Just as Grandpa Xiaoman arranged, Xiaoman really sent a large bundle of bark to build a house. With these things, Jiang Zhi's small single room was secured.
But before building a house, you need to go to the village first, and you won’t go down the mountain again.
Jiang Zhi discussed with Qiaoyun and Xu Errui what to bring.
Qiaoyun wants a stone grinder. The corn flour is almost gone and needs to be ground into powder.
Errui said he needed some hay to make the bed, and it was too hard to just use leaves.
Jiang Zhi frowned upon hearing this. These things were either heavy or bulky and not suitable for carrying at all.
But she didn't know what she needed, and felt like she was lacking everything.
Then think about the few families in the village who stayed away and were stealing furniture that day. I am afraid that the whole village has been cleaned by now, and with the refugees coming and going, not many useful things can be left behind.
There is no point in dreaming now. We can only go to the village first and see if there is anything left.
Before dawn, Jiang Zhi, Xu Errui and Xiaoman quietly went down the mountain with ropes for carrying baskets and appeared at the edge of the village.
It had been five days since the villagers left. At this time, the village was as quiet as death in the morning light, and there were no roosters crowing.
Xu Errui and Xiaoman grew up in the village, and the layout of each yard was clear.
With them leading the way, the three of them walked along the back wall of the yard and entered the house closest to the edge of the village.
The house left in a hurry, and the tables, chairs, and benches left behind are still there, but they have been picked over, and now all that is left are broken furniture with missing legs and corners.
The three of them took a cursory look and continued walking to each house. On the surface, the village seemed to be the same except for being too quiet, but as they walked a few more houses, signs of chaos gradually appeared.
In the past few nights, you can see the light of fire on the mountain. Sure enough, several families' houses were burned down.
The blackened ruins of the walls and the roof beams and roof ridges pierce the sky abruptly.
Although no body was seen, the broken tile jars and pools of dark blood on the ground made Xu Errui and Xiaoman's expressions change greatly.
They didn't dare to stay here for too long. Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui planned to go back to their own yard to take a look, even if it was burned, they would feel at ease.
Xiaoman also wanted to go back to his own home for a visit. The three of them made an appointment to meet at the village chief's house and then split up.
Returning to the yard of his home, Jiang Zhi found that he had not been burned, but that the originally locked courtyard door had been twisted and broken, and the door leaf was hanging sideways and ajar.
Xu Errui ran into the courtyard and saw that the door of the room where he and his wife lived was wide open. He immediately went in to check.
Jiang Zhi went straight into the kitchen.
She first found the place where the fire sickle and flint were placed, and took out an old fire sickle from inside.
Although I carry a set on the mountain, in places where there are no lighters and matches, flints and flints are necessary tools to make a fire. One set is not enough, so you need to prepare an extra pair.
There were still a few jars with broken edges in the kitchen. Jiang Zhi reached out and touched the jars and found out a few dark and irregular "stones", which she immediately stuffed into the bag like a treasure.
This is salt stone.
Because the salt here is coarse salt that has not been purified and contains many impurities, it will absorb moisture and crystallize after being left in the salt jar for a long time, turning it into a hard stone.
She didn't know it at first, but she saw Wen Qiaoyun when she was packing her things on the first night she stayed at home, saying that it was too hard to use and was going to be thrown away.
Of course it's not needed in normal times, but Jiang Zhi can't be thrown away now!
If you live in the mountains, you can still use mountain fruit bark and the like to eat, but it won't work without salt and taste.
If people lack salt minerals, their bodies will become weak and sick. Although these salt stones are a bit poor, they can still supplement salt.
After searching the whole house again, what satisfied Jiang Zhi the most was that he found a large bag of unused realgar powder in the corner.
This is a good thing. After living in the mountains for a long time, it is only a matter of time that snakes and scorpions appear in the shed. Realgar, which can repel insects, is very important.
At this time, Jiang Zhi already knew what he needed.
When Xu Errui found a chipped hatchet and came over, Jiang Zhi said: "Errui, do you know anyone who has quicklime?"
Quicklime is also a good thing to kill ants and bugs!
Quicklime was not a valuable item. You could buy a big bag of it in the town for ten cents, and no one took it with them to escape.
