the afternoon."
The group quickly withdrew from the area, walked around for a while, and harvested a few more rabbits. Of course, what made Chen Lie happiest was that he found the rush that Sang Luo wanted.
Every household needs this thing. In addition to being used to make wicks for pillows, it is also a good thing for weaving mats. Even Shen Jin, a half-grown child, knows how to use it. He cut a lot of it, and several adults carried a large bundle on their shoulders.
There was no need to stay any longer. The backpack was half full, and with so much rush on their shoulders, they wouldn't be able to carry anything if they wandered around in the woods. Chen Lie led everyone to find a suitable place to set up a few traps and then started to turn back.
Shen Jin was a little depressed, as he had gained nothing from this trip.
But he also knew that this was normal. It was the same in the past. Once a trap was cast, there might not be any harvest on the same day, but fortunately there were still wild vegetables.
Shen Lie carried all the rush he had cut, and he continued to pick wild vegetables along the way, even cutting grass that could feed chickens and ducks. Occasionally, when he saw some raspberries, he would pick them up as treasures, wrap them in leaves, and fill his backpack to the brim.
Chen Dashan and the others looked at him with smiles in their eyes.
Among this group of people, probably only Shen Jin, Shi Er and Lu San did not realize that although Shen Lie was exploring a new area today, he actually chose an area where no wild beasts would appear based on the traces. To put it bluntly, he did it to take care of Shen Jin.
Even if the skinny kid was stronger than his two younger brothers, how much stronger could he be? But because of Shen San and Li, the three brothers were in a really awkward situation. At least that was the case with the more sensible Shen Jin. I didn't see how happy he was when he found out he could get out of the valley in the morning, holding his bow and arrow.
Shen Jin is eager to prove that he can support himself and his younger brother.
So Chen Dashan and his gang were happy to accompany him. Shen Lie did not shy away from teaching Shen Jin. People like Lu Sanlang and Shi Erlang were able to learn something from him, and even Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang occasionally gained something.
The return journey took nearly an hour. Fortunately, this place might really be deep in the forest and no one was around. Animals of all sizes were not so defensive against people, and even more so against traps. Among the fifteen or sixteen traps they had set when they came in this morning, three contained pheasants, one of which was Shen Jin's.
When he saw the pheasant, he was so happy that he almost pounced on it.
They returned to Yun Valley at the end of noon. Sang Luo had just woken up from a nap and heard the sound of several children talking in a low voice. She opened her eyes and woke up, then she remembered that it was noon. She half sat up and lifted the curtain. Chen Lie had just reached the platform and was about to put weapons on the shelf, and their eyes happened to meet.
"Did it wake you up?"
Sang Luo shook her head: "It's time to get up. You just got back?"
She got up to fold the quilt, and came down soon. She sat on the platform and put on her shoes. She saw several bundles of rushes at the entrance of the cave, and her eyes lit up: "Did you really find this?"
Rush, also known as rush, is excellent for making mats. The bed she and Shen Ning sleep on now is smaller than the original one, so the original mat is not easy to lay.
Chen Lie laughed, "I found it, but I haven't picked the mugwort yet. The area where I picked fresh mugwort leaves before is too close to our valley. I don't want to leave traces around the valley, so I didn't go there to cut. I'll look for it in another area tomorrow."
Sang Luo naturally had no objection. She put on her shoes and walked out. Before she reached the cave entrance, Shen Jin came in holding a bamboo basket. When he saw Sang Luo got up, his eyes lit up.
"Sister-in-law, I picked some raspberries. They are very sweet. Would you like to try some?" As she said this, she lifted the bamboo basket up. There were about two or three handfuls of cleanly washed raspberries in it.
Sang Luo pinched one and put it in her mouth to taste it. It was sour and sweet, and quite refreshing. She smiled, took two more, and then said, "It is quite sweet. I'll try a few, and you little ones can eat the rest."
Shen Jin was very happy to see her eat it, and wanted to ask for more, but he was too embarrassed to open his mouth. He took a bowl and put the raspberries in it, about half a bowl, and put it on the table, saying, "Sister-in-law, take more if you want to eat."
Chen Lie took a look and smiled as he went to carry the rush outside to the empty cave on the upper side where Shen Jin's brothers were. If they were to be used to make mats, they had to be dried in the sun for seven days. Since the grain was already drying on the drying rack outside, it would be more convenient to dry it near the cave entrance.
Chen An, Chen Ning, Shen Yin, and Chen Tie were outside, sorting things out of baskets. When Sang Luo came over, Chen Ning smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, Xiao Jin picked a lot of wild vegetables and also cut half a basket of grass to feed the chickens and ducks."
