At three o'clock in the morning.
Opening his eyes, he woke up a moment later than usual, seeming to be slacking off. Maybe he was too tired in the past two days and rested late, but this did not constitute a reason for him to get up late. It was still dark in the winter, but he had a lot to do. Check the bow and arrow, sharpen the hatchet again, wash the clothes soaked last night. He did not light a lamp, which would have been a waste, and he was already very accustomed to doing this, and knew exactly where anything should be placed. Except for washing clothes, but it was already dawn. Yesterday's animal blood was stained on it, and it was completely dry when we returned. It took a while to soak it before rubbing it off. He can also linger a little, read a storybook, daze, etc., and then wash his clothes before going to bed. But in that case, he would sleep less if he got up on time the next day. He didn't like wasting time on meaningless things.
When I hung the clothes out, the sun had already risen. Facing the early sun, he saw a hole in the left corner of the linen clothes. It was not big or small. He had to mend it later, so he made a note of it first. Pack up all the things you need to take when you go out today, including the dry food you packed last night. You will need to chop at least another basket full of firewood today. This year, the mountain's winter was colder than usual, and he had to be more prepared. I originally planned to buy charcoal, but on the day when I originally planned to purchase it, the charcoal seller at the foot of the mountain fell ill and did not have time. It seems that sometimes even if you plan your time very clearly, there is nothing you can do if you can't keep up with other people's sudden changes. It was not too late when he was ready to buy charcoal, but the charcoal seller couldn't afford it. It seemed that there was not enough room for mistakes. He would have to think more about this necessary thing in the future.
That's it for ordinary things. If something goes wrong in an important part of life like this, it will delay him even more. Originally, I could take it a little more leisurely today. But the impact is not too big. After all, I have set aside a generous and loose part for the future to make up for my previous mistakes. But you can't make too many mistakes like this, he always reminded himself. As the saying goes, one move affects the whole body. Sometimes, due to a moment of negligence, he will be too busy for a long time. This is not the result he wants.
Four quarters past noon.
More than half of the goal has been accomplished, but there is still a little to go. It’s time to eat something. He took out the dry food and sat on a stone by the river. In summer, the strong current would cover where he sat, but not in winter. Because of the cold this year, the river has temporarily stopped flowing. The center of the river bed showed some traces of moisture, but there was no trace of water flow. He knew something like this would happen, so he brought a simple homemade cup made from a bamboo tube. The water is very cold, and it will probably freeze into ice pimples during the Chinese New Year period. However, by that time, I don’t need to carry a bamboo cup and be busy on the mountain.
By the way, the house should be inspected again before the year to see where it needs to be repaired. This is a very old stone house, but it is very sturdy, except that the mud at the joints of the stones often falls off and needs to be constantly filled. This mud is also particular about the proportions of lime, sand, and yellow clay, and there is nothing wrong with it. The house and the man who taught him how to build it are gone, but his knowledge lives on, and much more. The man also told him that adding glutinous rice slurry to bricks and stones would make them extremely strong. A long section of the city wall was built with such materials. He wondered, where could he find so much glutinous rice? I don’t know how long that food will last. But since it is a city wall, the security gains should be worth it.
He stood up, patted his clothes after eating and drinking, and carried the firewood basket beside him. Some white cake crumbs fell down, and he noticed it with his sharp eyes. He remembered that that man would definitely blame himself, because he would wipe off any edible thing - even a grease spot as long as it was not dry, and then put his hand into his mouth and scrape it around. This is really unsightly, and their lives are not that difficult yet. But this person is very economical, and he still needs to educate himself to save. He picked up the basket, thought about it, and decided that...it would be a good thing to leave it to the birds and ants. But he didn't take a few steps, and then he thought again, where did the insects and birds come from this season? Sure enough, it was still wasted. So the crumbs fell into his heart and became a knot that couldn't be shaken off.
The application time is correct.
He came home just at this time, half an hour earlier than expected. He thought that all the dead branches in this area had been cut down, but he didn't expect that a small tree died not long ago and the water evaporated, so he took advantage. Just in time, he picked up the ax and split the wider part, piled it up, and put it in the same place together with other branches. The roe deer caught yesterday has been skinned. If I take it to the foot of the mountain and sell it now, can I still get a good price? If I catch it early, I can carry it down the mountain with the previous batch of rabbit skins and sell it. Now it seems not cost-effective to just make a trip for it. Why don't you stay and do something by yourself...
Since I have more time, I just want to check out the house. The house is not big, but it is safe and warm. There is a backyard surrounding the house, which is quite large. The soil in it is much more fertile than that on the mountain. The man has been working on it for a long time. It took a lot of effort just to pull out the rubble in this area, let alone dig it out. That person liked to grow fruits and vegetables here during his lifetime. He said to himself that it is not good for people to eat only meat. They will not grow taller and will easily get sick. When I was young, I thought he thought he was too good at eating meat and was afraid that I would not be able to feed him. Later I found out that it was indeed true. But...he himself is not very good at growing things. He can't feed anything and everything he plants will die. At that time, the man specially set aside a place. The two of them planted the same things, and they usually watered and fertilized them together. As a result, the crops were not raised as well as the other man, so he simply stopped caring about it.
Fat fruits and vegetables always meet skinny animals on the mountain, and the bigger ones can set traps. When it's still dark, if they hear the screams of animals, the two of them can jump out of bed immediately. No matter how small it is, it is too flexible and difficult to find and catch. It also damages the roots of plants, which is really hateful. The man taught himself to use lime, oil, and the like to guard against them.
