Si Xiaosong and Si Xiaobai entered the black pine forest. They were very tired. In order to make time, they almost jogged all the way.
"Brother, let's take a rest. I'm really exhausted."
"Okay, we're at the place anyway, let's drink some water and eat something."
As they spoke, the two took out the corn tortillas and started to eat them, then swallowed them with water. In fact, corn tortillas are more delicious when grilled over fire, as they will give off a very sweet flavor. But they didn't dare to light a fire. After all, the Mongols were coming soon, and it was not too far from the barbed wire fence. The smoke column would attract patrols.
"Brother, do you think there is any difference between chipmunks and mice? Do they store more food?" Si Xiaobai asked. He knew more about voles and less about chipmunks and squirrels.
"Of course, let me tell you, chipmunks like to eat chestnuts, and they specialize in collecting chestnuts. I asked, and the roasted chestnut shop charges three cents per pound for chestnuts, which is no cheaper than pine nuts. We only need to find a few this time. The cave is enough.”
"Brother, how much can be extracted from a few holes is not enough for us to go this far."
"Hahaha, that's because you don't know the situation. Each chipmunk needs to store 6,000 chestnuts for the winter, and the chipmunk can carry up to 3 chestnuts in its cheek pouches at a time. In conversion, the chipmunk has to run a lot to prepare food for hibernation. 2,000 trips. Every three chestnuts weigh about one tael, so chipmunks need to prepare at least one load of food for the winter, which can easily fit into a large bag."
In the Ming Dynasty, a pound weighed 600 grams and a load weighed 60 kilograms.
"What, that's a lot for one chipmunk."
"You'll know when you find the chipmunk's nest."
"So it's enough for us to find one. Each of us can carry half a load of chestnuts, and we can also carry a few pine nuts and hazelnuts. We won't be able to carry any more."
"What, you still want to take away the whole nest? You took away all the chestnuts, and the chipmunks had no choice but to hang themselves. We can only take away ten kilograms from each nest. One-twelfth can't take away The chipmunks starved to death. Otherwise, how would their family survive the winter?"
Si Xiaobai blushed a little. He was already stealing the fruits of other people's labor, and he wanted to take them all, which was too much. In fact, I didn't mean it, I just didn't think so much. The eldest brother is more sensible.
"Okay, let's get started after eating and resting." Si Xiaosong asked his younger brother to start searching together.
Erhei and others were dumbfounded when they entered the woods. They didn't find the Si brothers, and they didn't know how to find pine nuts and hazelnuts. The trees were densely packed with pine cones, but they couldn't climb up because it was too high.
"The pine cone is too high. It's impossible to get it down. If I had known, I might as well have picked up peanuts." Three Rabbits complained.
"I don't know how the Si brothers did it. They must have a way. I saw that before we harvested autumn, they dug vole holes. There were more than thirty kilograms of grain in one hole. They harvested much more than us. "Erdan said.
Si Xiaosong and Si Xiaobai worked hard for a long time and soon found several squirrel and chipmunk caves. Use sticks to keep squirrels and chipmunks away, then dig some out of each hole.
Si Xiaosong looked at the amount of stuff in the hole and decided how much to take out. Some of the holes were made by little squirrels who had just left their parents. They didn’t have much, so they just gave up. This little squirrel, which is living independently in its first year, lacks experience. If it is taken, it may not survive the winter.
After a while, their baskets were full. Each weighs about sixty pounds. After all, although the two of them do farm work, they are still young and cannot carry any more.
"Okay, you can't be too greedy. Let's go back."
"Okay, brother, the two of us got a full load of fruit. We made a fortune this time."
As the two of them spoke, they hurried back. They were also on tenterhooks, fearing that they would encounter some wild beast, which they would never be able to deal with.
Erhei and others were lost. They walked around in the black pine forest for several times but could not find them. The Si brothers also found no trace of them.
"Brother Erhei, what should we do now? Are we still looking for him?"
"What if we don't look for it? If any of you remember the way you came, can we walk out on our own?" Erhei said irritably. They have no experience. Unlike the Si brothers in Baoding Prefecture who are mountain people near the Taihang Mountains, Daming Prefecture is all plains.
Going into the mountains is not like being on the plains. Without experience, it is easy to get lost in the virgin forest. This black pine forest was very tall, and the tree canopy blocked the sky. A group of them rushed in without leaving any signposts, and soon got lost.
"Hey, there's smoke over there. Look at that smoke column, are it the brothers of the Si family?" Santu said, pointing to the smoke column behind the hill in the distance.
Erhei was the oldest and calmer, and he was confused. This place was not far from the barbed wire fence, and there were cavalry patrols. The four brothers were crazy and dared to light a fire. If he is caught, his family will definitely come to take it back. It would be strange if his butt is not quadrupled.
"Don't make any noise and come with me to take a look."
A dozen children quietly climbed up the hill, pushed aside the tall grass, and looked down the hill.
Erhei gasped. They were so confused that they actually crossed the black pine forest, and there was a new grassland at the foot of the mountain.
What surprised them most was that on the grassland in the distance, countless people and horses were setting up camp.
Mongol!
Outside the small river on the opposite side, there are all Mongolians, endless, no one knows how many there are. They were building felt packs and had a large number of cattle and sheep with them.
Some women were fetching water from the river. There were also cavalry galloping around the perimeter.
Erhei knew that this place was less than fifty miles away from the barbed wire fence. It was only because of the obstruction of the black pine forest that the two sides did not know each other's situation, so they were not discovered by the Tumut Cavalry Regiment.
Erhei didn't expect that instead of getting any benefits from following the Si brothers today, he would get into big trouble instead. He was soaked with cold sweat. Several other children were also frightened.
Erhei forced himself to calm down and made a gesture to ask everyone to slowly retreat from the grass. The terrain here is higher, and you can see the entire black pine forest from here. Erhei carefully identified several obvious signs and wrote them down. You should be able to get back by following these signs.
"Don't be afraid, everyone, listen to me, we don't want anything anymore, just follow me and go back immediately. Follow one by one, don't fall behind."
The other children were so scared that their hands and feet were numb and didn't know what to do. Erhei became the backbone of everyone and everyone nodded.
"Don't make any noise and come down slowly."
Erhei took a dozen children down the mountainous area and immediately ran towards the road they came from.
Carrying heavy backpacks, Si Xiaosong and Si Xiaobai finally walked out of the black pine forest and walked another five miles until they saw the trench. Walk towards the barbed wire fence. As the two walked, they happily planned what they would buy in the store with the money.
"Brother, I seem to hear Erhei's voice. It seems that Erhei is calling us," Si Xiaobai suddenly said.
"You must be exhausted. Your ears can't work anymore. Didn't they go pick up peanuts? Why are you here?"
After saying that the two of them had arrived at the edge of the trench, they unloaded their backpacks, crossed the trench, and went back through the hole they had dug under the barbed wire fence.
The two of them were preparing to fill the hole. Suddenly, he saw Erhei and others in the distance, shouting and running towards them. They ran very awkwardly. The backpacks were all thrown away.
The two of them were stunned, what was going on.
Erhei jumped into the trench with a quick stride. Then a dozen children plopped into the trench.
"Quick, Si Xiaosong, give me a hand."
Erhei shouted anxiously.
"Something big happened, hurry up"
Something happened today and I was delayed. The two chapters I owe will be posted tomorrow morning.
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