Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 96 Entering the Mountain
He harvested the sunny areas first, then the others. He was busy for four or five days. Chen's face was sunburned and several layers of skin were peeled off before he finished threshing.

Thank God it didn't rain, so this year's rice was successfully dried and stored in the warehouse.

Next, just apply some fertilizer to the fields and then wait to harvest the regenerated rice. In the first fields to be harvested, the regenerated rice has already sprouted from the grain stumps and can be harvested in more than a month. Although the yield will be half as low, it is still very good, after all, the effort is very small.

After harvesting the millet, Chen Gu gave everyone two days off, planning to go into the mountains to mine for oil after everyone had a good rest.

Chen Gu took advantage of these two days to go into the mountains and take a look.

The next day, Chen Gu and Lao Piao went into the mountains with all their equipment.

Chen Gu originally wanted to bring a few more people to clear the way, but Lao Piao said that he was familiar with the area and it was not necessary at all. He could make it through alone, let alone two people. So when Chen Gu and Lao Piao went into the mountain, only Chen Gu and Lao Piao went.

Because the mountain road was rugged, the two did not ride horses, but they brought a lot of equipment.

First, each person brought a rifle, as well as an engineering shovel, detonators and bombs designed by Chen Gu. Each person had a bulletproof vest as defensive equipment, cowhide boots to protect against snakes and insects, oilcloth to shelter from rain, a thin blanket, a small iron pot, and so on.

The food is fried noodles with lard made by Chen Kui. Just boil a pot of water and throw half a pound of it in to soak and you will be full.

Chen Gu had to hurry as fast as he could to catch up with him.

Lao Piao checked the things in the backpack one by one, and finally put it on his back to try it out. "It weighs 30 or 40 kilograms. Can you walk fast with so many things on your back?"

Lao Piao glanced at Chen Gu, who was panting, and couldn't help but teasing him, "You're not good enough. You can't walk anymore after just two hours. When I was thirteen or fourteen years old, I carried a hundred kilograms of millet from Bian's house to Dengyun Mountain without taking a breath and could climb up the mountain."

"Okay!" Lao Piao immediately got up and went to collect firewood. When it comes to eating, Lao Piao is always very active.

"You're awesome!" Chen Gu had no choice but to admit it. After all, he was gifted. "Go get some firewood and boil some water to soak some dried noodles for a snack!"

I tried carrying thirty or forty kilograms, and it didn't feel that heavy. I just don't know how long I can last on a long journey.

After the two men entered the mountain, Lao Piao led the way. This guy had eaten well, drank well and slept well for a few days. Although threshing millet every day was very hard, he had fully recovered. He carried dozens of kilograms of weight and chopped his way along the road with an axe, and he was very fast.

"Let's give it a try!" Chen Gu didn't know his own physical strength and endurance, but he thought it was not bad. Although he had grown taller in the past few months and was still not very big, he exercised every day and never slacked off. He also ate well and felt that his body was strong.

Chen looked around and didn't see any stones, so he used an engineering shovel to dig some soil and made two small earthen stoves. After pouring water into the small iron pot, Lao Piao had already returned with a bundle of firewood.

They had just climbed over a hill and were still neither red-faced nor out of breath, but Chen Gu asked for a rest.

Use some leaves to make a fire and then add dry firewood. The water will boil in a short while. Pour the fried noodles in and stir them a few times before eating.

Chen Gu boiled less than a pound of water, but only put in a bowl of fried noodles. Eating was secondary, the main purpose was to replenish water and salt.

Lao Piao poured almost half a pound of fried noodles into the pot and stirred it into a paste. Chen Gu looked at it speechlessly, "Next time, just mix the noodles and make pancakes. They will taste better!"

"That's too much trouble. This will do!" Lao Piao picked up the chopsticks and scooped a big mouthful of the porridge into his mouth. His eyes lit up immediately. After chewing it a few times and swallowing it, he said, "This thing doesn't look good, but it tastes pretty good!"

"It's fried with lard, salt and MSG, how can it not be fragrant!" said Chen Gu.

Although it was emergency military rations, Chen Gu naturally hoped that his brothers could eat better if conditions permitted.

Lao Piao said with some annoyance: "If I had known it was so delicious, I would have brought more."

"It's only delicious for the first meal. If you eat too much, it won't taste good anymore. Let's go!"

After eating, they hung the small iron pot on their backpacks and set off again. As for washing the pot, they could wait until there was running water.

Two hours later, Chen Gu asked for a rest again. At noon and at night, they both rested in a place with water.

On the riverbank, Lao Piao went fishing while Chen Gu was setting up the camp. He first emptied his backpack, then ran and brought back a few bags of leaves. He burned a fire and smoked the place where he would sleep at night, then spread a blanket on the ashes, and finally put on the oilcloth.

Doing so can avoid harassment from snakes, insects, rats and ants to the greatest extent. Lao Piao sighed and said, "I didn't think so carefully when I was alone, and I was bitten by insects."

"You're lucky that I didn't bite you to death. Learn from me!" Chen Gu said, and went to collect more firewood. He started a bonfire, boiled two pots of water to fill their water gourds, and then boiled water to cook rice.

The resources in the mountains are quite rich. Not only are various wild animals often seen there, but Lao Piao's fishing harvest is also very good. Although the fish are only small fish about one or two taels in size, he can catch them one after another and catch several kilograms in a short time.

There was already rice cooked in the pot, so the two of them grilled fish and ate it directly. Although the fish-grilling skills were not very good and the only seasoning was salt, the taste of the fish itself was very good. Even if it was cooked directly over an open fire and the skin was removed and eaten, it was still delicious.

“When the time comes, we can have people build a dam here and expand a few more ponds to raise fish, so that the people guarding here will have more food to eat!” Chen Gu said with a smile.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes. We've already walked more than half of the way, and it's still not certain whether this place is suitable for building a stronghold!" said Lao Piao.

Chen Gu nodded and said, "We still need to send more brothers to explore. The road we are taking may not be a shortcut. We need to explore the terrain clearly before we can build a road."

There were no roads in the mountains. Whether it was for transporting crude oil or refined oil, a road would be needed. At least it should be able to allow wheelbarrows to pass unimpeded. Building a road was inevitable.

After a night's rest, the two continued their journey the next day. At noon the next day, Chen Gu saw the place where the black oil was flowing.

It didn't take two days as Lao Piao said, it only took one and a half days. It should be because Lao Piao was too tired when he came back, and he was carrying a stretcher, so he walked slower than when the two of them came.

Smelling the pungent smell of oil, Chen Gu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as it was indeed oil.

(End of this chapter)