Chapter 199 Winter
The next morning, the Feng brothers and Gan Erlang came again, each carrying a load and a basket. On the surface, one could see grain, beans, bacon, dried fruits and the like, but the most abundant thing was the yam that was filled to the bottom.
Feng Dalang put down his things and called out "Master" when he saw Chen Lie. Chen Lie looked at the baskets of yams they had brought and asked, "What are these?"
"A thank-you gift to my master's wife."
Sang Luo had originally gone over to watch the fun, but when she heard that her master's wife couldn't do anything to her anymore, her eyes widened and she even ignored the word "thank you".
"What?"
Feng Dalang had no idea that Sang Luo was asking about addressing her. He didn't think there was anything wrong with calling her that. Since they were going to worship Chen Lie as their master, of course he should call Sang Luo "Master's Wife". Although she was younger, her seniority was correct. In this era, seniority was everything. Many men in their twenties or thirties had uncles who were three or five years older. It was normal.
As if Sang Luo was asking about the thank-you gift, she smiled and said, "This yam is a good thing. We are all so happy to know that it can be used as food. This is the yam that our whole village dug yesterday. It is all here. It is the first day's harvest. Everyone has the same idea. We will not keep it for ourselves, but send it all to you, Master's wife. These bags of meat and dried fruits above are the three of us as our apprentice gifts. Master, where is your home? We will carry it to you."
It sounds so smooth.
The corners of Chen Lie's lips curled up. Seeing Sang Luo's reaction, he quickly turned his head away. A group of children had already happily led the way, and they all headed out of the Shen family cave.
The cave door was locked. Chen An and the others looked at Chen Lie and Sang Luo. Chen Lie said, "Go ahead and help move it to the firewood shed first."
There was no space to store so many things in the cave. As for accepting so many yams, Chen Lie felt that there was no problem. What Sang Luo gave out was actually a way for everyone to make a living. The Feng family, the Zheng family, the Zhou family, the Gan family, Dong Ge'er's family, and even those who lived nearby, would all benefit from it, so it was normal for them to want to show their appreciation.
The men moved quickly and handed the things to Shen An and Shen Ning in a short while.
For a formal apprenticeship, offering tea is unconditional, and Chen Lie would not accept kowtows. It would be fine if the children were making noise, but Feng Dalang and Gan Erlang were older than him. Chen Lie stopped them and asked Xu Wenqing to lead the children to practice, while he took the three who were progressing slower to the other side to teach them separately.
…
Young men in their twenties and teenagers can actually learn martial arts very quickly, especially when they have a good master to guide them and a group of companions to learn with. They are very enthusiastic and when it comes to fighting and coordinating with sticks, the group of kids are simply obsessed with it.
Do you want a master to carry you, beat you, or chase you to learn? That doesn't exist. Even if you let everyone go and rest, they will still find someone of equal strength to teach them moves.
The so-called stick techniques taught by Chen Lie were originally gun techniques practiced in the army, but he had some talent in martial arts and liked to study them. If he wanted to survive to the end on the battlefield, constantly improving his own abilities was his top priority. While the other soldiers were resting, he pulled Chen Dashan to study martial arts. While the other soldiers were sleeping, he and Chen Dashan were still practicing secretly.
He had figured out many ways to use a spear, and now he had changed it into a long stick, which he could use to poke, strike, knock, pluck, and wash, swing, chop, break, poke, hook, wrap, and press. He could sweep across at long range and use the long stick as a short distance for close combat, and use both spear and stick as a weapon for self-defense. There was nothing fancy about it, it was all honed through actual combat, and not to mention the young men, even Sang Luo, Chen Ning, and Xu Wenyin had found pleasure in practicing it.
Every day when they go out of the valley to learn martial arts, the changes of everyone in the valley are visible to the naked eye. Martial arts, strength, and agility are the first, courage and spirit are the second, and the continuation of strength. Since Chen Dashan and Lu Dalang went out, they have been secretly practicing for more than half a month. Xu Wenqing and the third son of Zhou Cunzheng's family have obviously started to use it, especially Xu Wenqing. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a martial arts fanatic. On weekdays, he chases Zhou Sanlang to fight and teach him moves. After nightfall, the two of them often stay outside the Shen family cave, and ask for advice after Shen Lie has taught Sang Luo and others alone.
