Chapter 53 Swan?
"Ziyi, Yike, you're back so early. Did you find the chicks?" Uncle Hao and aunt saw Ziyi and Yike come back early in the morning and thought they found the chicks so quickly.
"Auntie, I have good news for you. Although we didn't find the chicken, we found a paradise."
"Really! When I was a child, I heard the elders tell stories that the Utopia is a very beautiful place. Is this the place you found? Very beautiful?" Uncle Hao and his aunt said.
"Beautiful! Very beautiful! There is a big lake there. In the lake there are beautiful white geese like swans. There are many tall and sturdy trees on the shore. There are many fruit trees in the small valley, and there are also precious medicinal herbs..." Yi Ke said one by one.
"Now that you mention it, I want to go and take a look," said Uncle Hao and his aunt.
"Of course! We came back to take you there."
"Yuling, Yike, take some food with you and let's go see the paradise that Ziyi mentioned. We won't be back tonight, so you guys should feed the pigs in the pen."
"I'll feed the pigs, and you feed the chickens. Put more grass in the sheep pen. Put more grass in the sheep pen, and I'll feed the rabbits together." After making the arrangements, Uncle Hao and Auntie went to pack the pig feed made from cooked sweet potatoes. Yi Ke took the bag of sweet potato grains to feed the chickens. The sheep grass was placed in the hidden cave, so there was no need to get it from outside. The pigs and sheep in the hidden cave were still the same ones, but the mother pig had piglets in her belly. There are a lot more chickens, most of them were caught by Uncle Hao and his friends. Now that the weather is warmer, except for the mother hen hatching chicks in the cave, all the other chickens, big and small, have settled down in the bamboo forest.
Several chicken coops have been built in the bamboo forest. The chickens have been kept there for almost a year. Now when they are let out, they will come back to the coop on their own. Now we have eggs at home almost every day.
Li Haoran and Ziyi cut a lot of bamboo, cut it into pieces of different lengths, tied them up with ropes, and placed them diagonally on a wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow was originally placed in the cave where Uncle Hao used to live, and now all the things in the cave have been moved here.
Yike also carried a basket with a small iron pot, some bowls and chopsticks and other daily necessities in it. His aunt Zhang Yuling's basket was filled with food and a live chicken, which they were going to kill and eat immediately. The family walked towards the paradise in a mighty manner.
Now the road from home to the orchard has long been built into a dirt road more than 1 meter wide. At that time, this road was built to facilitate the transportation of fertilizer to the paddy fields. Unexpectedly, there was a paradise over there. In the future, when people live on both sides, this road will become a transportation link.
When they arrived at the orchard, the whole family worked together to repair the road again. This road led from the orchard to the paradise. Ziyi and Li Haoran used axes to cut down the trees and weeds, while Yike and uncle Hao's aunt Zhang Yuling dragged the cut weeds and branches to a relatively open place and piled them up, which they could use as firewood later. It took almost a whole day to cut out a passage more than half a meter wide. The tree roots and tree stumps were exposed on the ground, making it impossible for a wheelbarrow to pass through.
The bamboos were temporarily placed in the orchard. Uncle Hao and Ziyi carried a bundle on their shoulders and went in. But when they reached the crack, they couldn't carry the bamboos in bundles, so they had to carry them one by one. At the beginning, the crack was more than one meter wide and only wide enough for one person to pass through. So Li Haoran and Ziyi stood at each end. Uncle Hao's aunt Zhang Yuling passed the bamboos to Li Haoran outside the pool, then Li Haoran passed them to Ziyi, then Ziyi passed them to Yike. Yike placed the bamboos neatly and pushed them together, and the bamboos were transported into the cave through a relay race.
Uncle Hao and Auntie came into the cave and were so shocked to see such a large open-air cave that they were speechless for a long time.
The aunt shouted, “Ahhh, a swan!” Yike was speechless, “What swan? It’s just a white goose,” Yike complained in his heart.
"Uncle Hao, Auntie, let's go in and see, there are surprises inside." Ziyi divided the bamboo into two bundles, carried the bamboo, and walked forward along the lakeshore.
Yike pulled his still happy aunt Zhang Yuling and said, "Aunt, let's go! There are more beautiful things inside."
"Great! Yi Ke, I didn't expect there is such a place. The man-made caves are just like this. It's so big. How many man-made days are needed to dig it out. Look at that lake, it really looks like someone dug a hole in the heart of the stone and poured water into the hole. Look at the ground we are standing on, it's all stone, and it's complete. It's incredible. The cave we live in is already amazing, and this, maybe only gods have such ability. With a light touch of the finger, a big hole appeared in the mountain, and with another touch, a lake appeared in the hole..." The aunt kept chattering, associating the incredible with the magic of the immortals.
I can secretly rejoice in my heart that the magic of nature is beyond the ability of us mortals to explain clearly. "Aunt, just think boldly!" Yike said secretly.
"There are so many ironwood trees! If we use these trees to build houses, several generations can live in and the wood will not be eaten by insects. But how can we cut them down? This requires careful thought." Li Haoran exclaimed as he walked.
"This flat land is a natural threshing ground! Look, it's all stone floors, which are much stronger than concrete floors. When the grain is harvested, it will be transported in to dry in the sun." Li Haoran said.
