Chapter 182: How to Sleep

The men wove mats, processed hides, and distributed the meat. The women helped prepare the hawthorn fruits, cleaning and slicing them for drying.

Bamboo mats usually required the bamboo strips to be sun-dried before weaving. However, they were not intended for bedding but rather as sun pads, so the women didn't bother with such details and weaved them immediately.

By the time they finished their tasks, it was almost noon. Each family received their share of wolf meat. Zhou Lazi and his son were allocated the same wolf as Shi Erlang. Everyone knew that Zhou Lazi's family couldn't even afford warm clothes or a thick blanket in winter. The Shi family occasionally hunted game, so Shi Erlang generously gave his share of the wolf skin to Zhou Lazi and his son.

Jin Lie and Sang Luo also had bedding and had collected several wolf skins. Although they now needed to provide for Little Jin and his siblings, there would still be opportunities to obtain more. With two and a half wolf skins, they decided to give the remaining half to Zhou Lazi's family for the winter.

The Zhou family was so grateful that they didn't know how to express it. The eldest daughter of the Zhou family whispered something to her mother, and the Zhou family's wife smiled and let her take charge.

It turned out that the wolf meat and offal had been distributed among the families. Seeing that her family had received much generosity from others, and since it was already approaching noon, with everyone soon to go hunting, the eldest daughter suggested to her mother that they prepare some wolf meat, offal, and the mushrooms they had collected that day to cook a meal for everyone to fill their stomachs.

They couldn't afford an extravagant spread, but they could add more broth to make it work. Their own family would be content with a bit of meat soup and boiled wild vegetables at feeding time.

Noticing that the Zhou family's wife and daughter were preparing food, the other families, aware of their situation, contributed some of their own meat and offal. Eventually, Sang Luo and Second Brother Shi's wife joined in to help, as there were over ten people to feed.

Jin Lie and his companions were also busy, gathering firewood to build a bonfire beneath the wooden frame where they had skinned and butchered the wolves. They cut the meat into several-pound pieces, asked the Zhou family for some hemp ropes to string them up on wooden poles, surrounded them with sticks, and covered them with large leaves to create makeshift smoking huts. The meat began to be smoked.

The once-flayed and sliced flesh was now ablaze, eradicating the stench of blood with the emerging aroma of roasting meat.

The smoking process would take the whole afternoon, and the scent of the cooking meat might attract livestock. Shen Lie and the others, as they tended to the fire, discussed their plans. They decided to leave a few people behind to guard the area in the afternoon to avoid any trouble for the Zhou family due to their food processing. This way, they could also assist the Zous in quickly enclosing their cultivation zone. Later, they would construct some simple drying racks, allowing them to handle and dry their catches within the courtyard without needing a large workforce.

Everyone agreed, and Lu Erliang, considering Shen Lie and Chen Dashan's skills, volunteered to stay behind. He asked Lu San to accompany them for further foraging and hunting.

Shen Lie chuckled. "If there's any prey in the afternoon, we'll share it with you from our side."

Lu Erliang laughed. "Then I'd be getting a bargain."

His own hunting skills couldn't match those of Shen Lie and Chen Dashan.

Both Shen Lie and Chen Dashan smiled, and eventually, they agreed that after lunch, each family would leave one member behind. The tasks included weaving mats for the drying frames, reinforcing the Zhou family's defenses, and processing the food, like the mountain chickens and wild rabbits hunted by Shen Lie and Chen Dashan, which needed to be prepared and smoked.

Thus, Uncle Xu, Chen Youtian, Zhou Dalang, Sangluo, and Shi Eralang's wife all stayed. Upon hearing that they would help enclose the courtyard and that they could join future outings, Zhou Laizi and his two sons decided to stay as well.

What was once a solitary cave now bustled with activity. The makeshift stove in the cave courtyard emitted a delectable fragrance, and Zhou Sanlang emerged to call everyone in for a meal.

The Zhou family lacked enough bowls, but fortunately, everyone had brought bamboo tubes for water. Two sticks were broken off, peeled, and cleaned, serving as makeshift utensils.

