Crossing the Unknown Country

Today, he started composting. His father and mother went directly to the open space behind the house to dig a hole. The land here is vast and the population is sparse. Each household is separated by a distance. They are all prepared to expand the original site in case their house is not big enough. Unless the family splits up, they will choose another land on the edge of the village to build a new house.

There is a large open space around Su He's house, unlike later generations where every household is connected and crowded. When you talk at home, the neighbors can hear you clearly. The houses here are better, each household is a certain distance away from each other, so there is a sense of distance, and they can take care of each other.

Because they were new residents, the villagers were familiar with them even though they had been here for so many years. However, there were only a few families that were on good terms with them. Carpenter Li's family and their neighbor Wang Erbao's family were considered to have a good relationship. Because these two families had more dealings with each other, they gradually became familiar with each other and were kind people, so they had a good relationship.

When Su He was sick, they came to visit with things. Last time we made a table, we found Carpenter Li’s family, but both families were very busy, so they didn’t visit each other often, but they still helped each other when there was something. Wang Erbao’s family is small, with only the couple, a son, Wang Xiaoyong, and a sick mother. Wang Erbao often has to go to the town to find work to earn money for his mother’s medical treatment. Erbao’s wife goes to the fields with the children every day, and she is also very busy. She hasn’t come here for a long time. She digs for food in the soil every day. This spring is so busy that she has to go to the fields every day. The couple can’t both work in the fields. The little money from the fields is not enough for the living expenses of the whole family. Wang Erbao has no choice but to go to the town every day to try his luck and find some flexible work.

Su He's father also wanted to go, but the children at home were too young, and Su He's mother couldn't take care of the three children alone. Su He was also in poor health and often had minor illnesses. Wang Erbao called Su He's father many times but he didn't go, so he had to go with others.

Su He asked his father to pour the chicken manure into the dug pit first, then take out the manure and pour it in, put in the wood ash, put in some chopped hay, cover it with a layer of soil, and finally pour a bucket of water in, and wait a week to see the situation. It seems that the wood ash must be added tomorrow, otherwise it will not ferment well.

After they finished all this, his parents went to the fields. The crops in the spring would not wait for anyone and had to be carefully taken care of. After the spring planting, they still needed to water, weed and thin out the seedlings. None of these could be done in one day and needed to be done repeatedly.

Su He looked at the grass at home and braided the leaves to make a straw hat with a wide brim. It was very effective in blocking the sun. Then he called Su Pei who had come over to help braid a few and asked everyone in the family to wear straw hats. In this way, Su He prepared to go to the mountain today, and he would mainly braid straw hats, otherwise the sun at noon would be a bit too hot.

Su Pei asked Su He to weave more and try to sell them in the town. Su He thought it was okay, as the sun was getting hotter, and the straw hats should sell well. They discussed and started weaving straw hats, which should sell better than straw mats.

After we found out the time, we packed up and went into the mountain together. Today we would try a slightly more convenient place, and if it felt good, we would call our father to go deeper tomorrow.

They walked along the rugged mountain road, first through a patch of low bushes, then gradually through more tall and straight trees. As they walked in, they felt their feet starting to feel soft, and thick piles of fallen leaves were piled up under the trees. Each person held a machete in one hand and a thin stick in the other, beating around, fearing that they would encounter reptiles such as snakes.

After walking for a while, the five people were afraid to go any further. There were more and more big trees. Because the leaves were dense, the sunlight could only shine through the gaps, which made them feel uncomfortable. They searched in a fan shape along the road they came from, and began to look for herbs and things they could pick.

Su He found a patch of kudzu root, and he asked his brothers to dig out the thick roots and bury the thinner ones. These could be used to save lives in the future if there was a disaster. Su Pei and Su Feng filled their backpacks immediately, and the other three stopped digging and continued to look for other things.

There was not much rain during this period, and mushrooms did not grow well. Su He picked some small mushrooms to make soup. If that didn't work, she would dry them and grind them into powder for seasoning. As she was walking, Su He suddenly saw black things on the dead tree trunks in the shade. She hurried over to take a look at the black fungus. This time she was in for a treat, as the tree trunks were covered with clumps of black fungus. Su He wanted to carry this piece of wood back. Later, she thought that she needed to go home to prepare, and then ask her father to come and help carry it down, and by the way, cut this big piece of wood into small pieces. Su He picked all the fungus directly, and her small backpack was full.