"Chou Chou, come here and see if there is a coal mine here?"
Qingyan said to Chou Chou who was lighting the stove not far away.
This stove is not the charcoal stove they put in the car before, but the stone stove they built in the wooden house before. It is the one next to the kang. You need to use a charcoal pot to burn the charcoal outside first, otherwise there will be trouble when burning it inside. cigarette.
After hearing Qingyan's words, Chou Chou quickly ran over. It had now changed to a size of about one meter, which made it easier to work.
After running over, she used her spiritual consciousness to probe down and said to Qingyan: "It's true, this coal mine is quite shallow. You can just dig it directly without digging a hole.
It's just a pity that our stove can't be used. The temperature of the coal is too high, and our stone stove is easy to explode. "
If you burn coal, it takes a long time to burn, so you don't have to add it all the time. You just have to use refractory bricks, otherwise the stove will be easily damaged.
Qingyan nodded and said, "It's okay if we don't use it. The coal smells when it burns, and it's not as good as charcoal or pine cones.
I just wanted to tell the Li family this news. This can be used for smelting and can be regarded as military supplies.
I just want you to find a little bird. Let's just use a bird to pass the message and pass the news over, saving us a trip back. "
This is the bad thing now. It is difficult to send messages. There are only messengers within the imperial court. Common people can only find acquaintances to bring messages. If there is someone who is out of town, it is really as if they have been lost.
Chou Chou looked around and saw that all the migratory birds had flown away this season, leaving only the sparrows.
I found a nest on a tree in the mountain ahead, and inside there was a sparrow resting with its eyes closed.
Chou Chou used his spiritual consciousness to bring it over, comforted it, and then transmitted a message to it.
The frightened little sparrow stared with mung bean eyes in horror. It took a while to calm down, and then it lay trembling on Chou Chou's paws.
They returned to the wooden house, Chou Chou took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and Qingyan wrote a letter to Xue Huan'er in small regular script with hairpin flowers.
It was said to be a letter, but it was actually just a piece of paper as big as a palm. There was nothing I could do about it, it was too big for a sparrow to carry.
The specific address of the coal mine was written on it, and then she was asked to receive a reply and asked the sparrow to bring it back.
The main reason is that I am afraid that the other side will seize the sparrow, thinking that it can be used to deliver letters. Isn't this harming other people's little sparrows, and helping others will cause unnecessary disasters.
After finishing writing, Qingyan directly folded the paper into a small strip and tied it to the sparrow's feet with a few strands of embroidery thread. Chou Chou directly sent it to Xue Huan'er's feet with her spiritual consciousness. courtyard.
Then she sent a message and asked the little sparrow to peck the window lattice of her bedroom. At this time, the Li family would have finished their dinner and must not have rested yet.
The sound of knocking was very obvious in the quiet space, and it soon attracted Xue Huan'er, who was sitting in the room reading a book. She first asked who it was, but when no one answered, she cautiously walked to the window and opened it a crack. .
As soon as the window opened, the little sparrow jumped right in. There was a bill next to the window, and it just jumped on the bill.
Xue Huan'er looked at this fearless sparrow with a surprised look on her face, and then she saw the note on its feet at a glance. She couldn't help it, the white color was too eye-catching.
Xue Huan'er tentatively stretched out her hand. Seeing that the little sparrow was motionless and not avoiding, she stretched out her hand to untie the thread on its feet.
Qingyan's is a live mouth, which can be opened with a pull. Anyway, the sparrow doesn't need to fly by itself, so there is no need to worry about it falling off midway.
Xue Huan'er was a little funny. This letter was sent too casually. She didn't know who it was. Could it be that her own child was joking?
That's not right. If Muxue had tamed such a smart bird, he would have been unable to help showing off to them.
When she carefully opened the note and saw the title and self-introduction, she realized that the letter was sent by Heng Yue.
She looked at the sparrow several more times in surprise, and couldn't help but think that the fat cat raised by the other party was also very intelligent and could understand people's words. It would do whatever Hengyue asked. Although it was not very outrageous, taming a cat It's also very powerful.
Cats are not like dogs. Cats are the most disobedient pets.
After she read all the contents of the letter, she no longer cared about surprising the sparrow, and quickly put on her coat and ran to the front yard.
He didn't even notice that the little sparrow also flew out behind him.
