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

Chapter 172: Harvest

In the valley, the group of boys, excited by Shen Jin’s opportunity to hunt outside, followed the old routine of morning reading, then eagerly returned home to retrieve their bows and arrows. They gathered in a small clearing on the inner side of the valley to practice archery, creating quite a lively scene.

With Xu Wenqing and Xu Wenhong joining in, they managed to get together and practice for another hour, alongside Wang Yun Zheng and others.

Sang Luo, having nothing to do, practiced calligraphy with stone tablets at home. Xu Wenyin and Shen Ning joined her. When Wei Lingzhen saw this, she was delighted and didn’t want to interrupt. She returned to Mrs. Xu and said, “Having good neighbors is truly better than anything else. Wenyin could never focus so well at home before.”

Mrs. Xu laughed and said, “You haven’t seen Yun Zheng and Xiao An yet. They’re just as determined, and Wenbo feels embarrassed to slack off.”

In the valley, all the children studied, but the most diligent were her own two children and Shen An. Another notable one was the child named Ah Xu from Lu Erlang’s family. He liked to follow Shen An and the others, reading under the trees, then going to their home or Shen’s to continue reading. Despite his young age and slow progress, he followed along and read without asking too many questions.

Wei Lingzhen heard about her son’s progress and smiled with satisfaction: “It’s good that he’s improving, but unfortunately, Wenqing and Wenhong aren’t focused on this.”

Mrs. Xu was more open-minded: “It doesn’t matter if they aren’t focused on this. They can still read and write. As long as they learn accounting and business skills from their father, that’s enough. You know, Yuan Chang didn’t have time to teach them before, but now there’s more time. They can study diligently in the mountains. If they do well, they won’t have to worry about their future when things settle outside. Even with intense study, for families like ours, it’s hard to see a clear path upward.”

In those times, moving from poverty to wealth was achievable through hard work, but breaking through social classes was very difficult. To enter a specific class, one’s family background was crucial. Just studying to advance wasn’t easy. For countless generations, the situation was the same. The old lady didn’t have high expectations; educating the children was more about broadening their minds and skills. Anything beyond that was not worth hoping for.

Wei Lingzhen nodded and then remembered something else: “I’ve noticed that Yun Zheng has become much more cheerful and talkative.”

Mrs. Xu smiled: “Taking him out this time has been good for him. Although life in the valley is modest, everyone here is sincere and warm-hearted, and the children are well taught. He’s surrounded by such people every day; how could he not be happy? It’s much better than being in a place full of deceit and pretensions.”

Wei Lingzhen felt comforted: “If he stays here for a few more years, he’ll have the skills to protect himself when he goes out. My younger sister can rest easy knowing that.”

Speaking of the Wang family, she couldn’t help but worry about her parents and old master’s safety. However, it was just a distant concern with no solution. As Mrs. Xu said: “Everyone has their own fate. Old Wang is adaptable and may still protect his family. As for you, it’s a stroke of luck that you survived.”

Indeed, it was a stroke of luck.

It was also thanks to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s natures.

…

The mist in the valley dispersed late. Although it was summer, the sunlight only reached the ground after the hour of Chen. Sang Luo noticed the change in light, turned her head, and with a smile, said to Shen Ning, “An Ning, come help me move the drying rack and spread half a bag of grain to dry.”

Xu Wenyin also realized and said, “I’ll go back and tell my mother and grandmother to dry the grain.”

Grain stored in the cave can easily become damp. Since they started using bamboo to make baskets and drying racks, every family would spread their grain on the racks whenever the sun was out.

In the valley, families dried their grain while Shen Lie and Shen Jin set traps, gathered wild vegetables, and picked mushrooms outside. They encountered several flocks of wild chickens along the way. Everyone used their bows and arrows, but Shen Jin, still small and newly accustomed to the bow, wasn’t very effective. So, Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, Lu Erlang, and Lu Sanlang all had some success, while Shi Da, Shi Er, and Shen Jin didn’t manage to get anything.

Shi Da couldn’t use the bow and arrow, and Shi Er’s archery skills were even worse than Lu Sanlang’s. Their occasional successes were mostly from setting traps, and when they did encounter wild animals up close, it was often by sheer chance. The two brothers took a relaxed attitude, watching Shen Lie and the others retrieve the wild chickens with smiles.

The bamboo arrows had markings, making it obvious who had shot them.

Around the time of Chen, as the group walked, Shen Lie raised his hand to stop and listened carefully.

Chen Dashan was very familiar with this reaction and listened intently as well. After a while, he realized, “There’s water?”

Shen Lie smiled and signaled to the group, “Let’s go.”

