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

Chapter 137: Personal Motives

Within the valley, time seemed to slow down, and while there were still daily chores, after the fields were plowed, life became less arduous. Sang Luo even found time to carve out four wooden basins from tree stumps, useful for washing faces and feet among other things.

The most significant change, aside from the reduced workload, was that Shen An and the other children now had time to gather under the trees and read together.

There were no pavilions, desks, or chairs, but that didn’t matter. They gathered some rocks, picked up a few wooden stumps, and sat together in groups, still enjoying their studies with enthusiasm.

The children’s demands were not high; after all, hadn’t they been like this before?

Even the Xu siblings adapted well to these makeshift study conditions, experiencing a sense of novelty and freedom that they couldn’t find in a formal schoolroom.

When Sang Luo had free time, she observed the children divided into three groups. Shen An led the children from Shili Village, who were still learning the Thousand Word Classic. Xu Wen Yin joined Shen Ning’s group, and they were part of this lively bunch. Wang Yunzheng and Xu Wenbo each had their own group due to their differing academic progress, studying independently without disturbing each other.

With less strenuous physical work, Sang Luo adjusted their household meals to two meals a day, aligning with the other families. During meals, Shen An talked about the books the Xu siblings were studying.

“Yunzheng and Wenbo showed me their books today, Sister-in-law. They are written with a brush on smooth, white fabric, which they call silk. Each book is rolled up and stored in a silk pouch, then kept in a wooden box. Yunzheng carries this box strapped to his chest.”

“Silk books,” Sang Luo remarked, not surprised. At this time, books were handwritten and passed down, so it was normal for families like the Wangs to use silk books. She asked Shen An, “Did you see what books they brought with them?”

Shen An nodded. “They showed me. There’s the Thousand Word Classic and Jijiupian. Yun Zheng said these are standard texts for elementary learning. Then there are the Analects of Confucius, the Zuo Zhuan, the Gongyang, and the Book of Rites. These are to be studied sequentially after elementary learning. He said there’s an order to studying these books. Right now, I’m learning the Thousand Word Classic. Once I’ve mastered all the words and understand their meanings, Yun Zheng will lend me the Jijiupian to copy. After I’ve mastered the Jijiupian, he’ll lend me the Analects.”

Shen An’s eyes gleamed as he spoke about Yun Zheng lending him books to copy.

Sang Luo smiled slightly and said, “You should really thank him. There may not be an immediate reason to thank him, but remember this kindness. Nowadays, books are treasures from various families. Most books available outside are hard to come by.”

As for herself, she hadn’t fully studied traditional Chinese culture while reading. Even if she had, over these years, she had forgotten a lot. The Thousand Word Classic was studied by the previous owner, making it more memorable. To acquire more books now was difficult for her to quietly collect for them.

Shen An nodded seriously. “I understand.”

Siblings like Shen An didn’t need Sang Luo to worry about their qualities. She asked him, “How far have you gotten with the Thousand Word Classic?”

Shen An blushed a bit at her question. “My sister-in-law taught me to read it. I can recite it now, but truthfully, without reading, I can only recognize and write about a hundred and seventy Words.”

Sang Luo smiled, “That’s quite good. It’s only been a little over three months since I started making bamboo slips for you. Most of your time is spent on hunting and going into the mountains. There isn’t much time to read.”

Turning to Shen Ning, she asked, “And Ning? How is he doing?”

Shen Ning seemed embarrassed and spoke softly, “Second brother just passed the exam today. I’m not as smart as him, so there are still many Words I struggle with. I can only memorize about seventy Words without making mistakes.”

Sang Luo smiled again, thinking it might not be that Shen Ning was less intelligent than Shen An, but rather Shen An was more diligent. Even during these days in the mountains, Shen An would likely be muttering words to himself every night. Among all of them, she only saw Wang Yunzheng and Shen An like this.

After a few words of encouragement, the porridge in the pot was ready. Sang Luo brought out the stewed soybeans she had made in the morning and added some bean sprouts to complete the evening meal.

While Shen Ning was eating, she thought of something and turned her head to count the days, “Sister-in-law, has it been six or seven days since my eldest brother and the others left?”

Sang Luo was caught off guard by her question. It wasn’t that she couldn’t remember how many days Shen Lie had been gone, but suddenly she realized that since entering the mountains, her sense of time had gradually become unclear. Every day in the mountains had been good, from danger to fulfillment, and now a sense of peaceful tranquility. However, she seemed to have lost track of the passage of time.

For instance, she knew they had escaped on the second night of the second month, but was it late February or early March now? If it was early March, which specific day?

Sang Luo realized she didn’t know.

Her hand holding the bamboo chopsticks paused for a long moment before she replied, “It’s the seventh day. If everything goes smoothly, they should be back in another two or three days.”

