With the topographical map of the Li Kingdom, they felt much more at ease.
The old village chief and his family were looking at this map, trying to figure out which region would be best for them to settle down in after they went to Youzhou.
Everyone chimed in, saying that places with mountains and water would be the best.
Han Mingjiang and Han Zhaoxiong sat dejectedly to the side, not saying a word. They were worried about Han Mingxiang and Han Shulan.
Seeing that everyone was concerned about something too far in the future, Xue Laohu said, "Let's think about which route would be more convenient for us in the next couple of days."
He said, "I think we should go down this ravine."
"Look, there should be a small river here. We should have water about halfway up the mountain. Once we get there, we'll fill our containers with water, then head down the mountain and onto the official road leading to Youzhou."
Han Shunde looked at the map, nodded, and said, "Okay. We'll go down the mountain through this valley."
Li Lanzhen asked the old village chief, "Old village chief, how many days do you think we should stay here?"
The old village chief looked around at the cascading waterfall, the clear pool, and the lush wild vegetables growing all around. He really didn't want to leave, but this was not a place where he could settle down and live a peaceful life.
He sighed and said, "Let's go down the mountain early the day after tomorrow. In the next couple of days, let everyone pick more wild vegetables and dry them as much as possible to take on the road."
Xue Laohu nodded and said, "These past two days I've been leading the men up the mountain to hunt as many wild animals as possible, such as pheasants and rabbits."
That evening, everyone returned to the camp one after another. Han Shunde told everyone that they would be going down the mountain to the official road to Youzhou early the day after tomorrow.
He instructed everyone to dig up plenty of wild vegetables, wash and dry them so they could eat them on the road. He also told them to make plenty of small wild vegetable pancakes, to hold them in their hands and eat them quietly when they were hungry. He also told them not to provoke the refugees.
He added, “We’ve been fleeing famine for so long. Some villages around the government office started fleeing famine even earlier than us. By now, they probably have no food or water left. So everyone must be careful along the way.”
Stop trying to be kind; don't let your perceived kindness harm the entire village.
At this point, Li Lanzhen suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Han Yanyan come out for several days.
But she didn't ask.
A woman living next to the old village chief's house stood up and said, "Old village chief, your Yan Yan must be stinking, right? The stench kept us from sleeping all night."
The old village chief's eyes immediately reddened, and Gu Yushi rushed out, wiping away his tears, and said, "You're talking nonsense, my mother is perfectly fine!"
Aunt Huaihua came out and pulled Gu Yushi into her thatched shed.
Judging from the expressions of her family, Li Lanzhen guessed that Han Yanyan was about to die, but what did it have to do with her? She brought this upon herself, so who could she blame but herself?
She stood up, patted the grass off her bottom, and crawled into her own thatched shed.
We had chicken and potato soup and wild vegetable pancakes for lunch. Everyone, adults and children alike, ate their fill, and it was a late meal.
So, in the evening, each family would cook some wild vegetable soup to drink and fill their stomachs.
Li Lanzhen also drank a bowl of wild vegetable soup, not because she liked it, but because it made going to the toilet easier.
People went to bed early. The mountains were quiet. The people of Hanjia Village had eaten their fill, were in good spirits, and slept soundly.
“Mother~~”
A piercing scream startled everyone awake.
Li Lanzhen opened her eyes, thinking to herself that Han Yanyan must have left.
She didn't move, just turned over and continued sleeping while holding Miaomiao.
Miaomiao mumbled in her arms, "What's wrong with Grandma?"
Li Lanzhen patted her, "It's nothing, other people are having nightmares. Miaomiao, be good, go to sleep."
The grandfather and grandson cuddled and fell asleep again.
Before falling asleep, Li Lanzhen knew that her eldest and second sons had gone out.
She didn't say anything to stop them; when you're away from home, it's only right for a village to lend a hand.
Aunt Huaihua cried her heart out.
She had two sons and this one daughter. She didn't want her to marry, but she insisted on marrying into the Gu family.
Not only was she bullied by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law in that family, but her own husband also frequently beat her.
Neither of the two children were well-behaved. Aunt Huaihua felt sorry for her daughter and wished she had never let her get married and had kept her by her side.
Even in the deepest sorrow, one must be laid to rest. The old village chief called out to Aunt Huaihua.
