Chapter 129: Snake Startling/Sound Testing
Shen Jin and Shen Yin came back quickly. The two brothers found a stone mortar in the kitchen and crushed the fresh herbs. When it was time to apply the medicine, they had to take off their clothes. Li sent a few children out and asked them to close the door. She took off her clothes and applied the medicine herself.
The parts of the back that cannot be applied can only be applied here first. I can't ask my son to help me apply the medicine.
However, the person who should have taken care of her at this time ran away and disappeared. Thinking about the two months of military service she had served before the New Year, Li felt a cold and dead silence in her heart.
She used to be happy that Shen San was cold and selfish. Look, he survived to the end, didn't he? She even provoked him to be colder.
Thinking about it now, it's really ridiculous. She probably never recognized the person next to her. Did she really need to instigate those things over the years?
Only then did Li realize how stupid he was.
She put on the cotton-padded jacket as it was, lay on the bed, covered herself with the quilt, closed her eyes and didn't want to open them anymore.
There was a knock on the door several times. It was the third brother Chentie who came to see her with Tian Yaer. She answered and allowed them to come in. Then she just closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, and stopped talking.
Chen Tie brought Chen Tian to accompany him in the house, while Shen Jin and Shen Yin went to the house where they stored their food.
The two brothers looked at the little bit of food and fell silent.
Shen Yin was a little nervous: "Brother, this is all the food we have left. What are we going to do in the future?"
Shen Jin was relatively calm and comforted his brother: "Don't be afraid, let's go pick wild vegetables. My elder brother and sister-in-law have taught me a lot of edible wild vegetables, both fresh and dried. In the future, eat wild vegetables when you can, and keep the food. When you are really hungry, eat it. Then dry some more wild vegetables and store them."
His elder brother and sister-in-law have taught him so much. There are mountains everywhere here, so he will definitely survive.
Shen Yin nodded, and the two brothers went back to the room and whispered to Chen Tie, asking him to take good care of Chen Tian. They went out, carrying a backpack, a small hoe and a small sickle.
Walking out of the yard, Shen Yin suddenly said sullenly: "Brother, when our family just separated last year, my second brother and elder sister lived the same life as we do now."
Their situation was changed.
Shen Jin hummed, thinking back to how confused he was back then.
He kept silent for a while before saying, "I hope my brother and the others are safe in the mountains."
…
In the Cloud Valley, Chen Ning saw that several of her friends were a little depressed. She was the oldest girl among the girls, except for the older one who worked very hard and didn't play with them much. She threw away the grass leaves in her hand, clapped her hands and said, "Let's go pick some wild vegetables. I see my brothers are weeding. When I went to see the cave just now, I saw some astragalus and mustard greens. They are especially delicious."
As expected, the attention of several little girls was diverted and they all stood up.
Xu Wenyin has also eaten mustard greens, what is Astragalus membranaceus?
She thought so and asked. Chen Xiaoya smiled and said, "It's a kind of grass that grows in spring. It can be used as a vegetable and is very delicious."
The four little girls held hands and ran into the cave to look for their little baskets.
The large baskets and backpacks could not be brought in, but there were a few small baskets that the children who were not strong enough carried in their hands and brought in.
Shen Ning, Chen Xiaoya and Shi Qiaoer all recognized their own things. They quickly took out the small baskets and ran out with Xu Wenyin.
Shi Erlang's wife looked over and asked, "What are you doing?"
Shi Qiaoer smiled: "Mom, let's go pick some wild vegetables."
Everyone laughed, and Mrs. Chen said, "Just follow behind the adults, and don't go into the deep grass, for fear of snakes."
Several children responded crisply, and in a blink of an eye they ran to the place where Chen Lie and his friends had just dug and started picking up the trash.
Well, the adults also know how to live their lives. They throw the grass into one pile and the vegetables that can be used as wild vegetables into a separate pile. The children come over and really pick them up.
Xu Wenyin finally knew what astragalus looked like, and also saw what uncooked mustard greens looked like. She followed Shen Ning and Chen Xiaoya and had fun picking them.
Picking wild vegetables was faster than weeding. Even though the weeders were a group of young and strong men, they were swift and soon caught up with Lu Sanlang who was weeding in the first section.
Seeing that the kids had picked up all the wild vegetables he had left aside, Lu Sanlang laughed and said, "Watch your step carefully and pick up the vegetables from the places we dug before."
Indeed, this was much easier than working on the ground. The four of them responded happily and ran forward.
Chen An and the group of boys led by Hu Zi and Er Niu were further ahead. Chen Ning and his friends were picking wild vegetables. When they were not far away from them, he was about to say hello when he heard the children in front of him screaming and running away: "Snake! There's a snake! There's a snake!"
Xu Wenyin was so frightened that she stopped walking, her face pale: "Where is the snake?"