"We use bamboo rafts to transport it. Ziyi said that he wanted to clear the grass in this stream and open up a waterway to the paddy fields," Yike continued.
"This method is good. It doesn't require much manpower and is trouble-free. Then let's build a warehouse here." Li Haoran began to think about whether to build a house first or repair the waterway first, so he asked Ziyi, "Ziyi, should we build a house first, or clear the creek first?"
Ziyi said, "Of course we have to clear the stream first. There is no rush to build houses. Let's build two houses for temporary living and think about the rest later. I want to climb to the top of the mountain to observe the surrounding environment and topography. I think this place is very strange. How can there be such a strange cave? Are there other caves nearby that we haven't discovered? What is the top of the mountain like? I want to go and see."
"I want to go to the top of the mountain too." Yike said quickly.
When people are in the mountains, they can only see the trees within a few meters around them. Standing on a watchtower, they can see a little further. If they stand on the top of the mountain, they can see all the mountains below. Will they be able to see the entire forest clearly? ”
Yike would never miss such an opportunity, it was a pity that Ziyi was carrying bamboo, otherwise Yike would definitely hug Ziyi's arm and act coquettishly.
"Where should we put the bamboo? Should we build a warehouse first or a house first?"
"Let's build a warehouse first and put it here. This will be the grain drying ground in the future. The warehouse should be built next to the iron tree so that we don't have to worry about rocks falling from the top of the mountain when it rains heavily." Li Haoran said as he put the bamboo on the ground.
Ziyi also took the bamboo off his shoulder and threw it on the ground, raising a cloud of dust, then helped Yike put the backpack under the tree.
Li Haoran also took over Uncle Hao and Aunt Hao's backpack and placed it under the tree, and the family walked towards the small valley empty-handed.
When they arrived at the small valley, they saw dozens of fruit trees and black cloud grass climbing on the stone walls. They were so happy that they were overjoyed.
"Yike, this is great. We will have more than enough fruits to eat in the future." Uncle Hao's aunt Zhang Yuling's eyes were full of fruits.
"Aunt, we can't eat all the fruits in the orchard outside. We can make dried fruits and canned fruits." Yi Ke was also very excited.
"Can you make it? Oh. I forgot that all the dried fruits at home are made by you. Great, when we can't finish them, we can take them out of the mountain to sell." Uncle Hao and Auntie suddenly realized.
"Have you noticed? There is no soil in this cave, only stones. These trees grow in the cracks of the stones. I don't know if the trees grew into trees, the roots broke the stones into cracks, or the trees grew out of the cracks. This mountain should be a stone mountain." Li Haoran said.
"I wonder if this was a crater before? After the volcano erupted, a cave like this was left behind. Otherwise, how could there be no soil at all? Moreover, this cave looks like a hole dug directly out from the center of the mountain. And judging from the location of my home, the terrain nearby is very similar. There are high mountains all around, and paddy fields and orchards seem to be at the bottom of the valley. This is like a basin formed after a volcanic eruption. I'll see clearly tomorrow when I climb to the top of the mountain and take a look." Ziyi said.
"Let's go together so we can take care of each other," said Li Haoran.
"And me, and me." Yike was afraid that he would be missed.
"Mountain climbing is very dangerous. You can play with your aunt at home and I will tell you when you come back." Ziyi touched Yike's head.
"Pat the head and kill! Humph!" Yi Ke was dissatisfied and turned his head away, saying, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. I'll go alone."
"No! You can't go alone." Ziyi said without giving in.
"None of your business! I was not alone before. Besides, I discovered this place. Why don't you want me to go?" Yi Ke was indignant.
"Don't be angry! Our Yike is a heroine, what is there to be afraid of when climbing a mountain? Ziyi doesn't want you to go with him, so let your uncle Hao take you. Let's not be angry! Let's go make dinner, eat and have a good sleep, so that we will have the strength to climb the mountain tomorrow." Uncle Hao and aunt Zhang Yuling took Yike to cook, leaving Ziyi there anxiously.
"You, you! You are just too concerned and too nervous. Is Yike the same as other girls? I have seen her practice kung fu, which is not ordinary boxing and kicking kung fu. Besides, she lived here for a year last year and should have adapted to life in the mountains. Ordinary dangers can't really hurt her. With her personality, it is impossible for her to stay in the cave honestly. I think she didn't fall in love with you at first sight when she followed you. She must be too lonely in the mountains and wanted to talk to you. You must be hiding something from me. With Yike's ability, she can live comfortably alone and will never marry you as soon as she meets you. But she was willing to marry you later, which shows that you are different in her heart, and now it seems that she has begun to like you. But don't control her too strictly, otherwise it will be counterproductive. Although you are kind-hearted, you must know that she is different from your aunt, so don't worry too much." Li Haoran taught Ziyi earnestly.
"What a nice girl! But don't let her get angry and run away. She loves the hustle and bustle. If you don't let her go, she will be furious. Ziyi is stubborn. If you want to go, go ahead. Just be more careful on the road. It's better to be a hero and save the beauty a few more times. Then the girl will follow you wholeheartedly. You little brat, you are not like his father at all. Thinking back to the past..."
Ziyi had no idea that Li Haoran had so many thoughts in his mind, and was thinking about what Li Haoran said.
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