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

Chapter 173: Stone Slabs

On one side, as the two left the valley, the three Shen brothers were delivering wild vegetables to each household.

For families like the Xu and Zhou households who hadn’t left the valley, getting two bundles of wild vegetables to change their diet was a great delight. They couldn’t help but praise Shen Jin, thanking him. In more well-off households like the Xu family, Mrs. Xu even managed to dig out a small handful of dates to give the brothers as a treat.

The Chen and Shi families had people leave the valley today and didn’t really need wild vegetables, but seeing Shen Jin leading his brothers to deliver them made them very happy. They accepted the vegetables with smiles and, noticing how thin the three boys were, Mrs. Chen gave them a piece of malt candy, saying, “Take this and dissolve it in some water to drink.”

After visiting several families, Shen Jin and even Shen Tie felt the difference.

The treatment they received was quite different from their previous experiences in the village.

Shen Jin vaguely understood something and seemed to grasp why his sister-in-law got along so well with these village families.

Indeed, gratitude doesn’t always have to wait until one grows up and has the means to do something. What matters is the thoughtfulness.

The last delivery was made to the Lu family. Shen Jin handed over the vegetables to Mrs. Lu at the cave entrance. As he and his brothers were about to leave, he felt a gaze on him. Curious, he looked back and saw Wang Chunniang, who was locked up.

Wang Chunniang was also watching them, and her gaze made Shen Jin feel very uncomfortable.

He hesitated for a moment but quickly looked away and didn’t ask any questions. After saying goodbye to the Lu family, he led Shen Yin and Shen Tie back.

After they had walked quite a distance, Shen Yin asked in a low voice, “Third Brother, was that Hu Zi’s mother locked up?”

Shen Jin squeezed his hand and said, “Don’t mention it. We’ll ask Second Brother when we get back.”

Shen Yin responded with an “Oh”: “You called him Second Brother now?”

Shen Jin used to address Shen An and Shen Ning by name more often.

Shen Jin felt a bit uneasy but still said, “I used to address them like that, but it’s not right.”

Shen Yin and Shen Tie both laughed. As they laughed, Shen Tie suddenly thought of Tianya and lowered his head, saying, “If only Tianya and our parents were still around, we’d have more to eat.”

Shen Jin’s expression stiffened, his hand gripping the basket handle trembled slightly. He struggled to suppress his emotions and then patted Shen Tie on the back: “Don’t think about it.”

Aside from this, he didn’t want to say much more.

Sometimes, not knowing anything can be truly blissful, at least better than what he was experiencing.

Back home, Shen An and Shen Ning were boiling water. Shen Jin took out the malt candy and a small handful of dates from his pocket and said, “These are from Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Xu.”

Shen Ning looked at them, smiled, and took out a bowl from the cupboard, saying, “I’ll keep these for now. We can use the sugar when we make egg drop soup. I’ll ask your sister-in-law later how to use the dates. She knows a bit about it.”

He turned and put them away in the cupboard.

Seeing Shen Ning handling things so efficiently, Shen Jin couldn’t help but think of his past self. He felt a lump in his throat but couldn’t say anything.

The water was still boiling. Shen An had already taken a ceramic basin and put the three wild chickens into it, clearly preparing to scald and pluck the feathers. Shen Jin moved closer to help and quietly asked about the Lu family.

Hearing Shen Jin’s question, Shen An roughly recounted the two incidents involving Wang Chunniang and said, “Mrs. Lu and the others will keep an eye on her. You don’t need to worry about it; just pretend you don’t know.”

He also reminded the brothers, “Remember, don’t shout or make noise in the valley. We’re safe here for now, but if others come into the woods outside and discover us, things won’t be so peaceful.”

The three brothers nodded in unison, especially Shen Jin, who understood better than anyone how frightening some people could be.

—

On the other side, Shen Lie and Sang Luo left the valley and headed straight for the mountain stream Sang Luo had mentioned. Sang Luo kept an eye out for suitable stones along the way, while Shen Lie also helped look around, though he often stole glances at Sang Luo when she wasn’t paying attention.

He was immensely happy to be out with her. It had been nearly a month since they left the valley, and he hadn’t seen Sang Luo for a long time. They had been so busy from yesterday to today that they hadn’t had much opportunity to spend time together.

