Traveling through the mountains and farming

Early the next morning, Lin Wan put a set of cups, plates and ceramic bowls that had been dried in the shade into the earthen kiln.

While she was making a fire, she heard Luo Fang calling her to go out and pick chestnuts in the morning.

They discovered yesterday that there was a mountain top covered with chestnut trees.

Lin Wan responded and quickened the pace of adding firewood.

Afterwards, she went home and told Li Ke to keep an eye on the fire in the earthen kiln. Then she took Li Chongle and Luo Fang and the others and set off together.

There were more than ten people in their group, with two to three people in each household.

They walked towards the foot of the mountain, chatting and laughing all the way. After more than an hour of climbing, they finally reached the top of the mountain.

I saw that the top of the mountain was very open, and most of it was covered by a thin layer of mist, like a fairyland.

The mountains in the distance are looming in the mist, like an ink painting.

The breeze brings the fragrance of grass and trees, making people feel relaxed and happy.

Lin Wan can now appreciate the beauty of nature almost every day.

This open mountain top is covered with chestnut trees, and these trees are not very tall, so you can reach the chestnuts on them by standing.

The branches are full of plump chestnut balls.

Then everyone dispersed and started picking chestnuts.

They have to pick or knock the chestnuts from the tree first, then peel the chestnut shells on the spot and take out the chestnuts inside.

This way, you don't have to carry all the chestnuts with shells on, which reduces a lot of burden.

Lin Wan had experience in picking chestnuts. Her aunt's home was also in a mountain village. One summer vacation, she was asked by her aunt to pick chestnuts. It also took more than two hours to climb to the top of a mountain. She was shocked by the chestnut trees all over the mountain.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never believe it no matter who told her that wild chestnut trees could grow in large numbers.

Li Chongle was responsible for taking the chestnuts down from the tree, while Lin Wan found a shady place to sit and peel the shells and take the fruits.

This also requires a lot of skill. Use your shoes to step on the chestnuts, use scissors to peel them open, and then successfully take out the fruit.

She hadn't picked chestnuts for more than 20 years, so she was a little unfamiliar with the movements at first.

Gradually I got the feel for it, and soon there was a pile of plump chestnut fruits around me.

Li Chongle watched his sister-in-law pick up the chestnuts more and more skillfully, and said with a smile:

"Sister-in-law, your skills are getting better and better."

Lin Wan raised her head and responded, "You will become proficient after doing it a few times. You should also be careful not to get hurt."

The sunlight shone on them through the gaps in the leaves, and the breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness.

Time passed quietly in the busyness, and it was almost noon before I knew it.

They have harvested half a basket of chestnuts.

I heard Luo Fang shouting in the distance that he was ready to go back.

Lin Wan looked at the other empty backpack and said to Li Chongle with a smile, "I said we wouldn't need two backpacks."

Li Chongle scratched his head and smiled: "Sister-in-law is still foresighted, but if we see other wild fruits on the way, we can also use them."

In fact, they saw some wild fruits on the way up the mountain, but because they wanted to pick the chestnuts, no one picked them.

The two men packed up their tools, picked up their backpacks, and walked towards the group.

"Did you fall accidentally? Your clothes are so dirty." Lin Wan asked when she saw Luo Fang's dirty clothes.

"I stepped on a small stone and slipped. It's okay. I can just go back and wash myself."

“It may not be clean.”

With the conditions that they could only use rice water to wash clothes, they could not wash away the stains left by the grass.

"We picked some soapberries yesterday, we can wash them off."

When Lin Wan heard about soapberries, she immediately asked where they were and she also wanted to pick them.

Washing clothes every day is a headache. They run around in the mountains every day, and the clothes are always stained with various stains that are difficult to wash. Even with the existing laundry conditions, the clothes are not washed very clean.

Before, when she went into the mountains, she would always look out for soapberries or sapodillas, but she never saw any.

Luo Fang pointed to a path not far away: "There are a few soapberry trees over there."

Lin Wan smiled and said, "Can I pick some now?"

"No problem, I'll let Li Chongwu accompany you, and we'll go back first." Luo Fang agreed readily.

The others returned the same way, and Li Chongwu took Lin Wan and Li Chongle along the path to a few soapberry trees.

I saw that the soapberry trees were lush and leafy, and full of clusters of soapberry fruits.

The deep mountains are rich in resources. Various fruits, fungi, herbs and small animals that are rarely seen in the outside world are common here.

Li Chongwu and Li Chongle climbed up the tree, picked soapberries and threw them down.

Lin Wanze was picking under the tree, filling the empty backpack and also filling the backpack with chestnuts.

The two jumped down from the tree and dusted themselves off.

"Sister-in-law, you don't have to worry about not washing clothes clean anymore." Li Chongle said with a smile.

Lin Wan happily carried the backpack and thought of another natural detergent, so she said to Li Chongwu:

"By the way, cousin Chongwu, if you see any soapberries, remember to tell me."

Li Chongwu nodded: "Okay, I'll remember it."

The three of them walked back while talking.

Li Chongwu led the way in front, and they took another route down the mountain.

Not long after they walked, Li Chongwu in front suddenly stopped and his expression became serious.

Lin Wan and Li Chongle noticed something was wrong and hurried forward to ask.

Li Chongwu pointed to a slightly sunken spot on the ground and said, "Look here, something is not right."

Lin Wan and Li Chongle took a closer look and saw that the grass on the ground was a little messy and there was a small broken branch next to it.

"It seems like there are footprints. Could they have been left by someone?" Li Chongle guessed.

Lin Wan stared at it for a while, "There are also footprints that look like those of wild animals."

Li Chongwu shook his head: "It seems that there are other people moving around nearby recently. Let's be cautious and get down the mountain quickly."

"Then I have to go back and tell the others. I don't know if they are enemies or friends."

The three of them became more alert and quickened their pace down the mountain.

Finally, they returned to their secluded cave.

It just so happened that everyone was celebrating Dr. Zhong's move into his new home.

This was also the last time for a communal meal, and from then on each family would cook on their own.

Seeing Lin Wan and the others coming back, everyone asked them to quickly put their things away and have lunch.

Before Lin Wan went out in the morning, Aunt Li told her to have lunch together.

She was also given more than ten kilograms of wild boar meat, which she had marinated before leaving.

They quickly went home to put their things away, washed their hands, and rushed to the dinner party.

The four long tables and chairs were used for dining as well as being used as special tables for children’s classes in the morning.

There is a large activity area near the table. Old man Wang used the leftover wood from building the house to make the slide, climbing frame, see-saw, swing chair, etc. for the children, which were the same things Lin Wan had made before.

Seeing that everyone is seated, it is time to eat.

Lin Wan and Li Chongwu told everyone what they had discovered.

After hearing this, everyone looked embarrassed.

Luo Dashan said: "We have found some traces in the past two days. We are planning to investigate again later and tell you when we are sure."

"I wonder if they are other villagers or bandits?" someone said worriedly.

"Let's take precautions first and strengthen the security at the cave entrance," Li Chongwu suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.

"Don't scare yourself. Maybe it's just a hunter passing by." Luo Fang comforted.

"No matter what, it's always better to be careful," said Uncle Li.

"Then let's take action after dinner." Li Chongwu said.

Everyone quickened their eating pace, and soon everyone began to prepare to strengthen their defenses.

They strengthened the arrangement of traps at the cave entrance and doubled the number of patrols and sentries.

We are also preparing to investigate nearby to confirm the source and specific circumstances of those traces.