One by one, the bamboo tubes were passed around, with Zhou's mother and daughter filling them to the brim with food. Whenever the elder daughter of the Zhou family served someone senior to her, she would smile warmly and call them "Uncle" or "Uncle," inviting them to ask for more if it wasn't enough.

Her gentle voice drew extra attention from Chen Youtian.

...

The noon meal was quickly finished, and it was time for Shen Lie and his companions to set off again. By now, at least one of the baskets was empty, ready to carry weapons for the journey.

Before leaving, Shen Lie instructed Sang Luo, Shi Erlang's wife, and the Zhou sisters, who didn't possess much combat strength, to stay within the small courtyard walls and weave mats as much as possible. He left the outdoor tasks to the men. Then, he secretly handed another small porcelain bottle to Sang Luo, whispering, "If you encounter any particularly challenging wild beasts, give this bottle to Uncle Lu."

The Zhou family's inner courtyard wall had been constructed with their help, complete with small, operable windows for observation. It was easy to shoot arrows outward or pass small items like this through them.

Sang Luo nodded, receiving the bottle and keeping it safe.

Only then did Shen Lie go in search of Lu Erlang, instructing him to be cautious and saying, "Wild beasts have their own territories. With eight wolves already killed in this small area, there shouldn't be many large creatures left. But still, take precautions. Don't let women and children work outside. Hurry up with the courtyard wall; time is running out. We won't venture too far, just exploring the nearby mountains. We should be back within an hour and a half. We need to return before dark."

Lu Erlang agreed, "Alright, with the courtyard to retreat into, I can't promise anything else, but I assure you that people will be safe. Go ahead without worry. With so many of us, we should be able to help them enclose this area by this evening."

Only then did Shen Lie and Chen Dashan feel reassured. Accompanied by Xu Wenqing, Erzhang, Shi Er, and Lu San, the group of six set off for the nearest mountains.

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As soon as they departed, those who remained behind on this side were far from idle. The men felled trees and pounded stakes to enclose the courtyard, with Chen You Tian, skilled in carpentry, utilizing the available knives, axes, and even tree vines to fashion makeshift bindings and construct a rudimentary drying rack. Meanwhile, Sang Luo and the other women wove mats within the courtyard.

With an ample workforce consisting of Sangluo, Shi Erlang's wife, the Zhou family mother-daughter duo, and two younger children, weaving rush mats became significantly more efficient. As soon as Chen Youtian finished constructing the drying racks on his side, a few simple mats were already completed here. The outer ground was quickly leveled with stones, the racks were erected, and the mats laid out. Neatly arranged on these mats were the sliced hawthorns, foraged mushrooms, silver ear fungus, and other such items from each household, all carefully segregated by section and marked with simple hemp twine to denote which family they belonged to.

Later, Lu Erlang was called upon to assist with the preparation of the smoked game meat from that morning's hunt, as well as the task of skinning rabbits. Amidst the hustle and bustle, not only did they finish their current workload, but they also constructed additional drying racks and mats. These were prepared in anticipation of future hunts, ensuring they would have spare facilities to dry any new game before the previous batch had fully cured.

Their efforts were not in vain. When Shen Zheng and Chen Lie returned, their baskets were brimming with goods. However, it was not their baskets that caught everyone's attention, but the wild creatures they carried on poles.

Sang Luo heard the commotion outside and guessed it was Shen Lie and his group returning. She went to the lookout point and confirmed her suspicion. She and Shi Erlang's wife opened the door to witness the group setting down their prey from the poles.

Curious, Sang Luo approached for a closer look. The creature resembled a deer but wasn't quite one, with its sharp and long fangs protruding from its mouth. She looked up at Shen Lie and asked, "What is this?"

It was rare for something to be unknown to Sang Luo, and Shen Lie's eyes held a hint of amusement. "A roe deer. Its meat is exceptionally delicious."

Upon hearing 'roe deer', Sang Luo was surprised. It was an entity she had only read about in novels. Fascinated, she examined the creature more closely, taking note of its distinctive fangs.

