“A Yuan, leave that there. I’ll carry it later. Go help Ping’an sweep the rooms.”
“Mm, okay!”
Jin Yuan put down the bucket and picked up a broom, then went over to help Ping’an clean.
The three of them stayed busy until nearly noon.
“We forgot to bring anything to eat, and there’s nothing to eat here either.” Jin Ye blamed himself.
“Don’t worry, Second Brother. I’ll go to Auntie Liu’s house and get something.”
Before Jin Ye could respond, Jin Yuan had already run out of the courtyard.
“Who is Auntie Liu?” Meng Ping’an asked curiously.
“She lives in the northernmost of those households I pointed out earlier. Auntie Liu used to have the best relationship with Mother. After Mother passed away, she continued helping us brothers. Otherwise, we probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Whenever Jin Ye spoke about Auntie Liu, his expression became gentle, as though he respected her like his own mother.
“Then after we move here, we should often help Auntie Liu with some work and bring her some food too!”
Meng Ping’an smiled.
“Okay!”
Looking at the kind child before him, Jin Ye’s heart warmed as well.
She was clearly still a child herself, yet she was more sensible than even he was as an older brother.
When Jin Yuan returned, he was carrying six steamed buns and a large bowl of vegetables.
“Come and eat! Auntie Liu just steamed these buns. She gave me so many! Hehe.”
Jin Yuan happily handed over the basket of buns.
“You eat first. Ping’an and I will go wash our hands!”
Jin Ze and Meng Ping’an went together to wash their hands in a wooden basin.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they finished lunch.
Jin Yuan went to return the bowl and basket to Auntie Liu, while Jin Ye secured the courtyard gate before taking them into the mountains.
Jin Ye went hunting in the forest.
He was fifteen years old and had learned martial arts from his elder brother for several years. His archery skills were also quite good.
Although he couldn’t hunt large game, rabbits, roe deer, pheasants, and wild ducks were no problem for him.
Seeing that it was getting late, Jin Ye called Meng Ping’an and Jin Yuan, and the three of them headed back down the mountain together.
“Second Brother, look! I dug up a whole basket of mushrooms and bamboo shoots.”
“Ping’an, these bamboo shoots aren’t very tasty. Some of them are bitter.”
Jin Ye hesitated, not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm.
“They’re delicious! I’ll cook them for you when we get back.”
Afraid of upsetting Ping’an, Jin Ye said nothing more.
“Second Brother, what did you hunt?”
Meng Ping’an curiously looked at the basket on his back.
“I was lucky today. I caught two rabbits and a pheasant.”
Jin Ye bent down slightly so Meng Ping’an could see what was inside the basket on his back.
“Wow! The feathers on this pheasant are so beautiful. Can I keep it?”
Meng Ping’an became extremely excited when she saw the colorful pheasant.
“Sure. If Ping’an likes it, you can have it all.”
Jin Ye looked at Ping’an.
She looked almost like a little girl with how much she liked pretty things.
Jin Yuan was carrying a bundle of firewood on his back and another bundle in his hands.
“A Yuan, I’ll carry one for you! I’m really strong.”
Meng Ping’an noticed that Jin Yuan was struggling a little and offered to help.
“Okay. Thank you, Third Brother!”
Jin Yuan didn’t refuse.
He had already witnessed how strong Meng Ping’an was.
Earlier, while they were cleaning, a large stone had fallen from the courtyard wall. He had tried with all his strength to lift it and put it back, but he couldn’t move it.
Meng Ping’an, however, had lifted it effortlessly and placed it back in its original position.
It had completely stunned him at the time.
The journey down the mountain was much easier than going up.
The three of them walked for about an hour and a half and finally arrived home before dark.
“Why did you come back so late? You had me worried all day.”
Jin Ze looked at his second brother with a reproachful expression.
“We went to our house in the valley and cleaned it up, so we ended up taking a little longer.”
