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

Chapter 199: Winter

The next morning, the Feng brothers and Gan Erlang arrived again, each carrying a load of baskets. The baskets visibly contained grains, beans, cured meats, dried fruits, and most notably, they were filled to the brim with yams.

Feng Dalang set the items down and called out to Shen Lie, “Master.” Shen Lie looked at the baskets of yams and asked, “What’s all this?”

“It’s a gift for my master’s wife,” Feng Dalang replied.

Sang Luo, who had come over to see the commotion, was caught off guard by the term “master’s wife” and looked at him with wide eyes, even overlooking the term “gift.”

“What?”

Feng Dalang didn’t realize that Sang Luo was questioning the title. He thought nothing of addressing her as “master’s wife” since Shen Lie was to be called “master,” making Sang Luo “master’s wife” by default. Though she was younger, the hierarchy was what mattered—many men in their thirties had younger nephews, so it seemed perfectly normal.

Thinking that Sang Luo was asking about the gift, Feng Dalang smiled and explained, “These yams are really valuable. Knowing that they can be used as food, everyone was very pleased. This is what our whole village dug up yesterday. It’s the first harvest, and everyone agreed to send it all to you. The meat and dried fruits on top are our apprenticeship gifts. Master, where should we put them?”

The title was used smoothly and naturally.

Shen Lie smiled at the response and, seeing Sang Luo’s reaction, quickly turned his head. The children, already in high spirits, led the way to the Shen family’s cave.

The cave door was locked. Seeing Shen Lie and Sang Luo, Shen An and others waited for instructions. Shen Lie said, “Go ahead and help move everything to the firewood shed first.”

The cave couldn’t hold all the items, but Shen Lie didn’t mind accepting the large amount of yams. Sang Luo had given out these resources to help everyone, and it was normal for them to show their appreciation. The Feng family, Zheng family, Zhou family, Gan family, and even those living nearby would all benefit, so their gesture was entirely understandable.

The men worked efficiently, and soon everything was handed over to Shen An and Shen Ning.

The formal apprenticeship ceremony required tea, which was non-negotiable. Shen Lie didn’t need kowtows. While the children were excused for their fuss, Feng Dalang and Gan Erlang, being older, were stopped by Shen Lie. He let Xu Wenqing take the children for practice and took the slower learners to another area for individual instruction.

—

Young men in their twenties and teenagers learn martial arts quickly, especially with a good teacher and enthusiastic peers. When practicing sparring and coordination with the stick formations, the group of kids was highly motivated.

The idea of having a master guiding, teaching, and pushing them to learn was out of the question. Even when told to take breaks, they continued to spar with each other.

Shen Lie’s stick techniques were originally military spear drills, but his talent for martial arts and his penchant for research meant he continually refined his skills. In battle, survival depended on constantly improving one’s abilities. While other soldiers rested, he and Chen Dashan practiced techniques, and even after others had gone to bed, he and Chen Dashan would practice in secret.

A long spear, when reworked into a long stick, was just as effective. The techniques included sweeping attacks, thrusts, strikes, and various defensive moves. The training covered everything from sweeping attacks to close combat, combining spear and stick techniques. It was practical and battle-tested, appealing to both the young trainees and Sang Luo, Shen Ning, and Xu Wenqing.

Every day, the changes in the valley were visible—improvements in skills, strength, agility, and spirit. Chen Dashan and Lu Dalang had been practicing secretly for over half a month, and Xu Wenqing and Zhou Cunzheng’s third son showed noticeable improvement. Xu Wenqing, a martial arts enthusiast, not only practiced with Zhou Sanlang but also continued to seek instruction from Shen Lie after he had finished teaching Sang Luo and others.

This overall enhancement in strength and spirit even made Zhou Dalang, who had initially decided to stay and gather, feel envious. Eager to learn, he occasionally asked his younger brothers for tips in the evenings.

