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

Chapter 157: Escape

Within a day, Qiyang County changed its appearance. Shops were closed, households shut tight, and the military entered the city. Soldiers controlled every important location within the city, leaving only the East Market near the city gates intact. The West Market and former county school, farther from the gates, became shelters for the displaced villagers.

Of course, just these two places couldn’t accommodate the many surrounding villages. Qiyang County had two thousand households, despite many deaths and conscriptions over the years. Now gathered together, there were over five thousand people, far more than the West Market and county school could hold.

Where did they get the materials to build these shelters?

After clearing out the countryside, as soon as the villagers left, soldiers entered and systematically gathered usable wood and straw from each village, bringing them into the county. The villagers collected these materials from outside the county office.

As for the main street near the city gates, especially larger shops like Dongfulou, all the managers were directly summoned to the county office’s back hall by bailiffs. Instead of County Magistrate Wei, a spirited young officer sat in the main seat.

Summoning the managers wasn’t for discussion but to inform them—the shops were temporarily requisitioned to provide resting places for the soldiers during their patrols.

Though termed temporary, when someone boldly asked when it would end, the answer was simple: in times of unrest, as long as the stationed troops weren’t redeployed, they remained regular garrisons.

So, nobody knew when this “temporary” situation would end.

Of course, it wasn’t just shops that were requisitioned but also the houses where officers resided. With a crowd of fifteen hundred soldiers, there were many officers, and while soldiers stayed in tents, officers couldn’t. But they didn’t need to ask themselves; all the wealthy and influential households with more than one house in the city, without waiting for inquiries, voluntarily offered up their residences to the county office.

In the small county of Qiyang, soldiers and civilians totaled six thousand five hundred people.

After visiting the county office and seeing the demeanor of the young officer and learning the exact number of people in the city, shopkeeper Xu felt a chill down his spine. Returning home, he whispered to his wife and old servants, “We need to escape! No matter what’s happening outside the city, we have to figure out a way to create a passage out of the city before the food shortage hits!”

Uncle Xu, who already deeply understood the essence of digging tunnels, immediately suggested, “Why don’t we dig a tunnel to escape?”

Shopkeeper Xu nodded, “Exactly!”

Only Wei Lingzhen and his mother and son hadn’t witnessed the great art of tunneling, still somewhat confused. However, the literal meaning was clear enough, so they listened to Shopkeeper Xu and Uncle Xu discussing it in private.

The small house Shopkeeper Xu currently lived in used to be considered a good location in the county center.

But if they wanted to quietly dig a tunnel out of the city, this wouldn’t work. It wasn’t near any city wall. Wouldn’t they have to dig through half the city? Not to mention the large amount of soil to dispose of and the risk of losing direction underground, digging up directly into someone’s home or tent, or even worse, being discovered by soldiers.

“Let’s find another house!”

Using Uncle Xu’s name, they searched for a house in the direction of their tunnel, near the city wall or closer to people’s homes near the city wall.

It was also thanks to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s good location choice for them. Located deep in the mountains on the west side of the county, as long as it wasn’t a bandit den, it was highly likely they could successfully escape to a safe haven from that direction.

However, finding a house wasn’t so easy.

There were too few homes near the city wall, most of them were separated by a long distance. And those empty spots now had military tents next to the city walls and shelters closer to the inner circle.

They couldn’t possibly dig a tunnel next to a shelter. The activity would be too noticeable and the excavated soil had nowhere to hide.

There were a few households near the city wall, but who would sell their house now? If I sell the house to you, will I live in a shack?

After searching around, the master and servant were fortunate. They found a family at the far west end of the county. The family was so poor that they lived far away from the city wall, but they were relatively close. However, this proximity was relative. After quietly inspecting it, although the task was difficult and the project large, they were confident they could dig their way out.

Uncle Xu went in and said that he could exchange two bags of food for the house. When the family saw the food, they shook their lips for a long time. The man couldn’t lift his hands several times. Finally, the woman wiped away tears and agreed, returning to the house to find the house deed.

The House, which had been passed down through generations in their family, now belonged to someone else.

