Others are fleeing famine, but I am a salted fish

Although Xiao Si and Xiao Wu didn't understand, they saw the light in their parents' and sisters' eyes dim, and seemed to feel that it was because of their noise that made everyone unhappy. The two little ones huddled behind Lin Xiaoyue, their faces full of tension and fear, afraid that their parents would blame them.

Lin Xiaoyue was not in a hurry and did not jump to conclusions. She continued to dig with the hoe. The hot dust that was raised flew onto everyone, making them look dusty and embarrassed.

After all the hot wood blocks are pulled out of the kiln, wet sand is quickly covered on them. When the charcoal cools down, a layer of white ash forms on the outside of the charcoal.

Lin Xiaoyue took a piece and broke it with her hands. It had a hard texture, a crisp sound and was shiny. It looked much better than ordinary charcoal.

Everyone was delighted to see this, and passed the item around with joy, turning a piece of precious white charcoal into silver.

Old Man Lin was also very excited, and was eager to let Miao take the charcoal to try.

Soon, the flames started to rise, and the cave was filled with cheers. Father Lin suggested, "Why not make another furnace with this mud bag?"

Lin Zhaodi also agreed, "Yes, if we do it now, we can have another furnace in the evening. Do it a few more times and burn all the wood you brought back yesterday into charcoal as soon as possible. Then we won't have to worry about having no fire to burn later."

The second sister arranged everything for the rest of the day, so Lin Xiaoyue naturally had nothing to say. She patted the two little girls behind her who were still nervous, squatted down and kissed them on the cheeks, praising them, "If the two little guys hadn't been clamoring to open the kiln, this method of extinguishing the fire outside the kiln wouldn't have allowed everyone to have charcoal so quickly. The charcoal was able to burn thanks to the two little lucky stars."

The two little guys who were suddenly kissed by the third sister smiled at them when they saw that everyone was no longer sad. The two little guys' dim eyes also had light. Feeling embarrassed, they hugged Lin Xiaoyue tightly, buried in her neck, and smiled happily with everyone else.

After holding them for a while, Lin Xiaoyue let go of the two little ones and asked them to sit aside to avoid being smoked by the cigarette ash. Then she rolled up her sleeves and followed everyone's instructions to start working with the mud bags she had made before.

Since wood is free, just burn it as much as you want.

In order to have enough charcoal to use later, Lin Zhaodi, Xiaocao and Lin Xiaoyue worked quickly, digging holes and making mud bags. The three girls were busy.

With the previous experience, the work went much more smoothly. Moreover, burning charcoal was very simple, all she had to do was control the temperature. Lin Xiaoyue slowly let go of her hands and only went to help dig the kiln when it was open. The rest of the time, she was either playing with Xiaosi and Xiaowu, or checking on the condition of the livestock from time to time.

We were busy boiling mud bags and burning charcoal for four or five days.

In the past few days, the heavy rain has been pouring down continuously, and the land outside has long been soaked and muddy. The trees are swaying in the storm, leaning here and there, and the leaves are blown all over the ground. Some delicate flowers can't even resist the powerful force of nature, and are destroyed and broken into pieces, which looks particularly desolate.

All the big trees that Lin Xiaoyue carried back were burned into charcoal, and not a single bit was wasted.

The four chickens and ducks had all gagged two days ago, and were boiled by Miao and Xiaocao into pots of fragrant, nourishing broth, which was all fed into the stomachs of the Lin family and Chen Xiaocao without leaving a drop.

The mule lived up to everyone's expectations and remained strong and tenacious. The food was eaten normally and it would even make a few ho-ho sounds when nothing was happening. I don't know if it was protesting against being too bored and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

Just going out for a walk was definitely impossible. The wind was strong and the rain was endless outside. The world seemed to be submerged in water and could not be fished out. No one wanted to go out, and they did not want to go out. Every day they stayed in the cave, eating and sleeping, or they would gather together to discuss the itinerary after the rain stopped and how to arrange it. The days were so comfortable that the people who had suffered so much and were pale and thin, looked much better.

But everyone felt uncomfortable staying like this for a long time. Not only was it inconvenient to eat, drink, defecate and urinate in the cave, but after a long time they always sensed an indescribable smell, and their bedding and luggage were all damp.

They live and eat in caves. The terrain around them is flat and there are many trees. There are no high mountains or steep cliffs, so there is no need to worry about geological disasters such as landslides and mudslides.

But Lin Xiaoyue always had a bad feeling in her heart, and she couldn't tell whether it came from the news report that "after a big disaster, there will be a big epidemic."

Think about it, since coming to this fictional dynasty, first there was famine, then earthquakes, and then continuous rainstorms. Although we don’t know what unknown disasters will happen in the future, like the Hexi Village, the bodies of people and animals who died in the disaster were not burned or buried in time for disinfection, resulting in rotting and stinking, which will inevitably attract mosquitoes, flies and germs. After the disaster, snakes, insects, rats and ants have nowhere to hide and run around everywhere, polluting water sources and spreading diseases...

A mess of thoughts kept popping up in her mind one after another, like an expanding balloon that made her scalp tight and numb, and she felt like it would explode at any time.

Lin Xiaoyue did not speak out her worries, but kept them in her heart and pondered them carefully, analyzing every possible bad situation and simulating response measures.

But talking about it on paper is just empty talk. When faced with reality, you will inevitably encounter various unexpected emergencies. Lin Xiaoyue was really unsure, so she sighed and comforted herself to do her best to prepare for the response. For the rest, she could only take one step at a time.

……

And so, another ten days passed.

The long-lost sunshine dispelled the heavy rain curtain and poured down on people's heads. People who had been living in small houses for a long time rushed out of the cold and hard caves that had been suffocating for more than half a month, opened their arms and embraced the bright sunshine.

"Great! The sun finally came out!"

"Mom, if I keep soaking like this I feel like I'm going to get moldy."

"Finally I can bask in the sun. It's so warm and comfortable."

Everyone finally walked out of the cave to bask in the sun, wishing they could treat themselves like salted fish, with both sides exposed to the sun until they were crispy and crispy.

Miao and Xiaocao took advantage of the time to move all the damp clothes and bedding out to dry in the sun.

Lin Xiaoyue also found a large flat stone for Old Man Lin, spread a tarpaulin on it and put him on it so that he could get some fresh air and see the light.

On this day, everyone moved all the utensils for making fire and cooking outside, and they didn't want to go back to the cave no matter what.

After more than half a month of continuous heavy rain, everyone was already very nervous. Now seeing the bright sunshine, everyone felt very excited.