Crossing the Unknown Country

So Su He started to look for trees and marked them for the next time. He found chestnut trees, persimmon trees, and a few pepper trees. The most common trees were pine trees and poplar trees, with a small number of locust trees and elms, as well as willows, mulberry trees, and many other tree species. Su He felt that as long as he stayed in the mountains, he would not starve to death. Willow leaves and elm seeds can be eaten in spring, and these can last for half a month. Su He instructed his brothers to pick some and take them home as vegetables. He also asked his brothers to pick some pepper leaves and take them home. Peppers cannot be picked now, and pepper leaves can be used as seasoning for cooking.

Su He always thought that there were trees on the mountain, and as long as he knew how to look, he would definitely find good things. The family's meals could all be found on the mountain, and if he could find silkworms with mulberry leaves, the family's sericulture industry could also develop.

The more Su He thought about it, the more beautiful it became. She searched everywhere, hoping to find some good medicinal herbs. She looked down and found more than ten kinds of herbs, including forsythia, astragalus, pinellia, polygonatum, angelica, etc. She also wanted to dig up mint and take it home. She could plant it at home. Once planted, she didn't have to worry about it. It would grow every year. It could be used for cooking, anti-mosquito and anti-inflammatory ointment, and mint candy to treat sore throats.

Su He muttered to himself that he had no luck in finding ginseng. No matter how old it was, it was a blessing to find one. It was not so good that he could save it for later. He looked everywhere but did not see any ginseng. However, he did find a five-year-old Codonopsis pilosula. He dug it out and saw that it was a big one. This was considered a big harvest.

Now they can complete today's task. Several people hurried down the mountain to collect some grass to make straw hats. My brother also needed to chop some firewood to take home. Su He saw some limestone while walking. This is a good thing. He burned it in the fire and poured water on it to make quicklime. He painted the walls white and the house would be bright immediately.

If you have quicklime, you can make a simple version of cement. You can build a house with bricks. You can just make them yourself. Su felt that everything he had seen before was useful here. There was a lack of everything here, and he had worked hard to improve his life here. He even thought that he would be regarded as a monster by the people here, and he had no place to hide. Now he could only rely on his life. The worst that could happen was death!

Su He shook her head and said, "Let's go and see!" She asked her brother to bring some stones down, so that she could use them. Her brother now had a mysterious trust in his sister, and he would do whatever she wanted. Su Che directly put some gravel into his backpack. He wanted to put big pieces, but Su He only wanted small pieces.

Quicklime is also recorded in medical books, called forging stone, which can enter the liver and spleen, and has the effects of drying dampness and killing insects, stopping bleeding and relieving pain, and saprophytic meat. It is effective in treating trauma, burns, eczema, warts and other diseases. If you don't have regular medicine at home, you can keep some of this for emergency use. Putting some in the compost can also kill some parasites and make the compost more hygienic.

Su He simply asked Su Run to carry some down as well. At least they could make enough for the family's current needs. It would be a try at least.

In this way, they went down the mountain with a great harvest today. On the way down the mountain, they met the children from the village and they greeted each other.

The children all asked, "What did you find in the mountains? Can you take us with you next time?"

"You have more people and dare to go deeper, but we don't dare to go in because we have fewer people."

"Take us with you! Otherwise, we won't play with you anymore."

Because Su He had just arrived here, he was not familiar with the children here, but his brothers were very familiar with them and sometimes they would go up the mountain together.

One of them was the village chief's grandson, Li Erfu. Li Erfu said to Su Pei, "Brother Su Pei, take us with you! Can we go in together tomorrow?"

This kid is shrewd, sweet-mouthed and easy to talk to. He says whatever he wants to whoever he meets. Su Pei is a few years older than him, so he starts to show weakness because he can't afford to offend him.

Su Pei really can't mess with them, otherwise he will be isolated in the village in the future. These children will go home and learn to talk from adults, which will be troublesome again.

Su Pei also knew that he was an outsider and needed to build good relationships with the people in the village. His generation would probably have to find a wife from the village, he overheard his parents saying so. Su Pei promised them that they would gather here tomorrow and go into the mountains together, and it would depend on their own ability to find what they could.

The kids were so happy. With the older kids leading them, and with the possibility of inviting a slightly older kid to join them tomorrow, what was there to be afraid of? Older kids had to follow their parents to work in the fields. Their older brothers were all working in the fields. During the busy farming season, they had no time to play around with them.