Jin Ye took the basket off his back and placed it on the ground, then took the firewood from Meng Ping’an.
“Go wash your hands and eat. You must be exhausted.”
Jin Ze also took the basket from Meng Ping’an’s back and the firewood from Jin Yuan.
“Thank you, Big Brother!”
“Thank you, Brother!”
“Go wash your hands.”
Jin Ze urged them on.
“Mm!”
After dinner, the four of them chatted for a while before returning to their respective rooms to sleep.
Meng Ping’an remembered what Big Brother had told them.
The village head had said that everyone should start packing these next few days and leave for the mountain valley in five days.
It seemed the situation outside was quite serious.
After entering her space, Meng Ping’an began taking inventory of everything she had stored inside.
She wrote everything down with paper and pen, then placed the list inside a wooden box on the table in her space.
She also counted the money in her money box several times.
She now had only a little over fifty taels of silver, along with a chest of gold, silver, and jewelry.
At this point, she didn’t dare take too much money outside, afraid it would cause unnecessary trouble.
As for food, she could secretly take some out and mix it into the family’s existing supplies, but she couldn’t take too much at once.
Once they entered the mountains, she could go with her three brothers to gather more mountain produce and wild game. That should help them survive for quite some time.
They could wait until spring next year and see how the situation developed.
If necessary, they could even clear some land and farm themselves.
There was so much unused land in the valley. As long as they worked hard, they wouldn’t starve.
There was also the vegetable garden at home. They needed to harvest all the vegetables over the next couple of days and later transplant some of them to the vegetable garden at their house in the valley.
At least some could be preserved as dried vegetables or pickled vegetables for the winter.
The garden was mostly filled with Chinese cabbage, radishes, and leafy greens.
The Chinese cabbage could be made into pickled cabbage or spicy pickled cabbage.
The radishes could be dried and preserved as dried radish, which was also delicious.
The leafy greens could be dried and used in stews during winter.
Meng Ping’an lay on the bed.
As she thought about everything, she gradually fell asleep.
When she woke again, it was already the next morning.
Big Brother had prepared breakfast and woke them up.
After they ate together, they began loading the grain and packing their belongings.
The vegetables could be moved into the mountains gradually later.
For now, they would move the grain and daily necessities first.
And so, the four of them went back and forth for four or five days.
Finally, they had moved everything to the mountain valley.
Only a few empty rooms and an empty cellar remained at home.
Everyone in the village had finished moving a day or two earlier than them.
Liu Family Village was now completely deserted.
After spending these days together, Meng Ping’an had met nearly everyone in the village and learned a little about each family.
There were more than a dozen households in the village.
Three families lived in the valley, and with their family included, there were fifteen households in total, with fewer than a hundred people.
There were two families that were difficult to get along with.
Jin Ze had warned Meng Ping’an that she didn’t need to bother with them. If possible, she should simply avoid them.
According to Jin Yuan, the two households belonged to a pair of brothers.
They were stingy, always trying to take advantage of others, and often did petty things like stealing chickens or dogs.
However, they had never committed any serious offenses, so the village head simply turned a blind eye.
No one in the village really bothered with the two families.
It was best to treat them like strangers.
Sure enough, before the four of them had even left the courtyard, they saw the two brothers leading several children around the various households, checking to see if they could pick up anything people had left behind.
They happened to encounter the four of them as they were about to leave.
“Oh, you haven’t finished moving yet?”
“What’s it to you? Don’t come to our house! Get lost!”
Jin Yuan was young, but he was no less fierce.
“Tch! As if I’d want to go to your house. You’re so poor your cooking pot is probably almost empty!”
The man leading the group, a man in his forties, sneered disdainfully.
“Get lost!”
Jin Ye couldn’t stand it anymore.
He stepped in front of his younger brother and shouted fiercely.
“Fine, let’s go.”
The man led a man in his thirties and four teenage boys toward the deep mountains.