Going to the county office to transfer ownership didn’t attract much attention for someone like Uncle Xu, an outsider. With the sudden takeover of the county by the soldiers, no one was allowed in or out of the county, so a few outsiders trapped in the county wasn’t unusual.

After completing the transfer, Uncle Xu moved into the old thatched house. The original occupants went to the county office to collect some wood and straw from nearby, setting up two shelters not far from their home.

Near the city wall, where there was open space, the environment was extremely chaotic. It could be described as a mix of all sorts, with shelters all around and military tents further out. That night, only Uncle Xu and Xu Wenqing, the two main forces digging the tunnel, went over. Uncle Xu, who had lived in the county for a long time, was probably known to many people, so no one dared to loiter near his house during the day.

…

The Xu family found a potential way out. Meanwhile, in one of the dozens of shelters outside the county school, there was a crisp sound—a slap in the face.

Inside the newly constructed shack of the Shen family, as Shen San was pulled aside, the scent of smoked meat, now faint, wafted out from the opened bag.

Though faint, it was unmistakably smoked meat. Mrs. Li had hidden the goods securely. Even on their way to the county and before the shack was built, Shen San hadn’t caught a whiff. It was only after the shack was completed, when he lay down to rest in the still air, that he gradually caught the distinctive aroma of smoked meat.

It had been so long since he had tasted meat. Even if the smell was faint, it was still the scent of meat. He couldn’t escape his nose.

Following the scent and flipping the bag open, Shen Jin tensed as Shen Jin got closer. What did he not know? The brat had long been able to hunt, hiding meat from him?

Shen San slapped Shen Jin hard.

“You’re really a good son I raised, huh? You’ve got the skills to hunt and hide things from your old man? Just to let me starve alone? Do you still recognize me as your father? Do you know how to write the word ‘filial’?”

“It seems you learned more than just hunting from Shen Lie—you’ve also learned how to be disloyal to your father, huh?”

The slap was so forceful that his hand went numb. He was truly angry, especially thinking about what he had been through in the past three months. Seeing this brat hide a whole bag of meat made him feel like even a slap was too light.

But he was also excited—meat, a whole bag of meat.

Shen San’s face twisted into a strange expression, a mix of anger and extreme joy.

Shen Jin’s face was half numb from the slap, his ears buzzing so he couldn’t hear what his dad was saying for a moment. But when he saw his dad reaching for the bag of meat, he pounced.

“Given by Big Brother, for survival.”

Shen Yin, Shen Tie, and Shen Tian were all stunned. Shen Tian, the youngest, burst into tears at the sight of his big brother suddenly being slapped, scared out of his wits.

Shen San didn’t care if his daughter cried or not. Seeing Shen Jin pounce like a wild wolf, he kicked out in anger, not particularly hard, just wanting to settle things with Shen Jin. He was genuinely furious about Shen Jin hiding meat from him and letting him go hungry.

When Mrs. Li heard the sound of that slap, she rushed in, holding a water-filled clay pot, and smashed it over Shen San’s head and face.

Shen San dodged quickly, so he wasn’t hit solidly, but a clay pot full of water thoroughly drenched him, soaking the freshly laid bedding in the shack as well.

“Are you crazy, old woman? You dare to hit a man? You know about Shen Jin hiding meat, don’t you?” he shouted, his head spinning from anger as Mrs. Li retorted sharply, “Yes, just those two pieces Shen Lie gave, nearly got his nephew killed, and you still want to eat them? Do you have the face to eat?”

“Why shouldn’t I eat? Why wouldn’t I have the face to eat? I raised the three of them!” he argued, loud enough for the neighboring shacks to hear. Most of them were villagers from Shili Village who knew the Shen family well.

“Meat given by Shen Lie?”

Some were tempted by the meat, with the word echoing in their ears and minds. Others recalled Shen Lie and the families who had fled with him originally.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were skilled people. How were those families who had escaped into the mountains with them doing now? Could they handle encounters with wild beasts? They hadn’t paid taxes and took away all their food; they were definitely better off than those who stayed behind with this meat.

