In the mountains and forests in late autumn, there is still fog in the morning.
The half-dead leaves and vines are like cold poisonous snakes, which occasionally stick to the body, making people feel panicked.
Everyone in Qingshui Village silently pulled sledges, carried burdens, and pushed wheelbarrows through the mountains and forests.
I was full of confidence at the beginning, but after three days of arduous trek, there was not much left.
This trip to the mountains was completely different from the one in Jin'an County.
The two mountains next to Jin'an County are not high. People cut firewood or collect herbs and mushrooms and wild vegetables every day, and they have already walked on simple trails.
But the mountains and forests we passed through this time were deep mountains and old forests with few traces of human habitation.
Almost everyone has to open a path as far as they go.
The ground beneath our feet is mud filled with rotten leaves accumulated over the years, and we are surrounded by old trees growing wildly and vines swaying everywhere.
Even the flying birds are much bolder than outside. They will occasionally follow the team to fly far away, just to watch the excitement for a while.
Last night, Li Laosi had discussed it with the young people in the village.
Every hour, two people are assigned to use hatchets and sickles to clear the way, cut down annoying vines and wormwood, and scare away insects, snakes and small beasts in the grass.
I would rather walk less miles a day, but also ensure the safety of young and old.
After three days in the mountains, everyone only walked out of two mountains.
Suddenly I remembered that I had to cross forty mountains in one month. Was it a little too natural?
But no one wants to think deeply about it, after all, they have already entered.
There is no turning back when the bow is drawn!
In order to find something to do for themselves and relieve the boredom and fatigue of the journey, the villagers started gossiping and teasing their children.
Eventually it evolved into a whole village teaching children to speak.
And the main target is...good news!
The reason was that yesterday, Jiayin was afraid that her mother would be too tired to carry her, so she crawled into Uncle Zhao's arms and rode the sledge in the car.
Uncle Zhao loved children the most. He held Jiayin and taught her to recognize the weeds and flowers on the roadside.
The good news is a bit wilted, the journey is really boring and hard.
Uncle Zhao was worried and shouted loudly to Mrs. Li and Tao Hongying who were walking behind.
"Fu Niu is already over a year old, why doesn't she speak? I remember that the dog in the front yard was already talking smoothly when she was one year old."
Mrs. Li and Tao Hongying were a little anxious when they heard this.
Almost as soon as Jiayin's first birthday, the family began to rush to collect goods and run for their lives.
Occasionally, Jiayin would call her "Mistress" or "Daddy" or say she was hungry.
None of them took it seriously. Could it be that there was something wrong with the child and he was delayed?
So, during the lunch break, Dr. Zhang was invited to examine Jiayin.
But after some tossing, the old man came to a conclusion.
"There's nothing wrong with this kid, he's just... too lazy. Please teach her more and tease her more."
Jiayin's little thoughts were exposed like this. She was indeed a little lazy.
A child's tongue and throat are not fully developed, so she is too lazy to parrot every day or correct her over and over again.
It's not too late to wait until it's fully developed before starting to talk.
But her family didn't think so, for fear that she would become mute in the future.
So the whole family, and even the whole village, whenever they had free time, all they could think about was teaching her to speak.
"Sister, call me brother!"
"Fu Niu, call me uncle!"
"Fu Niu, call me uncle!"
After a hard lunch break that day, Jiayin was full and a little drowsy, so she dozed off in Uncle Zhao's arms.
But a man came over to return the bowl, shaking her little hand and shouting angrily.
"Fu Niu, call me uncle, uncle!"
Jiayin got angry and responded loudly, "Hey!"
The man didn't react and was still saying, "No, it's uncle, uncle!"
"Hey!" Jiayin responded clearly again.
The man blinked twice and finally felt something was wrong.
But everyone around him was already laughing so much that they wanted to roll on the floor!
Uncle Zhao even hugged Jiayin, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.
"This girl, haha, hahaha, there must be nothing wrong with her. This girl is really smart!"
The man scratched the back of his head and realized later that he had been taken advantage of by the little girl.
He wasn't angry either, he smiled honestly and helplessly.
Mrs. Li stepped forward and hugged her granddaughter. She wiped the tears from her eyes and scolded her, "Why are you teasing your strong uncle? You call me uncle."
Jiayin reluctantly called out, "Uncle!"
It was her turn. Da Zhuang was surprised, "Oh, Fu Niu understands!"
"Of course!" Old Mrs. Li was so proud that she shared her usual clever deeds with everyone in popularizing science. On the basis of her grand daughter being blessed, she added another Smart persona.
Jiayin was helpless. In order not to lose her character, she could only start to learn to speak diligently, and struggled with the unruly tongue and throat...
So, on the way forward, in addition to the people near the Li family's sledge who taught a few words from time to time, Li The second child also began to take his niece and other children with him, endorsing the book while walking.
"At the beginning of human life, nature is good..."
The sound of reading aloud made everyone forget the fatigue and hardship at their feet, and also added a bit of life to the bleak and even gloomy mountain forest.
Everyone was very lucky today. In the evening, we happened to walk to a clearing in the mountains. There was spring water flowing through the grass, forming a two-step wide stream.
The crowd almost cheered and quickly set up camp.
After going out to escape for so many days, everyone has become accustomed to it, and their cooperation is extremely tacit.
The old people gathered their children and placed their sledges and luggage to form a circle ten feet in diameter.
The young men quickly cut back the dead grass, chopped back branches as thick as their arms, and collected large piles of dry firewood.
Withered grass was spread in circles, branches were erected, and covered with linoleum to build a simple shack.
The shack is covered with quilts, and it becomes the territory of the little babies.
Including Jiayin, there are only eight children under the age of five in the village, and now they are the treasure of the whole village.
Every time it was time to take a break, Uncle Wei and Uncle Wang would stand by and watch without blinking.
After all, the dolls are too small, and they may be bitten by a bug brought back from a branch, which makes the children cry.
Uncle Zhao, on the other hand, was carried by Jia Yi, followed by Li Laosi and Liu Biaotou, taking Liu Yang and other young men in the village to check the terrain nearby and identify the traces of wild animals.
It would be even better if we could hunt down pheasants and rabbits along the way.
The young boys learned it seriously. If they didn't have bows and arrows, they would use big slingshots.
Occasionally, if you are lucky enough to catch a pheasant, you will be as happy as the Chinese New Year. Among the friends, you can be proud enough to hold your head high for three to five days.
Doctor Zhang's medicinal powder is very powerful. Liu Biaotou and Liu Yang both suffered from external injuries and have almost recovered in the past few days.
The women in the village originally thought that Mrs. Liu would be difficult to get along with. After all, the Liu family lived a much more prosperous life than everyone else.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Liu spoke gently and softly, and was quieter and more polite than Zhao Yuru.
Everyone was happy and took her to cook together, dig wild vegetables, and pick mushrooms together, and they quickly became familiar with her.
The little dolls in the shack got into a fight over two wooden trinkets.
Jiayin didn't pay attention and almost got scratched in the face, so she quickly fled the scene.
She shouted loudly, "Milk, breast, hug, hug!"
Sure enough, Mrs. Li ran over quickly.
Hearing that her granddaughter was almost scratched, Mrs. Li felt distressed and carried her granddaughter on her back. Then she picked up a basket and took her to pick mushrooms.
This is very much in line with Jiayin's wishes!