The original repairer

Shi Chen understood what He Laosan said.

The He family must have run out of food. As for the old man and two children, they could have survived for a few days from yesterday to this morning if they had to eat frugally. Now that Shi Chen is staying with them, they have enough food for an adult.

Shi Chen, through his study of ancient texts, had a good understanding of the lives of the ancient people. In rural villages, people often had only two meals a day, or even just one. He Laosan's family lived in extreme poverty. If someone fell ill, the whole family would be wiped out.

"Don't worry, old man. I will find food or exchange my wages for food in the village. If you have any instructions, please tell me directly. I will do my best to the best of my ability." Shi Chen said.

……

Shi Chen carried a bamboo basket on his back with a young boy sitting in it. He held a stick in his left hand and led a little girl by the right hand, and they came to a bamboo forest three miles outside the village.

The girl's name is Qingqing, whose real name is He Qingqing. The boy's real name is He Yi, and his nickname is Shitou.

Three days ago, after Shi Chen's repeated assurances, He Laosan agreed to stay at the immortal's house. Whether he had a chance to become an immortal or not, he had to leave.

Wu Laosan took a few people to the riverside to look for wild vegetables, catch shrimps and crabs, catch loaches and eels, and pick up river clams.

There are wild mushrooms, pheasant eggs, bird eggs, and wild fruits in the woods.

The food they got was cooked in plain water and sprinkled with salt.

Today I came to the bamboo forest mainly to cut some bamboos and take them back to make steamers and bamboo mats for drying things for Wu Laosan.

The bamboo forest was very large, at least three or four miles long, and contained three large bamboo mountains and four small bamboo mountains. Shi Chen entered the nearest small bamboo mountain.

There are many newly grown bamboo shoots in Xiaozhu Mountain. Some of the shoots have been eaten by bamboo worms. He found a few better bamboos, put down the stones in the backpack, and asked Qingqing to take him to search for bamboo shoots eaten by bamboo worms nearby. He would wait until Shi Chen finished cutting the bamboo before dealing with them.

Perhaps it is because this world has spiritual energy. Although it is very thin in most places, the texture of plants is much better than that of Earth. The hardness, toughness and length of bamboo are all well reflected.

It took Shi Chen most of the day to cut down four long bamboos, deal with the branches and leaves, and tie them securely with rattan.

After cutting down more than fifty bamboo shoots infested with bamboo worms, we only found thirty-seven bamboo worms. The bamboo worms here are very big, almost the size of a baby's arm, and weigh about five or six pounds in total.

Then they cut two better bamboo shoots and tied them to the felled bamboo with rattan. Qingqing carried a basket of bamboo worms, Shi Chen carried stones on his back, and they pulled the bamboo tied with rattan and walked towards the fishing village.

When he got home, He Laosan had not returned from fishing yet. Shi Chen put down the stones, arranged the bamboo, and began to deal with the bamboo worms.

When I was on Earth, I learned a lot in the wilderness survival class. I got to know a lot of edible mushrooms and wild vegetables. The mushrooms drying in the yard were picked up by Qingqing, Shitou and I in the woods these days. They should weigh about five or six pounds after being dried.

Bamboo worms are easy to prepare. Just soak them in water to kill them, then boil the water, blanch them, and then thread them onto bamboo skewers. Grill them over charcoal until they're golden brown and ready to eat. If you have animal or vegetable fat, deep-fry them and sprinkle them with salt for a better taste.

While waiting for the time to roast the bamboo worms, Shi Chen processed the two bamboo shoots he had cut.

Cut off the old bamboo shoots and leave only the tender ones, slice them, scoop water into a clay pot, boil the bamboo shoots for ten minutes, soak them in boiling water and let them cool naturally, wait for the boiling water to cool down, rinse the bamboo shoots three or two times. At this time, the bamboo shoots are ready to eat, but they will not taste good if they are not cooked with oil or salt, and they will not be fresh but fragrant.

