Chapter 12 For the next few days, Cang Li was...
Over the next few days, Cang Li led the cubs to clear the land. This time, in addition to clearing two plots of land, they also cleared the grass leading to the river.
Cang Li was numb from all the turning over of the earth, and was exhausted. She would just make something to eat every day and go to sleep as soon as it got dark. She had also finished the steamed buns in the collector, so she could only eat meat. In order to balance yin and yang, Cang Li increased the amount of vegetables. She also had to lose weight and cut out carbohydrates.
Now that a large patch of grass had been cleared from the entrance to the cave, the space was much more open. Cang Li, holding his hoe, deeply understood what it meant to "hoe the fields at noon, sweat dripping onto the soil."
Cang Li didn't plan to clear all the grassland between the cave and the opposite mountain. She planned to clear the land from the tree not far to the right of the cave, and clear the left side at the same distance as the right side. This would amount to two or three acres. She would decide whether to continue clearing the land after the first harvest.
Ji and Jie worked very efficiently. The two of them took turns cutting grass, and Er led the others to carry the grass back to the cave. After drying it, they stacked it into haystacks. This was taught to them by Cang Li.
After seven or eight days, Cang Li finally finished turning over the three acres of land. While turning it over, Cang Li unexpectedly found millet, also known as wild millet, among the weeds. The area was quite large, and some of the mature millet had already fallen into the mud. Cang Li simply cut down the millet in an area of more than 20 square meters in one go. After she finished eating her staple food, she found that this millet was just right.
Despite being told to rest for a day, Cang Li didn't rest. Together with Ji, Jie, and Er, he harvested millet grains. Cang Li didn't have any suitable tools, but luckily the piece of wood had dried. It took Cang Li half a day to gather a meter-long section of the wood. He used an axe to hollow out the middle, flattened it as much as possible, and then tried to put the millet in. Finally, he used a large stone to pound the millet to remove the husks.
Although this method is slow, it is indeed effective. Seeing that it works, Cang Li is not in a hurry to pound the rice. Instead, he asks Ji Hejie to dry the millet. This time, they harvested a total of about 80 catties of millet. After pounding it, they estimate that there will only be about 60 catties left.
Cang Li lay sprawled on the bed, her palms covered in blisters that were a little sore.
In a couple of days, I'll have to go up the mountain to check for game, as well as apples and chestnuts—these will be my winter food reserves…
As Cang Li was thinking, he fell asleep.
Cang Li was awakened by the noise after an unknown amount of time. There was thunder and lightning outside, the cave was dark, and there was the sound of huge raindrops hitting the stone slabs.
Cang Li was stunned for a moment, then instantly realized what was happening. She scrambled to her feet and rushed outside—her dried mushrooms! Her millet! Her dried plum vegetables!
"Sister! You're awake!"
A slightly frightened voice called out to Cang Li from the darkness. It was Jie's voice, followed by the voices of the others: "Sister... Waaah, it's raining..."
Cang Li rubbed his head, found the oil lamp he had made by putting lard and straw rope in a bamboo tube, and lit it. With a little light, Cang Li saw several children crammed together on the bed, not far away were piles of dried mushrooms and preserved vegetables, as well as a clothesline that had been moved in, pots and pans, and earthenware jars for holding water.
"...Why didn't you wake me up?"
Ji led his younger siblings from his bed to Cang Li's side and whispered, "Sister has been very tired these past few days. At first, the rain wasn't heavy. After Jie, Er, and I brought the things inside, the rain suddenly got heavier, and we couldn't see anything anymore."
Cang Li had also regained his senses by now, and comforted the little ones: "It's okay, you did a great job. Don't be afraid, I'll turn on the lamp, and it won't be dark in a little while."
The man nodded, then said guiltily, "I can't bring those haystacks in..."
Cang Li chuckled and flicked Ji's forehead: "We can't fit the haystack inside anyway, let it stay outside. We have plenty of hay. Alright, go clean up the old stove, and we'll cook for you later."
Ji immediately ran over, and Cang Li began to take out the oil lamp she had made. Bamboo tubes were actually not safe, but there weren't many naturally pitted stones, and she couldn't carve one out herself yet, so she could only use them as a makeshift lamp. The oil lamps were placed on stone slabs against the wall, away from the haystacks to avoid fire.
Cang Li quickly packed the dried mushrooms into an empty earthenware jar and placed it against the wall. These mushrooms had been dried for several days and would be preserved for even longer if they were dried again in the sun.
The dried wild vegetables used to make preserved mustard greens were partially dried and partially semi-dried. Cang Li gathered these dried wild vegetables together, planning to steam them before dinner and put them in her backpack, then dry them in the sun after the rain stopped.
Cang Li filled two earthenware jars with the unhulled millet. Luckily, she had enough jars, and after filling them, the cave looked much neater.
The fire was lit, and Cang Li took the spatula, poured the lard into the pot, and then, after the oil was hot, put the prepared fish in to fry. Today we're eating fish.
After finishing her meal, Cang Li looked at the dark sky outside. She felt it wasn't night yet, but she wasn't sure how long she had slept. Cang Li sighed and walked to the cave entrance to look out. She immediately noticed that the rain was even heavier than the day she had first arrived. There were four steps leading down from the cave entrance, as well as a gentle slope. The water had already reached the third step.