He was so panicked that he didn't know what to do. He stood there and didn't dare to move. But he saw Chen An and his group of guys dispersed and bent down to pick up their weapons.
Well, when they stood up and threw things in one direction, Xu Wenyin realized that they were picking up stones. One of them held several stones in his hand and threw them accurately in one place. Obviously, the snake was in the center of the stone.
While throwing, he shouted: "Quick, quick, throw it right!"
"This way, this way, it's coming this way."
The timid ones kept shouting "Ahhhh!", but shouting did not affect their speed in throwing stones at all. They threw even harder. When the stones in their hands were empty, they hurriedly looked around to pick up more. There were a lot of stones in this area of the mountains. They had everything they needed, and because there were so many people, the stones they threw out could always be replenished.
Xu Wenyin was so panicked that she didn't know what to do. She wanted to retreat but didn't dare to. She wanted to ask Chen Ning and the others, but found that Chen Ning and the others didn't even think about it. Even the youngest Shi Qiaoer started looking for stones on the ground, and then carefully moved towards the boys to help.
She was really careful and brave, compared with Xu Wenyin and the boys, and she hid even further away.
Then Xu Wenyin watched her three friends throwing stones towards the center one after another.
"Hurry, hurry, it's moving, it's moving!"
“Surround it, surround it, throw it this way, don’t let it come over here! Ahhhh!”
Really, it’s both scary and fierce.
Well, maybe it's because it's afraid that the snake will get close to people.
Xu Wenyin was stunned. The kids were so brave.
She had actually never seen a snake, but everyone told her to be careful of snakes along the way. She applied medicine powder on her leggings and shoes every day, and sprinkled some powder on them when she stopped to rest. She also sprinkled some powder on the tree trunks and roof of the tree house when she slept at night.
It felt like a very scary thing. Xu Wenyin didn't understand why they dared to rush towards such a scary thing? Shouldn't they run away?
Her mind was racing with thoughts: should I run, or stand still, or should I be more sociable and follow them and throw a few pieces?
While she was hesitating, Shen Ning and the others had bent down to pick up the third round of stones. There were more than a dozen children, and each of them threw at least a dozen stones.
Xu Wenyin thought, this should have killed him, right?
Curiosity made her loosen her legs and bend her waist. She first picked up a large rock with one hand to protect herself, then tried to take a step forward, and then another step. Then she walked smoothly, step by step, and slowly approached behind Shen Ning and the others.
As they got closer, they could finally see clearly. When Xu Wenyin saw the scene, she burst into tears. The two stones in her hands fell to the ground in fright, and almost hit her feet.
The adults who had heard a snake running towards them from a distance were startled when they heard Xu Wenyin suddenly burst into tears. Could she have been bitten by a snake?
Old Mrs. Xu and Wei Qinghe were just about to come over, but when they suddenly heard Xu Wenyin burst into tears, they were so scared that they almost stumbled. Old Mrs. Xu was so old that she almost stumbled as she rushed over.
When they got closer, they found that the snake was at least ten feet away from their granddaughter, and its body was broken into two pieces, with its head smashed to pieces.
She was afraid there might be another snake, so she checked her granddaughter up and down, especially her legs and feet: "What's wrong? Is she bitten?"
Xu Wenyin finally dared to move, and buried her head in her grandmother's arms. Her sobbing voice was accompanied by the little girl's voice: "No, I didn't bite, I'm just scared, grandma, its head is gone and it's still moving."
Old Mrs. Xu took a look at the snake. It was bloody and its head and body were separated. However, the head and the body were still twisting. It was so scary that her scalp went numb just by looking at it. She patted her granddaughter and said, "Don't be afraid anymore. Come on, let's go back."
Protecting his granddaughter from seeing the snake over there, he returned to the big cave.
A group of tough little village kids were confused.
I even forgot to smash the snake.
Of course, there was no need to smash it, as they were all far away, and the snake's head was half pressed down by a stone, and its body was twisting and turning. Well, it was disgusting and scary, but that's how snakes are. They don't die so quickly, and they can still twist and turn for a while.
The little kids run around in the mountains every day, and it's not the first time they encounter snakes. As long as they don't let the snakes get close to them, generally either they will be scared away or the snakes will be scared away. If the snakes are too close, and there are many of them and they have stones at hand, they will just attack them directly like they did this time.
Once a fight breaks out, everyone from teenagers to five or six years old will follow suit, quickly disperse, and then kill or scare off the other party from a distance using stones.
But there was no one in the village who would be frightened to the point of crying, not even the girls.
It’s not that I’m not afraid, it’s that I can’t care about being afraid. The more afraid I am, shouldn’t I act faster to keep myself safe?
They had just grabbed the stones and then went to grab their hair, and were confused by Xu Wenyin's sudden burst of tears.
