Traveling through the mountains and farming

Lin Wan followed Li Chonghao to the door of the main hall of Uncle Li's house.

They only saw their great-uncle and two cousins ​​sitting at the table in the house waiting for them, and no one else was seen.

She realized that in ancient times, the main participants in family affairs were still the adult men in the family.

Lin Wan walked in, exchanged greetings with Uncle Li and the others, and then sat down in the remaining empty seat.

Seeing that everyone was present, Uncle Li threw out the matter that needed to be discussed today.

Discuss together whether to choose to secretly escape to Jiangbei County.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Changyi took the lead in putting forward his own point of view:

"Dad, I think we should go to Jiangbei County. The taxes here are heavy now, and there may be the danger of war. If we go to Jiangbei County, we can be exempted from taxes for three years, and there will be fields and land to share, and there will be no war."

Li Changli next to him frowned and immediately retorted:

"Brother, that being said, it's not that easy to get to Jiangbei County. We have to cross mountains and rivers. The mountains are densely forested and there may be all kinds of ferocious beasts hiding there. And there's Xiaojiang River. We carry so many things with us, so crossing the river is also a big problem."

Li Changyi waved his hand and said:

"Third brother, don't just think about the difficulties. Jiangbei County is far away from the war and life is stable. There will be land to farm after we go there, and we will definitely live a good life. And as long as we are careful, crossing the mountains and rivers may not be impossible."

Li Changli still insisted on his opinion: "Second brother, we only have you and me as young and strong men in our family. Dad and Li Chonghao can be counted as one. That means three strong men have to take care of seven women and children, and more than 20 stones of food. It is impossible to cross the mountains and rivers."

Lin Wan listened to their discussion quietly.

In fact, she had weighed the pros and cons when she heard Li Chonghao bring back the news that morning, and had made her own decision.

Uncle Li remained silent, as if he was weighing the views of both sides.

I feel that what they both said makes sense, and neither choice is the best.

Li Chonghao looked at Li Changyi from time to time, and at Li Changli from time to time. When each elder spoke, he nodded in agreement, thinking that what they said was right on point. He was also struggling in his heart, and it seemed that it was really difficult to make a decision.

Seeing that the discussion had reached a deadlock, Lin Wan took the initiative to speak:

"Granduncle, no matter what decision you make in the end, I will choose to stay."

Before anyone else could react, she continued:

"My family mainly considers the following points, you can also refer to them, or think about it carefully.

I agree with the two points made by my third cousin.

First of all, there was only one woman and two young children in my family. Given our situation, we simply couldn't carry too many things to cross the mountains and rivers.

If we abandon our food and belongings, we won't be able to survive even if we reach Jiangbei County.

Secondly, crossing mountains and rivers is extremely dangerous. I was with two children and I couldn't ensure their absolute safety during the process.

Furthermore, I think the war between the King of Chu and the imperial court may not last long. Judging from the current situation, I judge that it will most likely end soon.

Moreover, there is still surplus grain after paying the autumn tax, which means there is still a chance to wait and see the situation.

If we make a rash decision to leave now, then if the situation improves later, all our efforts on the road will be in vain.

Finally, the favorable policies of the imperial court are now widely spread, and even our remote villages know about it. The King of Chu will definitely be alert or take measures. If I rashly flee to Jiangbei County, I am worried that I will be ambushed on the way.

In summary, I suggest that you stay here for now and wait and see how things develop before making a decision. "

After listening to Lin Wan's words, everyone present felt that Lin Wan's analysis was quite detailed.

After taking many aspects into consideration, I believe there is no need to rush to escape to Jiangbei County immediately.

They have not yet reached the end of their rope and have the conditions to wait and see.

Uncle Li stroked his beard and fell into deep thought. He was also thinking about what Lin Wan said and the current situation.

After a while, he said slowly:

"Everyone has their own reasons, but Lin Wan's analysis is the most thorough. Based on our family's situation, it is also appropriate for us to stay for the time being. Let's observe for a while before making any decisions."

In this way, Uncle Li's family also chose to stay temporarily.

As the meeting was about to end, Li Changyi hesitated and asked, "Should we go tell our cousin Changren and the other branches about this decision?"

Uncle Li frowned and thought for a moment. "Not for now. This news is quite sensitive. Since we have decided to stay and wait and see for now, there is no need to let others worry. Everyone's situation is similar."

They all thought that they were the only ones who knew the news, but they didn't know that Li Changren knew it a day earlier than them.

And they have already started active preparations to escape from Quanshui Village and head to Jiangbei County tomorrow night.

Several households in the village that sold grain also learned the news and were preparing to leave secretly.

~

After Lin Wan returned from Uncle Li's house, she continued to take the two siblings up the mountain.

These days they mainly searched the mountains for ash trees and picked ash flowers.

During their search, they pay special attention to picking various wild fruits and marking places where large areas of hazel mushrooms grow.

They set out every morning, come back to eat and rest at noon, continue into the mountains in the afternoon, and return more than an hour before sunset.

In this way, the picked wax flowers and wild fruits can be processed on the same day.

Now we have more than ten jars of sweet sauce at home, thirty or forty kilograms of sweet and sour biscuits of three flavors, and more than twenty kilograms of melon seeds.

The ice powder seeds are estimated to be enough to last until next summer.

Of course, it’s not just what was picked in the past few days, but what has accumulated over the past month.

They had picked all the figs and red-capped kiwifruits in their village and nearby villages.

They also picked a lot of mushrooms, dried them and stored them, as well as honeysuckle, wolfberry, etc.

Lin Wan would pick whatever she knew. The two siblings were very enthusiastic. As long as the eldest sister-in-law said that it was edible or useful, they would pick it immediately and bring everything back.

"Sister-in-law, this mountain belongs to Dad. I have come here with my brother to hunt rabbits before. I have also collected firewood on the outskirts. Dad seemed to have planted a kind of tree on the east side before. I don't remember what tree it was. We can go and see if there are any white wax flowers."

Li Chongle walked in front and introduced Lin Wan.

"Okay, then let's go and take a look." Lin Wan responded.

They walked towards the east, and not long after, Li Chongle, who was walking in front, shouted in surprise:

"Sister-in-law, look, isn't that a white wax flower?"

Looking in the direction of his finger, I saw a large group of ash trees not far away, and the branches were covered with snow-white ash flowers.

They quickened their pace and walked into the ash forest. After the surprise and excitement, they packed their backpacks and started to work.