"Alright, it's good for Yanyan to stay here. It's a beautiful place with mountains and water. Bury her high up, where she can still see us."
Gu Yushi held Han Yanyan's hand tightly, wiping away her tears. "Mother, Mother, why did you leave me like this? Mother, get up! From now on, I have no mother. Mother, get up. From now on, you can have all the cakes. I'll just have some water."
Hearing what she said, Aunt Huaihua felt even more distressed, and she hugged the ancient jade stone tightly.
She patted her back gently, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. You still have your grandma. If you stay with grandma, you won't go hungry. Once we get down the mountain, we'll reach Youzhou. When we get to Youzhou, we can be assigned to a village to build houses and farm. You can just stay with grandma."
The ancient jade statue grasped at a straw, clutching tightly at Huaihua City's sleeve, and began to wail loudly.
No one could stop her crying; the child was so pitiful.
He's 12 years old, but still thin and small, looking like a seven or eight-year-old child.
The villagers all hoped that she wouldn't end up like her older sister, otherwise the old village chief and his wife would be heartbroken.
That morning, the old village chief and Aunt Huaihua didn't leave the straw shed; they were probably lying on the straw mat, heartbroken.
As usual, some went up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables, while others went hunting.
Li Lanzhen followed Wu Shi, along with Xue Nizi and Wu Yuemei, and entered the mountains.
There are many kinds of plants here, which makes Li Lanzhen very happy. She sees plants with roots as usual, and throws into her space all the plants she has seen before, whether she has seen them before or not. There are also many saplings, some of which she recognizes and some of which she does not recognize, and she throws them all into her space as well. This time, she thought that she could not put them all in the mall to exchange for supplies.
Keep some to observe; if you settle down in a place with a large yard, you can plant some.
On this sunny slope, she saw many bitter lettuce flowers. The small, golden blossoms swayed amidst the greenery, bringing joy to anyone who saw them.
Li Lanzhen picked a few flowers and tied them to her granddaughter Miaomiao's two little paws.
He kissed her dark, thin face. "Mwah, oh my, Grandma's little granddaughter is so beautiful!"
Miao Miao giggled and stuck the yellow bitter lettuce flowers in her hand into Li Lanzhen's low bun.
The original owner had long and thick hair, but the hair quality was poor, with split ends and yellowing. She had always wanted to trim it, but she neither had the time nor the inclination.
So she tied her hair into a low bun, which was easy to tie up. As a result, many women in Hanjiacun saw that her low bun was easy to tie up and copied her style, simply using a smooth wooden stick to tie it up.
Li Lianzhen dug up all of this bitter lettuce, some with roots still attached, and some without.
Then she discovered a patch of honeysuckle.
This is a good thing. Although it rained for several days and caused flash floods, the drought situation was not greatly relieved when it reached the main roads and plains. The area was still short of water and arid.
Therefore, adding some honeysuckle to vegetable soup can help cool down and relieve the summer heat for both adults and children.
However, after searching for more than a day, Li Lanzhen found no chestnut trees, hazelnuts, or other edible things in the mountains, which she found very strange.
The children, however, discovered many of the small, dark and red ladles they usually ate.
The men have had a good haul these past few days, catching pheasants, rabbits, and a type of mountain rat that's quite plump.
The boys, they always puffed out their chests and said they were going hunting, and they brought back a lot of tits. Perhaps because the water and grass here are so lush, the tits are quite plump.
Besides digging for wild vegetables, the women also had to clean the vegetables, chop them up, and dry them when they got home. In households with elderly people, these tasks were all done by the elderly.
Li Lanzhen traded four palm-sized wild vegetable cakes for two large winnowing baskets to dry the wild vegetables.
While cooking, everyone used the embers to make wild vegetable pancakes.
Some families mix more rye flour into their food, while many others eat more wild vegetables and dark flour.
The dry rations were small, only about the size of an adult's palm.
After it's done, put it in a winnowing basket to cool, and then put it in a cloth bag.
So they rested in the mountains for a day, and the next morning before dawn they were to descend the mountain.
Everyone was reluctant to part. The women grabbed the children and gave them a good scrubbing and washing, and also washed themselves clean. In the evening, the men jumped into the pond and took a good bath to wash away their fatigue.
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