Traveling through the mountains and farming

The next day, they went to pick sea buckthorn early and were very busy.

In the evening, we started making jam again, and the whole house was filled with sweet smell.

After all the jams were put into the pottery jars, Li Chongle asked thoughtfully:

"Sister-in-law, we have finished picking the sea buckthorns in those two areas. Are we going to pick them in other places tomorrow?"

"We'll pick more fruits tomorrow morning, and we'll make jam and new food in the afternoon." Lin Wan smiled and nodded.

Li Ke, who was standing next to him, clapped his hands happily after hearing this. "That's great! We can pick sea buckthorns again and eat new food. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!"

At this time, Li Chongle came closer and lowered his voice and said:

"I know there is a place called Seabuckthorn in the back mountain very close to our home, but no one in the village dares to go there."

"Where is it? Why don't you dare go there?" Lin Wan asked hurriedly.

Li Chongle's eyes flickered slightly, and he hesitated for a while before speaking:

"That's a patch of sea buckthorn in a valley a little west of the back mountain. I heard that some strange things happened there. Some people in the village said that there were often strange noises and faint blue flames there. They said it was a ghost fire. There were also rumors that someone had disappeared there, so everyone was full of fear of the place and naturally didn't dare to go there."

Lin Wan asked in confusion: "Then how did you know there were sea buckthorns there?"

Li Chongle scratched his head and said, "Once I followed my elder brother to the back mountain to hunt, and accidentally walked to the edge of the valley, and saw the prickly pear growing there from a distance."

Lin Wan frowned slightly, she was conflicted at the moment. In fact, while she was picking sea buckthorn in the mountains these two days, she had been paying attention to whether there was a suitable place to store food.

Now hearing the place Li Chongle mentioned, it seems very suitable. It is close to home and very secretive, and no one will come near it.

Lin Wan, who came from the modern times, didn't quite believe the rumors in the village.

The sound was probably caused by wind, air currents or geological activities. As for the will-o'-the-wisp, modern science has long proven that it is a faint flame naturally formed by substances such as phosphine.

The more Lin Wan thought about it, the more she felt that this valley was very suitable for storing food.

She immediately told the two siblings about the development of the war, the skyrocketing food prices, and the difficulties they might face in the future, and also told them about her plan to stockpile grain.

After listening to Lin Wan's analysis and plan, the brother and sister fell into deep thought.

Li Chongle showed a solemn look on his face, frowned and said: "Sister-in-law, according to your analysis, we may face great danger in the future. We need to plan ahead to increase our ability to resist risks, right?"

Seeing Lin Wan nod, he continued: "We believe you! We all listen to you, so now you mean that we can hide the food in that valley?"

"Yes, but we still have to go and see the actual situation first. If it is really possible, we will wait until we buy the food and then find a way to transport the food over and hide it." Lin Wan added.

Li Chongle nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, then when we go to pick sea buckthorn tomorrow morning, we should observe the surrounding environment carefully."

Seeing that the elder sister-in-law and younger brother were about to finish their discussion, Li Ke immediately expressed his positive attitude:

"Although I didn't fully understand, I listened to you, sister-in-law. I will do whatever you say."

Lin Wan smiled and touched Li Ke's head, saying, "Xiao Ke is so good."

Li Chongle continued, "Okay, it's settled then. Let's set off early tomorrow to give us more time to take a closer look."

~

The next morning, before the sun rose completely, the three of them had already arrived at the valley on the west side of the back mountain with their backpacks.

Lin Wan kept an eye on the future grain transportation route along the way.

She felt that this valley was indeed very close to her home. It was less than a mile from the backyard to the valley.

Moreover, the road condition is not bad. Although it is located in the mountains, the mountain road is relatively flat. Of course, a two-wheeled cart cannot pass, but a single-wheeled cart can be used.

After entering the valley, Li Chongle first led them to the sea buckthorn tree, and then the three of them decided to act separately.

Lin Wan and Li Chongle were first responsible for finding a suitable place to store food, and then coming back to pick sea buckthorn after finding it, while Li Ke stayed where he was to pick sea buckthorn.

After hearing about the division of labor, Li Ke immediately put down his backpack and began to pick sea buckthorn fruits.

While picking sea buckthorns, she thought that her sister-in-law and the others would definitely find the place where the food was hidden.

Everything will be fine as long as my sister-in-law is here, and my brother is also helping her. I just need to pick more sea buckthorn fruits, so I can make more jam and sell it for money, and then I can buy more food.

Li Chongle followed behind Lin Wan, looking for a suitable place to hide the food, and recalled what his sister-in-law had said to him before they set out about how to find a suitable place to store food...

My sister-in-law said that in order to find a suitable place to store food, several key requirements must be met:

First of all, it must be hidden enough and cannot be easily discovered, otherwise our efforts will be in vain.

Secondly, the location should be relatively dry, not too humid, otherwise the food will easily become moldy and spoil. And it is best to be a place where water is not easily accumulated, so that the safety of the food can be guaranteed in case of rain or something.

Then, it cannot be too far away from us, otherwise it will be inconvenient to transport and use it, but it cannot be too close, which may easily arouse suspicion.

Finally, it is best to have a more complex surrounding environment, so that it can better conceal its presence.

He was still recalling things seriously, so much so that he didn't notice Lin Wan who was walking in front of him.

Suddenly, Lin Wan's voice was heard from the front.

"Xiao Le, come over and take a look. There seems to be a cave here, hidden in the dense bushes." There was a hint of excitement in Lin Wan's voice.

Li Chongle quickly came to his senses and walked forward quickly.

When he came to Lin Wan, he saw an inconspicuous cave entrance, which was mostly blocked by the dense bushes around it.

He carefully observed the cave, wondering whether it met the requirements for storing food. Just as he was about to move forward and explore the cave, he was stopped by Lin Wan.

Lin Wan continued, "Wait, don't worry. We don't know what's going on inside. Take out the tinder we brought with us, burn some straw and throw it in. If there's nothing unusual, we can go in."

Li Chongle did as he was told and quickly lit some straw with a tinderbox and threw it into the cave.

The two men watched the movements in the cave nervously. After a while, they did not hear any unusual sounds or see any strange phenomena.

Lin Wan heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It should be no problem, let's go in."

Li Chongle nodded, lit the torch, walked quickly in front of Lin Wan, and stepped into the cave first.

Lin Wan followed closely behind, also holding a torch in her hand to illuminate the surrounding environment.

After entering the cave, they found that the space inside was more spacious than they had imagined.

The ground was dry and relatively flat, and there was no sign of water seepage on the cave walls.

Li Chongle used a torch to illuminate the surroundings and said in surprise, "The environment here is exactly as you said, sister-in-law. It is very suitable for storing food."

Lin Wan also nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, you see there is a larger stone platform over here. We can put the food on it."

They continued to go deeper and found several branch passages in the cave, but they were all relatively narrow, only large enough for one person to pass through. One of the branch passages was connected to a very small hole that a child could pass through.

After a careful inspection, Li Chongle said, "We will block this small hole when the time comes to prevent small animals from coming in."

Lin Wan smiled and said, "Yes, then we will spread some snake and insect repellent powder and dehumidifying lime everywhere. This will be where we will store our food in the future."

The two of them cleaned the cave with satisfaction, then walked out of the cave happily, ready to pick sea buckthorn with Li Ke.

The three of them returned with a full load again. After returning home, they immediately started processing the sea buckthorns and making them into jam.

Finally, Lin Wan counted and found that they had used the six-print iron pot in the kitchen to cook about ten pots in total in the past two days, and finally made twenty-eight cans of pear jam weighing 5 kilograms each.