The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 134: The Cave

Sang Luo didn’t know how to make a wooden bucket, but she had a simple idea.

While Chen Youtian and the others were still chopping trees with axes, she decided to borrow the woodworking tools from Mrs. Chen. She could use the logs Shen Lie had left at the entrance, cut a suitable piece, strip the bark, and then use a hammer and chisel to hollow it out. She was confident she could manage that!

She went next door to see Mrs. Chen and explained her plan. The old lady, after hearing the explanation, slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “We need that too! Let’s do it together. A’luo, can you help grandma find a suitable place for a clean room outside our cave?”

Was it called a clean room? What a nice name. Bathhouse, clean room—this well-educated young lady really had a way with words. Not only was she smart, but even her naming was impressive.

Then Sang Luo was led by the old lady around their cave. Mrs. Chen even took a look at the spot Sang Luo had chosen for her own clean room. Despite inspecting both sides of their cave, Mrs. Chen couldn’t find a suitable place to enclose a small room. She worried, “Should we partition a place inside the cave?”

It was already quite narrow, and even if it was just used at night for minor needs, it would still produce some smell. A cave couldn’t be ventilated like a house.

Sang Luo walked back and forth before saying, “Actually, it could work.”

Mrs. Chen was surprised and a bit confused, but Sang Luo was already pointing to a recessed area about 60-70 centimeters above the ground.

That spot had been filled with soil by the Chen family, obviously intending to plant some vegetables.

“This position is recessed enough to turn around in and has a flat surface. If we can chisel away the lower part of the rock and widen and smooth the area a bit, it should work.”

Mrs. Chen’s eyes lit up. “What about the roof?”

“We can use wood and straw mats to make a roof. It’s a small area, and you can plant some climbing plants nearby to cover it with vines and leaves. It won’t be noticeable at all.”

Mrs. Chen was so excited that she almost hugged Sang Luo but settled for a pat on the back. “Oh, you’re so clever!”

The ground under the trees was precious for growing food. The space left for each family was only half a zhang wide, including the path they had cleared. Apart from the area near the waterfall pool and the lush tree nearby, the right side of the valley was the only activity area for everyone.

Going for walks, getting some fresh air, raising ducks and chickens, drying things, and growing vegetables all had to be done in this narrow strip of land. Nobody wanted to waste it on a latrine, even if it was hidden by trees.

This new idea was perfect. They could make a small clean room by slightly altering the natural rock formation, saving space. The few plants they couldn’t grow there could be planted higher up on the rock wall.

Mrs. Chen even considered building a chicken and duck coop on the mountain side, but there weren’t many suitable spots for that, so she had to give up the idea for now.

While the two of them were chatting, Mrs. Xu came out to dump some soil and saw them. She joined in the conversation.

If anyone couldn’t tolerate the makeshift latrine, it was Sang Luo from the modern world, followed closely by the Xu family.

In the end, Mrs. Xu also enlisted Sang Luo and Mrs. Chen’s help. After several rounds of inspection, they selected a spot similar to the Chen family’s and decided to chisel it out.

This was naturally a task for the men. While the two old ladies and Sang Luo figured out how to make the latrine buckets using the crude method Sang Luo had described, Mrs. Chen even suggested taking turns because they only had one set of hammer and chisel. Since Sang Luo came up with the idea, she got the first turn.

Mrs. Xu laughed and said, “We have more than one set. We can all work together.”

She explained that her son had brought in a complete set of stone chiseling tools with Shen Lie. Without further ado, Sang Luo asked Shen An to find out where Shen Lie had stored them, and they were quickly located.

While the men were still hard at work chopping trees, Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Xu, Qin Fangniang, and Sang Luo were all busy chiseling out wooden stumps in Chen’s cave.

It was only then that Sang Luo learned that Chen Youtian also couldn’t make buckets properly. He had tried many times but they always leaked, so it was likely that Shen Lie couldn’t do it either.

Their efforts weren’t in vain.

By the time Shen Lie and the others finished chopping trees at midday, four small wooden buckets of various shapes were ready. The women had even used Chen’s plane to smooth the edges of the buckets, chiseled holes on both sides, and planned to tie some coarse rope from their luggage through the holes as handles. Perfect!

…

Lunch was a communal meal cooked in a large pot. In the afternoon, the women and children continued working on the previously unworked plot of land, while the men focused on woodworking.

By late afternoon, the stones and roots had finally been cleared from the outer plot of the valley. When Sang Luo returned to the cave with the two kids carrying farming tools and buckets, Chen Youtian and his sons were already installing the door frame at Chen’s place. At Xu’s place, Wei Qinghe and Mrs. Xu lacked the necessary skills, so Old Man Chen helped Wei Qinghe with the task.

Meanwhile, Shen Lie was still busy chiseling something in the open space outside, working on what appeared to be parts for mortise and tenon joints.

Nearby were piles of wooden stakes and planks, some of which were sharpened, arm-thick branches from the trees. Sang Luo couldn’t understand it all but guessed they were materials for the clean room’s door and walls.