This great transformation in overall strength and spirit was so great that even Zhou Dalang, who had determined from the beginning that he was not good at martial arts and was preparing to collect martial arts nearby, became envious and was eager to try. Occasionally, he would ask his two younger brothers to teach him a little in the evening.
In just 20 days, the embarrassment of Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang's departure was greatly alleviated, because the combat power of Xu Wenqing and Zhou Sanlang was rapidly improved, and with the group of young boys behind them, many of them were 13, 14 or 15 years old, each with a long stick, they would be a group of little wolf cubs. The younger ones like Shen An, Shen Ning, Shen Jin, Erniu, Xu Wenbo, and Xu Wenyin, as long as two or three of them were in a group and had a long stick in their hands, they would be able to fight even if they encountered two adults with bad intentions.
The original order of hunting in groups outside the village was restored. Except for Chen Lie who refused to leave, the rest of the people, including the group of children, were divided into two groups and sent out in turns.
Shen An and Shen Jin were still quite obsessed with their own hunting and gathering, and would always follow Xu Wenqing's team. Sang Luo couldn't go out with Shen Ning, and spent a lot of time practicing archery and stick techniques.
During this period, a strange thing happened.
One morning, everyone went out for a morning run. When they came back, they found that there were some extra things on the road that they had to take for the morning run not far from the village.
At first there were only a dozen yams, and later on there were more and more various things, mostly mountain products. In addition to yams and konjac, there were also wild fruits, pheasant eggs, bird eggs and the like.
Chen Lie asked Xu Wenqing and a group of boys to wait in several places. They stopped one of them and found out that he was here to thank Mrs. Sang from Shili Village.
Just as Sang Luo said at the beginning, the number of people in the inner circle has actually been increasing. No matter whether they are from the valley or the Zhou family, when they go out hunting, gathering, or digging yam, if they meet strangers, especially strangers who are curious about what they are digging, they will take the initiative to teach them what they can eat.
Things like konjac and yam have been growing wildly for countless years in this deep mountain where there has been no human habitation. There are really a lot of these things. As long as you dare to go out and look for them, you will never starve to death.
If this isn’t a favor of saving one’s life, then what is?
Those who received this kindness and lived nearby were grateful. They asked around in the village where the Zhou family lived and eventually found out where the benefactor was. Once they knew, the news spread quickly and people would send gifts here from time to time to express their gratitude.
Fortunately, they were just people living nearby, and the delivery passed after a while. And because of the delivery, neighbors gradually discovered the stick techniques that were being practiced in the village outside the village. When they were practicing during the day, young men gradually sneaked over and hid behind the trees from afar to watch.
A few wooden houses were built outside the village. The trees that were cut down were from an area that Chen Lie specifically pointed out. There was no way they could be hidden. However, people who often walked around the village knew that they lived in the nearby mountains, so Chen Lie didn't point it out and let him watch. It was such a long distance away, and he was considered talented to be able to learn it.
…
Time passed quickly and it was November. The weather in the mountains began to stratify. It seemed to be snowing on the tops of the very high peaks, but it was just cold at the foot of the mountain. It had not yet reached the point of snowing. However, the weather was much colder than before outside the mountain.
Surviving the winter has become a problem for many families.
It was okay for Sang Luo and the others who were restless all day long, but when their health deteriorated, the old people and children in the valley became miserable, especially in the cave at night.
Chen Lie and Sang Luo would go back to the valley every six or seven days. During the most recent trip, Shen Yin and Shen Tie were so cold that snot started hanging from their noses.
They dug out the wolf skins they had saved up over the year from their own cave, gave two pieces to the Shen Yin brothers for a mattress and a bedspread, and gave the rest to themselves and Shen Lie and Chen An for use. They also took out some rabbit and musk deer skins to make leather vests and boots.
The leather clothes of the brothers Shen Yin and Chen Tie were taken over by Chen Pozi and Qin Fangniang. Sang Luo and Shen Ning only took those from the outside. What they lacked were actually boots. As for clothes, they could make them slowly. They didn't even know if they were really needed. If they practiced martial arts, not only would their combat power improve, but their physical fitness would also be really strong. Their hands and feet would be warm even in the winter night. For this reason, Wei Lingzhen was so happy that she asked Xu Wenyin to follow her out of the valley.