Xu Errui nodded: "Mom, I know this. The village chief's family made Sanhe soil a year ago, and the lime powder they bought was not used up, so it was piled in the woodshed."
good! If you have quicklime, look for something else.
The more salt rocks the better, so the two began to go to the kitchen from house to house to rummage through the salt shakers.
At first, every household would throw away their own salt and discard the salt stones, but now it is cheaper for Jiangzhi.
While walking to the village chief's house, he was looking for things. Jiang Zhi already had more than a dozen pieces of various sizes in his bag.
Xu Errui also found several discarded sickles and hatchets, which was quite a harvest.
Just as the two were approaching the village chief's house, a man who was yawning profusely and fastening his trousers walked out from the drainage ditch beside the courtyard wall, and the two sides collided head-on without warning.
It was already bright at this time, and he could even count his beards when facing each other. Jiang Zhi looked at the dirty refugee opposite and was so frightened that he immediately raised the sickle in his hand: "What do you want to do?"
The refugee was also startled, turned around and ran away in a panic, shouting as he ran, "Second uncle, third uncle, someone is here to rob something!"
Jiang Zhi and Xu Errui were both confused: Shall we rob something? We were quite frightened ourselves.
The two people quickly retreated and hid behind a haystack to observe the situation.
As soon as we hid, we saw four or five people rushing out of the courtyard of the village chief's house, carrying hoes and poles, each with their clothes open and pulling on their shoes, looking nervous.
"Er Gouzi! Where are the people? Who grabs things?"
The Ergouzi who had taken a nap pointed towards Jiang Zhi: "The two of them are holding knives, over there."
Someone among the refugees came out and saluted clumsily in the direction where Jiang Zhi and the two were hiding: "We are just passing by, resting here, and leaving at dawn. We only have some shabby coats around us and nothing of value."
It seems that they are just some honest farmers who came out to escape, and they have been robbed of experience and can cope with it easily.
Xu Errui stood up and shouted bluffingly: "If you want to leave, leave quickly. If you don't leave, we won't be polite!"
"Okay, let's go now!" The second uncle said a few words to the people next to him, and some people returned to the yard, probably to pack their things.
Soon, there was a noise and panic inside, with children crying and a woman screaming. She must have been tired from walking and didn't want to move.
Soon, a group of people came out of the courtyard pushing carts, carrying burdens, and carrying babies on their backs.
Jiang Zhi frowned and looked at them, wondering where these people came from and where they could go.
In the escape stories, you can only escape on the road. How difficult it is, but rarely see their ending!
However, when the second uncle passed by Xu Errui and Jiang Zhi, he saw clearly that Jiang Zhi was the only two people here. His steps slowed down and his eyes began to wander.
The few people following him also stopped and looked at the basket Xu Errui was carrying, their expressions suddenly becoming malicious.
Jiang Zhi felt something was wrong, so he quickly picked up the hatchet, took a few steps back, and shouted to the village: "Daniu, Erniu, bring everyone here!"
Xu Errui next to him looked confused: "Mom, they..." He wanted to ask who Daniel Erniu was.
Jiang Zhi was afraid that he would spill the beans, so he quickly said: "Send Daniel over, there is something going on at his house!"
There are still people, still from the village...
The "second uncle" with erratic eyes suddenly became clear-headed, and even apologized to Jiang Zhi with his hands bowed: "Sorry for bothering you! I'm sorry for bothering you!"
Xu Errui responded awkwardly: "It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!"
Jiang Zhi ignored him and just watched the refugees leave coldly.
But before these people had gone far, they heard a burst of rapid footsteps, high and low shouts, and then the crackle of a fight.
There was also a familiar voice that said arrogantly: "Okay! I said someone sneaked in last night without paying and ruined the feng shui of our village. It turned out to be you! Finally caught him, pay him or else don't even think about leaving!" "
Xu Errui and Jiang Zhi were still standing outside at this time, and looked at each other after hearing the sound: This is blackmailing the refugees.
Xu Errui said: "It's Uncle Youcai and the others. They haven't left. Are they still in the village?"
Jiang Zhi's eyebrows were twisted into knots: These two families took advantage of their large numbers and stole first and then robbed!
