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

Chapter 179: Settling In

After traveling for more than an hour into the mountains, Shen Lie and his group finally arrived at the place where Zhou’s family was staying.

It was a small cave, the entrance hidden behind bushes and trees, and blocked by several large stones, leaving only a small gap for light and air to seep through.

When Zhou Laizi went to move the stones, he first made a soft noise to avoid startling the people inside.

“Dad! Big Brother! Have you finished gathering everything so soon?”

Zhou Erlang’s voice was low as he poked his head out of the cave. When he saw Shen Lie and his group behind him, his voice changed slightly with excitement: “Brother Lie? Brother Dashan?”

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan smiled. Zhou Laizi said, “Quickly, get your mother and siblings ready. We’re going to head further in soon. Ah Lie and Dashan will take us a part of the way.”

Zhou Erlang was so excited he didn’t know what to do, quickly responding with a “yes” and darting back into the cave.

The Zhou family didn’t have much in the way of belongings. In truth, they were so poor that their coats were stuffed with reed fluff and the feathers from chickens and ducks they picked up.

They did keep chickens and ducks at home, but they couldn’t bear to eat them; they were sold at the market instead. Consequently, they didn’t get any feathers from them either, relying instead on the few they picked up regularly.

The entire family was afraid of making Shen Lie and Chen Dashan wait too long. All seven members quickly emerged from the cave after only a short while.

Except for Zhou Laizi, Zhou Dalang, and Zhou Erlang, who had normal skin tones, the rest of the family—Zhou Laizi’s wife, Zhou’s eldest daughter, Zhou Sanlang, and Zhou’s youngest daughter—had unusually pale skin. When they came out, they even shielded their eyes with their hands.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan began to understand how Zhou Laizi’s family had been living for the past six months, or rather, for the past two months since the bandits arrived in Daqian County. It seemed that only Zhou Laizi and his two sons dared to go outside, while Zhou Laizi’s wife and eldest daughter didn’t venture out at all. As for Zhou Sanlang and the youngest daughter, they were too young to go outside.

In this world.

Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, and the Xu family helped carry some of the items, saying, “Let’s go.”

Zhou’s food supplies were limited. Besides the two large bags of soybeans and dried wild vegetables, they had three new bags of beans. Though these bags contained mostly bean pods, people didn’t know that. Carrying food into the mountains, with no one around the outskirts was manageable, but moving deeper into the mountains would clearly bring more trouble.

At night, they found a cave to settle in. Zhou’s family poured out the soybeans and shelled them, spreading their mats near the fire to dry and roast the beans with the residual heat. The five bags of beans became three and a half bags as they moved further into the inner mountains.

To avoid being noticed, they didn’t use baskets, carrying only the smallest items in backpacks. Larger items like quilts and clothing were bundled with ropes and clearly visible. Jars and containers were held by several of the children. Even so, they still attracted some unwelcome scrutiny.

Few dared to act on their curiosity, but the more brazen ones started to make moves. Fortunately, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were equipped with knives and bows and arrows, and the Xu family had borrowed bows and arrows from the valley’s people. Additionally, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan had collected knives in the county. With nine strong and capable individuals in the group—four with knives and six with bows—they looked quite formidable.

These weren’t just kitchen knives or hatchets; they were military-grade weapons.

Over the next day and a half, Zhou’s family faced intense scrutiny that raised the hairs on their necks about five or six times. But there was only one real confrontation. A group of more than twenty burly men appeared, clearly seasoned bandits. Some of them ogled Zhou’s eldest daughter with unmasked desire and excitement.

Against such people, there was no need for words. Shen Lie and Chen Dashan charged directly. Zhou Laizi, enraged and armed with a knife given by Shen Lie, and his sons Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang, wielding hoes and hatchets, rushed forward. They fought fiercely.

On one side was the fury and on the other, the lethal skills honed on the battlefield. When the knives were drawn, it was a fight to the death—there was only one outcome.

In an instant, four of the twenty bandits were dead, and one was seriously injured, while two others were slightly injured. The bandits hadn’t even reached Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s side before five of them came out, resulting in four deaths and two injuries. The two knife-wielding bandits killed four of the dead almost effortlessly.

The bandits, used to relying on their numbers to kill and rob, were struck with fear and trembling legs. As Shen Lie and Chen Dashan charged at them, more than half of them turned and fled.

The two closest to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan couldn’t escape in time and felt a chill at their throats before they even turned around.

Xu family members protected the women and children, while Xu Wenqing, trembling, nocked an arrow and, with gritted teeth, shot it.

The sudden outburst of violence ended as quickly as it began. The battlefield was left with six dead and two injured, with the lightly injured one fleeing with his companions.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan didn’t say much. They simply finished off the seriously injured and the one shot in the leg who couldn’t escape.

The Xu family had witnessed Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s prowess. Zhou’s family and Wei Qing had only seen their skills against wild animals. Seeing them in action against humans was a new experience, leaving them shocked and relieved.

Especially Zhou’s family, who knew that without Shen Lie and Chen Dashan, they might not have survived this encounter, let alone the previous encounters with wild animals.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan didn’t think much of it; this was their survival skill developed over years. However, they were impressed by Xu Wenqing’s performance.

The boy had only been practicing archery for less than two months, but his courage stood out.

Shen Lie patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Keep practicing. Whether in chaotic times or peaceful times, it’s always good to have a skill for self-defense.”

Xu Wenqing, who had been anxious, felt a bit more at ease after Shen Lie’s encouragement.