Chen Dashan, Lu Er and Lu San came back in mid-November, and they did not come empty-handed. They carried several large bags of dried meat and skins. When they came back, they were stunned to see a group of boys wielding long sticks with great vigor.
Xu Wenqing was the first to discover them. He said to Chen Dashan, who had his back to them, "Master, Brother Dashan is back!"
Chen Ershan was so excited that he almost jumped out and shouted "Brother".
Chen Lie turned around and saw Chen Dashan and Lu Er and Lu San who were like savages. He waved his hand and the team dispersed. Chen Ershan hurriedly ran to Chen Dashan's side. His elder brother had been gone for so long that his parents and grandparents must have missed him countless times.
Sang Luo also went to meet him.
Chen Dashan and the others looked very familiar at this moment. It was almost the same when Chen Lie returned home last winter.
He laughed happily: "Why did you stop? Show me how to do it."
He rubbed Chen Ershan's head with the knife and asked with a smile, "How are you doing?"
Chen Ershan's temperament became much more cheerful, and he said with a smile: "With a long stick in my hand, my father doesn't dare to fight with me."
Chen Dashan smiled: "Good, you have become more capable."
…
They couldn't enter the valley in broad daylight, so they gave the things to Chen Ershan and asked him to put them in his own cave.
Chen Lie looked at Chen Dashan, Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang and asked, "How was it, was this trip smooth?"
Chen Dashan didn't say anything. Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang nodded and said, "It's settled successfully. Let's put the things in the cave first."
After the people left, Chen Dashan said, "Wang Chunniang is gone, and Shuanzhu was injured."
It turned out that they encountered two blind bears on the road. Wang Chunniang pushed Da Niu out, but Shuanzhu reacted quickly and grabbed Da Niu. Lu Dalang only cared about himself, while Lu Sanlang protected his younger nephews. He and Lu Erlang worked together to save Shuanzhu and Lu Da Niu. It was naturally too late to save Wang Chunniang, although such a person would not be willing to be saved even if they had time.
"I shot and killed the two bears, and Wang Chunniang was disabled. One of her arms was badly bitten, and she had several bruises on her body. Uncle Lu gave her some medicine, but the injuries were too severe, and she died within two hours."
Chen Dashan didn't show any regret when he said this. Even the children from the Lu family's eldest branch couldn't cry after seeing their mother push the eldest girl out. How could he, an outsider, feel sorry for such a person?
Chen Lie and Sang Luo didn't ask any more questions and didn't care about these things.
Chen Lie said, "Uncle Youtian went out and didn't come back so early. You should go back and boil some water, take a bath and rest. You can go back in the evening. Your family is worried about you. Grandma has asked me twice."
Chen Dashan smiled, thinking of something, and hooked Chen Lie's shoulder to one side to chat. Sang Luo found it funny, and when Chen Lie came back, she asked him with a smile: "Can I ask you about the Zhou family?"
Shen Lie smiled and agreed.
…
Chen Dashan returned to the valley at night. Early the next morning, Sang Luo saw Mrs. Chen with a happy face outside the village.
The old lady, who had never left the valley, came out before dawn this time for her grandson's lifelong event. For no other reason than to go to the Zhou family to see it with her own eyes and then ask Gan to help speak on their behalf.
The discussion was about Chen Dashan's marriage, so Chen Dashan naturally couldn't go. The old lady asked Chen Lie to escort her and Gan out, and naturally, Sang Luo was also dragged along by the old lady to keep her company.
It would be nice to be able to help out in such a happy event, and it had been a long time since Shen Lie and Sang Luo had left the village outside the village. Chen Dashan and Lu Er happened to need a few days of rest, and with them in the village outside the village, Sang Luo and Shen Lie could also go out and relax. After packing up a little, they accompanied the old lady out.
In the backpack were a bow and arrow and a quiver, and in the hand was a long stick. Granny Chen was very curious about it and whispered to Sang Luo, "When my wife from Dashan comes home, you should take her with you. Not only can she protect herself, but she also has a very good body."
Sang Luo laughed when she heard this: "I think he has learned it too. He is also practicing over there. Besides, after I got married, I can only practice with him. If we want to talk about religion, isn't there the Dashan Religion?"
When Mrs. Chen heard this, she was delighted and squinted her eyes: "That's right, you are right."
Gan listened to a few words and smiled widely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
