Traveling through the mountains and farming

Early in the morning of the second day, after Lin Wan and the other two finished their breakfast, they planned to go to Uncle Li's house to get the tools that they had agreed to borrow from Aunt Li yesterday.

Just as Lin Wan and Li Chongle stepped out of the yard, they saw a man who looked like a scholar of about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a blue student uniform that had faded from washing, pushing a cart laboriously up the hill towards their home.

Coming with him was Li Chongping, the lively and lovely grandson of Aunt Li.

"Sister-in-law, that's my brother Chonghao in front." After seeing who was coming, Li Chongle said something to Lin Wan and ran quickly down the slope.

"Brother Chonghao, why are you here? Are you taking a day off today?"

"Hey, why did you guys push the carts here?"

"They also helped bring over the machetes and saws we were going to borrow."

……

Lin Wan looked at Li Chongping who was running away. After seeing Li Chonghao, he kept grinning and talking to Li Chonghao and the others. He instantly became a chatterbox. He must like this cousin very much.

With the enthusiastic assistance of Li Chongle, Li Chonghao pushed the cart into the yard.

Afterwards, Li Chongle immediately smiled and pulled his little cousin Li Chongping into the house, saying that he wanted to pour them some water.

At this time, Lin Wan was left alone in the yard. As a person who was already over 30 years old in modern times, she really didn't know how to address the 18-year-old boy. Also, who could tell her how she should address the grandson of her husband's uncle?

Just when she was struggling with how to address him, fortunately Li Chongle came to her rescue.

"Brother Chonghao, drink some water."

"Thank you, this is what you asked for. Everyone else has gone out to work, and grandma saw that I happened to be at home, so she asked me to bring it here early, fearing that you might need it urgently." Li Chonghao took the cup of water with both hands and gently and politely began to explain the purpose of his visit.

He went on to say, "These wooden bowls and bamboo tubes were made by my second and third uncles, who said they would be useful for your stall. The cart was brought here by my grandfather, who said it was for your stall."

Lin Wan smiled and said, "Thank you. Please help me convey our gratitude to the elders." She saw the things on the cart. Although she could make these small things by herself with the help of tools, the elders' proactive concern made her feel very warm and she thanked them sincerely.

Li Chonghao waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. I saw that you took good care of Xiaole and Xiaoke. We are all very grateful to you."

Yesterday when he returned home he heard about the second branch's division of the family property and how Lin Wan was taking good care of Li Chongle and his sister.

Then he added: "If you need my help, you can come to me. Xiaole knows my rest time."

When Lin Wan heard Li Chonghao asking if she needed his help, she suddenly realized that she could use Li Chonghao to find out more about this dynasty.

According to her understanding, Li Chonghao studied at Xiaoshan Academy, the largest and most influential Academy in the county, and his classmates included children from all walks of life in the county.

Moreover, students in any era are always concerned about national affairs and current political affairs. She feels that she can learn the information she wants through Li Chonghao.

"I want to ask you about the war situation outside?" Lin Wan pretended to be embarrassed and asked.

"Because my brother has been conscripted for a year and there is still no news. I wonder what the situation on the front line is like now?" In order not to arouse Li Chonghao's suspicion, she pretended to be a sister who was concerned about her brother's safety and came to inquire.

She had carefully searched the memories of her original self. Her original self was trapped at home by her stepmother to work every day. She seldom had contact with people in the village. Apart from things happening in her own family and neighbors' homes, she knew nothing about the outside world. She didn't even know where her eldest brother was going to fight or who he was fighting against.

Li Chonghao asked, "Has your brother been sent to the front line? The fighting is fierce at the front line now, and the King of Chu was defeated a few days ago." He did not doubt Lin Wan's question, thinking that she was simply worried about her brother.

He also misunderstood that she wanted to inquire about Li Chongwen indirectly. The news of Li Chongwen's death in battle was told by soldiers returning from the neighboring village, and the court had not yet issued death compensation.

