Si Xiaosong and Si Xiaobai entered the black pine forest. They were very tired. In order to rush for 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 said that, the two of them took out the corn tortillas and started to nibble them, then swallowed them with water. In fact, the corn tortillas are more delicious if they are roasted over a fire, which will give off a very sweet taste. But they did not dare to light a fire, after all, the Mongolian people are very fast these days.
Here we are, and it's not too far from the barbed wire fence. The smoke column will attract patrols.
"Brother, do you think there is any difference between chipmunks and mice? Do they store more food?" Si Xiaobai asked. He knew a lot about voles but not much about chipmunks and squirrels.
"Of course, I'm telling you, chipmunks like to eat chestnuts, and they specialize in collecting chestnuts. I've 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 the 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, there are so many for one chipmunk."
"You'll know once 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? If you take away all the chestnuts, the chipmunks will have no choice but to hang themselves. We can only take away ten kilograms from each nest. One-twelfth can't
The chipmunks starved to death. Otherwise, how would their family survive the winter?"
Si Xiaobai blushed a little. He was stealing the fruits of other people's labor, and he wanted to take them all, which was too much. In fact, he didn't mean it, he just didn't think so much. The eldest brother was 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 holes. They used sticks to drive away the squirrels and chipmunks, and then took some out of each hole.
Si Xiaosong looked at how many things were in the holes and decided how much to take out. Some of the holes were for little squirrels who had just left their parents. There were not many things, so they gave up. This kind of little squirrel living independently in its first year lacks experience. If
If I take it, I'm afraid I won't survive the winter.
After a while, the baskets on their backs were full. Each of them weighed about sixty kilograms. After all, although they were doing farm work, they were still young and would not be able to 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 big 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 wandered around the black pine forest for several times without finding 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? Do any of you remember the way we came here? Can we walk out on our own?" Erhei said impatiently. They have no experience. Unlike the brothers from the Si family in Baoding Prefecture who are mountain dwellers near the Taihang Mountains,
Damingfu is all plain.
Going into the mountains is not like going to the plains. Without experience, it is easy to get lost in the virgin forest. This black pine forest is very high, and the tree canopy blocks the sky. A group of them rushed in without leaving any signposts, and they quickly got lost.
"Hey, there is smoke over there. Look at that smoke column, are it the brothers of the Si family?" Three Rabbits said, pointing to the smoke column behind the hill in the distance.
Erhei is the oldest and calmer, and he is confused. This place is not far from the barbed wire fence, and there are cavalry patrols. The four brothers are crazy, so they dare to start a fire. If they are caught, they will definitely come to take them back to their families, and their butts will not be burned.
It would be strange to achieve four petals.
"Don't make any noise and come with me to have 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 bottom 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 are building felt bags, and they also bring a large number of cattle and sheep.
Some women were fetching water by the river. There were also cavalry galloping outside.
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 he would get no benefit from following the Si brothers today, but would get into big trouble instead. He was soaked in cold sweat. Several other children were also frightened.
Erhei forced himself to calm down and made a gesture, calling 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.
Make a note of it. 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 and 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. After walking another five miles, they saw the trench and walked towards the barbed wire fence. As they walked, the two happily planned to sell the money and go to the store.
buy what.
"Brother, I seem to hear Erhei's voice. It seems that Erhei is calling us," Si Xiaobai said suddenly.
"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 in the hole. Suddenly they saw Erhei and others in the distance, shouting and running towards them. They ran in a very embarrassed manner and even threw away their backpacks.
The two of them were stunned, what was going on.
Erhei jumped into the ditch with a quick stride. Then a dozen children jumped into the ditch with a splash.
"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.