During the meal, Han Deshun told everyone that the sweet potatoes, potatoes, and vegetables in the fields could still grow for a while, and they could harvest the crops when they arrived at Peach Blossom Spring and the weather turned cold.
Starting tomorrow, the main task is to go up the mountain to buy supplies and stock up on food for the winter.
He also reminded everyone to prepare plenty of firewood, because with many rooms and many people living in the house, a lot of firewood would be needed, so everyone must pay attention to this issue.
I wonder what the temperature will be like here during my first winter; I need to be well-prepared.
Han Shunde also told everyone that apart from the tasks assigned by the village, anything they collected on the mountain at other times would belong to their respective families.
The village collectively engages in foraging for food, such as collecting wild duck eggs.
This task was all left to the children. The wild duck eggs they collected each day were all gathered together in the large kitchen.
Then Xue Ni and her team were responsible for cleaning the wild duck eggs, pickling them into salted duck eggs, and distributing them to each household for the New Year.
There was also the matter of firewood. In addition to gathering enough firewood for their own families to get through the winter, each household also had to hand over firewood to the school and the canteen.
Later, it was Xue Laohu who suggested that everyone go up the mountain in one day.
We chopped firewood together. The firewood we chopped was left at the school, and we chopped firewood again the next day, storing it in the cafeteria.
The rest of the time was spent gathering firewood for his own family.
After discussion among the group, the suggestion was changed to helping each other and working together, which would make the work faster and easier.
So, Xue Laohu started arranging firewood shifts for each household.
With everyone, adults and children, full and satisfied, the family dinner came to an end.
Each family carried their sleeping child back to their own home, where they gathered together, chatting and laughing. They seemed tireless, with so much to say, and no one felt sleepy.
Li Lanzhen knew that everyone was just too excited.
Since leaving my hometown, since the famine began, and then the chaos of war, I began to flee famine, and finally settled down in the Valley of Forgetfulness.
Finally, because Li Lanzhen brought more than twenty children with her, he had no choice but to embark on another arduous journey to Peach Blossom Spring.
Upon arriving at Peach Blossom Spring, everyone put in their best effort, planting crops and building houses and courtyards...
Now, I finally have a home of my own, a warm and cozy place with my wife, children, and a cozy bed.
This is what a home should be like, a place where you feel a sense of belonging and security!
Li Lanzhen's family first escorted Li Erhan and Ye Shi back to their courtyard before they turned back to their own home.
The brothers Han Minghai and Han Mingjiang both had their own courtyards, but they both followed Li Lanzhen to her courtyard.
Upon entering the main room, against the back wall, was a low kang (heated brick bed) with two sides against the walls.
It is about one meter high and one and a half meters wide.
Li Lanzhen said that this is equivalent to a chair or stool.
In winter, it's warm and cozy, so you can sit here and let the children learn and play, while the adults can do needlework and chat. You don't have to send anyone who comes to the bedroom.
In Li Lanzhen's mind, this was just like the sofa in the living room.
The three brothers sat down with Li Lanzhen, put the children inside, and let them play. Zhang Yuniang's belly was already very big.
She watched as Han Minghai helped her, who was quite heavy, to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Eldest daughter-in-law, lean back on the bedding behind you, it'll be more comfortable that way."
"Look at your belly, it's already sunken in. You'll probably give birth in the next few days."
Zhang Yuniang smiled and said.
"Mother, it should be in the next few days, so don't worry, I've made all the preparations."
Li Lanzhen nodded and said, "Okay, Mother is not worried. You can relax too. There are so many people here. Mother has also prepared ginseng for you. Don't be afraid."
Han Minghai held Zhang Yuniang's hand tightly. He saw that his wife's belly was bigger than the ones she had with her previous two children, and he was a little worried, but he didn't say it out loud, afraid that if he did, his wife would worry and get even more nervous.
Now that his mother said that, he felt relieved.
Then, smiling, he looked at his younger brother Han Mingxiang and said to Li Lanzhen.
"Mother, when is my little brother's wedding?"
Han Mingxiang's eyes lit up as she looked at Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen chuckled, "I was thinking that after my eldest son's wife gives birth and finishes her postpartum confinement, we'll start making arrangements for Han Mingxiang to find a wife."
Li Lanzhen glared at Han Mingxiang, who was grinning foolishly.
"Once you get married, you can live in your own courtyard."
Han Minghai looked at Li Lanzhen and said.
“Mother, let me live in the same courtyard as you. I’m the eldest, so it’s only right that I live with you.”
Zhang Yuniang nodded as well.
"Mother, yes, we live in the same courtyard as you to take care of you."
Li Lanzhen waved her hand to stop their conversation.
"Alright, everyone go live your own lives."
I'm not old yet, I don't need you to support me. I live with my youngest daughter, and after she gets married, I'll live alone.
"You're all here, and there are gates open in the middle of each courtyard, aren't there? If I need anything, I can just shout and you'll all hear me."
Seeing that Li Lanzhen insisted, the brothers stopped saying anything.
Li Lanzhen glanced at the three children, Douhua, Datou, and Linglong, who were sleeping like little piglets.
"These children are with me. There's nothing to worry about."
Douhua Datou insisted on following Li Lanzhen, and those few days he heard that he was going to live in the backyard with Shitou Lihua.
The two children were torn, reluctant to part with their older siblings who had grown up with them, and reluctant to leave Li Lanzhen, who was like family to them.
During the day, he was fine, playing and working with his older brother and sister. But as soon as the sun went down, he would immediately follow Li Lanzhen around, to the point that he couldn't leave her side for a second.
Li Lanzhen felt sorry for them, and after discussing it with Shi Tou Li Hua, the two children obediently stayed at Li Lanzhen's house.
Knowing that they could be with Li Lanzhen forever put their minds at ease.
As for the little girl Linglong, ever since she learned that Silver Fox was Su Chen's uncle, she has been very attached to Silver Fox during the day.
Even in the evening, they still needed to find Li Lanzhen.
So, the three little ones ended up living at Li Lanzhen's house.
The three Han brothers also knew that Li Lanzhen had changed a lot since they started fleeing the famine. The current Li Lanzhen was independent, self-reliant, and strong.
The day after Han Mingxiang returned to Peach Blossom Spring, Li Lanzhen gave him and Han Shulan a powerful pill.
Of course, the "power pill" was dissolved in the cornmeal paste.
At that moment, Li Lan was carrying two bowls of cornmeal porridge when she called over two people.
"Here, Mom has brought you breakfast. Eat up."
Han Mingxiang and Han Shulan didn't think much of it and casually put their rice bowls on the table, intending to wait for them to cool down before drinking.
As a result, Li Lanzhen kept staring at their bowls.
She kept urging them to drink quickly and while it was hot. The two of them thought it was because they had been away for too long and Li Lanzhen cared about them, so they picked up their bowls and drank little by little.
Unexpectedly, at noon, Han Mingxiang was repairing a house at the construction site, and he single-handedly carried up a large beam frame.
He didn't scare anyone, but he startled himself. He quickly put down the stand, looked around for a while, and when he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he picked it up again.
He chuckled and said to Han Zhaoxiong, who was standing on the wall.
"Brother Zhaoxiong, look how strong I am!"
Han Zhaoyun chuckled and said, "I'm also very strong!"
Later, Han Mingxiang learned that everyone in her family, regardless of age, had become strongmen, but she was the only one who had just become a strongman.
That evening, he went to see Han Shulan and learned that she had also become incredibly strong.
The clever boy immediately realized that everyone's transformation into strongmen was directly related to his mother, Li Lanzhen.
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