Infinite Disaster Survival

Daqing Niang's unstoppable crying echoed in their ears, causing everyone's eyes to turn red. In addition to the clan members who stayed at the foot of the mountain, there were also relatives and friends who were not around, and I wondered if they had escaped this disaster.

More people bowed their heads and cried.

Just as they stood in front of the cave and felt sad, a cow, a donkey and several mules who were resting under the bamboo rafts made noises, and their hooves were still kicking the ground restlessly.

Before Wen Zheng opened his mouth to remind them, the clan leader noticed something was wrong and asked everyone to return to their respective caves and be careful.

Animals are more sensitive than humans. When the mountain torrents broke out last night, these animals were a little restless, and the villagers only thought it was caused by the heavy rain.

Now I think the animals noticed the mountain torrents, and the commotion at this time is probably because they noticed the danger.

No matter how uncomfortable the heart is, no matter how difficult the future is, people always want to survive.

As soon as the clan leader reminded them, the villagers hurriedly protected the elderly and children and hid in the cave. Daqing's mother endured the pain in her feet and climbed up, pulling her little son back to the cave.

The young and strong held farm tools to block the entrance.

If everyone hides inside, they will not be able to see the situation outside, which will be more dangerous. Standing outside, holding their breath, not daring to miss any movement, directly facing the eyes that are approaching.

It is a group of wild boars.

Why are there so many wild boars on this mountain? They have to confront their village.

The mountain behind their village is lush with trees and weeds. Although there are no kings of beasts like tigers, there are ferocious wild boars.

In previous years, wild boars would come down the mountain to ravage the land and harm people during famine, and they needed to ask the county magistrate for help. Because of this, no one except Yang Liehu went up the mountain.

Having seen Yang the hunter hunting wild boars, and having learned to catch prey at the foot of the mountain, and having killed one together when moving things up the mountain, they thought they would no longer be afraid of wild boars, but when they faced a group of wild boars, they found that the feeling was completely different.

The five wild boars had fierce eyes, perhaps because they knew that they had killed their own kind, and were shocked by yesterday's flood, so they were very aggressive at this time.

The hands of the young and strong men standing at the entrance of the cave were trembling a little. Wild boars have thick skin and flesh, and it is difficult for people to win. Not only is the opponent's attack power strong, but also because the weapons in their hands are difficult to break the defense of wild boars.

They can defeat one of them, but it does not mean that they can kill the whole group.

No matter how scared they were in their hearts, no one retreated. Behind them were their living relatives, and if they did not fight the wild boars, where could they hide even if they wanted to?

They could only fight to the death.

The wild boars may have felt threatened. After a few roars, several of them rushed forward at the same time. The huge weight and the high speed will bring great impact.

Facing the attack of wild boars, some people gritted their teeth and moved forward, while others could not help but take a few steps back. However, they had just started to move when they saw several wild boars being killed one after another.

Two were hit by stones falling from the sky. No matter how strong their heads were, they could not withstand the blow. Their heads were deflated on the spot and they were motionless.

One was shot in the eye by an arrow, and its painful howl made people's ears ache. It was shot in the mouth again, and the crazy wild boar was attracted by the arrow and all its hatred was led to the side.

The remaining two were not attacked. Their front legs stepped on the trap, and their heavy weight broke the branches on top, and their two front legs fell into the pit.

"Human power cannot fight against natural disasters. Can't we kill a few wild boars? Think about our parents, wives and children behind us. We have no way to retreat." The patriarch's hoarse voice sounded.

"Ahhh!"

One person rushed up, and more people followed closely behind. The two trapped wild boars were attacked from all directions before they came out of the trap.

The villagers all knew that wild boars had thick skin and flesh, and they all knew that they should attack the weak spots, such as the eyes and nose. When the wild boars howled in pain, they would put a kitchen knife into their mouths.

There were so many people that they didn't even spare the thick skin. They attacked with sticks all over the place, venting all their helplessness in the face of natural disasters, the sadness of the departure of relatives and friends, and the panic about the future, and concentrating all their strength on their hands.

There was also a young man who squeezed in the back and simply stabbed the wild boar in the back. The scream was extremely painful, and the people who saw it trembled all over. As a result, someone else learned it and hit another pig with a wooden stick.

After the chaos, the four wild boars fell to the ground and stopped only after the chief called out. They remembered that there was another wild boar that was led away. When they took the weapon to look for it, it had been killed by Yang Hunter and Wen Zheng.

