Chapter 9 Going down the mountain

Xiaowangzhuang belongs to Nanyang Prefecture and is located on the boundary of Fangcheng Mountain in the northeast of Nanyang Prefecture. To the north is Ye County, to the south is Yuzhou, and to the south is Nanyang. It should probably be under the jurisdiction of Yuzhou. However, in today's world, in Henan, the government has almost completely lost control of the villages and towns under its rule. No one may even remember the villages and towns like Xiaowangzhuang, which are located on the edge of the mountains.

Fangcheng Mountain stretches for dozens of miles, running east-west, just between Ye County and Yuzhou. Xiaowangzhuang is at the east end of Fangcheng Mountain.

The world is not good, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters. Even a big city like Luoyang was captured by bandits, which shows how corrupt Henan has become. The people of Xiaowangzhuang originally thought that they could avoid man-made disasters due to its remote location, but they did not expect to be completely destroyed.

Ying Yi abandoned the ruins of Xiaowangzhuang with more than ten people who were lucky enough to survive, entered Fangcheng Mountain, and settled in the valley. Asking others to clean up the cave as a temporary residence, he took Er Niu out to the other end of the valley, walked along a dried up mountain stream for about three or four miles, and came to the foot of a sloping cliff.

This sloping cliff is only twenty to thirty meters long and more than ten meters high. It is located on one side of the mountain stream. From a distance, it looks gray and bare. Walking closer, Ying Yi used a simple knife as if cutting tofu, and cut off a piece of stone, revealing the green and yellow colors inside.

"Is this a salt cliff?"

Er Niu twisted some powder and put it in his mouth to taste it. He heard it was salty and astringent. He exclaimed in surprise: "It is indeed salt!"

As soon as the cry started, several deer started running away from the salt cliff.

"Of course it's salt." Ying Yi took a look, not paying attention to the deer, and said with a sword: "This salt cliff is just a small part of the ground. If all of them are mined, I don't know how much green salt can be produced. . When I found out earlier, I had thought about making profits for Xiaowangzhuang, but I was afraid that it would be a crime and others would covet it, so I suppressed it. "

As he spoke, Ying Yi pointed over there: "There is a salt pool behind that big stone. If you scoop out the water in it and expose it to the sun, you can produce refined salt. Wild animals in the mountains often come here to eat salt. Although I drive We walked a lot of wild animals, but it’s not safe here. Be careful when picking up salt in the future.”

Erniu had been in a state of surprise. After listening to Ying Yi's words, although he didn't quite understand why he was guilty of harboring a treasure, he vaguely felt that if Xiaowangzhuang could really produce salt in large quantities, it might not be a good thing.

The two of them walked around the salt cliff and looked back and forth. Erniu said: "The salt pool is almost dry. If God doesn't rain again, it will dry up in half a month."

Ying Yi nodded, picked up a piece of salt stone, and the two of them walked back, saying as they walked: "It doesn't matter if the salt pool is dry. The salt cliff is soft and a wooden stick can easily knock off a few pieces. Take it back and crush it. Dissolve it in water, filter it with linen cloth a few times, and then dry it in the sun. The same goes for it. I will demonstrate the steps when I get back, and I will just follow it from now on. "

The two returned to the valley. Fourth Wife Wang and the others had tidied up the cave a little, making it barely habitable. After all, it was cold and cold in the cave. Fortunately, the bandits who raided the village only took away food and property, such as clothes and quilts, which they didn't look down on. I brought some with me when I went into the mountains earlier.

Sister-in-law Wang Si said: "I don't have enough to bring. I have to go back to the village when I have time."

"Don't be impatient for now, it's too chaotic outside." Ying Yi said, "We'll talk about it when I come back next time."

Hearing Ying Yi's words, Fourth Sister-in-law and Er Niu were stunned.

"Brother Ying, are you still going out?"

Ying Yi nodded: "I would feel uneasy if I didn't kill a tiger. Sun Xiucai is still waiting for me in Ye County."

Ying Yi told everyone about Sun Xiucai yesterday. But I didn't expect Ying Yi to be so anxious. He was about to leave before settling down here, which made Er Niu and others feel a little uneasy.

Having just experienced a disaster, it was a time of panic. It was Ying Yi who gave them a sense of security, but now they had to leave.

Ying Yi slammed the plain knife on the ground and said: "I will keep the knife and sharpen it for self-defense. This is a deep mountain and old forest. I don't think the bandits have the ability to find it here. I don't know when I go there." When can I come back, but it will only take a few months. The intruders are besieging Kaifeng. That beast is the nephew of the intruders. He has a name and a surname. He will not escape after all. Wait until I kill him and come back with his head. , to pay homage to the villagers."

Erniu and others were silent after hearing this.

Although it has been a few days since the disaster, and everyone deliberately does not think about it, the hatred in their hearts cannot be concealed. When I talk about it now, I grit my teeth.

Ying Yi said: "Don't think too much about it. I made an oath to kill that beast, and it will definitely come true."

Later, Ying Yi also taught me how to filter the salt. It was not complicated, and you would know how to do it after just one look. It’s just that it’s never been done before, and many people don’t know where salt comes from. Now that you know it, it's easy.

"You guys can live here with peace of mind. It's still April, so plant more food if you can. There are wild animals in the mountains. You grown men should be careful and don't escape from the knife of the bandits only to be killed by the wild animals." have eaten."

After some instructions, Ying Yi prepared to leave.

Erniu said: "Brother Ying, you'd better bring the sword with you. You're fighting a tiger, so bring it with you for self-defense."

Ying Yi shook his head: "It's not bad."

The fourth sister-in-law said: "Brother Ying, I think you can't do many things by yourself, and Sun Xiucai is not diligent. Why don't you let Er Niu come with you, so that you can get started."

Others also tried to persuade him.

When Er Niu heard this, he immediately became energetic: "Yes, yes, brother Ying, let me go with you. I also want to kill the thief and take revenge!"

In the end, Ying Yi did not refuse, took some dry food, left the valley with Er Niu, and went down the mountain.

After leaving Fangcheng Mountain, the sky was gradually getting dark. When he arrived at Xiaowangzhuang, Ying Yi saw fresh horse hoof prints and couldn't help feeling a little lucky.

Erniu was also shocked and said: "There are so many horse hoof prints, more than last time."

Ying Yi looked around for a while and said, "I'm afraid someone chased us here not long after we entered the mountain. It seems that a tiger is not an idiot, and his brain is quite flexible. He thought of Xiaowangzhuang so quickly."

"It's a tiger?!" Erniu said in surprise.

"It must be him. If not him, who would come to this corner?" Ying Yi said: "I will rest in the village tonight and go to Ye County early tomorrow morning. If I can get ahead of a tiger, I will find an opportunity to kill it. he."

"Yeah!" Erniu nodded fiercely.

Early the next morning, as soon as it was bright, the two set off.

It is several dozen miles from Xiaowangzhuang to Ye County. With Ying Yi's pace, dozens of miles are nothing. But Erniu cannot. Ying Yi regretted bringing Er Niu with him. If it was just him, it would take at most one hour to reach Ye County. But with two oxen, it would take a day to drive slowly and quickly.