An orphan girl from a farming family: Everyday farming in the mountains during natural disasters

Time flies, and two years have passed.

Before they knew it, Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai had been in Wei Hai for more than two years. As time went by, they both missed the Li family who were thousands of miles away.

So, in October of that year, they planned to return to Xiushui Village to visit the Li family and live in the valley for a while.

We set out this month and it will take more than a month to get there in November, which is autumn. We can appreciate the unique beauty of autumn along the way, and we can go back just in time for family reunion during the Chinese New Year.

Before setting off, they made full preparations. The first thing they did was to place the poultry. They killed all the chickens, ducks, rabbits and pigs and made them into air-dried food or jerky. The four little ones eat a lot every day, so it never goes amiss to make some extra jerky.

The sheep had given birth to three lambs. They killed a big one and ate it, leaving five, two large and three small.

The two big ones are killed and made into dried meat and dried vegetables. The small ones can recognize people and follow them on the road and be carried back.

The cow gave birth to a calf in the first half of the previous year, making a total of three cows. The cows can carry things, so they were not slaughtered.

The second step is to harvest the crops in the fields and make several batches of dried vermicelli, dried goods, starch, and dried fruits. These things are very convenient to cook and eat on the road.

They didn't bring many clothes and other supplies, so they put them away so they can use them next time they come.

Finally, we brought back some specialties, including a lot of dried seafood and local dried fruits. These things would be sold at a high price in Xiangzhou, and only rich people could afford them.

After several days of preparation and ensuring that everything was OK, Xia Qingyue, Han Zhibai and the others set out on their journey. On the way back, they would first pass through the most difficult Beiyuan Forest. After passing this place, the rest of the road would be easier to pass.

She thought to herself, it’s just bitter first but sweet later, so she just kept walking.

Xia Qingyue entered the Beiyuan Forest with high spirits and courage. A few days later, she came out obviously thinner and with a pointed chin, but she was in good spirits and her eyes were sparkling.

After leaving Beiyuan Forest and walking for a few days, they came to the continuous mountains on the border of Yunzhou, which was the place where they had stayed for a while on their way here to look for medicinal herbs and wild fruits and mushrooms.

It was mid to late August and her period was about to come, so she decided to stay here for a few days.

They are very happy every day here, and go looking for medicinal herbs and wild fruits every day. Unfortunately, there are few mushrooms in this season.

The types and quantities of mushrooms that can be found in Wei Hai are few and far between. Over the past two years, they still miss the days when they could find and eat all kinds of mushrooms in Lianfeng Mountain.

Although there are not many mushrooms to be found at present, spring will arrive in a few months. Then they can move back to the valley of Lianfeng Mountain and eat many delicious mushrooms again.

Eight days later, Xia Qingyue's period ended and she set off.

Later in the journey, they came to a salt lake and stayed there for two days to filter out enough salt. They then came to the lake where they had hunted cattle and the mountain hot springs, where they stayed for two days each to enjoy the scenery and soak in the hot springs.

Then we came to the sugarcane field, where some of the sugarcane that had been cut down had grown back and stayed there for a day to be boiled into brown sugar.

Seeing that they were getting closer and closer to Lianfeng Mountain, Xia Qingyue held the map, pointed to a location on it and said, "In a few days, when we go down this mountain, we will pass by Fenglai Town. Let's go and take a look."

Han Zhibai said, "I was just about to tell you this. Let's go to Fenglai Town to visit my brother and his family. Aren't there abundant medicinal herbs in the mountains over in Yunzhou? I thought I could draw a map for them."

"That's fine. There's nothing special about going to Yunzhou except that it's a long journey. Let's go over there and take a look at the situation. If they need it, we can draw it."

Two days later, that afternoon, Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai came down from the mountain and arrived at Fenglai Town.

The entrances and exits of the town were unguarded, and people could enter and leave freely. They brought their poultry into the town. The team was so large that it attracted people's attention wherever they went.

At the same time, they were looking at Fenglai Town. The entrance and exit was considered a relatively remote place in the town, close to the residential area, with houses hidden in the distance, chickens and dogs could be heard, and fields were planted with seasonal crops such as cabbage and radishes.

On the village roads and fields, people can be seen busy coming and going everywhere, and the strong breath of life is overwhelming. Just by looking at it, you can feel the tranquility and peace of this place.

When we got near the main street, we saw tall earthen brick and tile houses rising from the ground. On both sides of the street were teahouses, taverns and other shops. Maybe because it was afternoon, there were not many people on the street.

As they were walking and touring Fenglai Town, they found a passerby and asked for the direction of Ci'an Pharmacy.

Ci'an Pharmacy is a shop opened by Qian Yurou.