Some envied, some regretted. Of course, many felt bitter at the thought that those who had gone into the mountains might have been eaten by wild animals. What use was individual skill when it came to protecting so many people? Were they really safer now?

At this moment, no one knew that the nightmare in Qiyang County had just begun.

…

While Shen San and his wife were fighting, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were completely unaware of what was happening outside. They, along with Lu Erlang and Shi Dalang, were some distance away from the valley, having just hunted down a lone wild boar together.

The wild boar was massive, and the valley entrance couldn’t accommodate it whole. So, the four found a cave, with one standing guard while the others quickly divided the boar into over a dozen large pieces.

After cleaning up the blood, they collected large leaves to line the bottom of baskets, ensuring no blood would drip. They then carried the baskets loaded with meat back towards Yun Valley.

This was their second hunt for large game since finishing making furniture for various households.

It was now nearing May, and arable land in the valley was limited. Almost all available spaces had been planted with grains and vegetables. Once the seedlings had taken root, Shen Lie and the others found a way to stock up on food: hunting.

No longer were they targeting mountain chickens and hares; they were now aiming for animals with plenty of meat. In these mountains, the best target for this was wild boars. So, the four men focused on tracking wild boar trails.

Other families didn’t dare to accompany them on such large hunts. They were used to navigating the deep mountains and forests without feeling any pressure.

The meat was all brought back to Yun Valley, and the elderly and children there rejoiced as if it were New Year’s Day.

Small game aside, for a large beast like a wild boar, the meat was divided among the four families based on their strength. Shen Lie and Chen Dashan got the most, Lu Erlang the next, and Shi Da, due to his arm injury and weaker combat ability, received the least.

But a two to three hundred-pound wild boar was quite common, so even getting a smaller share meant a bountiful harvest.

There were only six families in the valley, living well by helping each other out and each making their own contributions. Even Wei Qing and others unable to shoulder heavy burdens or lift things properly took on the serious responsibility of teaching the children to read and write.

Meanwhile, the Zhou family wasn’t idle either. Zhou’s two daughters-in-law were skilled weavers and, along with Feng Liuniang, managed to recreate a weaving machine after seven or eight attempts based on their memories of Chen Youtian’s.

Earlier, they had discovered wild ramie in the mountains that could be harvested. Shen Lie led several men from the families on a long journey to cut a considerable amount. Now, the loom sat under a large tree where the children studied, sheltered from the sun and rain by a pavilion jointly built by the families.

So, when Shen Lie and his group returned with such a large game, they typically didn’t just divide it among the four families that went out. Depending on the size of the wild boar, they would first give some to the Zhou and Xu families who hadn’t gone, ensuring everyone had access to oil and the occasional taste of meat.

Given the frequency of Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s trips out, life in Yun Valley was indeed comfortable and quite communal.

With another big harvest for the Shen family, they preserved the pork as bacon and dried meat. At night, Sang Luo began preparing their share of pig stomach for stew and planned to use the rest for a clay pot dish the next day.

Washing the pig stomach wasn’t much trouble either; Shen An handled the live part and could clean it thoroughly with a handful of bean dregs.

As they prepared dinner that evening, meat aromas wafted from every cave dwelling. Sang Luo was cooking with Shen Ning when Shen Lie brought up, “A Luo, it seems like it’s been about forty or fifty days since our last outing. Everything at home is settled now, and we have enough food. I’m thinking of going out to see if Xu has left any messages.”

Sang Luo paused in her work, thinking it over. Shen Lie was adept at navigating the mountains and forests, so there shouldn’t be any danger.

Life in the valley was good now, but they still didn’t know what was happening outside. It was essential to keep up with the news. Nodding, she replied, “Yes, let’s go. Actually, I’ve been thinking that Grandma is also quite concerned about the situation outside.”

Life was good in the valley, but any mother would worry about her children and grandchildren. They just had to be careful not to show it.

Seeing her agreement, Shen Lie smiled and said, “I’ll talk to Dashan later. Uncle Lu and Uncle Shi will stay in the valley, so your safety will be assured while I’m away.”