Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

"Ah~ Be careful!" Zhou Gu, who was standing under the tree, was frightened. He spread his hands and kept circling around the tree, but couldn't find a suitable angle to catch her.

The top of the tree was broken, and Zhou Guo was shaking the remaining trunk left and right. Fortunately, she was small and light, so she luckily didn't break even after shaking so many times.

She threw the branch onto the open ground, took out a dagger, and cut the broken end flat, which was considered as pruning the tree. She was sure that the tree would grow more next year.

He followed the same procedure and pruned the other branches as well as some of the side branches before jumping off the tree.

Zhou Gu had already picked up all the Chinese toon trees and stuffed them into sacks. Five trees could not even fit into a sack, so there were still a few bundles left.

When Zhou Gu saw her coming down, he said, "You can just pick the buds of the Chinese toon tree, but why did you break the tree? If you kill it, where will you get them next year?"

Zhou Guo said: "Brother, you don't understand. I am pruning their branches. After pruning, more side branches will grow next year."

Zhou Gu really didn't understand this, so he could only lower his head to tie up the tung tree buds. As he tied them up, he said, "Many people have already gone down the mountain, and there are only a few families left up there. Besides you, there are a few others who haven't come down yet. Hurry up, pack them and we'll go out. It's not good to keep people waiting."

Zhou Guo nodded.

When everyone saw them carrying another sack of toon buds and holding a few bundles in their hands, they laughed, "I don't know what's so delicious about these. There are so many on the mountain, it would be great to pick some back home every day. You pick them at this time, so you're not afraid of being late on your way back before dark."

Zhou Guo had no choice but to apologize with a smile, "So you ladies were waiting for me. I'm so sorry. I'm out now. Let's go down the mountain."

"Well, it's not just you. There are two more who haven't come out yet. Really, they are always the last to come out. If we delay any longer, it will be dark. There are wolves in the mountains at night. I don't know how serious it will be."

"Hey, what do you think they are doing? Aren't they just trying to make a few more cents? I told them when I left that they will definitely be coming down soon. Wait a little longer. If we came together, we can go back together. If you really want to leave them behind, and something happens, I'm afraid you won't be able to live with it for the rest of your life."

"Humph, I can't get through. Why can't I get through? It's not me who asked them to stay in there. They value money over their lives. Wait a little longer. If they still can't get out, I will really leave."

Zhou Guo and Zhou Gu walked towards Li and his friends.

Chen said, "Let's wait a little longer. It will be more lively when there are more people down the mountain."

The main reason is that the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous. If someone falls, it would be good to have one more person to lend a hand. We live in the same village, and if there is any problem at home, aren’t the neighbors the ones who can help?

Helping them is helping yourself.

Li nodded and said to Zhou Guo and the others, "Sit down and take a rest. There are two more steamed buns. Eat them both."

There were still about ten people in the group. After waiting for half an hour, many people were impatient and wanted to go down the mountain. Finally, two women came out of the woods carrying a heavy backpack with a sack placed across it, which looked half full, and holding an empty basket in their hands.

Seeing so many people waiting for them, she subconsciously forced a smile and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I forgot the time when I picked it up. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."

Zhou Guo recognized them as a well-known poor family in the village, two widows, both of whom had lost their husbands many years ago.

The younger one, who was only about twenty years old, lived with a blind old woman who was always finding fault with her. She also had three young children, the oldest seemed to be ten years old and the youngest was only four. The family had only three acres of land left after selling it. She was the only one who took care of so many mouths, from the old to the young. She was so young, but her waist was bent and her back was hunched. Her face was so tired that it looked like she was crying even when she smiled.

The other one is not much better off. She is older, about 30 years old. Fortunately, she doesn't have a mother-in-law. Her four children are also grown up. The oldest one is about to get married, and the youngest is eight years old. But the children have big appetites, and it is not easy for her to ensure that the children do not starve to death. Seeing that the children are about to get married, but they can't even find a wife, she has become so worried that her hair has turned white. If they are older, they still can't get married, and I am afraid they will be single for the rest of their lives.

She had never seen all the children in her family together. It was said that the brothers and sisters only had one set of clothes, and she didn't know how to wear them. They only had one set for winter, so did they only have one set for spring as well?

Considering their family's situation, no one said anything, but just said: "Even if you want to find more, you have to consider the time. It's dangerous in the mountains when it gets dark. You can't see wild boars and wolves. If you're not careful, they will roll down the mountain. You have a family behind you. Think about them as well as yourself."

The two said yes again and again.

The group went down the mountain carrying their full harvest, and Zhou Guo's family was at the end.

When passing by a fern field, everyone saw that it was growing really well, so they all stopped to pick a handful. If it was really that delicious, a little effort and trouble wouldn't be a big deal, as it would at least be a new thing to eat.

Zhou Guo put down the backpack and started pinching the fruits. After pinching them, he put them into the sack. Fortunately, he brought a lot of sacks today, otherwise they would not be able to hold all the fruits.

Others would just pick a handful or a bunch at most, but seeing Zhou Guo and the other two picking them like treasures, they were curious, "Is it really that delicious? Even if it is so delicious, can we eat all of it? It won't keep for a few days."

Zhou Guo did not hide it and said, "Aunts, besides eating it fresh, you can also dry it. The winter here is so long that you can't grow anything in the fields. You have to prepare more vegetables, otherwise it will be hard to eat pickled cabbage three times a day."

“Can this vegetable be dried and eaten?”

Zhou Guo smiled, "What vegetables can't be eaten after being dried? Once dried, they can be soaked in hot water and become soft. Although they can't compare to freshly picked ones, they are better than having nothing on the table, right, aunties?"

That's right. Everyone nodded. Although they said so, no one picked too many. Any vegetable can be dried. This bitter vegetable is not tasty. If it is really not bitter when you cook it at home, it won't be too late to pick more. There are plenty of them on the mountain anyway.

However, after hearing her words and thinking about what Li said in the morning, Chen also pinched a lot.

The Zhou family has always had good food, and they actually like it so much. Maybe this thing is really good?

Widow Chen and Widow Zhao each filled a basket and stopped only when they could no longer hold any more.

The group came down the mountain together. Seeing Zhou Guo and the others working so hard to pick ferns, they put down their baskets and helped pick them. As they picked, they said, "If it tastes really good when we get home, we can go to the South Mountain to pick ferns some other day. There are more ferns there than here."