When Wen Zheng came out of the woods, there was no blood on his body except for the mud and water. Yang Hunter was stained with a lot of blood. No one asked questions, and they subconsciously thought that it was mainly up to Yang Hunter to solve the problem.

Interrupted by the attack of the wild boar, all the negative emotions in my heart were vented, the sadness had passed, and I hurried to clean up the battlefield.

The wild boar was pulled to the open space next to it, and Yang the hunter's machete was used to chop off its head.

Pigs are one of the animals and are often used for sacrifices, but ordinary people cannot afford to buy them. In the past, even if they were caught, they would sell them.

This time, they encountered a great disaster and killed another wild boar, so they took out the head to worship their ancestors and dead tribesmen.

The young and strong man who attacked the wild boar had used up most of his strength, and the woman hiding in the cave came out to take over the job of dealing with the wild boar, peeling off the pig skin, cutting the relatively fresh meat inside into long strips, and putting them in the cave to dry.

The boar's internal organs were not left behind, so the man who had recovered some strength carried it and buried it farther away. There was no way to deal with the blood flowing out of the wild boar, so he could only bury it with soil as much as possible.

When digging the soil, someone mentioned the traps that the wild boar encountered. The patriarch took the initiative to explain that he had people set them up, and the weight of people would not trigger them, just to prevent the wild boar from attacking.

"Do you have any objections?" asked the patriarch.

"No, no, it's still you who have foresight. Let's make up these traps now."

There are also skills in setting traps. The patriarch looked at Wen Zheng, who came out to direct everyone to restore the traps and explained the skills of setting these traps.

The pits dug in the ground were placed on top with wooden sticks, and the weight of people would not collapse. They were specially used to deal with wild boars. The fallen stones were tied to the trees in advance and tied tightly with ropes. They would only be fired when they were cut with a knife.

After several traps for wild boars were restored, Wen Zheng took advantage of everyone's interest to explain to them the other traps that were made, targeting weasels and snakes, which had not been discovered.

The villagers were busy until the afternoon before they could rest. If the pork was not to be rotten, it needed to be processed. However, the stench of blood on the body made people want to wash it clean.

The elder looked at the sky and saw that there would be a heavy rain later, so there was no rush to wash it. He asked them to finish processing the pork first.

In such hot and humid weather, if you want the meat not to rot, even if you use a lot of salt to pickle it, it will not work. It needs to be completely dried and then well preserved.

"The wood is all wet. Once it is burned, it will all be black smoke, and the meat will be burned."

"Why don't we eat as much as we can this meal."

"I have a way." Wen Zheng touched his chin and became the focus of everyone's attention.

The men did not stop for a moment. A group of people chose a place where Wen Zheng was sheltered from the wind and rain. Following Wen Zheng's command, they dug the dry soil in the cave and built an earthen kiln. The rest of the people went to pick up the wood that fell on the mountain.

The woman continued to process the pork, leaving the ones to be eaten today, and cut the remaining pork into thin strips that were easy to cook, wrapped them with leaves first, and then covered them with soil.

This is the way to make beggar chicken, first cook this batch of pork to keep it fresh.

The earthen kiln was built, and the beggar pork strips were buried underneath. Wet branches were put in and ignited, and black smoke came out from inside.

"Will this really work?"

"If nothing unexpected happens." Wen Zheng said.

There are not many problems with the built earthen kiln. When using the earthen kiln to burn wood to make charcoal, wet wood must be selected, otherwise it will be directly burned dry by the fire and it will be difficult to form charcoal.

The heat from burning charcoal can also dry the pork strips. Even if the moisture inside cannot be completely evaporated, after the charcoal is burned, the charcoal can be used to bake the jerky, and at the same time, the clothes can be dried to keep the cave dry.

The plan is very good, it depends on whether the final result can achieve the goal.

While waiting for the burning time, fill the stomach that is tired for nearly a day and hungry.

At this time, everyone knew how to cook, but most people couldn't afford an iron pot. The village chief and Wen Erye had an iron pot at home, and they brought it to the mountain. The rest of the people only used pottery to cook.

The dry firewood brought up the mountain was ignited, and the wild boar meat in the iron pot gave off an attractive aroma. The broth in the pottery pot hanging on the fire kept boiling. The grain cakes brought to the mountain were not spoiled yet, so they were roasted directly on the fire.

The rice in the pot was cooking, and the rain outside began to fall again. Those who were dirty ran directly into the rain to wash.

In ancient times, there was not much pollution, and the rainwater was clean. Some people collected water for later use. After seeing this, Wen Zheng found the grandfather and said a few words, and asked the grandfather to let everyone boil the borrowed rainwater before drinking it.

