Chapter 150: Reinforcement of the Entrance/Wobbly Legs

The Lu family's incident didn't adversely impact the other families in the valley; if anything, it made the Shi and Zhou families, who were previously unaware, realize why Shen Lian had said those things earlier.

The dangers of venturing out with too many people and the inability to look after everyone effectively were certainly reasons, but a more significant motive was likely the desire to stop dealing with the elder branch of the Lu family and to restrict Wang Chunniang from leaving the valley.

How the two families privately judged Wang Chunniang’s character remains unknown, but they each warned their families to tighten their discipline.

At Shen Lian's place, seeing that the matter had been resolved, he discussed with Chen Dashan the need to camouflage the two valley entrances.

He looked at Sang Luo and asked, "Do you want to come with us?"

Not to mention going out with Chen Dashan, even if he was alone, he was confident he could protect Sang Luo.

Sang Luo's eyes lit up at the mention of going out and she nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, I’ll gather some wild vegetables to bring back."

Eating dried vegetables and bean sprouts every day had been quite unbearable.

Looking hesitant, she glanced at the cave about eight or nine meters up the cliff near the Xu family’s side, asking, “Do we go out through there?”

She hadn't practiced climbing yet and feared it might be a bit challenging.

Shen Lian's lips curved into a smile as he replied, “We'll use the narrow path to leave, but on the way back, we’ll descend from up there. I’ll find some ropes and set up safety measures for you. Do you dare?”

Actually, she was quite apprehensive...

But she knew she had to take this step sooner or later. Gathering her courage, Sang Luo nodded: “I can do it.”

Chen Dashan looked at her in surprise, noting her bravery.

Hearing that her son was going out, Qin Fangniang, who had come out with them, clicked her tongue in astonishment, “Really coming down from there?”

Just the sight of that height made her legs feel wobbly.

Shen Lian added, “If you want to go out, you’ll have to practice. It's better to get used to it sooner. For the ground entrance, I plan to fill it with heavier large rocks and add smaller stones. The whole passage will be sealed in five or six sections.”

This would reduce the likelihood of sound traveling outside the valley and make it harder for people to leave on their own, especially without his strength. Even Chen Dashan would struggle to move those stones, given the narrow path and lack of space for assistance.

As for climbing that steep part in mid-air, it’s too sheer to scale alone without some skill, not to mention the risk of falling during a dark, windy night. In the daytime, from that position, anyone in the valley could easily spot someone climbing.

Qin Fangniang instantly understood this was to prevent the Lu family's eldest household from acting rashly again. She knew Lu Dalong too well; not only would he not venture out voluntarily, but it would also be difficult to force him, let alone manage the escape of seven people, big and small.

But taking extra precautions is always wise, so she didn't say much and turned to help find ropes.

Coarse hemp ropes are common in every household, but for a safety rope, Qin Fangniang thought it was too thin. She proactively asked the Shi and Zhou families to borrow their ropes. Combined, the hemp ropes from the three families were joined and twisted together to form a thicker rope.

Until hemp could be harvested, these ropes would be the safety lines used by families in the valley when venturing out.

Chen You Tian from the Chen family also joined, gathering tools with the others and bringing some simple carpentry tools like chisels and hammers. Chen You Tian and Sang Luo each carried two baskets and axes as they headed out.

Apart from the Lu family, other families came out to watch the excitement. However, they didn’t stay for long because as soon as Shen Lian's group left, they started filling in the narrow path. Initially, the others could hear some noise from the first two layers being filled, but as Shen Lian and his team brought larger rocks from outside the valley to seal the external layers, the sounds gradually diminished.

Sealing the narrow path and camouflaging the entrance and the nearby trampled path with transplanted grass and shrubs took nearly two hours.

Sang Luo admired the now lushly vegetated original entrance, where the artificial cliff had been filled with soil and seeded with wild grass, similar to the adjacent natural stone walls. The false cliff even had several more trees and shrubs added, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding terrain and impressively well-concealed by Shen Lian and Chen Dashan.

Now, it's hard to spot any difference on the surface, and approaching the entrance became difficult, making it unlikely for anyone to think of venturing into a thorny thicket.

Chen You Tian nodded approvingly: “This is good. Now the soil still looks fresh, but in a day or two, there won’t be any traces left.”

Satisfied, Shen Lian chuckled, packed up, and suggested they set some traps and gather wild vegetables, then head to the other entrance.

Noticing the position of the sun, Shen Lian turned to Sang Luo and asked, “Are you hungry?”

Everyone has adjusted to eating just two meals a day. Today, because of the work, we had an early breakfast. Though Sang Luo didn’t do any heavy lifting, she’s been busy helping Chen You Tian all day and must be quite tired.

Sang Luo shook her head, "I’m fine, I’ve gotten used to having the second meal in the evening."

Shen Lian nodded, "Okay, after picking wild vegetables, we’ll head back to deal with the other entrance. Then Dashan and I will escort you and You Tian back to the valley."

Sang Luo smiled, "Let's see how much time we have. If it's still early, I'd really like to see how you handle the other entrance."

She’s been curious about the other shelter Shen Lian mentioned before.

Shen Lian laughed at her words, "Alright."

There were wild vegetables along the way, but no one picked them, avoiding leaving traces even though the likelihood of anyone entering the inner part of the valley was low.

After walking for about forty minutes, Shen Lian and Chen Dashan felt it was a good spot to set traps based on the signs of small animals. Only then did Sang Luo and Chen You Tian start gathering wild vegetables.

Wild vegetables are plentiful in the forest. Sang Luo and Chen You Tian stayed close to Shen Lian and Chen Dashan. After setting about seven or eight traps, they chopped down a fir tree for the other entrance.