With that said, the matter was set aside, but Sang Luo made a note of it. After dinner, she met Qin Fangniang, who had finished washing the dishes and was pouring water outside.

Qin Fangniang smiled, “It’s early March second now. I don’t remember either, but my parents and the Zhou family are counting for the farming season.”

Sang Luo let out a long sigh of relief. At least someone remembered.

She feared that in the mountains, time might slip away unnoticed for herself.

Because of this, she thought to ask Chen Youtian for several pieces of bamboo. When she returned home, she cut them into strips and, upon returning to the cave, retrieved a needlework basket from the shelf that Shen Lie had made over the past few days. She placed it on the shelf and used a shoemaking awl to mark today’s date on the bamboo strips.

From then on, she marked each passing day with a line, and after a while, she carved specific dates to ensure she wouldn’t lose track of time again.

Shen Lie and his group returned on March sixth, about a day or two later than expected.

The first day was fine, with some normal fluctuations in time. By the second day, the villagers were silently worried. Afraid that something might have happened on the way, they took turns guarding the canyon mouth from early morning until mid-afternoon. Only after hearing the correct rhythm of several stone knocks did they confirm that the grain transporters had returned.

Some were joyous and waited eagerly, while others quickly ran into the valley to report to their elders.

When Sang Luo heard the news reaching the mouth of the valley, the stones blocking it had already been moved. Shen Lie was carrying a bag of grain out of the side passage. She inspected him up and down, finding nothing amiss, and only then did she relax. She was about to step into the gorge to help with the grain, but Shen Lie stopped her.

“These are all large sacks this time, you won’t be able to carry them. There’s no need for you to come over; we’ll just make two more trips.”

Large sacks, each weighing 120 kilograms. Sang Luo couldn’t lift such weight, nor did she try to pretend she could. She nodded and stepped aside.

She thought to herself that if they were bringing back only large sacks now, it meant they had even transported the grain of the Lu family, which was only behind the Xu family. There couldn’t be much grain left to be transported afterward.

As expected, Shen Lie and his group finished bringing everything in, sealing the entrance to the canyon and telling her, “With the remaining grain and the people staying behind, there are enough hands. We should be able to finish with just one more trip. So, the only thing left is to transport the grain, and we only need to go out once more.”

Sang Luo glanced around. This time, the group of people staying behind had changed again. It was also for the best. Walking in the woods was dangerous, and it wasn’t comfortable to stay in the cave for a long time, especially in the narrow first grain storage cave, which was dark inside and difficult to live in for everyone.

It was only after everything was moved that Sang Luo realized that Shen Lie and his group had brought back more than just grain.

The young men from various families had all brought back mountain products, each carrying two small baskets made of willow branches on a pole. Inside were various mushrooms and, of course, some other wild vegetables.

The men had been busy, and now it was time for the women to smile at the fresh goods that were coming. It was just time to eat, and every one of the small basket carriers smiled at their own feet.

Shen Lie was behind the crowd, and Sang Luo showed her what he had brought back, “Thinking about you in the valley, afraid of no fresh vegetables to eat, I also got a lot of wild vegetables, these mushrooms are recognized and picked, can all be eaten, look, you can eat fresh for a few days, and the rest can be dried.”

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up when she saw it. Recently, she had either eaten soaked dry vegetables or soybean sprouts. Could she not shine when she saw two baskets of mushrooms?

He couldn’t help but move closer to Shen Lie, holding one of the baskets in his hand while quietly complaining, “You said that this is good, but the outside is full of things, we don’t dare to go out, we can’t eat outside.”

Shen Lie smiled, “Let’s wait until the last trip of grain delivery is done. I’ll figure out a way to set up some cover outside the high cave entrance. We can safely observe the outside from inside without being easily seen. Since there aren’t many people deep in the mountains right now, we can call Dashan and Lu Er along. Every few days, I can take you and a few other ladies into the woods. Actually, you’re quite agile at climbing trees; we could go on our own.”

Thinking about it, he remembered how high the cave entrance was and asked Sang Luo, “Do you dare to climb up to that high cave? There are footholds, and I can tie a rope for you. It’s very safe. There’s minimal activity going in and out from there, making it hard for others to discover us.”

Sang Luo thought it was similar to rock climbing. After considering the height for a moment, she nodded, “Not right now, but after a few practices, I’ll dare.”

Shen Lie’s smile hadn’t faded before it brightened again.

Sang Luo, really, you could say she’s a delicate young lady, and you’d be right. But sometimes she’s exceptionally brave, like bending a bow to learn archery. When we were ambushed halfway through, she was the main help on the treehouse. Just like now, she dares to climb a nearly thirty-foot high peak.

“Alright, endure a bit longer. Once I’ve finished planting the seedlings, I’ll be back in no more than ten days, and then I’ll take you out.”