Seeing the evening sky, Sang Luo quickened her pace. “Do you need my help?”

Shen Lie glanced at the tools in her hand and nodded, “Yes, but it needs to wait a bit. I’m still missing some parts. When everything’s ready, I’ll call for you to give me a hand.”

“Okay.” Without further ado, Sang Luo entered the cave and used a shovel to scoop the leftover embers from the day’s fire into a bucket, which Shen An then dumped into the latrine.

In fact, not just ashes, but sawdust, grass clippings, leaves, and soil all made excellent compost material. When mixed in the right proportions, they not only fully release their nutrients but also completely eliminate odor, ensuring no unpleasant smells when fertilizing the land later.

Sang Luo, who had made green manure before, knew a bit about compost fermentation. Properly fermented manure becomes brown, resembling soil.

Of course, a proper compost pit would be better than just dumping it in the latrine. Ideally, several compost pits should be dug and covered with wooden boards and thick straw mats, with some gaps for air. Without modern fermentation agents, the process would take two to three months depending on temperature.

Thinking of this, she went next door to tell Old Man Chen about it.

Upon hearing about compost, Old Man Chen became very interested. He put aside the door frame, letting Wei Qinghe hold it, and listened to Sang Luo explain the composting method in detail.

As an experienced farmer, Old Man Chen had always used crop rotation and fallow periods to improve soil fertility. Direct use of manure was common, and those with better conditions used cattle to tread the manure before applying it. However, this method was new to him, and he was eager to learn more.

He asked many questions and naturally had some doubts about this new method. Sang Luo reassured him that she had learned it from her family’s books.

Books held great authority for the common folk; they were written by knowledgeable people. Sang Luo also mentioned that she had tried this method last August. Due to the heat, the compost fermented quickly and was used in October. The vegetables grew well with this compost.

Old Man Chen’s most vivid memory of Sang Luo’s gardening was her first attempt, which was not very successful. Now, however, he had a completely different impression of her and a great respect for books. He trusted Sang Luo’s composting method because of her transformation and her reliance on book knowledge.

Moreover, the vegetables she grew last autumn and winter were indeed better. Even though they were mainly tended by Shen An and Shen Ning under Mrs. Chen’s supervision, they outperformed the ones grown by his own family.

Mrs. Chen had been surprised by the good quality of the soil, now understood to be due to better fertilization.

Old Man Chen, excited by Sang Luo’s composting method, decided to postpone the door frame installation at Xu’s place. “Let’s go, A’luo, let’s inform the other families about this composting method. You explain it better. We can dig a compost pit in the next couple of days. There’s plenty of grass, leaves, and sawdust around to start a compost pile immediately.”

This would save time on fertilizing before transplanting seedlings. The valley soil and the soil they planned to bring in were rich and fertile. Starting compost now would provide fertilizer for future needs.

Leaving Wei Qinghe behind and informing Mrs. Xu that he would return later, Old Man Chen led Sang Luo to spread the news to the other families.

Sang Luo understood that for farmers, nothing was more important than tending to their fields.

Mrs. Xu had been listening the entire time and clearly understood the importance of the matter. She waved them off, saying, “This is urgent. You two go ahead, we’re not in a hurry.”

After watching them leave, Mrs. Xu murmured, “Could this Miss Sang be a young lady from an aristocratic family who’s fallen on hard times?”

While Old Man Chen was focused on the potential use of good fertilizer in the valley, Mrs. Xu saw a bigger picture. If the method of fertilizing the land proved even slightly better than their current methods, it was the kind of secret the wealthy and powerful would guard closely.

If a common family possessed such valuable knowledge, they could leverage it to gain benefits, perhaps even secure an official position, ensuring their family’s resurgence.

…

Sang Luo was unaware that her simple composting method had made her origins even more mysterious to Mrs. Xu. To her, a mere commoner, this method wasn’t about gaining any advantage; it was simply a way to solve immediate survival problems and improve her living conditions.

Sang Luo had only explained the general process. She didn’t concern herself with specifics like where to dig the pits, which she assumed would be on the outskirts of the valley where there was already a path. If they needed to dig several compost pits, the Lu family, who owned land there, might need to make some room. This was something the old men would have to discuss.

Leaving the group, Sang Luo returned to her cave, where Shen Lie had just finished his work and called her over to help.

Helping mainly involved holding things in place, handing over tools, and such, similar to what Wei Qinghe had been doing.

She then witnessed firsthand what Chen Youtian had said about Shen Lie being skilled in woodworking. He worked with remarkable steadiness.

With a pile of treated wooden posts, planks, and stakes, she watched as Shen Lie hammered the posts into the ground to form columns, fitted the mortise and tenon joints, and used wooden blocks and a hammer in a rhythmic manner to assemble the beams. The planks and posts came together smoothly under his hands, and within less than half an hour, the door and walls of the clean room were finished.

Even the door latch was complete.