"Will all the people who were conscripted last year be sent to the front lines?"

"Not necessarily. I heard that they were assigned to different teams..."

……

After a series of questions and answers with Li Chonghao, Lin Wan finally had a general understanding of the world.

The Guangsheng Dynasty where she is now is in the turbulent late stage of the transition from the old emperor to the new one.

Five years ago, the old emperor passed away. His eighteen-year-old youngest son inherited the throne. The four great princes then rebelled and openly started an uprising.

Moreover, in recent years, droughts and floods have been frequent in the north, causing unrest throughout the country and making life difficult for the people.

After five years of suppressing the rebellion, only the Chu King is left. Currently, the war between the new emperor and the Chu King is at a stalemate.

Xiaoshan County, where she is located, is the southernmost border county under the jurisdiction of the King of Chu and is temporarily far away from the war.

~

When Li Chonghao said goodbye and left, he saw that Lin Wan had empty eyes and a dazed look. He thought she became like this because she heard about the war on the front line and was worried about her brother's safety.

But in fact, Lin Wan was worried about herself. She was worried that the village would be affected by the war. She didn't know how long this peaceful life could last. Her mind was a mess at the moment.

Li Chongle, who was standing nearby, noticed that after the elder sister-in-law finished chatting with brother Chonghao, she had been standing there in a daze, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and her expression became more and more solemn, so he asked worriedly: "Sister-in-law, what's wrong with you?"

Lin Wan, who was immersed in thought, was awakened. However, she finally restrained herself and did not tell Li Chongle about her concerns that the war might affect the village. She responded:

"I'm worried about the war on the front line. I don't know how my brother is doing now."

Li Chongle is a very smart child. He just listened to the conversation between his sister-in-law and brother Chonghao. He could sense that his sister-in-law was not only worried about her brother.

So, he comforted her: "Sister-in-law, Brother Chonghao just said that our village is far away from the battlefield and will not be affected. He also said privately that if the King of Chu loses power, our county will be taken over by the court. By then, the whole country will be unified and stable, and we will not face the war directly."

Lin Wan sighed and said slowly, "It's good that we won't be affected. Our family is too poor. Let alone a war, even a rainstorm would be too much for our thatched cottage to bear. We should just live a good life now, make more money, store more food, and enhance our ability to resist risks."

She gradually calmed down.

Although war in troubled times is like a time bomb hanging high above our heads, which may explode suddenly at any time, it makes people extremely insecure and fearful.

But now she is just a young widow with two children. She does not have the ability to solve long-term problems. No matter how much she thinks, it will only be a waste of time. She can only take it step by step and solve the immediate survival problem first.

So she decided to store more food in the future and keep an eye on the war situation at all times. Once she found signs of being affected, she would find a way to avoid the disaster in time.

Li Ke, who had been silent all this time, also noticed the strange atmosphere and wanted to divert the sister-in-law's attention, so he asked, "Sister-in-law, tomorrow is the market day, what are we going to do today?"

Lin Wan responded: "Let's move the things that my eldest cousin sent into the house first, and then we'll go to the back mountain to cut bamboo to make bamboo tubes and shoulder poles."

She didn't think about it any further and decided to prepare the things she needed for the market today.

"Are the things made by my second cousin Changyi and my third cousin Changli unusable?" Li Ke asked in confusion when he saw a lot of bamboo tubes, bamboo bowls, wooden bowls, spoons and other things on the cart.

"You can use it, but we need to make some small ones for tasting, and also make more bamboo tubes that can hold a bowl for packaging." Lin Wan explained while pushing the wooden board. Li Chongle next to her had already left with his cart before her.

Afterwards, Lin Wan took the two siblings to the back mountain to cut bamboo to make things needed for the stall.

They made a lot of money, planning to save it and use it slowly in the future.

Of course, within Lin Wan's ability, she tried her best to make all the daily necessities today.