Wang Yunzheng and Xu Wenbo were also a little confused. The cousins had not reacted at all just now. Suddenly they heard about the snake and subconsciously followed everyone else's actions without being afraid. Now seeing their cousin/sister so scared and everyone looking at each other in bewilderment, Xu Wenbo hurriedly said, "My sister has never seen a snake."
Actually, he hasn't seen it either.
Looking at it now, it was broken into three pieces and still twisted in various ways. It was a bit scary. Xu Wenbo swallowed his saliva and dared not look at it anymore: "I'm going to go see my sister."
As soon as Xu Wenbo said this, everyone reacted, and Shen Ning also ran: “Yes, yes, I will go to see Sister Wen Yin too.”
She was just busy rushing over to help and didn't pay any attention to Xu Wenyin. Of course, she didn't expect that she would be scared to the point of crying.
While running back, she did not forget to pick up the basket thrown aside. As for the snake, well, she didn't dare to get close to it. Anyway, the adults had arrived and they would take care of the snake. The group of children ran towards the big cave again.
In the big cave, Xu Wenyin was still crying, but her voice had become much quieter. It was obvious that she felt much more at ease now that she was away from there and with her elders around.
The adults also gathered back. It was Lu Erlang who took the snake away to deal with it. Of course, he didn't bring it into the cave to scare the children later.
Sang Luo, however, looked at Xu Wenyin who was crying and remembered the group of children screaming that there was a snake. She realized something else. She walked towards Chen Lie and said, "You and Dashan call a few people to go out now, seal the entrance of the cave, and stand at different positions on the surrounding mountains. Stand at the foot of the mountain, the mountainside, and the top of the mountain. I will ask the children to make some noises at different positions to see if you can hear it."
This is very important.
The forest is so big, but they may not be the only ones who have escaped here. Although the mountain is thick and high, they dare not raise roosters for safety reasons. If they want to live a peaceful life, they cannot expose their whereabouts in their daily lives. Sound propagation is affected by various environmental factors, which Sangluo cannot calculate. Therefore, they have to measure it manually to feel at ease and have a safety line at the end.
Chen Lie understood immediately and said, "The mountains in this area are very high. I estimate that the mountains around the canyon are at least two or three hundred feet high. It takes a long time to climb up. Dashan and I have measured this section before. He tested several levels of volume below. I can't hear it at the top, middle and bottom of the mountain, but it is relatively weak outside the two entrances."
Two or three hundred feet, that is six or seven hundred meters to nearly a thousand meters. Sang Luo was dumbfounded. No wonder she couldn't see the top when she looked up. If she wanted to climb up, even if she asked Chen Lie to climb, it would probably take more than half an hour, right? Sang Luo couldn't quite estimate it, but such a high mountain, especially this one was so steep, was definitely not easy to climb.
Since Chen Lie has tried it, forget about this one. She said, “Then try other places at the bottom of the mountain and on the mountainside.”
Naturally, Chen Lie said nothing. Of course, the test by himself and Chen Dashan could not compare to the test by dozens of people at different points inside and outside. He discussed with Sang Luo which positions should be tested and asked everyone to follow him out.
When she heard that her voice was to be measured, Xu Wenyin stopped crying. She finally realized that she had been crying too loudly and that this might not be good.
Sang Luo teased her with a smile: "You can cry later."
Xu Wenyin was dumbfounded, and she twitched subconsciously: "I can't cry anymore."
Old Mrs. Xu burst out laughing.
Chen Ning and the others also laughed, but Shitou and Sanniu smiled and leaned over: "Sister-in-law A Luo, do you want people to cry? Can we do it without tears? We can do it."
Why are you howling? Everyone does that.
Sang Luo laughed: "No need for tears, just howl. I'll be pointing at you guys later. Cry when sister-in-law tells you to."
The two little guys seemed to have received an incredible mission. They puffed out their chests and clapped their hands: "We promise to cry well!"
Seeing this, the youngest A Xu also spoke up: "Sister-in-law A Luo, I can cry too."
Feng Liuniang laughed so hard that she bent over, and the older kids beside her, such as Huzi, Erniu, and Daniu, also laughed out loud.
Sang Luo saw the older boys laughing at the three silly kids, so she pointed at them and said with a smile: "None of you can run away. Stand in different places. If I tell you to cry, you all cry."
The boys suddenly stopped laughing, and this time it was Shitou and the other two's turn to cover their mouths and laugh.
Sang Luo then said to Feng Liuniang and the others, "Aunts, take care of it later. Don't let it run into any snakes or anything else."
After waiting for a quarter of an hour or two, everyone was allowed to set off. All the women and children in the valley were mobilized, and people were arranged to stand at intervals in the valley, including in the cave. When everything was ready, Sang Luo stood at the entrance of the canyon to facilitate the connection with Chen Lie outside.
