Chapter 177 The Village Outside the Village (Minor Repair)
It's a live sheep.
It’s still one to two, including the big and small ones, three in total.
It took Chen Lie and Chen Dashan a lot of effort to get the ewe into the entrance and exit. Fortunately, there were two lambs leading the way, so they managed to carry the sheep in smoothly.
Going down the valley was an even bigger task. The wolf and the lamb that was bitten to death were fine as they did not struggle. The three live sheep were tied into a basket with several ropes wrapped around the surface of the basket to make sure they would not break free before they were slowly lowered into the basket.
The first people to be attracted by the bleating sounds were a group of children in the Shenjin Cave. The noise was too rare in the valley, so they rushed down to watch the fun.
After everything was put down, Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang went down to the bottom of the valley. The three sheep and the dead wolf had already been surrounded by a group of children. The Xu family lived nearby and they also ran out when they heard the noise.
Uncle Xu looked at the wolf and swallowed his saliva. He went out to pick mushrooms and encountered a wolf.
Xu Wenqing's eyes lit up. After digging the pond, the area inside the valley was too small. Apart from the area under the tree where the children played, there was no place to practice archery. In order to practice archery, he had already run to the outer side of the valley, which was the side where several compost ponds were dug...
I don’t mind it even if it stinks.
Well, I heard that they used a special composting method and it didn’t smell particularly bad.
In short, my blood is boiling.
Chen Lie and Chen Dashan had to go out and clean up the mess. This time, unlike the previous time when they hunted wild boars and dealt with them outside before bringing them back, they brought them back directly. The ewe was still injured, and they were afraid that there would be some bloodstains outside, so they had to go back and explore for a while and deal with any places with bloodstains.
Sang Luo and Qin Fangniang moved their belongings back to the cave first. Upon hearing the news, Old Man Chen and Old Lady Chen came out and called Chen Youtian to help them clean up the cave and accommodate a few sheep. In fact, there was not much to clean up. The most important thing was to build a wooden fence and a sheep pen. The crops and vegetables were grown outside. If a few sheep were allowed to wander around, everything would be in trouble.
A bunch of children followed, and the Xu family's manager Xu, Xu Wenqing and Uncle Xu also came out to help. The Shi family, Zhou family and Lu family had also heard about it, and the men brought a lot of leftover wooden boards and strips from making furniture at home.
It took more than a dozen people to build a fence with a gate, and under the leadership of Chen Youtian, it was done quickly.
Originally, they planned to surround the cave entrance directly. The women were careful and thought that if people wanted to see the sun, then the sheep also needed to see the sun. In the end, they surrounded the cave entrance with a small circle, which meant that the three sheep had a few square meters of space outside the cave, similar to the size of a modern balcony, where they could bask in the sun and breathe in the fresh air.
When the three sheep, one big and two small, were let out, they all hid in the cave, bleating. This disappointed the children who were standing outside the fence, and they all stretched their necks.
The little girl loved these soft little animals the most. It was not until Xu Wenyin could no longer see the sheep that her mind finally turned to the other side. She exclaimed and said to Shen Ning, "You guys have goat milk to drink!"
Shili Village is a small village, and Shen Ning has never seen anyone in the village raise sheep, so he has no idea that raising sheep can give him goat milk. After hearing what Xu Wenyin said, he realized it belatedly and went to see Sang Luo: "Sister-in-law, is there really goat milk?"
Sang Luo laughed and said, "Yes, but the ewe is injured and has two lambs to feed. She is also shy since she just arrived. Let her take care of them first."
When Shen Ning heard that there really was goat milk, he became happy even though he actually had no idea what it tasted like.
The adults were more realistic and were thinking about how to feed the sheep in the future.
Before Sang Luo could say anything, Chen Lie and Chen Dashan came back. As soon as they came back, they went to discuss things with a few people in charge, and then everyone knew about it soon.
Chen Lie and Chen Dashan suggested occupying several caves near the valley before the refugees entered the inner area.
Chen Lie said, "A Luo brought it up. Da Shan and I thought about it and realized that this is the truth. Rather than letting the refugees from outside stay here and making our entry and exit passive, why not take the initiative to occupy the place and lock the door? This way, even if they are chopping wood nearby or walking around daily, they will leave obvious traces. There will be traces everywhere, so this trace will not be obvious. With one bright and one dark, our valley can be better protected, and the elderly, women and children can hide safely."
"Besides, autumn is coming soon. The food we can harvest in the valley is limited, but the products outside the valley are abundant. We can't stay in the valley. Uncle Zhou, Manager Xu, if your family is willing, you can send a few people to follow us. Take advantage of the autumn to go out and collect more good things and store them. We can also save some food for the winter."