Chen Dashan was a few steps ahead of the two, listening to Shen Lie chattering with Sang Luo behind him. That voice… tsk, even without turning around, he could tell Shen Lie’s smile hadn’t faded.

And listening to what was being said, it sounded like he could go alone. He found the others too obstructive.

Not wanting to see that, he quickly walked a few steps and put some distance between himself and Shen Lie.

He couldn’t help but look up at the sky, thinking about it. He was twenty-one, Shen Lie was nineteen, and yet Shen Lie had gotten married first. Alas, it was clear that marriage wasn’t about age; it depended on Heaven’s will.

Who knows how many more years this will continue. If things outside remain chaotic for a long time, tsk, Shen Lie might even buy soy sauce and vinegar. His wife, on the other hand, is still nowhere to be found.

He quickened his pace a bit more, thinking it was better to see and hear less. It would save him some bitterness.

Chen Dashan walked faster, leaving Shen Lie and Sang Luo completely behind. The two didn’t mind at all, completely unaware of what Chen Dashan was pondering.

Sang Luo did remember something important and asked Shen Lie, “By the way, your trip was delayed by a day or two compared to the estimate. Did something happen on the way?”

Shen Lie nodded, “I went to the cave agreed upon with the shopkeeper Xu. On the way, I found signs of people’s activities in several places. With too few people staying behind, I was worried about the safety of the grain storage point. So, overnight, I found another place and moved both the grain and the people to a relatively hidden location.”

“I see. Are there many people hiding in the mountains now?”

Shen Lie didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he took out a small bamboo tube from his sleeve and handed it to Sang Luo. “This is a letter hidden by Shopkeeper Xu some time ago. The letter says that after conscription and grain collection, the county found that three out of ten villagers had fled. It warns us to be cautious in the mountains. Also, the Henan Road has fallen, and someone has declared themselves emperor there.”

Henan Road, where most of the Daqian’s granaries are located.

The chaos in the world had long been inevitable. At this point, Sang Luo wished it would be destroyed sooner rather than later. Only after destruction could there be reconstruction, and the people who had experienced upheaval could have a chance to see the light again.

She unscrewed the small bamboo tube and pulled out the paper inside. After a brief glance, it seemed to confirm what Shen Lie had said. At the end, there was also news about Shen Jin and a few others, saying they were living a simple but safe life.

Sang Luo breathed a sigh of relief and rolled up the paper again, putting it back into the bamboo tube. At that moment, she heard Shen Lie calling her from beside her, “A Luo.”

Sang Luo turned her head to look at him, “Hmm?”

Shen Lie’s fingers at his side curled nervously, tentatively asking, “Could you teach me to read?”

Sang Luo raised an eyebrow, “You want to learn to read?”

Shen Lie nodded, “Thanks to Wei Qing and the others this time. If none of my companions can read, even if I receive a letter, I won’t know what Shopkeeper Xu wrote. I’d have to come back and ask you to help.”

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he lowered his eyes, revealing a hint of unease and insecurity. Then he looked up at Sang Luo, “Could you teach me to read?”

“Of course, why not?” Sang Luo’s lips curled slightly, eyes filled with a smile as she looked at him, “But I always thought you’d prefer to learn from Xiao An.”

Shen Lie was taken aback, meeting Sang Luo’s teasing gaze. His face flushed suddenly.

Indeed, he had secretly followed Shen An to learn to recite the Thousand Word Classic. However, he had little time. When he was in Shili Village, besides teaching Shen An and the other half-grown children, he also made time to separately teach a few family members. Only when he returned home at night, when Shen An was asleep, would he quietly listen as he read aloud silently.

He thought he was very secretive, but he didn’t expect Sang Luo to know.

He felt a little embarrassed, the palm of his hand oozing a thin layer of sweat, “At that time, I didn’t dare to trouble you.”

He didn’t say he was afraid of losing face because he learned slowly.

Seeing the slight blush creeping up his ears, Sang Luo couldn’t help but smile, “Now you don’t think it’s a trouble for me?”

“Now?”

Now, he was a bit selfish.

Shen Lie nervously moved his throat, “Now Xiao An is leading a group of children in studying during the day, naturally not free to teach me. I feel odd sticking with a group of children during the day, right?”

“At night, it’s too dark, straining my eyes. So, let’s study together. I’ll follow Xiao An in memorizing, but when it comes to writing, can you help me check if I’m wrong?”

Sang Luo had only been teasing, teaching Shen An and Shen Ning, and it didn’t matter if she taught Shen Lie one more. She smiled and agreed, carrying her small basket as she walked back.

Glancing sideways, she saw Shen Lie smiling happily. It seemed like he was trying to restrain himself occasionally, but then he would brighten up again.

The dimples on his cheeks would appear and disappear.

Just agreeing to teach him to read, was it worth being this happy?