Chen Lie calculated that the time was almost enough for everyone to find their respective positions, and talked to Sang Luo through the small gap that was not sealed, indicating that they could start.
Sang Luo directly asked Zhou Cunzheng, who was helping to run errands and pass messages, to go inside and inform the children to start howling loudly.
Shitou, Sanniu, Axu, Qiaoer and Xiaoyaer, the younger ones were the most cooperative. The older ones were a little shy at first, but after the first howl, they howled louder and louder, with their necks stretched out, treating it as a fun thing.
Sang Luo calculated silently in her mind, and waited until they had been howling for more than three minutes, then she asked Zhou Cunzheng to pass on the message, asking the children to gather together, and did nothing else, just let Chen An lead the group to recite the Thousand Character Classic at the top of their voices.
Starting from the deepest part of Yun Valley, they changed places one by one, reciting a passage at each place on their back. They recited it so smoothly and the sound was so neat.
Wang Yunzheng, Xu Wenbo and Wei Qinghe were all stunned.
Are the children in Shili Village so talented? How come they are all literate?
Old Mrs. Xu was also stunned and said that these children had been sent to private schools before, which was unlikely because the families were not very wealthy and did not have the conditions to find private schools. However, what did her son say before?
It is said that Sang Luo probably came from a good family?
Seeing that the one leading the reading was Shen An from the Shen family, and even the little girl Shen Ning could recite it very well, the old lady felt that she had found the answer. The children of these families were probably taught to read by Sang Luo.
What a fate, this is such good luck, I don’t know how I accumulated such blessings in my previous life.
It is not easy to be literate these days. Her son was able to become a big manager because he was literate and had some skills. Old Mrs. Xu knew very well the benefits of being literate.
Sang Luo was unaware of the Xu family's shock. She led everyone to work hard for a long time and tried everything they should try. Only then did Chen Lie move the big stone at the entrance and return to the valley. The people who had been brought out also came back one after another.
After asking one by one, we found out that if a group of children howled at the same time, people in other places across the mountain could not hear the noise, but they could be faintly heard at the entrance of the canyon. The sealed entrance halfway up the mountain could also be heard by the children who were probably closest to the cave halfway up the mountain during a certain period of time.
If you are just reading, reading normally, without shouting at the top of your voice, Chen Lie standing at the entrance of the valley can probably hear the noise in the outer half, but it's okay near the inner part and the middle part of the canyon, you can't hear it.
The adults in each family looked at the children and said, "Did you hear me? We came here to avoid disaster. Don't dare to shout in here from now on. You don't need to shout when reading like you did just now. That was to test whether people outside can hear our voices. You should be more careful in the future. If we really recruit people here, none of us here can expect to have a peaceful life. We may even lose our lives."
The children all learned their lesson. Today, they were so shocked when they saw a snake that they forgot about it and said they would pay more attention next time. Even Xu Wenyin promised again and again, "I won't cry anymore next time."
Sang Luo smiled and pinched her cheek, then turned to Zhou Cunzheng and his group and said, "I think we should go to the innermost part of the valley to clear out an area for the children to play in the next few days. The cave is too dark, and we don't know how long we will have to stay there. We can't let the children stay in the cave all day, or they will become stupid. I see some lush trees in the innermost part of the valley, so we can build a pavilion under the trees and get some tables and chairs. The children can play or read and write there. As long as they don't make too much noise, they can communicate and study normally. If you look down from the top of the mountain, you can only see trees."
In fact, Chen Lie said that you can't see people clearly when looking down from the top of the mountain, unless it is a house, then it will be more conspicuous. This is also the reason why Sang Luo asked to build the pavilion under the tree, using the tree for concealment.
As for the land under the trees used to build houses? We are reluctant to do so. There are so many families living here. Farmers, farming is the basis of survival. How much land is there in this valley? It is not enough to grow anything.
When everyone heard Sang Luo say to create a place for the children to play and study, they were all happy. There was no better suggestion than this. As parents and grandparents, no one would want to let their children be so cautious every day, hiding in a cave or holding back every word they say.
Zhou Cunzheng said, "That's great. We should go and collect food soon. You just shovel the grass to prevent any more snakes from hiding in it. As for the pavilion tables and chairs, we can start working on them after we have transported all the food and then go out and get some wood."
What made him particularly happy was that the children of several families were all literate. With such an atmosphere, the two naughty boys in his family would also pay more attention to reading and writing.
Didn’t you see how dumbfounded we were when we heard Chen An and his group of kids reciting the Thousand Character Classic so fluently? Normally, we never paid any attention to learning words, but now we can only blend in and make up the numbers just to avoid embarrassment. We should know how to work harder in the future.
Zhou Cun was in a particularly good mood.
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