Just as humans need water, so do animals. Finding a water source is the easiest way to track animal signs. As they approached, they moved slowly, examining the traces on the ground closely.

This was a mountain stream. Shen Lie, having observed the gnawed grass and disturbed soil, confirmed after seeing several hoof prints, “Wild boars, and quite a few.”

He stopped advancing and said, “Retreat. Don’t leave traces here. We’ll come back in the afternoon.”

Shen Jin was a bit puzzled, and Shen Lie explained, “Wild boars are more active in the evening. It’s hard to encounter them at this time. If we stay here too long, our scent and traces will alert them. It’s better to come back in the afternoon and ambush them.”

The group quickly exited the area, made a detour, and managed to catch a few rabbits. Shen Lie was particularly pleased to have found the wicks for Sang Luo, which were in high demand.

This material was needed by every household: for making wicks, stuffing pillows, and weaving mats. Even Shen Jin, who was still young, knew about it and had cut a lot. Each adult carried a large bundle of wicks.

With no need to stay any longer, they filled their baskets halfway and carried so many wicks that they couldn’t fit much more from the forest. Shen Lie led the group to find suitable spots for a few more traps before starting to head back.

Shen Jin was a bit downcast; he hadn’t made any notable catches on this trip.

However, he knew this was normal. It had been the same in the past; a trap set one day might not yield results. Fortunately, there were still wild vegetables to collect.

He let Shen Lie carry the wicks he cut and continued gathering wild vegetables, even grass for feeding chickens and ducks. He also found some raspberries and carefully wrapped them in leaves, filling his basket to the brim.

Chen Dashan and the others looked on with smiles.

Among the group, only Shen Jin, Shi Er, and Lu Sanlang didn’t realize that Shen Lie had specifically chosen areas without large predators for exploration, effectively looking out for Shen Jin.

The skinny little kid, even though he was a bit stronger than his younger brothers, was still in a somewhat awkward situation due to Shen San and Mrs. Li. At least the more sensible Shen Jin was happy, as seen in his joy when he found out he could leave the valley in the morning.

Being able to support himself and his younger brothers was something Shen Jin was eager to prove.

Therefore, Chen Dashan and the others were happy to accompany him. Shen Lie didn’t hide anything while teaching Shen Jin. Lu Sanlang and Shi Er both learned something, and occasionally Shi Da and Lu Erlang benefited as well.

On the return journey, after nearly an hour, they were pleased to find that this area was indeed sparsely populated by humans. The animals were not as wary of people and less cautious about traps. Of the fifteen or sixteen traps they had set in the morning, three had caught wild chickens, one of which was Shen Jin’s.

Seeing the wild chicken made Shen Jin extremely happy; he almost leaped with joy.

By the end of noon, they returned to Yun Valley. Sang Luo had just woken up from her nap and, hearing the children’s soft chatter, realized it was already midday. She half-sat up, lifted the curtain, and saw Shen Lie at the platform’s edge, just about to place weapons on the rack. Their eyes met.

“Did I wake you?”

Sang Luo shook her head, “It’s time to get up anyway. Did you just get back?”

She got up and folded the bedding, then came down shortly. Sitting by the platform to put on her shoes, she noticed several large bundles of lampwick grass at the cave entrance. Her eyes brightened, “Did you really find it?”

Lampwick grass, also known as reed grass, is excellent for weaving mats. The bed Sang Luo and Shen Ning were sleeping on was smaller than the original, and the old mat didn’t fit well anymore.

Shen Lie smiled, “Yes, we found it, but we didn’t get any mugwort leaves yet. The patch of fresh mugwort leaves we picked before was too close to our valley. I didn’t want to leave traces around the valley, so I avoided that area. I’ll try a different spot tomorrow.”

Sang Luo had no objections. She put on her shoes and walked outside. Before she reached the cave entrance, Shen Jin came in carrying a bamboo basket. Seeing Sang Luo awake, his eyes lit up.

“Sister-in-law, I picked some raspberries. They’re really sweet. Try them?” He lifted the basket to show her, which contained two or three handfuls of clean raspberries.

Sang Luo tasted one and found it pleasantly sweet and refreshing. She smiled, took a couple more, and said, “They’re quite sweet. I’ll have a few, and you kids can eat the rest.”

Shen Jin was delighted to see her enjoying them. He wanted to suggest picking more but didn’t dare ask. He put the raspberries into a bowl, filled it about halfway, and set it on the table, “If you want more, just take some.”