But not many people listened. Even boiling water would consume a lot of firewood.

The young and strong men outside took a bath and washed their clothes. Another woman went to the corner and wiped the blood stains on her body from killing pigs with her steps.

After taking a bath outside, everyone has to drink a few sips of bitter soup. I know it is to prevent diseases, but the tongue really suffers.

"Come and give me a bowl of meat soup to calm down." Someone laughed, staring at the pot of meat soup in front of him, and it was obvious that he was really greedy.

"Medicinal materials are scarce, and the old man took them out to make medicine for you. You are still complaining that it is hard to drink. You should be hungry and don't think about the meat soup."

"Auntie, how dare I despise it? After the rain stops, I will definitely help the old man dig more herbs. This meat soup really can't be without my share."

There was laughter in the cave.

As the smell of meat became stronger, no one had the mind to do anything else. They all held bamboo tubes and bamboo chopsticks and waited. After they were given the meat soup, they drank a sip and felt comfortable all over.

The rain outside was getting heavier. After Wen Zheng finished eating, he went out to take a look. The earthen kiln was placed under a protruding rock and it was still good.

After eating, it was dark. Everyone lay in the cave. Even though they felt a little uncomfortable, their exhausted bodies urged them to sleep.

With the comfort of pork, the villagers fell asleep one after another.

The next morning, when the villagers woke up and went outside the cave to solve the problem, they saw Wen Zheng and Yang the hunter busy in front of the earthen kiln, and hurried over to help.

The closed earthen kiln was opened, and the charcoal that had been burned black was taken out. Wen Zheng was still checking the quality of the charcoal, but Yang the hunter and the villagers next to him were surprised.

"Dashan, is that charcoal in your hand? Did you pick it up when you went down the mountain?"

Yang the Hunter retracted his surprised look and unhappily helped Wen Zheng to refute: "You saw it with your own eyes. We just opened the earthen kiln and took out the charcoal from it."

"So you can make charcoal!" The villagers were surprised and a little excited.

Wen Zheng was stunned and reviewed the memory of his original body. He shouldn't ignore the details just because his original body had used charcoal before.

Although charcoal was sold in this dynasty, ordinary people didn't know how to make it. They sold the cut wood to others, or picked up charcoal after the thunder started the fire.

Thinking of this, Wen Zheng looked at the crowd who heard the noise and explained: "I accidentally heard someone say it once in the county town, and then I thought about it myself. Yesterday was the first time I tried it, and I didn't expect it to be successful."

The charcoal that was made was passed from one villager to another as a treasure. They completely forgot the reason for making the earthen kiln in the first place. Wen Zheng used a shovel to dig out all the pork strips buried in it.

First, take one out and throw it on the stone. The soil wrapped around it cracks. Peel off the leaves, and the warm aroma of the pork strips inside attracts the villagers to look over.

The charcoal is really lit. Not only does it burn slowly but there is not much smoke. The villagers cheered directly. Some people stayed to roast the meat jerky, and the rest all found a suitable place to build a kiln.

The meat jerky doesn't need Wen Zhengguan, but everyone has to say a few words about the kiln. I made one yesterday following Wen Zheng's instructions. Few people listened seriously, and all the problems were caused by it.

Moreover, the charcoal here is not particularly good. Wen Zheng plans to improve the kiln, and it is best to choose more suitable wood.

The most abundant thing on this mountain is wood. All the kilns built are directly opened to burn charcoal. Everyone is eager to learn this craft.

Wen Zheng and Yang Hunter, who are willing to pass on their skills to everyone, have become transcendent and are very popular with the villagers.

There are only two exceptions, one is Daqing Niang's family, and the other is Wen Erye's family.

Wen Zheng was basically certain that Daqing had something to do with the death of the original body, but he died without doing anything.

The behavior of Mr. Wen was a little strange. No matter what, they couldn't separate in a short time. What was going on would always be known later.

Burning charcoal, barbecuing and hunting made everyone's time on the mountain particularly fulfilling. Two more floods hit the mountain, one in the daytime, and the villagers saw the situation with their own eyes.

After that flood left, the subsequent rains became smaller and smaller, and the sky gradually cleared up. Everyone continued to wait on the mountain for the accumulated water on the mountain to recede.

These people on the mountain should decide where to go next.

In ancient times, after encountering natural disasters, it was rare to wait for the relief grain and money issued by the court, especially since the two waterproofing projects were shoddy projects, the victims rebelled, the county magistrate fled, and there were so-called nobles to intercede, so they could not put their hopes on the court.