If bamboo shoots are not cooked thoroughly, they will taste bitter and may cause mild diarrhea if not handled properly.

Slice two large bamboo shoots and boil them, and you will get about thirty pounds. If you dry them, you will get about ten pounds of sliced bamboo shoots.

When He Laosan came back, Shi Chen had already finished his work and cooked a large clay pot of wild vegetable, mushroom, bamboo shoots and dried fish soup.

The three of them smelled the fragrance of the charcoal-grilled bamboo worms, and their throats were filled with itch. However, as it was their first time eating this kind of worm, they didn't dare to put it in their mouths. After Shi Chen set an example by dipping it in some salt and putting it in his mouth, he found it sweet and crunchy. Then they tried to pick up one, took a bite, and couldn't stop eating it.

The four of them didn't finish all the roasted bamboo worms. Knowing that food was scarce, they each ate four worms with wild vegetable soup. They collected most of the remaining ones and sealed them in bamboo tubes. They would still have enough for a meal tomorrow.

The gray-black powder used to make it had been eaten by them, and the only edible food left was dried mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, and a few dried fish.

Five large fish, about one foot long, have been dried and will be taken to the town to be exchanged for taro powder and salt, which can be exchanged for a month's livelihood for He Laosan's family of three.

Taro powder is a powder used to make a gray-black paste. One pound of dried fish can be exchanged for four pounds of taro powder, or half a pound of coarse salt.

Life is not ordinary hard.

Before dawn, Shi Chen was awakened by He Laosan, and the two children followed He Laosan.

We had already agreed yesterday to go to the town together to exchange supplies today.

Originally, He Laosan wanted his two children to stay at home to look after the house, and he and Shi Chen got up early to go to Dayuan Town, 30 miles away from the village, to exchange supplies, and then came back immediately after exchanging the supplies.

Shi Chen expressed his idea that he hoped to take the two children to the town. Although it would be more difficult, it would be much safer than leaving the two children at home alone. It would also allow the two children to see the world and broaden their horizons.

Each of them ate four roasted bamboo worms left over from yesterday. When they were ready to set off, it was already getting light. He Laosan looked at the horizon, put on his bamboo basket, and walked in front with Qingqing in his hand.

Shi Chen squatted down and carried the bamboo basket on his back. There were about five pounds of dried mushrooms at the bottom of the basket, covered with two layers of leaves. Shi Tou squatted in the bamboo basket, still sleeping with his eyes closed.

Shi Chen wanted to take the bamboo shoots he'd processed yesterday, but with two children to take with him, he couldn't bring too much. So he decided to take some dried wild mushrooms with him and try selling them in town.

When I arrived at the village entrance, I saw twenty villagers, all carrying bamboo baskets or rattan baskets. Today the villagers were organizing a trip to the town to buy and sell mountain products.

The mountain roads were difficult to walk on, and most of the time we had to walk on a narrow path that wound through the mountains. After more than ten miles of mountain roads, we finally reached the main road, which was just a larger dirt road.

When he saw a city wall in the distance, Shi Chen calculated that it seemed like they had been walking for more than three hours.

On the way, He Laosan told Shi Chen some of the situations he knew about Dayuan Town.

Dayuan Town is located northeast of the fishing village, along the river. It is controlled by three major families: the Lin family, the Song family, and the Huang family.

All three families have immortals who practice cultivation. The Lin family mainly manages the wharf business in Dayuan Town, the Song family mainly manages the grain, medicinal materials, and mountain products in Dayuan Town, and the Huang family controls the mineral business within a radius of 30 miles of Dayuan Town.

There are also five small families and two major gangs, with complex forces.

The town is divided into four major areas. The center is the Inner City, home to the three major families and five smaller clans, and also home to around a thousand local households. To the north of the town is the docks, to the west is the trading district, to the south is the outer city, and to the east is the warehouse district. Most of the wealthy live in the trading district, while the poorer classes reside in the outer city, which accounts for the majority of the town's population.