Now that people are dead, the land is naturally desolate. This is the first winter since he left. In the spring of last year, a dense cluster of small yellow flowers grew in the ground. Looking out from the house, they looked golden and soothing. He pulled out all the other dead things along with the thick weeds, but the flowers remained. No special scent, just plain nice. He cannot be called by name, and is rarely seen in the mountains. When he remembered, he poured water on it. The flowers are very tenacious, falling one after another and blooming one after another. It wasn't until late autumn that they turned into a pile of dead grass. Now there is no trace at all, and I don't know if they will appear again next spring.
A moment of unity.
He cooked some porridge for the pot and prepared some chopped pickles. He originally wanted to put some minced meat in it, but gave up. His desire to eat meat was not particularly strong today, so he could eat more when he wanted to. He left the stove and continued cleaning. Anyway, he could always come back and turn off the fire at the most appropriate time, and the porridge would always be cooked best. He never forgets that there is something burning on the pot, but that person... the older he gets, the more likely he is to make such mistakes. One time when he was not at home, the old guy forgot about it and almost booked the room. Fortunately, he rushed home in time. That day he was so anxious that he scolded the old man. Unexpectedly, the old man became aggrieved and kept his head down without speaking. He looked at his gray hair, and suddenly felt a lump in his throat, feeling that he was being harsh. He just couldn't believe that this man was aging much faster than he expected. In his memory, he was still the hunter with black hair, piercing eyes, and high spirits. If no one asked, who would know that he is over fifty years old.
After that day, he never allowed the old hunter to get angry while he was away. Fortunately, the old guy is clear-headed and can remember this.
He dusted the cabinets. This cabinet was also made by the old hunter himself. It is extremely durable and has not deformed at all for decades. His eyes fell on the drawer on the second floor, he hesitated, opened it, and took out a box. This box contains some odds and ends, such as needlework, a few beads, some beautiful-colored stones, two pendants with broken strings, and...
A jade safety buckle.
A simply polished round jade stone, about the length of a thumb knuckle, without any fancy patterns. The edge is thinner, and there is a small round hole as long as a grain of rice in the center, which is worn with an ordinary rope. The jade should be good jade, with a full and round water color, as if it has been raised by someone. Half of the ring is semi-transparent white, and the other half is filled with strands of green. He couldn't tell much about it. He only vaguely knew that there was a type of jade called white-on-green jade, and this jade looked like that.
This safety buckle looks valuable. He doesn't understand this and doesn't know where it comes from. It was definitely not left by an old hunter. No one left him a souvenir gift. If the one he picked up must have been replaced by rice and noodles, it would be impossible to buy it back. One day many years ago - maybe even ten years ago, he himself discovered this jade stone in his home. The hut has not received any travelers recently, so no one could be left behind. He wanted to ask, but he was worried that the old hunter would think he had stolen it and beat him up - this had happened before. Hesitatingly, he was called to work and tidied up casually. Later, he didn't look for it again, and the old hunter didn't mention it, maybe he didn't notice it. The safety buckle was kept here until he found it in the corner when he was packing up his belongings.
He picked up the black rope and hung up the jade, spinning it slightly for a while. The hole in the middle stopped at him, like an eye studying him. This made him feel a little strange, so he put it back in the drawer and closed it.
Clean pots and dishes after meals. The water in the water tank ran out, and he had to go to the uninterrupted part of the river to get a bucket before it got dark. Before going out, he thought for a moment and carried his bow and arrows out of habit.
This decision is the right one. When he just filled the water and straightened up, he saw the shadow of an animal on the other side of the river. With that size, could it be the roe deer that ran away yesterday? He made a judgment in an instant, skillfully drew the arrow and pulled the string, and aimed the arrow in that direction. Because the distance between the two banks is not short, otherwise the river would have dried up. But there were no rocks nearby that could cross the river. Although I was not afraid of cold legs if I went down blindly, I was afraid that the sound of the water would scare it away. Therefore, it is the best plan to shoot an arrow here and then go over to pick it up.
Still a little far away.
It was getting late and he couldn't see clearly. Is the prey still in its original position? Just now I stopped seeing the bushes swaying. Maybe they didn't move, and they probably didn't notice me either. One arrow must determine success or failure. If it misses, scaring it away will be troublesome. The second arrow is hard to tell. Although it is winter, the other side of the water is still lush with vegetation, making it an excellent hiding place.
"Why are you hesitating?"
The abrupt voice startled him. He loosened his grip and fired the arrow. He missed the shot, but he couldn't be blamed. After all, he didn't aim, and a gust of cold wind happened to affect the path of the arrow. The animals over there immediately let out a scream and ran away.
He's a big guy, let him run away. He frowned and was about to turn around to see who came to this barren mountain in the middle of the night to ruin his good deeds. However, there was an invisible force that frightened him, making him unable to move like a ghost pressing down on the bed. The cool breeze also turned into a dark wind, making him feel a strange chill. This was definitely not the wind direction that should exist here in winter. This isn't right.
He smelled the fragrance of flowers, faint, like chrysanthemum and lotus. No matter what, it shouldn't belong to this season.
A hand was placed on his shoulder, the force was neither light nor heavy, but it spread a shiver throughout his body. He tried to struggle but couldn't, but fortunately he seemed to be able to make a sound. He was more angry than afraid. Losing control of his body, he asked angrily:
"Who are you? What are you going to do?!"
After a chuckle behind him, there was another groan.
"What am I here to do? Of course..."
He came closer and raised his chin with the cigarette rod, but his face could not be seen yet. At this moment, the hand on his shoulder suddenly tightened.
"——Coming to help you."