They then moved to the entrance of her cave. With another bout of busy work, the door frame took shape. Seeing Shen Lie affixing inch-thick wooden planks one by one, Sang Luo realized what he meant by a temporary makeshift door.

She had assumed that a temporary door would be makeshift, like the wooden partitions in the larger cave, propped together to block snakes and insects while preventing it from toppling over.

With Shen Lie having sawed planks, she thought he might make something a bit more refined, like a few large planks joined together.

However, Shen Lie’s idea of a temporary makeshift door was like the detachable panels used by shops in town, which could be removed in the morning and reattached at night. His version was identical!

And he called this a makeshift door!

If this was makeshift, she wondered what a permanent door would be like.

Being practical, Sang Luo was overjoyed to have such a skilled craftsman in her household.

She admired the smooth, planed door planks, unreservedly praising him, “Uncle You didn’t lie to me. Shen Lie, your skills are truly exceptional!”

Complimented, Shen Lie couldn’t help but smile. Feeling quite pleased but not wanting Sang Luo to see, he turned to find more work, carefully stacking the door planks he had just fitted against the cave wall. “This is just temporary. Once all the grain is stored and the moisture in the planks has dried out, I’ll make a proper door that can open and close smoothly.”

Sang Luo readily agreed, happy to help remove and test the door planks.

Once the planks were removed, she noticed four smooth, cylindrical wooden stakes outside the cave, with notches chiseled into them.

Curious, she touched them and asked Shen Lie, “What are these? Stools?”

They seemed too narrow and oddly shaped.

Shen Lie chuckled at her guess. “Bedposts. I sawed the planks with the others, but we made more clean room doors and walls, so I only had time to make these bedposts. Tonight, Uncle Chen’s family will probably just lay down planks to sleep. If you need the saw, I can borrow it, and with Dashan’s help, we can finish the bed frame and boards tonight so you and the kids won’t have to sleep on the ground.”

Although using untreated wood for a bed might cause it to crack or attract pests over time, he figured they could always make a new one later. In the mountains, they had plenty of time.

By late February, the nights were still cold, especially in the mountains. Sleeping on the ground, no matter how thick the bedding, couldn’t keep out the damp cold rising from below. Now that they could address it, he wouldn’t let them sleep on the ground anymore.

The prospect of sleeping in a bed that night lit up Sang Luo’s eyes. “Yes! We can stay up. An and Ning can wait too!”

Sleeping on the ground was genuinely cold, bone-chillingly so. Every morning, she found the bedding laid on dry grass felt damp. That’s why everyone had to find ways to air their bedding daily.

Seeing her reaction, Shen Lie understood how desperately they needed a bed. Smiling, he nodded, “Alright, I’ll work on the bed frame before it gets dark.”

Sang Luo was so excited that she almost felt like massaging Shen Lie’s shoulders in gratitude. Suppressing the impulse, she said, “Great, you go ahead. I’ll get An and Ning to move our cooking things over. We’ll make you a nice meal tonight, and invite Dashan too. He shouldn’t help us for free.”

Shen Lie agreed with a smile, happy to have helped improve their living conditions.

Shen Lie’s appetite was well known to her, and the communal meals were never enough to satisfy him.

Since their cave was now properly organized, it was time to start cooking separately, beginning with this meal.

Their household had a stockpile of 21 kilograms of grain, mostly fine grains, and with Shen Lie’s hunting skills, they wouldn’t lack for food. Sang Luo thought there was no need to skimp on food, especially since everyone was doing heavy physical labor lately. Proper nutrition was essential to avoid health problems.

After giving her instructions, she swiftly headed out, and Shen Lie watched her leave before turning to head towards the Chen family’s place.

…

At the same time, in Shili Village, Shen Jin and Shen Yin emerged from a discreet cave behind their house. Inside the cave, they hadn’t noticed the passage of time, and upon emerging, they realized it was already late and hurried home.

Mrs. Li had been fortunate; when she was injured, it was still cold, and the herbal paste Shen Jin made had been effective. The wound hadn’t worsened, although she often had a cough and felt weak after exertion, possibly from a bruised lung. However, she could now get out of bed and do some light chores.

Seeing the sky darken and noticing her two eldest hadn’t returned, she got up to prepare dinner. Just as she stepped out of the main room, she saw her sons rush in, covered in dirt as if they’d rolled in mud a hundred times.

She was taken aback, “What happened to you two?”

The brothers usually cleaned up before coming home, but today, in their rush, they hadn’t bothered, and Mrs. Li caught them looking disheveled.

Shen Jin, recalling the past seven or eight days of digging in that cave, noticed no one was around outside the yard. He whispered mysteriously, “Mom, Xiao Yin and I made a hiding cave.”

Mrs. Li’s eyes flashed with interest, but before she could ask more, Shen San returned with his hoe.

Shen Jin wanted to continue, but Mrs. Li gripped his hand tightly, signaling him to stop. Shen Jin, puzzled, saw Shen San and understood his mother’s concern. He closed his mouth and, with Shen Yin, quietly slipped away without mentioning the cave again.