Of course, just being able to see and be with her made him very content.

The mountain stream Sang Luo mentioned was not far from the valley’s edge, just a short fifteen-minute walk. The stones in the stream were much smoother and smaller than those on the mountain, making it more likely to find thin, slab-like stones.

Sang Luo looked at her cloth shoes and socks, weighing whether she should take them off to wade into the water. Shen Lie had already stopped her: “I’ll go down. You stay on the side and point out any stones you like, and I’ll fetch them for you.”

He took off his shoes and socks and waded into the stream, searching for suitable stones for Sang Luo. One searched in the stream while the other looked from the bank. When Sang Luo couldn’t find a suitable stone on her side, she looked in the middle of the stream and pointed out any that looked like slabs.

“Shen Lie, that stone ahead on the left, check the other side.”

It was a relatively flat stone. Shen Lie flipped it over; it was too thick and irregular, just like the stone slab they had at home.

He shook his head. Sang Luo was a bit disappointed and began looking in the water again. “To the right, three steps to the right, there’s a stone there. Flip it over and check.”

They searched and waded through the stream, finding stones and enjoying the search. After walking about ten feet downstream, Shen Lie found a stone about the size of a ceramic basin and two inches thick. The top side was quite flat, and although the underside wasn’t perfectly flat, it was much better than the previous ones they had found.

He picked up the stone and showed it to Sang Luo: “Ah Luo, how about this one?”

He asked as he climbed back to the bank, turning the stone over for her to see. Sang Luo’s eyes lit up: “Perfect! It doesn’t get any better!”

Shen Lie’s eyes filled with smiles. He placed the stone on the bank and said, “I’ll keep looking. We’ll use the best one.”

Sang Luo examined the stone and said, “If you find more, take one for Mrs. Chen too.”

The stone was large enough for Shen Jin and his brothers to share, but Chen Dashan would certainly be interested in it. With the Chen family having plenty of game, having a good time cooking together was a delight.

Shen Lie clearly thought of this as well and smiled. They continued searching downstream. When they reached a small pool, they indeed found another suitable slab.

Shen Lie went back to put on his shoes and socks, moved the stone he had previously found to the edge of the small pool, and broke a few twigs to strip the bark and tie them together as a brush. He and Sang Luo carefully cleaned the stone slabs.

The discarded leaves and branches had attracted some fish to the water. Sang Luo saw the fish and thought they were quite large, much bigger than the ones they had in their rice fields. She felt a strong desire to make fish soup.

She quietly indicated, “Shen Lie, there are fish.”

While speaking, she carefully reached for the basket behind her to try and scoop the fish out. If that didn’t work, she could always set a fish trap—she was good at that!

Seeing her eyes light up, Shen Lie couldn’t help but smile. Looking at the fish in the pool, he whispered, “I’ll handle it.”

He set down the bark brush and didn’t take the basket. Instead, he carefully crouched by the edge of the pool, holding his breath and focusing on the water’s surface.

Sang Luo couldn’t help but hold her breath too, biting her lip as she watched.

Catching fish with bare hands?

“Can this really work?”

Shen Lie, waiting for the right moment, thrust his hand into the pool. Sang Luo was even more nervous than he was. When he pulled his hand out of the water, holding a struggling fish, her eyes widened in disbelief: “You really caught one?”

It was simply incredible.

Her astonished tone made Shen Lie’s eyes and smile reveal his satisfaction.

“In the mountains, when there’s no food, you have to rely on these skills. You gradually get better with practice.”

He put the fish into the basket and asked Sang Luo, “Should we catch another one?”

Sang Luo nodded eagerly.

The fish had been startled and had scattered, but since this place was genuinely uninhabited, the fish were not very cautious. The small pool wasn’t large, and after a short while, the fish that had fled began to return.

Shen Lie didn’t rush; he waited for the right moment to make his move. After missing once, he managed to catch another fish on his third try and put it into the basket.

Sang Luo glanced at the two fish and decided not to clean the stone slabs right then. “Let’s clean them later. We didn’t bring a bucket, so will these fish survive the trip back?”

Shen Lie asked, “Do you want to eat them tomorrow?”

Sang Luo nodded. “We have mountain chicken today.”