They planted vegetables wherever there was room for crops in the valley, leaving some space for everyone to hang out. Before, they had weeded out all the grass for fear of snakes, but later they found a way to move some grass to feed the chickens and ducks, but it was not enough. So Shen Ning, who took care of the chickens and ducks at home every day, was really happy to see the half basket of grass.
Shen An envied: "Xiao Jin caught a pheasant."
Sang Luo leaned over to take a look and said, "Is it still alive? Clip its wings and build a small chicken coop to keep it. Then you can eat pheasant eggs in the future."
Shen Jin heard this and said, "Sister-in-law, I have set up quite a few traps. Brother has shot three pheasants today. That one is not alive and cannot be kept. This one will be kept. When the other three are finished, this one can be eaten at home. I will trap another one later and keep it."
Sang Luo glanced at him after hearing what he said, then realized that he also wanted to give something in return.
She looked at the grass used to feed the chickens and ducks, and the basket of wild vegetables. She couldn't help but smile. She looked at Shen Jin again and saw that he was not reluctant. She said, "Your eldest brother is good at hunting. We don't need to eat at home. It's good enough if you have this intention. But your idea is right. I'll give you a suggestion. Keep these chickens first. When you have five in a few days, you can send one to each of your grandparents, uncles, and aunts who have helped you. You don't have to send them every time you go hunting, but now that you have settled down in the valley and everyone is helping you, it can be considered a token of your own intention to send the things you hunted the first time you go out hunting to each family."
"We don't have enough pheasants today. Take Xiaoyin and Xiaotie to give two bunches of wild vegetables to each family. The size of the gift is not important, but the thoughtfulness."
It's not easy for a child. If he didn't have this idea, Sang Luo might not say much, but Shen Jin himself has this awareness, so Sang Luo is happy to guide him.
Shen Jin did listen to it. He remembered what he had said to Xu's aunt-in-law on the day he was rescued by the Xu family, that he would catch a pheasant in the future so that everyone could have chicken soup.
Although he was picked up by his elder brother and elder brother Dashan as soon as he escaped, and it was not his turn to trap pheasants, Shen Jin still remembered what he had said. After hearing what Sang Luo said, he nodded repeatedly: "Okay, then I will take Xiaoyin and Xiaotie with me after I pick up the wild vegetables."
Chen An and Shen Ning also laughed and helped by picking the wild vegetables and tying them into bundles with straw ropes.
There wasn't much food, so Sang Luo didn't help. She went out to turn over the grain, looked at the three pheasants that Chen Lie brought back, called Chen Ning to boil some water, and prepared to cook them in a while. She would make one into a smoked chicken and eat the other two now.
Among the seven people, Chen Lie still has a good appetite. Sang Luo plans to take out the chicken breast and chicken thigh meat and try frying chicken chops. They will mainly eat meat in the future, so chicken chops and pork chops should be good to try.
However, she looked at the clay pot at home and thought that if it was used to fry various steaks for a long time, it would not last long.
When Chen Lie came down from the small cave above, Sang Luo called him and said, "Will you accompany me?"
This way out naturally points to the valley.
Chen Lie didn't even ask what he was doing, he just agreed first, and then said, "Are you looking for something?"
Sang Luo nodded: "I want to go to the mountain stream I went to before to see if there are any hard and fire-resistant stone slabs that can be used to grill meat without bursting."
The mountains in this area are full of strange peaks and beautiful rocks, and there is no shortage of various stone materials. Sang Luo has seen a lot of granite in the valley, but the pieces are relatively large, and she can't just chisel a piece out right away. When she went out with Chen Lie before, there must have been a stream outside, so she thought of looking in the stream.
When Chen Lie heard about barbecue, he understood. Although he didn't understand why barbecue had to be done on stone slabs, wouldn't it be better to just use branches to skewer them? But Sang Luo wanted to go out, so there was no need to argue.
"So let's go now?"
Sang Luo nodded, asked Shen An and Shen Ning to kill the chicken, took an empty backpack and prepared to go out.
Chen Lie took the weapons and ropes, took the backpack, watched Sang Luo tie the rope first, checked to make sure there was no problem, then he led the other end up into the cave first, and then grabbed the rope end.
Sang Luo had followed Chen Lie out of the mountain many times, so she would no longer feel weak in the legs when climbing up again. The rope used by Chen Lie was actually just a protective measure. It was only at the top two steps that Chen Lie subconsciously reached out and pulled Sang Luo up because the mountain was too steep.
Sang Luo didn't think much about it. It was indeed not easy to go up the last few steps. It was Chen Lie who almost pulled her into his arms. Fortunately, she retreated quickly, but her fingertips were numb and her heartbeat was disordered.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