"If we encounter people when we go out hunting and gathering, we can live in the cave outside first, and then bring the supplies back to the big cave at the entrance of the valley when it's quiet at night. This is much cheaper. In fact, to avoid leaving too obvious traces, the main laborers can even live directly in the small cave outside during the gathering season, and only send supplies in every few days. As long as we take good defense and can take care of each other, there shouldn't be any problems."
Who would not be willing to accept this?
No matter how careful they were, how could they leave no traces when they were always in and out? Over time, it would be hard to conceal it. Whether it was food, vegetables, meat or firewood, the valley was not enough to be self-sufficient, so it was unrealistic to not go out at all.
Like now, there are human traces outside, one real and one fake, and the valley can be completely hidden.
Not to mention that this allows young and strong people to go out hunting and gathering freely, greatly reducing the risk of exposure in the valley.
Everyone knows that the mountains are rich in resources in autumn, but even Lu Erlang and Shi Dalang would not dare to go far without the guidance of Chen Lie and Chen Dashan. The Zhou and Xu families would never dare to hold back.
At this moment, Chen Lie and Chen Dashan took the initiative to offer to occupy a cave outside, find a way out for them, and take them to find supplies. This was something they were embarrassed to ask for before, so how could they refuse?
That’s a hundred willingnesss!
They all agreed.
At this point, Chen Lie said, "There is one more thing about this matter. Whoever is allowed to leave from each family must have been reviewed by Dashan and me, and must be someone we can take with us."
To put it bluntly, it has to be something they are willing to bring and it won't add too much burden to them.
Everyone understands this, and this set of rules actually restricts the four companies that need to be led.
Old Man Lu was the first to express his opinion: "Our family will just be the two brothers Erlang and Sanlang."
Shi Dalang said: "Our family is still just me and my second brother."
When they arrived at Zhoucunzheng, he thought for a moment and said, "We need to keep the young and strong in the valley. I have three children. Let's take turns. Two children can go out at a time."
Seeing that everyone had said so, Shopkeeper Xu thought for a moment and said, "In our family, Uncle Xu, Wenqing, Qinghe, and I will also take turns, with two going out at a time."
There is no need to talk about the Chen family and the Shen family. From the Chen family, it's just Qin Fangniang and Chen Youtian who take turns going out. As for the Shen family, Chen Lie should either take Sang Luo or Shen Jin with him. It should be up to Sang Luo to go or not.
After the matter was agreed upon, Chen Lie did not delay and said, "Those who will leave the valley in the future, please come and join us later. Before it gets dark, follow Dashan and I to explore the nearby hills, especially those near the entrance. First, determine how many caves there are. Select a cave, bring a hatchet or axe, and chop some firewood and bring it back for storage."
Preparing firewood is a big deal. The big cave above is extremely large. Except for a small area from the entrance to the lower valley left open for storing things, it is best to store enough firewood inside, because it is not always convenient to transport firewood in.
Everyone nodded and dispersed quickly.
Sang Luo wanted to go with them, but not only did they have a few new sheep today, but they also picked a lot of white fungus, mushrooms, and wild fruits. They all had to be cleaned up before the sun went down. They had to be washed and dried in the sun. Thinking that Chen Lie was steady and reliable, she simply put the matter aside and waited for a chance tomorrow for Chen Lie to take her to see it.
He only told Chen Lie to pick some tender leaves from the shrubs that sheep liked to eat when he was chopping wood, and to cut more tender grass as well, to feed the chickens, ducks and sheep.
When Chen Lie and Chen Dashan went out again, each of them carried an empty backpack.
It was already mid-afternoon, and a large group of people were still going out. The heads of each family knew the reason, and if the women asked about it, the men would tell them privately, but they would not say a word to the children.
The Lu family was divided, but when Old Man Lu reported the number of people, Lu Dalang was not mentioned at all.
People from the eldest branch of the Lu family were not allowed to leave the valley. This was an unspoken understanding among the entire valley. Therefore, even though Chen Lie had not instructed them to build a cave outside, everyone had a tacit understanding not to mention it in front of the children who were most likely to spread the word after returning home.
When Lu Dalang saw Lu Er and Lu San going out with axes at this time, he just thought that Shen Lie was calling everyone to go out and collect firewood, and didn't think much about it.
…
Chen Lie went out, and Chen Ning and his friends watched Chen Youtian lay out hay for the sheep and prepare the water trough and feeding trough. After seeing enough of the excitement, they came back to help Sang Luo dry the mushrooms and wash the white fungus.
There was a group of children, even Xu Wenyin joined in the fun, so the work was done quickly. Finally, Sang Luo took out two bunches of slightly purple wild grapes picked by Chen Lie, asked Chen Ning to wash them, and shared them with the children in the valley.
