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

Chapter 182: How to Sleep

The men were busy weaving mats, processing skins, and dividing the meat, while the women helped to process the hawthorns by washing, slicing, and drying them.

The cattail mats needed to be dried before weaving, but since they were only using them as drying mats and not for bedding, they skipped that step and wove them fresh.

By the time they finished, it was already late afternoon. The wolf meat was divided among the families. Zhou Laizi and Shi Erlang were allocated one wolf, and since they knew Zhou Laizi’s family couldn’t afford warm clothes or a thick quilt for the winter, Shi Erlang generously gave his share of the wolf skin to Zhou Laizi’s family.

Shen Lie and Sang Luo also had bedding and several wolf skins saved up. Though they still needed to take care of the little Jin brothers, they had a chance to get more later. They gave half of their wolf skin to Zhou Laizi’s family for winter use.

Zhou Laizi’s family was deeply grateful. Zhou Laizi’s eldest daughter whispered to her mother, who then smiled and instructed her to prepare a meal.

Since the wolf meat and offal had been divided, Zhou Laizi’s eldest daughter suggested that, given the situation and that everyone would soon be heading out to hunt, they should cook up some wolf meat, offal, and mushrooms to fill everyone’s stomach.

Although they couldn’t prepare a lavish feast, adding extra broth could make it substantial enough. They planned to make do with some meat soup and wild vegetables.

Seeing Zhou Laizi’s wife and daughter busy preparing food, the others knew the situation and sent some meat and offal from their own shares to help. Eventually, Sang Luo and Shi Erlang’s wife also went to assist, given the amount of food needed for over a dozen people.

Shen Lie and his group stayed busy too. They gathered some firewood and set up a bonfire under the wolf-skinning rack, cutting the meat into chunks. They asked Zhou Laizi for some hemp rope, strung the meat on wooden rods, and surrounded them with firewood, covering them with large leaves to create makeshift smoking chambers for the meat.

The blood smell was fading, replaced by the aroma of smoking meat.

The meat needed to be smoked for the afternoon. To avoid attracting livestock with the smell, Shen Lie and his team planned to leave a few people behind to guard the area and finish setting up the planting zone. They also intended to build some simple drying racks for future use, so they wouldn’t need to leave as many people behind.

No one had objections. Lu Erlang, impressed by Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s skills, volunteered to stay behind, while Lu San and the others continued collecting and hunting.

Shen Lie smiled, “If we catch anything this afternoon, I’ll share some with you.”

Lu Erlang grinned, “Then I’m getting a good deal.”

He knew he couldn’t match Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s hunting prowess.

Shen Lie and Chen Dashan both laughed. It was decided that after lunch, each family would leave one person behind to help with weaving mats, setting up drying racks, and improving the defenses of Zhou’s home. They also needed to handle the food, as Shen Lie and Chen Dashan still had mountain chickens and wild rabbits to process.

Thus, Uncle Xu, Chen Youtian, Zhou Dalang, Sang Luo, and Shi Erlang’s wife stayed behind, while Zhou Laizi and his sons also remained to help.

The small cave that had been just for one family was now bustling with activity. The temporary stove in the small yard was filled with the aroma of food, and Zhou Sanlang called everyone in to eat.

Zhou’s family didn’t have enough bowls, but everyone had bamboo tubes for water. By peeling and cleaning a couple of sticks of wood, they had makeshift bowls ready.

They passed the bamboo tubes around, and Zhou’s family filled them with food, ensuring each serving was heaping full.

Zhou’s eldest daughter, if serving someone older, would smile warmly and call them “uncle” or “aunt,” offering to refill if needed.

Her gentle voice caught Chen Youtian’s attention, and he looked at her with interest.

…

Lunch was quickly finished, and Shen Lie’s group prepared to leave. They had at least one empty basket now and could set out with their weapons.

Before leaving, Shen Lie instructed Sang Luo, Shi Erlang’s wife, and the less combat-ready women to stay inside the small courtyard and weave mats while the men handled things outside. He also gave Sang Luo a small porcelain bottle and said quietly, “If you encounter any dangerous wild animals, give this bottle to Lu Erlang.”

The inner courtyard wall they helped build had small openings for observation. Whether shooting arrows or passing small items, it was quite convenient.

Sang Luo nodded, took the bottle, and put it away.

Shen Lie then went to find Lu Erlang, reminding him, “Wild animals have their own territories. With eight wolves already killed, there shouldn’t be many left, but still be cautious. Women and children should avoid working outside. Focus on finishing the wall, and we won’t go too far. We’ll just scout the nearby mountains and return within an hour and a half. We need to be back before dark.”

However, he also knew that this good life was thanks to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan. Without them, survival would be tough for their own family.

Especially looking at the nearly enclosed planting area now, he felt that all his luck in life seemed to have been concentrated by the heavens in the recent days.

Sang Luo and the others had finished washing and drying the grapes and placed mushrooms and silver fungus on their respective drying mats. Only a small amount of hawthorns remained, which wasn’t too much. Zhou Laizi’s wife said, “You should head back. It’s getting dark, and it’s not safe. We’ll take care of these and put them out to dry. We’ll also bring your things back to the cave tonight and put them out again tomorrow morning. You don’t need to worry.”

She and her daughter also took out a small bamboo basket and handed it to Sang Luo. “These are some of the grapes we washed today. Take them back and share them. They’ll be a sweet treat for you tonight.”

Sang Luo didn’t take it and smiled, “We can pick some on the way back. Leave it for the children at home.”