In the fields that had been flooded, the soil suitable for farming on the surface was washed away by the flood, leaving only the deposited mud.

Such fields are not suitable for planting seeds. The seeds planted are easy to rot and cannot take root and sprout.

If the fields cannot be planted, there will be no food. Even if more prey is caught, it is not as good as grains. Moreover, places that have experienced floods are more likely to develop epidemics and are difficult to treat.

Therefore, everyone who encounters floods has to leave their homes and look for opportunities to survive.

What they have to determine is which direction to look for opportunities.

They have not forgotten the news of the rebellion of refugees in the neighboring prefecture before the flood. The villagers are unwilling to join the ranks of the rebels, and there is no need to consider the route that needs to pass through the neighboring prefecture.

After much discussion, most of the villagers have never left their own prefectures, and they don’t know where to go. They all choose to let the clan leader decide.

In the end, the capital Yongyan Prefecture in the north was selected.

Destroy the earthen kiln built, hide the cave where they lived during this period behind the vines, carry all their belongings on their backs, and follow the team down the mountain that watched them live and provided shelter during the flood.

It was thought that the days of taking shelter in the mountains would be very difficult, but things always went beyond the villagers' expectations.

The wild boars that should have caused them heavy casualties were all killed, but instead became their food. Because of the rainy and humid environment, the charcoal burned out solved the problem. Not only did they learn the craft, but they also accumulated a pile of charcoal.

It rained from time to time, but because of the presence of the grandfather, no one fell ill after drinking a lot of bitter soup.

Looking back on the past few days, it was like a dream.

Now that I have left, I can't stop worrying. I can only look at the ox cart leading the way in front and follow closely behind.

Several livestock were as lucky as them to avoid the flood. They ate wild grass and leaves on the mountain every day, and continued to take on the function of transportation and followed them down the mountain.

In addition to the old and young who were inconvenient to move, there were also charcoal burned during this period on several vehicles.

Now it is summer. Except for rain, no one will spend a lot of money to buy charcoal that is more suitable for winter use, but the villagers are unwilling to abandon the charcoal they have worked hard to learn and burn, and insist on taking it with them.

Most people were reluctant to do so, but the tribe leader did not object and put it on the car with other heavy objects.

After the rain stopped and the sun came, the water on the road evaporated quickly and the soil was gradually drying up, but it would take some time.

After going down the mountain, even if the crowd found a place with fallen leaves and grass, it was easy to get muddy when stepping on it, making it more difficult to move forward. They could only stop from time to time to clean the wheels and soles of their shoes.

When going up the mountain, most of the villagers wore straw sandals. When going down the mountain, they either stepped on wooden shoes with wooden soles or leather shoes made of wild boar skin and other prey skins.

After they were made, everyone was reluctant to use them. As a result, the grandfather came out and said that wearing straw sandals was easy to get injured, which would not only slow down the speed of moving forward, but also make it easier to get sick. Finally, the patriarch stood up and made a strong request that everyone who needed to walk should wear them on their feet.

The scene on the mountain was reflected in my mind during this period, but when I walked to the foot of the mountain that should have been familiar, I saw everything strange and it was difficult to find the familiar scene in my memory.

In particular, a piece of the mountain fell and blocked a road.

Fortunately, Wen Zheng still remembered the general direction in his mind. He led the villagers around twice and came to the location of the ancestral tomb.

It was difficult to worship, so they could only clean up the area around the ancestral tomb, then kneel down and kowtow. The suppressed pain of leaving their hometown surged up, and many people sat under the tomb and cried.

Wen Zheng sat under the tomb of his original parents, and found that the tree that was caught on fire by the thunder was right next to him. He turned back to meet the eyes of the clan leader, and probably believed the excuse his parents gave him in his dream.

Many villagers came to see this rare lightning-struck wood, especially the legend that lightning-struck wood could scare away ghosts and break off the black branches.

It was really hard to tell the difference when it was placed together with charcoal.

None of Wen Erye's family dared to approach this place. It was probably because they were either afraid of lightning-struck wood or they were afraid to see the tombs of their original parents.

"I don't know when I can return home after this trip. Hand me the knife."

The clan leader held the knife and chose the tree that had been struck by lightning but had grown a few buds, and carved words on the tree with the knife.

They wrote on the tree how the villagers of Fengnan Village left their hometown, and took the villagers to say goodbye to their ancestors again. From then on, they set out on the road away from their hometown, looking forward to the day they could return.