She felt sour just thinking about it. The group of children were so envious of it that they frowned with envy and came over to ask for more.
Sang Luo laughed as she watched.
During this time, Chen Youtian was called, the wolf skin was peeled off, and the meat from the lamb's wound was cut off. The two families divided the meat. Sang Luo asked Shen An to send a portion of the meat to Manager Xu's family, and also gave a bowl of mushrooms, and also gave some to Shen Jin and his brothers.
Chen Lie and his group returned to the big cave twice on the way to deliver firewood and put down two baskets of grass leaves from a high place. Then they went out again and did not return to the valley until dark.
At that time, Sang Luo and Shen Ning had already prepared dinner. Today's dinner was really late, and the whole family was hungry, but Chen Lie's eyes were bright. After washing his hands and face, he whispered to Sang Luo: "Our cave is on another mountain next to the entrance. It is the cave closest to the entrance. I will take you to see it tomorrow."
It should be said that ever since Sang Luo asked him to sit next to her during calligraphy practice, Chen Lie has been firmly occupying that seat for meals. At first, Chen Ning didn't react, as his eldest brother had taken his seat for three or four days in a row. Gradually, he came to his senses and quietly changed his seat.
That's why Chen Lie could get close to Sang Luo and whisper a few words to her at this moment.
Sang Luo was now used to him occasionally getting closer to her, and nodded with a smile.
…
The herbs collected were enough to make a lot of medicine, so they didn't join in the fun of collecting mulberry leaves the next day. They asked Chen Lie to take Shen Jin out for a walk so that the three little ones could also stock up on mushrooms and hunt some pheasants. After all, their family would also have the portion prepared by Chen Lie.
Chen Lie also knew that Shen Jin was worried, so instead of picking herbs the next day, he called up people from other families, took Shen Jin and set out early. They came back in the afternoon, put down the prey and mushrooms, kept Shen Jin, and took an axe, a hoe, and the young and strong men from each family and went out again.
He didn't return until the sun set and took Sang Luo out to see the cave.
The Shen family's cave outside is just up a little from the mountain next to the mountain at the entrance of the valley. The caves of the other families are also scattered in the surrounding mountains. They are all located around the mountain at the entrance of the valley. The advantage is that they surround the entrance of the valley and are not very far away. If something happens and you shout at the loudest, the people in the other caves can hear the noise and help each other. It's very good.
As for the disadvantages, it's just like what Chen Lie said, the cave is very small, very small. Sang Luo looked at the one in her house and it was no more than six or seven square meters. There was not much space left after putting a bed in it. And Chen Lie said that there were two other houses that were even smaller. It was not called a cave, but it was more like a concave rock wall. It needed to build a wall with stones and make a door for people to live in safely.
It’s not that there aren’t slightly larger ones, but they are too far away. If they want to surround the entrance of the valley and take care of each other, this is the only option.
No wonder Chen Lie and Chen Dashan never thought that this cave could be used.
But it is enough as a temporary resting place.
The Shen family's cave has even had a door. The door frame and door are made of very thick round logs, which are dozens of times thicker than normal door panels. They should be able to protect against wild beasts. If a powerful beast comes, the ordinary thin door panels will not be enough.
Sang Luo took a closer look and wondered who came up with this idea, but there was a small hole on the door that could be opened and closed from the inside, so one could observe the situation outside or even attack with a bow and arrow from the inside. It was really stable.
There was a small open space outside the cave. Sang Luo walked around and found it was fairly flat. She said, "Build a bed inside and a shed outside with a simple stove. It should be a good place for you to stay temporarily when you go hunting. Well, plant some more snake-repellent herbs nearby."
Speaking of growing snake-repellent herbs, Sang Luo suddenly paused. She looked at Chen Lie, and Chen Lie looked at her, and both of their eyes lit up.
Sang Luo swallowed her saliva and said, "Chen Lie, now that we have moved out, we can open up the mountain land outside. We can still grow soybeans and many vegetables. As long as we can protect them, they will all be our food."
If refugees really pour in and cannot be protected, the only things they will lose are seeds and energy. For those planted in the valleys, the seeds can be retained and the loss will be very small. As for energy, what they have in abundance now is energy.
If you can find food all over the mountains, a normal person would not touch something that is obviously owned by someone. If someone really touches it, he or she must either have a bad character or cannot survive.
The south is mountainous and rich in resources, and the probability of people who are capable of going into the mountains not being able to survive is small; but if they have a bad character, Chen Lie and the others will not go to waste.
Since we need to set up a shelter outside to hide the valley, wouldn't it be more reasonable to plant something in addition to the cave?
Chen Lie and Sang Luo obviously had the same idea. They looked at each other and laughed.
"Let's go back and have dinner. After dinner, let Xiao An find each family to discuss it."
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