In just twenty days, the awkwardness from Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang’s departure had greatly eased. Xu Wenqing and Zhou Sanlang’s combat abilities improved rapidly, and with the addition of a group of teenagers, most around thirteen to fifteen years old, each armed with a long stick, they resembled a pack of young wolves. Even the younger ones like Shen An, Shen Ning, Shen Jin, and Er Niu, along with Xu Wenbo and Xu Wenqing, if paired up with one or two others and armed with a stick, could put up a fight against two ill-intentioned adults.

The hunting teams from the outer village had resumed their order. With Shen Lie staying behind, the rest, including the children, were divided into two groups, taking turns to go out.

Shen An and Shen Jin were particularly obsessed with hunting and gathering. They often joined Xu Wenqing’s team, while Sang Luo, accompanied by Shen Ning, stayed behind, dedicating most of their time to practicing archery and stick techniques.

During this period, a strange occurrence happened.

One morning, after everyone went for a run and returned, they found that the road back to the village had new additions.

Initially, there were just a few yams, but soon a variety of items appeared, mostly mountain goods—besides yams and konjac, there were wild fruits, wild chicken eggs, and bird eggs.

Shen Lie had Xu Wenqing and the others set up some surveillance points. When they intercepted one group, they learned that the items were meant as thanks from the residents of Shili Village to Sang Luo.

As Sang Luo had mentioned before, the number of people in the inner regions had been steadily increasing. Whether from the valley or the Zhou family’s area, when people went out to hunt, gather, or dig yams, if they encountered strangers—especially those curious about what they were digging—they would actively teach them how to obtain and use edible items.

In the deep mountains, where things had grown wild for countless years, there was plenty of food like konjac and yams. As long as someone dared to look for it, they would not starve.

This was truly a matter of survival.

Those who received this help, especially those living nearby, felt grateful. They found out where their benefactors were, and word spread quickly. Thus, people occasionally came to offer thanks with gifts.

Fortunately, these were just nearby residents, and the gift-giving phase eventually tapered off. Moreover, as people sent gifts, some neighbors began to notice the stick techniques practiced at the outer village. During the day, young people would secretly observe from behind trees.

The outer village had built a few wooden houses. The trees used were from an area Shen Lie had specifically pointed out. While it was not well-hidden, regular visitors knew that it was from the nearby mountains. Shen Lie did not make a point of it, leaving it as it was. If someone was able to learn from such a distance, they were considered quite talented.

—

As November arrived, the weather in the mountains began to change. The peaks seemed to have snow, while the lower elevations were just cold, not yet reaching the point of snow. However, the weather was much colder than it had been outside the mountains.

Winter became a challenge for many families.

For those like Sang Luo and her group, who were used to constant activity, their physical condition was good. But for the elderly and children in the valley, it was much harder, especially at night in the cave.

Shen Lie and Sang Luo would return to the valley every six or seven days. On their most recent visit, they found Shen Yin and Shen Tie with their noses running from the cold.

They took out the wolf pelts collected over the year from their cave, giving two to Shen Yin and Shen Tie for bedding and blankets, while keeping some for themselves and Shen Lie. They also processed some rabbit and roe deer skins into vests and boots.

Mrs. Chen and Qin Fangniang took care of making clothes for Shen Yin and Shen Tie. Sang Luo and Shen Ning focused on making a few pairs of boots. As for the clothes, there was still time to make them. With the improved physical condition from practicing martial arts, even in the dead of winter, their hands and feet remained warm. Thanks to this, Wei Lingzhen was so pleased that she invited Xu Wenqin to join them in the valley.

Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang returned in mid-November, not empty-handed. They brought several large bags of skins and dried meat. Upon seeing the group of young trainees skillfully wielding their sticks, they were stunned.

Xu Wenqing was the first to notice them and called out to Shen Lie, “Master, Big Brother Dashan is back!”

Chen Ershan was so excited that he almost jumped out and shouted, “Big Brother!”

