Chapter 15: Going up the mountain
In his previous life, Li Zhe did not get married until the college entrance examination was resumed and he was admitted to university.
I remember that Li Zhe did quite well in the college entrance examination and was admitted to a university in Beijing.
Later, Li Zhe went to college and I gradually lost contact with him. I didn’t know what Li Zhe was like after that.
After the three of them finished their meal, they dragged their stools to the backyard. Xie Chen thought that the winter in the Northeast was very cold, so he had to prepare early.
"Are we going up the mountain tomorrow? We don't have enough firewood here in the winter and people could freeze to death. I heard today that it's going to be very cold and snowy in about a month. By then, the mountain will be closed due to the heavy snow and it will probably be too late to get firewood."
Shi Luo had never been to such a wild mountain before. The mountains he had gone to before were all artificially developed ones, without any danger or hidden dangers.
"Sure, we'll go after breakfast tomorrow morning. Do you need anything to prepare?"
Xie Chen has a lot of experience in climbing mountains, so he said directly,
"Just prepare a few ropes, an axe, a backpack, and some water. By the way, although the weather is cold now, there are still snakes, insects, rats and ants on the mountain. Remember to tie your trouser legs before going up the mountain tomorrow."
After returning to the house, Shi Luo prepared his things, read a novel for a while, and then fell asleep.
The next morning, he got up, tied up his trouser legs, washed up, made a cup of malted milk, and ate a few pieces of egg cake for breakfast. Just as he filled the kettle, he heard Xie Chen calling him.
Shi Luo hung up the water bottle, put on the prepared backpack and went out.
The three of them walked for more than six or seven minutes and reached the foot of the mountain.
When the higher authorities notified the educated youth to go to the countryside, the residential plots closer to the village interior and near the village entrance were basically already owned.
At that time, the people in the brigade were afraid that wild animals would come down the mountain and hurt people, so the houses in the village were not built close to the mountains.
So when the higher authorities notified the brigade to build a courtyard for the educated youth to live in, the only vacant lot left near the foot of the mountain was larger and more suitable.
The village chief also thought that when the villagers split up in the future, they would also need to occupy land. After comparing the closeness of the family, he decided that the Youth League Home would be closer to the foot of the mountain.
But being close also has its advantages. At least you can walk fewer steps whether you go up the mountain to chop firewood or dig wild vegetables.
The three of them carried their backpacks and slowly walked up the mountain. There was basically no firewood at the foot of the mountain or in nearby places. The more diligent people in the team would come out to collect firewood when they had some free time, so if Shi Luo and the other two wanted to get firewood, they still had to go deeper into the mountain.
As they walked up the mountain, the three of them could still see men carrying firewood and women carrying baskets.
"There is less farm work now, so most of the people in the brigade are looking for things in the mountains. If they can get enough, the family can have a good winter."
Xie Chen said as he walked,
"I heard there are a lot of edible things in the mountains here. The food the brigade lent us is little. If we can find something edible and mix it with the food, we won't starve.
Although the mountains are rich in resources, you two must remember what one person said: Don't go up there. There are many large animals like wild boars and wolves in the mountains. If you encounter them, it's no joke."
Shi Luo breathed in the fresh air. "I've heard there's something about this place, like hitting a roe deer with a stick, scooping fish with a ladle, or a pheasant flying into a rice pot. I don't know if it's true or not."
"It's true. There are quite a few small wild animals here, but they're hard to hunt. If we do catch them, we just steal them and eat them. The captain turns a blind eye to all this."
"Xie Chen, how do you know so much?" Li Zhe was very curious. They arrived together yesterday, so how come he didn't know anything?
Xie Chen: "Didn't I go out for a walk yesterday? I found out about it then."
"Hey, I see a dead tree in front. Can we take it away?" Shi Luo kept looking around after he went up the mountain, and he actually saw something good.
Xie Chen nodded, "Sure, the Deadwood Brigade doesn't care about this kind of thing. Generally, whoever finds it owns it."
The three men first sorted out the surrounding branches and tied them up, and then used axes and machetes to cut the dead wood into pieces and divided them into three parts and tied them up.
Seeing that the three people had walked for a long time before finding such a small amount, Xie Chen said, "Let's search separately. Meet here in three hours. Don't go too far in. If you encounter danger, call for help. It's too slow to search together."
"Okay, then I'll go over there." Shi Luo said and ran in one direction.
As I walked and looked at the surrounding scenery, I had to say that the air in this era is better, the scenery is more beautiful, and even the trees look better than modern trees.
Relying on his great strength and the space he had, Shi Luo walked a little further into the mountain. Perhaps this place was relatively inland and the villagers did not dare to come, or perhaps it was just good luck, Shi Luo not only found two dead trees, but also two chestnut trees. The chestnuts were ripe and many had fallen on the ground.
Seeing that there was no one around, he put the dead wood into the space, used his consciousness to make it into the appropriate size, and tied it up before taking it out. After all, firewood had to be transported through a clear path.
Shi Luo raised his eyebrows as he looked at the bundles of firewood on the ground. How could he take them back? After thinking about it, he decided to string each bundle of firewood together with a rope and drag them to the gathering place.
When Shi Luo arrived, Xie Chen and the others were already waiting for him.
"Hey, you guys have quite a good harvest." Shi Luo exclaimed as he looked at the bundles of firewood piled up next to Li Zhe and the other man.
"You have quite a bit, alright? Come on, hurry down the mountain. We can come back a few more times later. Let's get more while we have time to avoid freezing during the winter."
When Xie Chen saw Shi Luo coming, he urged him to go down the mountain.
"By the way, I just found a chestnut tree. When you come up, take your sacks with you so we can pick the chestnuts."
"Okay, chestnuts are delicious and filling, so get some more. But if we get too many, we'll have to avoid other people when we go down the mountain."
Xie Chen was very happy to hear that there were chestnuts. After all, the food that the brigade borrowed was not enough for a grown man like him to eat.
"I understand, I understand. We can't fleece socialism, and we can't undermine collectivism. Everything on the mountain belongs to the collective."
Li Zhe is still very clear about these things.
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