Four sika deer were caught – two mature ones and two fawns. One of the fawns was hunted by Xu Wenchang and Lu Sanlang, while the other was caught by Shi Erlang. The larger deer belonged to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan.

Out of the six who went hunting, only Erlang Zhou's arrows missed their mark, leaving him empty-handed. While Sangluo and the others prepared the mountain grapes and mushrooms, Shen Lie and the others skinned and cut the meat. As previously agreed, they each gave a hind leg of a deer to Lu Erlang, and also sliced off a few pounds to share with Erlang Zhou, who had come up empty, as well as with the Zhou family who couldn't join them, so that they could enjoy the delicacy too.

Receiving the two hind legs, Lu Erlang's face lit up with joy. "It's been ages since I last had this. The last time was on our way back from the north. Today, I've hit the jackpot."

Erlang Zhou and the Zhou Lai family also received a few pounds to savor at home, overjoyed as if it were a grand celebration, even more so than during the Spring Festival. In recent years, even the wealthy Zhou family wouldn't be able to afford such fine game for the New Year, let alone the Zhou Lai household, which had been devoid of meat for many years.

In this moment, Zhou Lai felt indifferent about who ruled outside; as long as they could continue living in the mountains, free from labor duties and taxes, cultivating a piece of land and hiding away in the deep forest, life would be blissful.

However, he was aware that this idyllic existence was due to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan leading them. If it were just his family, survival would be a struggle.

Especially seeing the almost complete cultivation area, he felt that all his good fortune lately was bestowed upon him by heaven.

Sangluo and her mother washed and laid out the grapes to dry, while the mushrooms and other items were placed on mats. There were only a few hawthorn berries left, not an abundance, so Zhou Lai's wife said, "You should head back now before it gets dark. It won't be safe. We'll help clean and cut these, then dry them out. Tonight, we'll store each family's portion in the cave and put them out again in the morning. You don't have to worry."

The mother and daughter then took out a small bamboo basket and handed it to Sangluo. "These are some leftover grapes from today's washing. Take them back to divide among yourselves. They can sweeten your mouths tonight."

Sangluo declined with a smile. "We can pick more on our way back. Please keep them for your children at home."

Zhou Lazi's wife, however, declined the offer, insisting that she had some at home. With a smile, she promptly handed the basket to Sang Luo, not wanting any favors at all.

Sang Luo smiled and noticed that the fence was already in place. She then called everyone over to share the fruits. After a whole afternoon of work, it would be nice to have something sweet.

Each person sampled about ten berries before they picked some clean leaves to line the basket, then placed the nearly-smoked meat inside.

As evening approached, it was no longer suitable to leave the roe deer meat at the Zhou residence, even with the fence. Although wild animals were unlikely to intrude, it would still cause trouble for the family. The meat was transferred into another sack, carried by hand, to be smoked together with the others outside their small cave when night fell.

Upon returning to the village outskirts, it was still before sunset. Since there was an open area in front of Chen Dashan's cave, everyone gathered there to build a few more smoking piles, hanging the meat to continue the smoking process.

She couldn't avoid preparing some food for herself as well. She didn't need anything fancy – just a few slices of the meat they had hunted during the day, skewered on sharpened sticks, and seasoned with a pinch of salt before roasting over the fire.

As for Shen Lie, his skills and bravery allowed him to act independently. He didn't join the others, instead opting to smoke his meat outside his own cave. Sangluo wasn't keen on eating something directly grilled, so she reserved a piece of fresh deer meat to simmer in a clay pot on the stove.

While she was busy cooking, Shen Lie, worried that Sangluo might not be accustomed to living outdoors, borrowed an ax and chisel from Chen Youtian to chop down several trees near their cave. He constructed a simple latrine using logs, and carved out a toilet hole.

After living together for half a year, Sangluo had grown comfortable. She didn't interfere but instead busied herself cleaning some mushrooms she had picked by a nearby mountain spring. When the meat was almost done, she added them to the pot.