Shen Lie turned to see Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang, looking like wild men. He waved, dispersing the crowd. Chen Ershan rushed to Chen Dashan, who had been away for so long, and their parents and grandparents had undoubtedly been worried countless times.

Sang Luo went to welcome them as well.

Chen Dashan and his companions looked quite familiar, almost like how Shen Lie had looked when he returned home last winter.

He smiled with pleasure and said, “Why did you stop? Show me what you’ve got.”

He ruffled Chen Ershan’s head and asked with a grin, “How’s the training going?”

Chen Ershan, with a much brighter demeanor, replied with a smile, “With the stick in hand, even Dad doesn’t dare to spar with me anymore.”

Chen Dashan chuckled, “Good, you’ve improved.”

—

It was broad daylight, so they couldn’t enter the valley. They handed the items to Chen Ershan and asked him to put them in their cave.

Shen Lie looked at Chen Dashan, Lu Erlang, and Lu Sanlang, and asked, “How was the trip? Was everything smooth?”

Chen Dashan remained silent, but Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang nodded, “Everything went smoothly. We’ll just put the things in the cave for now.”

Once the others had left, Chen Dashan said, “Wang Chunniang has passed away, and Shuanzhu suffered some injuries.”

It turned out they had encountered two bears on the way. Wang Chunniang had pushed Daniu out, and Shuanzhu reacted quickly to grab Daniu. Lu Dalu was focused on his own safety, while Lu Sanlang protected a few younger nephews. Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang worked together to rescue Shuanzhu and Daniu, but there was no time to save Wang Chunniang. Even if they had, people like her would be unwilling to help.

“I shot the two bears, but Wang Chunniang was severely injured—one arm was badly torn and there were several bruises on her body. Uncle Lu gave her some medicine, but her injuries were too severe. She couldn’t hold on for more than two hours.”

Chen Dashan spoke without any hint of regret. Even the children from the Lu family, who had seen their mother push Daniu out, could no longer cry; how could an outsider like him feel sympathy for such people?

Shen Lie and Sang Luo didn’t ask further; they weren’t concerned with such matters.

Shen Lie said, “Uncle Youtian hasn’t returned yet, so you should go home, boil some water, take a bath, and rest. You’ll be able to go back in the evening. Your family has been worried; Granny has asked me about you twice.”

Chen Dashan smiled, then remembered something and pulled Shen Lie aside to speak quietly. Sang Luo found it amusing, and when Shen Lie returned, she laughed and asked, “Was he asking about the Zhou family?”

Shen Lie smiled, which was an implicit confirmation.

—

Chen Dashan returned to the valley in the evening. The next morning, Sang Luo saw an excited Mrs. Chen (Granny Chen) outside the village.

Mrs. Chen, who had never left the valley before, had come out at dawn for her grandson’s major life event. She wanted to visit the Zhou family in person and ask Mrs. Gan to help with the arrangements.

The discussion was about Chen Dashan’s marriage, so Chen Dashan could not go himself. Granny Chen had Shen Lie and Mrs. Gan accompany her, and of course, Sang Luo was also pulled along to keep her company.

For such a joyous occasion, it was great to be able to contribute. Moreover, Shen Lie and Sang Luo hadn’t left the village for a long time. Since Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang needed some rest, it was a good opportunity for Shen Lie and Sang Luo to get out and relax a bit. After a bit of preparation, they set out with Granny Chen.

With a bow, arrows, and a long stick in the basket, Granny Chen looked at it all with curiosity and said quietly to Sang Luo, “When my grandson’s wife comes in, you should also bring her along. Not only can it keep her safe, but it’s also good for her health.”

Sang Luo smiled and replied, “She should have learned it too, as she’s been practicing there. Besides, I’d just be accompanying her to practice. As for teaching, doesn’t Dashan do that?”

Granny Chen was delighted to hear this and smiled broadly: “Exactly, exactly. You’re right.”

Mrs. Gan, who had been listening nearby, also smiled warmly.