They didn’t clean up the battlefield and continued into the mountains. Soon after they left, several groups of people arrived in the forest. Upon smelling the strong scent of blood and seeing the corpses, they turned and fled in fear.

They confirmed that anyone who could take women and children into the deep mountains should be avoided at all costs.

Zhou’s and Xu’s families weren’t aware of the lingering threat. However, for the next half-day, the menacing stares they had previously felt seemed to have completely disappeared.

They traveled deeper for another day, reaching a place about one or two hours from the valley. The Xu family was unfamiliar with the direction and the terrain. Wei Qing, who had been there several times, couldn’t tell either because Shen Lie and Chen Dashan always took different routes with the supplies. However, Chen Dashan noticed that Shen Lie had deviated from the course.

“Where will we settle Zhou’s family?” he asked quietly, harboring a suspicion.

Shen Lie responded, “Do you remember the area where we picked the silver fungus? Let’s set up some basic defenses there.”

As expected.

Chen Dashan smiled and said, “That’s a good idea. I was thinking of that area too.”

It was about half an hour from the valley, not too close, but they frequently hunted and gathered there, so it wouldn’t be entirely unhelpful.

In the deep mountains, given the current situation, Zhou’s family would primarily need to defend against wild animals for the next six months. The area did have wolves, but with a bit more effort on defense, creating a small safe zone should make survival manageable.

By the afternoon, they reached the location Shen Lie had mentioned. After inspecting several caves, they chose the smallest one beneath a steep cliff. The steep face made it difficult for wild animals to climb to the top and leap down, making it relatively easier to defend. Additionally, there was a small spring nearby.

In the deep mountains, for those without the ability to move around freely, having a nearby water source is crucial.

The Xu family, although unsure of the exact location and how far it was from the valley, trusted Shen Lie and Chen Dashan completely regarding the matters in the valley. They worked together to clear the cave, cut wood, and set up basic defenses, ensuring Zhou’s family had a safe place to settle.

The wood was cut from an area right in front of the cave, which also cleared a patch of land suitable for planting. Shen Lie pointed to a small piece of land in front of the cave and said, “First, let’s secure the cave entrance today. We’ll light several fires at night, cut more trees, and build a high outer wall with deep stakes around the cave. We’ll also enclose the area with the spring so that Auntie won’t even need to step out of the cave. For extra safety, you should add another layer of stone wall behind as you go along. Don’t underestimate the mouths and claws of those animals.”

Chen Dashan walked around the area a few more times and added, “You can also create an additional planting area with high wooden stakes down there. You can still plant soybeans and vegetables now. If you plant them during this season, you can harvest a crop. A wall inside a wall will provide much better security, but that’s something you’ll need to work on gradually.”

The Zhou family nodded repeatedly. Zhou Laizi’s wife said, “It’s already great that you helped us get this far. We don’t even know how to thank you.”

Women outside the mountain have no way to survive now. At her age and with her health issues, her death would be a lesser burden on the family. But her daughter is still young, especially the eldest daughter, who is at a flower-like age. She shudders to think what might happen if something were to happen to her.

Throughout their journey, she had seen the cleanly picked bones in the forest and had noticed that for over a day, no human figures had appeared. She knew that by entering this deep mountain area, they had temporarily avoided human threats. As for the wild animals, apart from the mountains, where else could they go?

—

On the morning of the second day, Shen Lie and his group left, having agreed to bring the Zhou family along if they went hunting in that direction again.

When they returned to the valley after noon, Xu’s family began notifying each household as soon as they descended. By the time everyone had gathered, the valley was filled with concerned faces.

“No food was transported?”

Apart from a few wild rabbits and chickens they had hunted and some wild vegetables they had foraged, they were essentially empty-handed. Old Chen asked about this.

Chen Dashan nodded and said, “Qiyang County has been occupied by those bandits. They’ve been recruiting soldiers and practicing daily outside the county. We couldn’t get close.”

He explained the situation outside the mountain, how they had encountered Zhou Laizi and his family while scouting Shili Village, and how they had taken them into the deep mountains.

The valley fell into a long silence. After a while, Old Chen finally spoke, “So many people were trapped in the county, and no one managed to escape?”

Chen Dashan lowered his eyes, and Shen Lie replied, “Probably only a very few managed to escape at the very beginning of the chaos. The city gates were likely quickly taken over.”

Old Lu asked urgently, “What about the people in the county? Are they just stuck inside?”

Shen Lie shook his head, “That shouldn’t be the case. Ordinary civilians trapped in the city would have run out of food quickly. Men might have joined the bandits for food, becoming part of the rebel forces. As for women and children…”

It might depend on luck.

Men who were capable might have survived or been protected, while those who weren’t might find themselves in a situation that was no different from hell on earth if they had any beauty left.

The elderly and young stood there in silence for a long time. Finally, Zhou Cunzheng spoke, his voice filled with despair, “In our Shili Village, are we the only ones left alive, along with Zhou Laizi’s family?”

This was with the protection and guidance of the Shen and Chen families, who led them to hide in the deep mountains. Even Zhou Laizi’s family had good fortune to encounter them. What about other villages? When the world returns to peace, how many will still make it back home?

The elderly, including Old Chen’s wife and Zhou Cunzheng’s wife, wiped away their tears.

Sang Luo’s fingers trembled slightly, and she thought of the rise and fall of populations in ancient dynasties she had read about, a series of numbers that could only elicit a sigh from her.

Today, she had become one of the smallest components among these numbers, smaller than dust.