Shen Lie looked around and went to get a few large leaves. “It’s not far from the valley. Let’s try this.”

He took the fish out of the basket and lined the bottom and sides with leaves, placing a few small stones to secure them. Then, he carefully poured some water into the basket.

It worked well since the leaves were large enough and didn’t leak.

He placed the two fish back into the basket, covered them with another leaf, and handed it to Sang Luo. “Be careful; they might flop around a bit.”

Although he wanted to carry it himself, the stone slabs were quite heavy, and he couldn’t ask Sang Luo to carry them.

Sang Luo wasn’t worried about the fish flopping around. She adjusted the basket’s straps and carried it like a bucket.

The valley wasn’t too far, and they reached the entrance in about fifteen minutes. The fish were still flopping and wagging their tails. Sang Luo didn’t need to check under the leaves to know they were still alive.

By the time they arrived at the valley, it was already past noon. They had two meals a day, with dinner around the time of the Shen hour, so it wasn’t long until then.

Sang Luo handed the basket to the younger children to keep the fish alive in a water bucket while she and Shen Lie cleaned the stone slabs they had just brought back. After cleaning, they set up a small camp stove outside under a tree, which was essentially just a pile of stones.

The more casual and simple their setup was, the more curious the children became. Even Xu Wenbo, Xu Wenyin, Chen Ershan, and Chen Xiaoya came over to watch.

Chen Xiaoya squatted to hand over stones and, seeing what they were doing, her eyes lit up. “Sister Sang Luo, are you setting up a pretend kitchen?”

In their village, children didn’t have many toys, so pretending to cook was a popular game, especially among the younger ones like Chen Xiaoya. Sang Luo had often seen her and her friends setting up pretend kitchens with stones and leaves.

She chuckled. “Yes, we’re playing house. Do you want to join?”

“Really? Can I call a few more people?” Chen Xiaoya, excited, shuffled her feet as if eager to gather her friends.

Sang Luo stopped her. “Not so fast. We need to test if these stones work first.”

If the stones didn’t work, it wouldn’t be fun if they cracked during cooking. However, seeing that the stones were quite hard, she was hopeful they would be fine. Only testing would tell.

With the stove set up, Shen Lie started the fire and added kindling while Sang Luo watched. “Don’t let the fire get too big.”

You don’t need a very strong fire for grilling on stone slabs.

After the fire was well-established and the stones were set up, Sang Luo had the children step back. After a while, she used a long stick to poke the stone slabs.

They seemed fine, with no issues.

She smiled. “These stones will work.”

Shen An and Shen Ning had already prepared the three chickens, and the remaining fire under the stone slabs would soon die out. Sang Luo didn’t pay it any more attention; she instructed the children to stay back and went to prepare the ingredients.

At this moment, Chen Dashan came over to see what was happening. He asked Shen Lie about it, and upon learning that Sang Luo was trying out new food and had prepared a stone slab for their use, he urged Shen Lie, “Hurry up! Go eat something. The sooner we go, the sooner we’ll be back. I can still try out this stone slab for grilling meat when we return.”

Sang Luo, who was teaching Shen Ning how to debone the chicken, was puzzled by this and asked, “Where are you going?”

Shen Lie explained, “This morning we discovered wild boar tracks after walking for more than an hour. There are probably several of them. Wild boars usually come out in the evening, so we’re planning to set up a trap soon.”

He glanced at the sky. “At this time, we should be heading out soon to find a place to hide.”

Sang Luo was taken aback. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier? I could have prepared dinner ahead of time.”

It was rare for her to invite him out of the valley, so he was reluctant to say anything.

Shen Lie just smiled. “I’m not hungry yet. You all eat as usual, and save me some. I’ll eat when I get back.”

Chen Dashan, unaware of the details, knew that Sang Luo’s food was always good. Hearing this, he was delighted and clapped Shen Lie on the shoulder. “Let’s go. My mother made some simple dishes and rice soup. Come to my house for a bite, and when you come back in the evening, I’ll come over to your place for some of your grilled meat.”

He turned to Sang Luo and said, “Sister-in-law, save some of the good stuff for me!”

Sang Luo smiled. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll make sure to save some of the grilled meat for you in the evening.”