When he arrived at the study room in the front yard, he reached out and knocked on the door twice. Without waiting for Li Hanqin to answer, he pushed the door open and went in.
Li Hanqin raised his head and was about to ask who it was when he saw someone had come in. When he saw that it was his wife, he silenced himself.
She was holding a palm-sized piece of paper in her hand, with a look of excitement on her face. Yes, she was excited. She walked around the desk and came to him without waiting for him to ask.
"Hengyue sent a letter saying that a coal mine was discovered not far east of Fucheng!"
As he spoke, he handed the note to him.
Li Hanqin then looked at the note by candlelight, unfolded it, read it up and down twice before saying: "Your aunt is really a lucky star, she is so lucky, she can encounter all this.
Not to mention, since she came to Fucheng, all the enemy spies in our city have been eliminated, which she had never discovered before she came.
Although it may not necessarily be her fault, I always feel that there is something mysterious in it.
After walking for more than half a day, I discovered another coal mine. According to what is written on it, it is the kind of coal mine that is very shallow and can be dug directly. This is really rare.
You must know that the coal used in the army to smelt weapons is shipped from Yunzhou. We have never found it here.
No, I will go to the front yard to talk to my grandfather and the others now! Send troops immediately to cordon off the place to save you from long nights and nightmares. "
Xue Huan'er quickly stopped him, "Why are you so anxious? No one has noticed for such a long time. It is impossible for Heng Yue's discovery to be seen by others.
Moreover, this east side is not like outside the pass, and there are no enemy troops watching. If we go there tomorrow, my grandfather may not be able to rest well that night. "
Li Hanqin thought about it. After all, his grandfather was old. Although it was a good thing for him to disturb him at night, it was not too late. But to deal with it, whether it was deploying troops or arranging the personnel in charge, they needed to be properly deployed. It takes a while, but it can't be completed in a short while.
It is also very likely that the grandfather will be so excited that he will not be able to sleep all night. If he becomes ill at that time, his father will not be able to beat him to death when he comes back.
It's better to listen to your wife. It's the same if you go tomorrow morning. Once you're rested, you'll be able to do things more calmly.
Qingyan and Chou Chou didn't know that the letter they sent almost ruined their search for a camp that was not easy to find.
If Li Hanqin led the officers and soldiers to guard there tonight, then she would definitely have to change places. If she wanted to find such a good camping place, she would have to go inside the mountains or after climbing over the mountains.
Because the bottom of the note asked Xue Huan'er to reply, and he happened to be in Li Hanqin's study, so he directly replied with a note of the same size using his ready-made pen and ink.
First, I expressed my gratitude. After all, it is a big political achievement if it works well.
Then I wrote in the letter that someone should be sent there tomorrow. I don’t know if she will still be there by then. If she is, she can be sent back with a message or a letter.
As soon as she finished writing, she saw the little sparrow jumping on the table, and then she realized that it had followed her to the study room. It must have followed her in when she opened the door just now.
Li Hanqin also discovered this little sparrow at this time, "Why did a bird come in?"
Xue Huan'er then remembered that she didn't tell him that the letter was sent by this bird, and said excitedly: "This letter was sent by it. I don't know how Heng Yue tamed it to make it come back to deliver the letter."
Li Hanqin looked at it in surprise for a while, while Xue Huan'er folded the note into the size of Qingyan's fold, and then tied it to the sparrow's leg with the previously untied thread.
Li Hanqin looked at the little sparrow and let her do it motionless, and said in surprise: "Your sister-in-law really has something in her body. She can tame this sparrow. I do know that pigeons and hawks can be tamed." I helped deliver the letter, but I didn’t expect this sparrow to be able to do it.”
Xue Huan'er glanced at him and saw the light in his eyes, so she reminded him: "Don't take advantage of this sparrow, it belongs to Heng Yue."
Li Hanqin glanced at her angrily, "What are you thinking? Am I the kind of person who steals other people's things? You look down on your man's character too much.
I was wondering if Miss Heng Yue has any secrets. If so, could you teach her to her? It would be great if our army could use sparrows to deliver messages in the future. This kind of bird is small and inconspicuous, and others will definitely Unexpected. "
Xue Huan'er rolled her eyes at him, "Even if you have the know-how, you can't just teach it to others. Don't you understand the saying that the law should not be taught lightly? Whether it's their know-how or their secret recipe, they are all skills that people rely on for a living. You It’s better not to covet it.”