By this time, Sang Luo and Chen You Tian’s baskets were full. Besides various wild greens, they picked a lot of fresh mugwort leaves, with Sang Luo filling an entire small basket.

Chen You Tian also picked a fair amount, especially since March is the time for making Qingtuan (green glutinous rice balls). Given the current situation and the difficulty of leaving the valley, everyone had missed it this year, but they could still catch the tail end of March for this tradition.

While picking mugwort, Chen You Tian discussed with Sang Luo, "We’ll need to borrow your stone mortar to grind some rice and glutinous rice flour."

Their family used to have a large stone mortar, too heavy to bring into the mountains. Since entering the valley, they've been using a wooden mortar for daily rice pounding, which is fine for rice but not efficient for flour. Sang Luo, on the other hand, had brought a reasonably sized stone mortar, gifted by the stone mill store when she bought her stone mill.

Sang Luo readily agreed, "Sure, I have some glutinous rice flour at home. You only need to grind the sticky rice flour. Uncle, if you want to save some trouble, you can exchange some sticky rice for my glutinous rice flour."

As they talked, Shen Lian remembered the stone mill they couldn't bring from home.

It had been a long time since Sang Luo had enjoyed soy milk and tofu pudding.

Her favorite morning treat used to be soy milk, which she always claimed was nourishing.

Remembering this, she kept it in mind, but she wasn't sure where to find suitable stones at the moment, so she didn't mention it.

The three of them chopped off the fine branches of the fir tree, bundling them into several large bundles. Chen You Tian carried one load, leaving the rest to be picked up later by Shen Lian and Chen Dashan when they checked the traps, and then they started heading back with the tree.

……

Sang Luo didn’t see the entrance resembling a legendary rabbit hole because Shen Lian and Chen Dashan had blocked it.

They had a good memory, seemingly leaving marks to find the spot accurately. They moved a few stones and dug out the sealed mud with a few strokes of a hoe.

The entrance wasn't much larger than the ubiquitous rabbit holes in the mountains, making it somewhat difficult for the men to enter. Sang Luo, slender as she was, had an easier time squeezing through.

Shen Lian went down first, followed by Sang Luo. It was only after walking inside for a bit with Shen Lian that Sang Luo could see the full extent of the large cave.

It was indeed huge, about three times larger than the biggest cave at the valley’s base, with natural rock formations like stone forests and pillars.

At that moment, she thought of it as an excellent storage space.

"Shen Lian, this place is perfect for storing lumber and firewood. I bet it could hold three or four months' worth of firewood for all six families, couldn’t it?"

Shen Lian chuckled, "If it's really filled up, it should last more than three or four months."

After ensuring there were no safety hazards in the cave, and knowing Sang Luo wasn't in a hurry to return to the valley, he said, "Then you can rest here for a bit, stay a little away from the entrance. I’ll go out again with Dashan and Uncle You Tian to widen and modify the entrance."

Sang Luo was intrigued by the idea, placing down her baskets: "I want to see how you modify it."

Curious about how this entrance, intended as a shelter, would be altered, she had only heard about it from Shen Lian and couldn’t quite picture it. The tunnel was simply blocked, but this side was to retain a door, so how would it be done?

Seeing her energetic and curious nature, Shen Lian laughed, "Apart from digging the entrance, most of the work will be done inside the cave. Even the inner cave walls are stone and need chiseling. It's unnecessary for you to climb in and out. Just wait inside, you can see everything."

Sang Luo thus settled down to observe from a spot not far from them inside the cave.

The circular entrance was half a person deep. The upper soil layer was easy to expand, but working on the rocky inner wall of the cave required more finesse. The three men, using hammers and chisels, enlarged it to the size of a load basket. Then, they brought in the previously chopped fir wood.

After the final two bundles of wood were broken into smaller bundles and thrown in, the trio began their main task, and Sang Luo finally understood how they were managing the entrance.

They constructed a frame around the entrance within the cave, much like the framework of a house, securing it and installing a square hatch that could be pushed open upwards, akin to a skylight.

Below the entrance, they built a few stone and earthen steps, shaping the rudimentary form of the access point.

This modification made entering and exiting much easier and more convenient.

Once the interior work was roughly completed, Sang Luo followed them outside to see the changes.

From the outside, the fir wood door aligned with the mountain wall, sitting about twenty centimeters below the ground level.

The rest of the work, similar to the valley’s other entrance, involved landscaping and setting up obstacles.

By mid-afternoon, this entrance was also finished. If they needed to leave the valley, they could first open a small gap in the skylight, using the surrounding bushes as cover to check the outside before deciding to exit.

There’s no worry of someone happening to be right outside just as they emerge, exposing the valley’s location; this method is much more convenient and safer than before.

Now, it was time for Shen Lian and Chen Dashan to check the traps, but before that, they needed to escort Sang Luo and Chen You Tian back down the valley.

What does it feel like to descend from a height of eight or nine meters for the first time in your life, tethered by a safety rope?

Standing at the edge of the cave entrance, Sang Luo glanced down and involuntarily swallowed hard…

It was at this moment she realized all talk of courage was mere bravado.

Legs still tremble when they’re supposed to, the heart races, and palms sweat.

Looking up at Shen Lian, Sang Luo wondered what to do – backing out now seemed hardly an option, right?

She gritted her teeth, thinking that if she had to be scared to death, so be it, as it was bound to happen someday. She was about to suggest putting on the safety rope, but then saw Shen Lian turning to Chen You Tian, “Uncle You Tian, would you like to go down first?”

At that, Sang Luo let out a sigh of relief she had been holding back. The sudden release from tension was so intense she could clearly hear her own heavy exhale.

Suppressing a chuckle, Shen Lian turned to grab the hemp rope.