Yun Xiaoxiao and her team didn't harvest salt as quickly this time as they did last time.
It's mid-October now, the sun isn't as strong, and it's much slower.
In order to get back as soon as possible, they used every available pit.
I'm exhausted every day.
Fortunately, they were all young people. No matter how hard or tiring it was, they regained their strength after a night's rest.
Overall, the trip went quite smoothly.
The salt was also collected in a unified manner and distributed according to the number of people.
There's a lot of salt this time; each person can get at least 100 jin (50 catties).
Every day, Yuan's mother would look back at the crossroads where they were returning.
Seeing them return, she quickly ran up to them and called out, "Xiaoxiao, you're back!"
"You must be exhausted. Come home quickly, your mother will make you some dumpling soup."
Yun Xiaoxiao's favorite food is the dumpling soup made by Yuan's mother.
I always drink the whole thing, soup and all.
After resting for two days after collecting the salt, Yun Xiaoxiao pestered Yuan Shitou to go scout ahead.
We have a lot of dried goods stockpiled at home now, so we need to find a way down the mountain as soon as possible to sell them.
Yuan's mother wanted to stop her, knowing that Yun Xiaoxiao wouldn't listen to her.
Let her be; Xiaoxiao is very stubborn.
Once you've set your mind on something, you won't give up easily.
I'm afraid she started planning this soon after she came to our house.
This time they were better prepared than ever before.
They even brought a cotton-padded coat with them.
Yun Xiaoxiao doesn't have a cotton-padded coat.
It was Yuan's mother who worked overtime to finish making it for her, just in case she got cold.
It can be said that Yuan's mother was truly good to her.
There's no difference between them and biological children.
The two went out amidst the concerns of their parents.
Not long after they went outside, they saw Fan Tiesheng and Yuan Min.
They also brought a lot of things.
Xiao Xiao was a little surprised: "Didn't we agree that Brother Shi would go scout ahead with me?"
Will you go again next time?
Why are you here again?
Yuan Min chuckled and stepped forward to hug her hand.
"We should go hunting together, and we should explore together."
When we come down the mountain, we'll be together.
Although Yun Xiaoxiao said that, she was actually very happy inside.
These two are worth getting to know better.
They had only walked a few steps when they heard a shout, so they stopped to take a look.
They are the brothers Fan Tieniu and Fan Tiechui.
Looking at their attire, Yun Xiaoxiao knew that they were going together as well.
Yuan Shitou originally wanted to invite his other three close friends as well.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; they both had other commitments.
Zhao Amin couldn't leave; his wife was about to give birth.
There's only my elderly mother at home, and her eyesight isn't good.
So he couldn't go.
Wang Shuisheng is arranging a marriage; the girl is coming to his house to meet him in a couple of days.
We can't just ruin someone's chance to find a partner by going to explore the area, can we?
Yuan Dashan was then in trouble.
I was cutting firewood on the mountain when my leg was scratched by a tree stump.
It was a huge gash; you could see the bone.
They walked very slowly along the way.
I carefully examined the surroundings and ruled out all the dangers I could think of.
It was also marked.
Fortunately, the road is relatively flat and the risk factor is very low.
Yuan Shitou said that the most dangerous thing was that river.
There's also the mountain across the river, which is quite steep and difficult to traverse.
They had passed by once a few years ago and hadn't seen any other wild animals or anything like that.
After only three days of walking, we came to see a large river.
The river is quite wide, at least twenty meters wide.
The river was relatively calm.
On the surface, there is no sign of danger.
Yuan Shitou said in surprise, "Why do I feel that this river is wider than before?"
"Tie Niu, take a look, is that right?"
Fan Tieniu was also there when they went that time.
Fan Tieniu nodded affirmatively: "It is indeed much wider."
Yun Xiaoxiao twitched her lips, thinking: How could it not be wide?
The river was originally in a relatively flat area.
All the rainwater from this mountain flows here.
Traces of water erosion can still be seen on both sides of the river.
Some of the tree roots have even sprouted out.
Yuan Min asked curiously, "This river looks very ordinary, it doesn't seem dangerous."
Why are you all so afraid of it?
Fan Tieniu looked nervous: "There are man-eating monsters in here."
We saw it with our own eyes.
His mouth was wide open.
It can bite off a person's thigh in one bite.
And they're so fast, we can't outrun them at all.
Hearing him say that, Yuan Min immediately tensed up.
He looked around and quickly ran to Fan Tiesheng's side.
There was still a hint of fear in his eyes.
Fan Tiesheng patted her: "Minmin, don't be afraid. I'm here."
Yuan Min nodded, blushing.
Yun Xiaoxiao looked at Yuan Shitou: "Brother Shitou, please tell us in detail what the monster inside looks like."
Let's analyze this.
Yuan Shitou and Fan Tieniu recounted the events of that time, one after the other.
It also described what the monster looked like.
It's almost certain that it's a crocodile.
She really couldn't understand how there could be crocodiles in this place.
Judging from the appearance of this place, it is not suitable for crocodiles to live here at all.
Could they have swum here from somewhere?
She said to everyone, "Look in the water or around you, is there anything that looks like dry wood?"
Look carefully, but only from a distance; don't get too close.
In her limited understanding of crocodiles, she learned that they not only live in water but also on land.
Hearing her say that, everyone became nervous.
They searched the surrounding area carefully.
The river water was a bit murky, but there was nothing floating on it; it was easy to see at a glance.
There were many weeds on the shore, making the search somewhat difficult.
However, nothing suspicious was found.
Fan Tiechui wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Could it be that the guy has already run away and isn't here anymore?"
Yuan Min nodded in agreement: "Probably, it has no food here, it'll starve to death."
Upon hearing the word "starve to death," her eyes lit up immediately: "Could it have already starved to death?"
Yun Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at her: "You wish! It eats everything, it won't starve to death."
Furthermore, many animals come here to drink water in these mountains.
Otherwise, there are plenty of fish in the water; it wouldn't be easy for them to starve.
Several people thought the short story made a lot of sense.
Such a powerful creature is indeed not easy to starve to death.
But they've been looking for so long and haven't seen that thing.
Yuan Min was already somewhat scared.
She became even more frightened after not finding it for so long.
I'm afraid that suddenly, this thing will jump out and eat them all.
Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Could it be inside its own cave, unaware that we're here?"
Look, they're using themselves as bait.
Fan Tiesheng also looked at Xiaoxiao and asked, "Can this thing drill holes?"
Xiao Xiao was taken aback by the question. How did she know whether crocodiles would dig holes or not?
Do crocodiles dig holes?
She didn't know; she hadn't researched it or asked.
Even Xiaoxiao didn't give a precise answer.
Everyone had no choice but to continue checking.
To cross the river safely, we need to find this thing and then eliminate it.
Yuan Min held a stick in her hand, tapping it as she spoke:
"What exactly is this thing?"
How many are there? Can we defeat them?
Huh? What is that?
Upon hearing Yuan Min's shout, Fan Tiesheng immediately rushed over.
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