Li Hanqin couldn't laugh or cry and said: "Okay, okay, I don't want you to ask. If you can, it's fine. If you can't, forget it."
Xue Huan'er snorted, "I won't ask. The note is already full and there is no room to write any more. I want you to ask yourself tomorrow if Heng Yue is still there."
Li Hanqin: "Okay, okay, don't ask, don't ask, just pretend it's nothing. Look, why are you still angry?"
Xue Huan'er ignored him, opened the door and walked out holding the bird, raised the hand holding the sparrow high, and said to it directly, regardless of whether it understood it or not: "Okay, take the letter back quickly."
The sparrow seemed to understand. It flapped its wings and flew towards the outside of the yard.
As soon as it flew out of the sight of Xue Huan'er and his wife, Chou Chou took it back.
Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Xue Huan's reply. She had forgotten about this. She should have sent letters and wine tomorrow.
However, because we need to use sparrows, it is better to send them at night. The main reason is to use sparrows to avoid being discovered during the day, so it is more concealed at night.
Seeing the little sparrow still standing there, Qingyan embarrassedly got it some millet.
It did not move, but looked at Chou Chou. When Chou Chou nodded, it hurriedly started eating, finishing a small handful of millet.
Chou Chou waited for it to finish eating before sending it back to its nest. At this time, their meal was also ready.
Just heat some mutton soup in a big pot and steam a few steamed buns on top.
The cook in Xue Huan'er's family is good at cooking. The buns they make are all stuffed with meat, mutton, green onions and mutton radish. There is no way, there is a lot of mutton in the northwest, and the price of pork is relatively expensive.
Fortunately, it tasted quite delicious, but it would make you tired if you eat too much. Qingyan was full after eating two and a bowl of soup.
Chou Chou actually ate a lot. He ate five at once. He still preferred to eat meat, and then he drank the rest of the mutton soup.
To be rich is to eat the raw meat stored in the Chou Chou space.
After eating, Qingyan felt warm all over her body. In addition, the stove was already burning, so the stability in the wooden house was just right.
Qingyan filled a few more pieces of carbon inside, then washed the pot, added another pot of water, and covered the vent under the stove with a stone slab, leaving a small gap for ventilation so as not to Put it out, but it won't burn so fast, so the kang can stay warm all night.
The stone kang was always warm, and the water would not boil too quickly, otherwise it would be uncomfortable if the cabin was full of steam.
After eating, Qingyan didn't go to bed immediately. She still had to eat, and of course she didn't go out. It was cold outside. Even in this depression, the wind was not light. If the wind was four or five levels outside, there would be two or three level winds down here. It wouldn't take long for her to go out. It has to be cool.
She wandered around the room for a while. Of course, there was only her and Youqian, so Chou Chou had already gone to the bed and lay down on her stomach.
Because I followed him too closely, I almost stepped on it several times when I turned around. Fortunately, it is much bigger now and its body is very flexible, otherwise it would really be possible to step on it.
After walking around for almost fifteen minutes, Qingyan picked up Youqian, wiped its four paws with a wet cloth, and then wiped them dry with a dry cloth to avoid getting wet before going to bed.
He touched the inside of the quilt and said to Chou Chou: "This stone bed is really better than that wooden bed. It's so warm and comfortable. It feels better than the fire kang. Sometimes the end of the kang is too hot, and the end of the kang is too hot." It’s a little cold there, but this is pretty much the same.”
It may be that the kang is relatively small, the stone slabs are thick enough, and the flue below is routed reasonably, so the entire kang is particularly easy to use.
She lifted the quilt, took off the cotton coat and skirt and the thin cotton trousers inside. Wearing single clothes and holding Fu Qian in her arms, she got into the bed. She put away the spiritual stones for lighting, retracted her hands into the quilt, and felt comfortable. One breath.
Sure enough, a golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own doghouse. The yard and room of Xue Huan'er's house are exquisite, but they are not their own territory after all, and they are still somewhat restrictive.
At least because she had a maid, she always used sound transmission to talk to Chou Chou, and she had to go and have dinner with them every morning and evening, so she felt a little uncomfortable.
It's just like the difference between my mother-in-law's family. In my mother's family, I can spread out as much as I want, and I can't get up if I don't want to eat. I feel very comfortable.
It's hard to be so relaxed when you get to your husband's house, you always have to be a little more restrained. She felt that way before.
(End of chapter)