Shen Lie glanced over and smiled, then went outside to carry the lampwick grass to the empty cave where Shen Jin and his brothers were. To make mats, the grass needs to be sun-dried for seven days. The drying racks outside, where they also dried the grain, made it convenient to sun-dry the grass near the cave entrance.

Outside, Shen An, Shen Ning, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie were organizing things from the baskets. Sang Luo went over, and Shen Ning said with a smile, “Sister-in-law, Xiao Jin picked a lot of wild vegetables and even collected half a basket of grass for feeding chickens and ducks.”

In the valley, they had planted vegetables in all the possible spots, leaving only the areas for communal activities. They had previously removed the grass to avoid snakes, but later relocated some to grow and use for feeding chickens and ducks. However, it was still not enough, so Shen Ning, who managed the household’s chickens and ducks, was really pleased to see that half basket of grass.

Shen An added with envy, “Xiao Jin trapped a mountain chicken.”

Sang Luo moved closer to take a look and said, “Is it still alive? Cut its wings, make a small coop, and keep it. We might be able to get some mountain chicken eggs in the future.”

Shen Jin responded, “Sister-in-law, I set quite a few traps. Big Brother caught three mountain chickens today, and this one isn’t alive; it wouldn’t stay. We’ll keep this one, and once we finish eating the three we caught, we can eat this one at home. I’ll set more traps later and keep raising them.”

Sang Luo understood his intent to contribute something in return. She looked at the grass for feeding chickens and ducks and the half-basket of wild vegetables, and couldn’t help but smile. Noticing that Shen Jin wasn’t forcing himself, she said, “Your big brother is good at hunting, so we don’t lack for food. Your gesture is appreciated, though. Here’s a suggestion: keep the chicken for now. When you’ve gathered five, send one to each of your grandfather’s, grandmother’s, and uncle’s families. You don’t need to send something every time you hunt, but since you’ve settled in the valley and everyone is supporting you, giving a share of your first hunt to each family is a thoughtful gesture.”

“Since there aren’t enough wild chickens today, later you should take Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie to deliver two bundles of wild vegetables to a family. It’s the thought that counts, not the size of the gift.”

Children have it tough, and if Shen Jin didn’t have this kind of intention, Sang Luo might not have said much. But since Shen Jin was aware and thoughtful, she was happy to guide him.

Shen Jin took her advice to heart. He remembered how he had promised Aunt Xu that he would make sure everyone could have chicken soup from the mountain chickens he caught. Although he had been picked up immediately by his older brother and Chen Dashan and didn’t get to set traps for mountain chickens, he hadn’t forgotten his promise. After hearing Sang Luo’s advice, he nodded eagerly, “Okay, I’ll clean up the wild vegetables and take Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie over.”

Shen An and Shen Ning smiled and helped out, cleaning the vegetables and tying them into bundles with grass ropes.

The amount wasn’t much, so Sang Luo didn’t need to help. She went outside to check the grain and looked at the three mountain chickens Shen Lie had brought back. She called Shen Ning to boil water, planning to process the chickens soon. She would make one into smoked chicken for later and cook the other two fresh.

With seven people and Shen Lie having a good appetite, Sang Luo planned to take the chicken breasts and thighs off the bones and try making chicken patties. Since they would rely mainly on meat, trying chicken and pork patties seemed like a good idea.

However, she noticed that the clay pot in the house might not last long if used frequently for frying meat patties.

When Shen Lie came down from the small cave, Sang Luo called out to him, “Could you accompany me outside?”

“Outside” meant leaving the valley.

Shen Lie didn’t ask what it was for and agreed immediately. Then he asked, “Are we looking for something?”

Sang Luo nodded, “I want to check the mountain stream we visited before for hard, heat-resistant stones to use for roasting meat without cracking.”

This area had various types of stones, and Sang Luo had seen plenty of granite in the valley, but the pieces were too large to cut. Since there were mountain streams outside, she thought she’d look there.

Shen Lie understood it was for roasting meat. Though he didn’t see why stones were needed for roasting when branches could work, he had no objections to going out with Sang Luo.

“Shall we leave now?”

Sang Luo nodded, instructed Shen An and Shen Ning to handle the chicken preparation, and took an empty basket to head out.

Shen Lie grabbed weapons and ropes, took the basket, and made sure Sang Luo had the ropes secured. After checking, he led her up to the cave, holding the other end of the rope.

Sang Luo was used to climbing out of the valley, so she wasn’t nervous. The rope was more of a safety measure. As they reached the top, the last few steps were steep, and Shen Lie instinctively helped pull her up.

Sang Luo didn’t think much of it, but Shen Lie almost pulled her too tightly. He quickly adjusted, but still felt his fingers tingle and his heart race.