With such heavy rain, Cang Li became a little worried. Would it cause a flash flood? And what about her bok choy, rice, and scallions...? This heavy rain would definitely ruin them.
Cang Li looked terrible. Anyone whose hard work has been washed away by a rain would not look good.
At this moment, Cang Li felt a deep empathy for the working people of ancient times who relied on the heavens for their livelihood. No wonder they wanted to sunbathe the Dragon King. If the rain really was caused by the Dragon King, she would also want to sunbathe the Dragon King!
Not far from the two mountains, thunderclouds in the sky almost pressed down to the ground. Within the clouds, a dragon writhed and fought a magical duel with a man dressed in a gray Taoist robe. The man in the gray robe spoke as he fought:
"Fellow Daoist, this item is destined for me, please give it to me."
The dragon opened its mouth and spit out: "Bah! What I've guarded for thirty years, how can it be mine?! My dragon clan may have declined, but it's not something you can mess with! You better not run away! I've already called my dragon brothers over, and we'll tear you apart and eat you up later!"
Upon hearing this, the man became more efficient with his hands, trying to deal with the dragon before the dragon clan's helpers arrived. However, before long, several dragon figures appeared in the sky. Zhunti Daoist knew that his chance had passed and that if he didn't leave now, he would really have to stay here. So he made a feint and diverted the trouble by sending a bolt of lightning towards two mountains not far away, and then he ran away.
The robbed dragon spat and cursed, "Shameless!"
Then they went to reunite with his clan. Now there are not many dragons left in their clan. Since the death of the ancestral dragon, their dragon clan has been living in seclusion in a corner, struggling to survive. Recently, they are preparing to migrate to the sea to avoid disaster.
After the dragon left, the lightning that struck the other side of the mountain seemed to have encountered some kind of barrier. Ripples spread through the air, eventually breaking open and causing the wind and rain inside to intensify. The river that ran through the two mountains also became more turbulent, and the energy inside leaked out through the breach.
On Mount Kunlun, the white-haired immortal opened his eyes, sensed something, got up, said goodbye to his two younger brothers, and left Mount Kunlun.
Cang Li was still completely unaware of what was happening. Looking at the torrential rain outside, her face darkened. She was observing the rising water level. If the rainwater reached the steps, she would have to take measures to prevent the rainwater from entering the cave. She would also have to brave the rain to reach a safe, higher place. Otherwise, if she and her children were trapped in the cave by the rainwater, they would definitely die here.
Seeing Cang Li's serious expression, Ji Hejie behind her also became nervous. They hadn't seen their older sister like this since she regained her senses. They were still children, after all, and the rain outside was pouring down as if the sky were falling. Ji Hejie felt a surge of fear and stepped forward, each tugging at Cang Li's sleeve and whispering, "Older sister..."
Cang Li came to his senses and turned around to say, "Don't be afraid, you guys go to sleep first. I'll keep watch. If the rain doesn't stop, we'll go up the mountain. We can't let ourselves drown in the cave."
Ji and Jie exchanged a glance. With Cang Li's words, they felt much more at ease and obediently led Er Zhong and the other two to sleep.
Cang Li sat at the entrance of the cave, looking at the accumulated water.
Fortunately, the rainwater did not continue to rise. Although the heavy rain continued, the water level remained at the third step and did not spread further.
Cang Li breathed a sigh of relief, but soon became puzzled again. Why was the rain so heavy, yet the floodwaters weren't rising? Could that river be so important that it could also function as a sewer?
Cang Li didn't sleep all night, afraid that the floodwaters would rise if she fell asleep. It wasn't until the rain gradually subsided and the sky brightened the next morning, and the floodwaters began to recede, that Cang Li was completely relieved. She was too lazy to look at her land anymore, mainly because it was too upsetting to look at, so she might as well get some sleep first.
Even the biggest problems can wait until she wakes up to deal with them. It's not like she can't survive just because the land is destroyed. She still has food; she can find a way to plant more.
Ji woke up and rubbed his eyes. He saw that Cang Li was asleep. It was already daylight outside. Ji ran out to take a look. The floodwaters had not yet receded, but the rice that his sister had planted, which had finally sprouted a layer of light green seedlings, had been washed away, leaving only a few stalks.
He felt a little depressed. When he turned around, he felt like the sky had fallen. His sister had finally managed to cut down the piece of wood that she had soaked for a month and had only managed to saw off a small piece of. The piece of wood that she had placed on the platform with one end and in the vegetable garden with the other end to make it easier to cut... it was gone.
!!
The man ran out to look for the wood, but there was none to be seen. He regretted not having carried the wood up the stairs yesterday; in fact, even he and his younger siblings combined couldn't lift it. Now that the wood was gone, he bit his lower lip and was about to go look for it, but stopped after taking two steps, thinking dejectedly:
His older sister is still asleep. What if Jiehe, Er, and the others wake up and don't see him running around?
Tears welled up in the man's eyes, and he sat silently at the entrance of the cave, wiping them away.
When Jie and Er woke up and saw that Cang Li was still asleep, they quietly came out and immediately saw that Ji was crying. The two hurriedly asked what was wrong, and when they learned that Mu Tou was gone, Jie and Er showed the same expression of utter despair.
In the hearts of the three little ones, losing the wood they had worked so hard to get was truly the end of the world; it was worse than rain.
A note from the author:
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