When passers-by heard that they were looking for Ci'an Pharmacy, they enthusiastically led them there.

Unable to refuse such a kind invitation, they expressed their gratitude to the passers-by again and again.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, we found Ci'an Pharmacy at the end of the main street. Compared with other shops, its location was relatively remote. Its door was always crowded with people, which formed a sharp contrast with other shops.

"That's the Ci'an Pharmacy. There's a rich lady in charge of it. Whether it's medicinal materials or other things, they're all good."

Passersby talked about these and praised them highly.

As he was speaking, a surprised voice sounded from behind: "Qing, Qingyue!?"

Xia Qingyue looked over when she heard the voice, a smile of surprise appeared on her face, "Yu Rou!"

Qian Yurou and Xiaomei came back together and wanted to go back to the pharmacy. Unexpectedly, they saw a familiar figure at a corner, so they came over to see if it was an old friend.

I didn't expect it to be true.

"Qingyue!" Qian Yurou walked forward excitedly.

Xia Qingyue also walked quickly forward, she opened her arms, and the two hugged each other happily.

"I heard from Brother Weikang that you went to Wuzhou to visit relatives. Are you back?"

"Yes, I was passing by here and wanted to come and see you. Are you doing well?"

"We are all fine!" Qian Yurou let go of Xia Qingyue slightly, with a smile on her face. Considering that they had been traveling hard, it was not a good idea to keep standing outside and talking, so she said, "Qingyue, let's talk about it when we get back."

They thanked and said goodbye to the passerby who kindly showed them the way, and Qian Yurou led them out of the main street and to the residential area on the eastern outskirts of the town.

She met many common people on the way. When they saw Qian Yurou, they greeted her warmly and cordially, as if she were their own relatives and friends.

The house where Qian Yurou lives has a front yard. It is not very large and has a kitchen, a utility room, a living room and three bedrooms. There are flowers, plants and bamboos in front of the yard, which makes it elegant and quiet.

Everyone went into the main room and sat down to rest. Xiaomei went to the kitchen to boil some water, while Qian Yurou chatted with Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai.

"It's close to the medicine shop and the medicine fields in the village. It's very convenient."

"It looks very good. As for a house, the most important thing is to live comfortably." Xia Qingyue looked around the house. From the furniture and decorations, she could tell that Qian Yurou, Xiaomei and the others were living their lives to the fullest.

As long as you put your heart and soul into everything, nothing will go wrong.

"Brother Weikang and his men went to Xishan to look for medicine a few days ago. It will probably take a few days for them to come back."

Qian Yurou took the initiative to mention organizing a drug-finding team and matters related to drug shops and drug fields.

According to her, more than two years ago, Li Weikan came to Fenglai Town, joined the drug-finding team and participated in training. Over the past two years, he has gone out to look for medicine many times. Relying on his outstanding abilities and good qualities, he won the support of the public and became the captain of one of the teams.

She bought the land for the pharmacy. Most of the medicines in the pharmacy were found outside, and a few were grown in the medicine fields. However, the medicinal materials that could be found were limited. Seeing that her price was lower than the market price, other medicinal material suppliers were unwilling to supply her with goods early on.

Without suppliers to supply goods, pharmacies are now in severe shortage of medicines.

In response, Qian Yurou's eyes flashed with sadness, and then she started talking about the medicine field.

She bought a hilltop in the village, which included more than ten acres of land, and hired some people who understood pharmacology to guide the villagers in planting and tending the medicinal herbs.

After hearing this, Xia Qingyue understood Qian Yurou's situation.

Although medicinal herbs are planted in the medicinal fields, they are not like leeks. They can be harvested after a few months and can be harvested again after being cut. However, this measure allows the villagers to have work to do and earn money, thus improving their living conditions.

She raised her eyes and looked at Han Zhibai.

Han Zhibai understood immediately and mentioned the many medicinal herbs on Yunzhou Mountain. He took out some of the medicinal herbs they found there some time ago and showed them to Qian Yurou.

Qian Yurou looked at it and exclaimed: "The quality of these medicinal herbs is very good!"

Xia Qingyue said: "We can draw a route map from Fenglai Town to Yunzhou Mountain."

"Really?" Qian Yurou burst into tears of joy.

That night, Xia Qingyue and Han Zhibai stayed in the guest room of Qian Yurou's house. They drew a route map by candlelight. The map had to be so detailed that it could not be finished in one or two days, so they could only draw a little bit every day.

The next morning, Qian Yurou took them to the village to see the medicinal fields.

On the third day, we visited the pharmacy.

It took more than three days to finally draw the route map. At home, they gave the route map to Qian Yurou.

At this moment, Xiaomei hurried back, "Miss, Brother Li and the others are back!"