But Zhou Laizi’s wife insisted, saying they had plenty at home, and smilingly pressed the basket into Sang Luo’s hands, unwilling to let her decline.

Sang Luo laughed and, seeing that the gate to the wall was secure, called everyone over to share a meal. After working all afternoon, a bit of sweetness was quite nice.

Each person had a taste of more than ten grapes. They then gathered some clean leaves to line the baskets and put the nearly smoked meat inside.

As evening approached, even though they had built a wall, it wasn’t ideal to continue smoking the roe deer meat at Zhou Laizi’s place. Although wild animals likely wouldn’t intrude, it was better not to cause any trouble. They packed the meat into another burlap sack and carried it back to their small cave to continue smoking in the evening.

By the time they returned to the village, it was still before the evening curfew. Since there was open space in front of Chen Dashan’s cave, they set up a few smoking racks there and hung the meat to continue smoking.

They also needed to prepare some food for themselves. There was no need for anything fancy—just a few pieces of the meat from the day’s hunt, cut up and roasted over an open fire with a bit of salt.

As for Shen Lie, being highly skilled and bold, he didn’t need to make a big fuss. He used the smoking racks he had set up outside his own cave. Sang Luo wasn’t keen on the direct fire-roasted meat, so she left a piece of fresh roe deer meat and stewed it in a clay pot on the stove.

While she was busy preparing the meal, Shen Lie, concerned that Sang Luo might not be comfortable staying outside, borrowed some tools like saws and chisels from Chen Youtian, which he had kept in the cave. He cut down several trees near the cave and made a simple outhouse with logs, including a makeshift toilet.

After living together for half a year, Sang Luo had become quite at ease and no longer minded. She washed the mushrooms they had picked up in a small mountain spring nearby and added them to the stew, which was almost ready.

As night fell completely, only the Shen and Chen families had fires burning outside their caves. The aroma of smoked meat and cooking food wafted through the air. It was uncertain if it would attract nearby animals, but everyone kept their knives and bows close, and with so many people and strong defenses, they weren’t afraid.

After going hunting a few times with Shen Lie and Chen Dashan, it sometimes felt like wild animals were just delivering food.

Perhaps Shen Lie and his group had indeed cleared the area thoroughly. After dinner, Shen Lie and Sang Luo finished their tasks. Having sweated a lot during the day, Shen Lie even made a shallow tub for Sang Luo to wash herself with a clay pot of hot water. He took a cold shower himself, washed his clothes, and hung them to dry in the cave. By the time the time for the midnight curfew arrived, no wild animals had come near.

As the night deepened, the meat in everyone’s homes was almost fully smoked. Chen Dashan locked the door and sent everyone back to their caves. Shen Lie, having lit an oil lamp in their cave, and Sang Luo began to take down the smoked meat from the rack and hang it on a makeshift wooden rack they had set up inside the cave.

It was time to sleep.

Since dinner, Sang Luo had been thinking about how they would sleep tonight. They had brought two thin blankets, and she had already decided they would place a pillow in the middle and sleep on either side. However, once inside the cave, Shen Lie closed the door and, before she could speak, he crouched down and pulled out something from under the bed.

It was a simple single bed, just big enough for one person to lie on.

Sang Luo couldn’t help but chuckle.

Shen Lie was really something—truly a gem.

He was so straightforward and a bit naïve.

Sang Luo’s laugh was soft at first, but Shen Lie, with his keen hearing, noticed it. When their eyes met, he looked a bit puzzled. Seeing Sang Luo smiling at him, he felt his ears flush and instinctively asked, “What’s wrong?”

Sang Luo laughed again, “Nothing. I was just wondering how we would sleep tonight.”

Returning to the valley was an option, but since they were out hunting, setting up a village outside the village was actually to keep traces minimal and avoid leaving too many signs in the valley. It wouldn’t be ideal to set up special arrangements just for her.

Most importantly, after spending a long time with Shen Lie, she trusted him greatly, and it was evident that he returned her trust with even more.

Shen Lie’s heart raced a bit. Sang Luo, still smiling, handed him a rag made of scraps to clean the simple bed and then picked up two animal skins from the end of the bed, squatting to help Shen Lie spread them out.

Sang Luo’s lips had been smiling throughout, and Shen Lie secretly noticed and couldn’t help but smile as well.

Once everything was ready, Shen Lie was given a thin blanket, and Sang Luo climbed onto the bed from the end and lay down. Shen Lie blew out the oil lamp and lay down on the foot of the bed.

In the darkness, Sang Luo couldn’t see anything but remained in high spirits. She lay on her right side, with Shen Lie close by but at a lower position. Her lips curled up again, and she said with a smile, “Shen Lie, good night.”

He could hardly describe how fast his heart was beating. Having spent so much time in the mountains, he had developed good night vision and could roughly tell that Sang Luo was facing him while sleeping. He could even feel the smile in her voice.

His heart felt as if it were immersed in honey, sweeter than the mountain grapes eaten during the day. It was soft, warm, and felt like floating upward. The feelings were indescribable, filling his chest with a delightful, indescribable joy. He swallowed, trying to suppress the strange feeling that made him feel a bit odd, and softly replied, “Good night.”

Sang Luo smiled as she closed her eyes, but Shen Lie slightly turned to the side, secretly enjoying the sight of her features in the dark.

Sang Luo’s lips curled up again, surprising Shen Lie so much that he quickly closed his eyes, only daring to open them after a while.

Sang Luo had turned onto her side without him noticing, but even so, Shen Lie couldn’t hide his happiness and reluctance to fall asleep.