As night fell, only Shen's and Chen's caves were illuminated by several fires, the aroma of smoked meat and cooked food wafting through the air. It was uncertain if the scent would lure animals from the surrounding hills, but everyone kept their knives and bows close at hand. With their numbers and strength, there was no reason to be afraid.

After accompanying Shen Lie and Chen Dashan on several hunting trips, she sometimes felt that the wild game was simply delivering itself to them.

Perhaps it was because the area had been thoroughly swept by Shen Lie's group. After dinner, both Shen Lie and Sang Luo had completed their chores, having exerted themselves significantly during the day. Shen Lie even carved a shallow bucket for Sang Luo, allowing her to boil some water in a clay pot to wash herself simply. He took a cold shower and washed his clothes, hanging them to dry in the cave. No wild animals appeared until late at night.

As the night deepened, most of the meat was well-smoked. Chen Dashan locked up and sent everyone back to their respective caves. In Shen Lie's cave, he lit an oil lamp, and he and Sang Luo began to take down the cured meat hanging on the rack, arranging it on a makeshift wooden frame inside the cave.

It was time to sleep.

Since dinner, Sang Luo had been quietly pondering how they would sleep tonight. With two thin blankets, she had already decided to place a pillow in the middle and sleep on opposite sides. However, upon entering the cave, Shen Lie closed the door and, before she could say anything, he crouched down, bent over, and pulled something out from under the bed.

It was a simple single cot, barely large enough for one person, resembling a footstool.

Sang Luo couldn't help but giggle.

Shen Lie truly was a genius, albeit an honest and straightforward one.

She tried to stifle her laughter initially, but Shen Lie's keen hearing caught it, and her smile was impossible to hide. As he turned his head, their eyes met.

Shen Lie was slightly perplexed. Seeing Sang Luo looking at him with a smile, his ears inexplicably turned warm. He instinctively asked, "What's the matter?"

Sang Luo laughed again. "Nothing much. I was just wondering how I should sleep tonight."

Of course, they could return to the valley, but since everyone had come out hunting and established this village outside the village, it was mainly because outsiders were getting closer to the inner part of the valley. They wanted to minimize any traces left in the entrance area. As she was the one gathering supplies, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to make an exception.

More importantly, after spending so much time with Shen Lie, she actually trusted him deeply. Apparently, he had returned her trust with even more of his own.

Shen Lie's heart raced a little faster. Sang Luo had already turned around with a cloth made from scraps, smiling as she handed it to him to wipe the makeshift bed. Then, she walked to the end of the bed, picked up two animal hides, squatted down, and helped Shen Lie spread them out.

Throughout the process, the corners of Sang Luo's lips never fell. Shen Lie caught a glimpse of this and couldn't help but smile too.

After everything was arranged, Sang Luo gave Shen Lie a thin blanket. She climbed onto the bed from the foot end, lying down properly. Shen Lie extinguished the oil lamp and lay down on the step beside the bed.

In the darkness, Sang Luo couldn't see anything, but her mood remained high. Lying on her right side, she knew Shen Lie was right next to her, albeit at a lower position. Her lips curled up again as she said with a smile, "Shen Lie, goodnight."

Only heaven knew how fast Shen Lie's heart was pounding. Having spent so much time in the mountains, he had trained himself to see at night, always on guard. By turning his face slightly, he could tell that Sang Luo was facing his direction. He could even sense the joy on her face and in her voice.

His heart seemed to be immersed in honey, sweeter than the mountain grapes he had eaten during the day. It was soft, warm, and light, floating upward. The indescribable emotions filled his chest, leaving him with an overwhelming joy that was both mysterious and deeply beloved. His throat moved, and he suppressed the strange sensation that was taking over him. In a soft voice, he replied, "Goodnight."

Sang Luo closed her eyes with a smile, but Shen Lie subtly turned to gaze at her features in the darkness.

The corners of Sang Luo's lips curled up again, causing Shen Lie to hastily shut his own eyes. It took him a while before he dared to reopen them.

Without her knowing, Sang Luo had already shifted her body. Nevertheless, Shen Lie couldn't conceal his joy, reluctant to succumb to sleep.