20demayo Chapter 81 South of the Tiankeng
Chapter 81 South of the Tiankeng
Xia Qingyue was worried about these problems.
Currently, the water she and her poultry use comes from the river. If the supply is interrupted, they will be cut off from water and will have to find a new water source.
However, it is not easy to find water during the hot and dry season.
There is no other way but to look for water sources around where I live.
What worries her even more is the group called “Guan Jianshan”.
Today she witnessed with her own eyes how this group of men easily killed Liuzi and others.
During the fight, Liuzi and his men were killed instantly, while those men were very skilled, with their moves being well-measured, and it was obvious that they had received special training.
Chen Yuzhen patted her chest and took a sip of water, with drops of sweat dripping down her forehead. "Now when I think back to the way those men killed people, I get really nervous. Their eyes were scary, a bit like Liu the Butcher in the village, but even more vicious!"
Xia Qingyue had the same feeling.
She thought that it was not the looks of those men that were scary, but that they often killed people or something, and had seen blood all the time, which naturally gave their behavior a ferocious and terrifying aura.
"That group of people is more terrifying than the bandits in Tianlang Village. Aunt, you must tell uncle to be extra careful!"
I often walk by the river, so how can I not wet my shoes?
Guan Jianshan recruited these people just to compete with Tianlang Village for territory. It just depends on when the fight will break out.
At that time, there will surely be a fierce battle on the riverside, and countless lives will be lost.
Thinking of this, Xia Qingyue frowned. Why did the drought happen at this time? If the water problem could be solved, it would be great for her to stay in the tiankeng!
"Qingyue, after lunch I'll take you to the agreed place for delivering water. Luckily I brought back several buckets of water today, so you can take three buckets back.
I will think of a way to get some water in the next two days. You should come out once every two days and we will meet at the agreed place. "
"Aunt, that group of people are under control at the riverside and there are patrols. Don't take any risks."
Chen Yuzhen smiled and said, "I know this. I won't act tough. If I see the situation is not right, I will slip away. Don't worry."
Near noon, Chen Yuzhen cordially invited Xia Qingyue to stay for lunch. She steamed six dried fish, some river shrimps and clams, and boiled some sorrel in water.
The staple food is three sweet potatoes and some potatoes from the kang.
Chen Yuzhen and her husband had eaten until only this little bit of potato was left.
Just like last time, we cooked the food in the cave outside first, and then moved the table to the open-air cave to eat.
I didn’t cook any dishes that produce a lot of smoke today, so there was relatively little smoke.
"Qingyue, eat quickly, Heihei has already eaten."
Heihei sat by the table and ate the food in his bowl: two steamed dried fish, some shrimps and potatoes.
Xia Qingyue smiled and nodded, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
Although the food was simple and tasteless, it was the best food Chen Yuzhen had ever taken out to entertain them.
After lunch, Xia Qingyue rushed to wash the dishes.
Pour the washing water into a wooden bucket and save it for watering the vegetables.
Taking advantage of the bright sun at noon and the few people outside, Xia Qingyue said she wanted to go back.
Chen Yuzhen took out three buckets of water and asked Xia Qingyue to take them back.
"Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I might as well go outside and look for some wild vegetables or something. Come on, Qingyue." Chen Yuzhen picked up two buckets of water and walked in front.
During the walk, Chen Yuzhen did not find any wild vegetables. She was not discouraged. Instead, she smiled and said, "There is no water here. It's very hard to find a small handful. It's good enough for a meal."
Her optimism made Xia Qingyue think that they were somewhat similar in this respect.
"Aunt, the filter bucket needs to be replaced every seven or eight days. That means you need to pour out the contents and replace them with new ones, and wash the wooden bucket."
If it is not cleaned for a long time, there will be water stains, which will easily breed bacteria.
Chen Yuzhen took note of it carefully, and she expressed her gratitude sincerely: "This filter bucket is really useful, Qingyue, thanks to you, we can drink clean water without sand.
"No, it's mutual."
You are good to me, I can feel it, and I also repay you to a certain extent.
In Xia Qingyue's opinion, what is a saintly person? It is the kind of person who, knowing that the other party intends to harm her or has harmed her, turns a blind eye and forgives her without any bottom line; and the kind of person who, even if she meets an unfamiliar or stranger person and does not know the other party's background clearly, helps the other person regardless of her own safety.
The two smiled at each other, not noticing that the black eyes on the side were staring straight at the woods opposite, his tail wagging wildly, and his front paws were ready to move, as if he was about to lift them up and run over.
"Heihei, what's wrong with you?"
Xia Qingyue noticed that Heihei seemed a little excited. She frowned like a serious parent and said, "Did you find prey again? You are not allowed to chase after it!"
"Mmmmm!" Heihei smiled and acted coquettishly.
She shook her head, unmoved.
Chen Yuzhen, on the other hand, found it strange and laughed out loud, "Heihei, you are really a clever ghost, as smart as a child."
His black ears moved, and his gaze towards the forest seemed to be looking through autumn water. An anxious sound came out of his mouth, as if the thing he loved was getting farther and farther away from him.
"Let's go. You are not allowed to look anymore." Xia Qingyue pressed Heihei's head and walked forward.
After parting with Chen Yuzhen, Xia Qingyue concentrated on getting on with her journey and rushed back to the tiankeng as quickly as possible.
What happened today gave her a strong sense of crisis.
She sat at the dining table, her fingers tangled in her hair, her elbows resting on the table, racking her brains to think, and suddenly remembered that Xia Dasong had said before that there was a river to the south of the sinkhole, but it was very dangerous there.
She hasn't been there yet, so she decided to go there tomorrow to take a look.
Her staple food at noon was still potato taters, fried shredded young pumpkin, green peppers, eggs and dried water celery.
There is so much bacon, but it’s a pity there is no water to wash it.
Having no water is really a very distressing thing!
After dinner, she took a nap and woke up at around three o'clock. Since she had nothing to do, she continued to work with the bamboo and made two more and put them in the utility room.
In the evening, I cooked some millet porridge and gave a little to the chicks, the hen, and the mother rabbit who had just given birth.
The dishes were those stored in the cellar, stir-fried loofah with dried shrimp, and stir-fried gourd with green pepper.
After eating, I took a walk to digest the food, exercised for more than an hour at night, took a shower and went to bed.
At around five o'clock the next day, after having breakfast and getting ready, Xia Qingyue headed towards the south of the tiankeng, walking in the woods.
There were tall trees inside, and it was early morning, so it was dark and eerie, and a little chilly. She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms as she walked.
As we went deeper, the smell of damp and decay became stronger and stronger.
As she walked, Heihei stood in front of her, and his solemn expression seemed a little nervous.
Guessing that Heihei must have discovered something dangerous, she calmed down and listened around her. She heard bursts of snoring coming from her left hand side.
Judging from the sound, it was made by an animal. The sound was quite loud. Heihei had a strong sense of smell and hearing. It discovered it here, but she didn't see it, which meant that the sound was so loud even though it was separated by a distance.
Moreover, she noticed that there were no other living creatures around except them, not even a bird or an insect.
It was eerily quiet.
Her expression changed slightly. Oh no! Could it be that she had encountered some large and ferocious beasts like tigers, leopards, or blind bears?