The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

Most of them were fine.

There were a few people who were too afraid to take the lead, so we had to find a few more people to fill in.

Fortunately, they were using sleds to haul coal, so their speed on the road was probably not fast.

Even so that the horses could save some effort.

On the return trip, people don't ride in sleds at all; they lead the horses from the side.

In addition, there is an adjustment period when you go there.

In this way, there is no need to worry about the coal spilling due to a rollover.

After a period of adjustment, it was already 6:40 AM.

Under the watchful eyes of the two clan elders and villagers, the group drove away in their horse-drawn carriage.

Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang led the way, sitting in the sled pulled by Xiao Bai.

Little White is an extremely intelligent horse; it adapts well even when the load it pulls changes from a carriage to a sled.

Lu Qingqing basically doesn't need to control the direction; he can walk very well on his own.

It was wearing a thick, windproof and snowproof raincoat that had been bought beforehand, making it the best-dressed horse in the group.

Walking ahead against the wind and snow, his imposing manner is reminiscent of the King of Horses.

They don't have to worry about this, but the people behind them are causing problems.

There were a few men who really didn't know how to drive.

After walking for a short while, the horse stopped and refused to go any further.

Seeing this, Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang had no choice but to stop the car and go over to help.

After teaching the technique again, we continued on our way.

However, there is always a familiarization process for newcomers to drive a horse-drawn carriage.

Qin Lang would look back every now and then, and if anyone was lagging behind, he would jump out of the car and go over to teach them.

It took a lot of effort for the villagers to gradually get the hang of it, and the convoy finally drove out of Fushan Town.

This was the first time in many days that Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang had left the town during the day.

Looking up, all around was a vast expanse of white, with not a single tree in sight.

To be precise, there isn't a single tree to be seen within a three- or four-kilometer radius of Fushan Town.

Since the temperature dropped, the villagers have been short of firewood and have started looking for solutions.

In this situation, when the temperature dropped to an unbearable level recently, the villagers started taking action again.

Previously, the trees within one or two kilometers of the village were all cut down.

In recent days, some villagers have already ventured to more distant places.

Within a radius of three or four kilometers, wherever there were trees, they were all cut down and taken home.

If the distance weren't even greater, pulling it back would have been far too difficult.

I suspect that many families would go even further to cut down trees.

However, even if the tree is three or four kilometers long, burning it is not an easy task.

Nowadays, everyone is struggling to get enough to eat, and cutting down trees is an extremely strenuous task.

After cutting down the trees, hauling them home is even more troublesome.

After finally bringing them home, these trees aren't even dry firewood.

The trees need to be chopped into small pieces and piled up next to the stove.

Every day when they light a fire, they use the heat and smoke from the fire to slowly dry them.

If you are in a hurry, you can simply take the pot off the stove after cooking each day.

Laying a layer of undried wood on top can speed up the drying process.

Of course, all of this was mentioned by Sun Dahai and Mai Sui when they came over for a casual chat.

Getting back to the main point, after the convoy left Fushan Town, the snow on the road became noticeably thicker.

By now, the snow had reached Little White's belly.

Fortunately, the raincoat covered her stomach.

Otherwise, if Xiaobai stays in contact with the snow for a long time, I don't know if it will get diarrhea from the cold.

Lu Qingqing grumbled inwardly, but her gaze fell on the ditch beside Lu Liang.

Since the temperature dropped, the cold wind has basically never stopped.

During this period, there were even several blizzards.

Therefore, the snow layer in the ditches on both sides of the road is much thicker than the road surface.

She even suspected that if she jumped into the ditch, the snow would cover her head.

As she was thinking, Little White in front of her suddenly stopped.

Qin Lang quickly jumped off the sled and went down to check the situation.

At this point, the snow on the road was up to Qin Lang's thighs.

Lu Qingqing thought about the height difference between the two of them and doubted that if she jumped down, she would probably reach her waist.

Never mind, let's just wait on the sled.

Qin Lang waded through the snow to reach Xiao Bai, then bent down and rummaged through the snow for a while.

We discovered a piece of wood blocking our way, hidden somewhere in the snow.

The log wasn't too heavy, so Qin Lang dragged it to the side of the road himself.

Seeing that he didn't want it, Sun Dahai, who was behind him, quickly called his younger brother forward and carried it to his own car.

This free piece of wood, if used sparingly, could last them two days of firewood!

After removing the log, the convoy continued on its way.

When they had walked about a third of the way, Lu Qingqing worried that Xiaobai was expending too much energy.

They moved the car to the side, letting the cars behind push it to the front.

Thus, their car was relegated to second place.

It's important to know that on roads with extremely thick snow, the horses at the very front expend the most energy.

After changing horses, Qin Lang said goodbye to the others behind him.

Every fifteen minutes or so, a different horse would take the lead.

When the journey was more than halfway complete, the carriage passed the foot of the mountain.

Lu Qingqing closed her eyes to rest in order to avoid snow blindness.

Suddenly, they heard the man at the front shout.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are those footprints? They're so clear!"

That shout drew the attention of everyone in the convoy.

Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang also looked in the direction he pointed and saw a long string of thin three-toed footprints on the road.

These footprints are clearly those of a pheasant.

However, judging from the marks, there was clearly only one chicken.

Sun Erhe was a glutton, and he stood on the sled looking ahead.

When they discovered that the footprints had eventually led into the mountains, they sighed with regret.

Seeing this, everyone in the convoy gave up their desire to eat meat and continued on their way.

When the convoy arrived at the charcoal kiln, it was nearly noon.

Lu Qingqing went up and knocked on the door. After knocking for a while, someone finally came out to open it.

The door opened a crack, and seeing that there were indeed people outside, the man exclaimed in surprise.

"Mother, there really are people outside. Old Gouzi's ears are really sharp!"

As he spoke, he glanced back at their convoy of cars and asked:

"You're here to buy coal?"

Lu Qingqing and Sun Chengkun, who was standing next to her, quickly agreed.

After receiving a definite answer, the man shouted into the house.

"Old Hook, someone's here to buy coal. Bring the brothers out to load it up!"

Not long after he shouted, several men wearing thick, bulging cotton-padded coats came out.

They were very curious as they looked at Lu Qingqing and the other person through the crack in the door.

"Hey, how did you guys manage to get through this freezing weather!"

I reckon the snow on the road must be thigh-deep!

Sun Chengkun stepped forward with a smile and continued:

"That's right, the snow on this road is incredibly thick."

"If the village hadn't made some sleds, we probably wouldn't have been able to get here."

As the two were talking, Lu Qingqing and the others, under the direction of the man at the charcoal kiln, began to drive the cart inside.

Old Hook looked at the makeshift sled, studied it for a moment, and laughed:

"This thing must be used in the north!"

Are there any northerners among you?