mtl008 Chapter 256: Salt Lake Trip
Chapter 256: Salt Lake Trip
A big crucian carp was added to the wooden barrel, weighing about four or five pounds, and it alone took up nearly half of the barrel.
As she was talking, her fishing rod was hooked. She hurried to reel it in, and caught a big grass carp.
They spent the whole afternoon fishing.
Located deep in the rolling mountains, there are many fish in the lake and they are easy to catch. In a few hours, I caught four buckets of more than twenty fish.
In the evening, Han Zhibai went to collect the fish cages. There were two cages in total, both were full and felt heavy in his hands.
When she saw it, she exclaimed, “There are so many. I’ll go find a big wooden tub.”
He ran to find two large wooden basins, and he carried the fish cage and slowly poured out all kinds of fish, as well as river shrimps, clams and mussels mixed together.
She squatted by the side and watched. It was not surprising that there were so many fish in the lake. The main thing was that the shrimps jumping around in the basin were quite big, one or two times bigger than those in the valley.
There were too many fish to eat, so they poured some back into the lake and boiled a pot of river shrimp for dinner. When they got tired of grilled fish, they sliced it into spicy fish fillets and also made a dish of fish balls and wild vegetable soup.
After a hearty meal, I washed up early and went to bed.
After resting for a few hours, the wild buffalo recovered some strength and started to make a fuss again. Xia Qingyue was in a daze and didn't pay any attention to it. Han Zhibai was worried that the buffalo's roar would attract the ferocious beasts in the mountains, so he went outside to watch.
All night without incident.
For the next two days, they stayed camped by the lake. They had plenty of free time, so they could either go fishing and catch the fish again, enjoying the leisurely pace without asking for anything in return, or go hunting in the nearby mountains and catch wild ducks near the lush aquatic plants.
During this process, the three sheep were completely tamed. As soon as they saw Han Zhibai and Xia Qingyue, they became very friendly and took the initiative to rub against them.
After two days of hunger, the bison softened their attitude, especially the cow, which mooed and looked very pitiful. Considering that it was pregnant, they fed it grass in small amounts and multiple times.
The cow that had eaten the grass was no longer anxious. After eating, it lay down obediently. When it saw them bringing food, it did not roar or cry out.
Seeing that the cow's condition was getting better and better, the bull also changed and stopped making noise, but there was still vigilance in his eyes when he looked at them.
They stayed at the lake for three days, and on the fourth day, early in the morning, after breakfast, they set out on their journey.
Han Zhibai said that the salt lake was not far away and it should be reachable in three days' walk.
Six days later, they arrived near the salt lake. It rained for three days on the way, so they had to stop to rest and wait until the weather cleared before setting off again.
At this moment, they stood on the mountainside and looked down, taking in the scenery below.
The salt lake is located in the mountains and covers a large area. The turquoise water and the blue sky complement each other. The wind blows ripples on the water surface and the white salt crystals underneath are clearly visible. There are few green plants around it, and it is a large sand dune, which looks majestic from a distance.
It is like a piece of jade isolated from the world in the deep mountains, clear and tranquil, quietly and fully displaying its beauty.
Xia Qingyue was immersed in the magnificent scene before her.
Han Zhibai has been here several times, and every time he comes to see it, he is still fascinated by it.
After watching for a while, they went down the mountain and headed towards the salt lake, and finally decided to camp at the foot of the mountain, not far from the salt lake.
After setting up camp, they took the two little ones and couldn't wait to go to the salt lake. Being closer, they could feel its beauty more intuitively.
There are thick white salt grains under your feet, which look hard but are actually soft. Walking on it is like walking on the clouds. The lake in front of you is like an ethereal mirror, reflecting the sky. The sky and the earth are the same color, making it difficult to tell whether it is reality or an illusion.
At this moment, time seemed to stand still, and their exhausted bodies and minds found a place to rest. They put down everything and enjoyed themselves.
The two of them held hands and strolled around the garden enjoying the beautiful scenery, while Heihei and Xiaobai followed them while playing.
Rest overnight.
The next morning, they got up early, set up two large iron pots, found dry firewood, and prepared to filter the lake salt. They had to pass through this place on this trip, so they didn't bring much salt with them, and most of the salt in their home was given to the Li family.
They planned to filter more salt here and bring it to Wei Hai, to prepare at least enough for three years.
Han Zhibai had experience in getting salt crystals, so he got some and brought them back to the base.
Xia Qingyue added water and heated it to filter out clean salt without impurities.
The whole process was extremely time-consuming and consumed a lot of firewood. They worked until dark and filtered out enough salt to last for three years.
It is best to dry the salt in the sun, so the next day, they spread the salt out to dry and decided to stay here for another day.
The main reason was that the scenery was so beautiful that Xia Qingyue was reluctant to leave so soon.
After a day of great fun, we were exhausted. The salt was dried and turned snow-white and as fine as sand.
In the evening, they prepare dinner before it gets dark and go to bed early after dinner.
After a few days, the two bison became obedient. They could be led by a rope and there was no need to whip them with branches. After all, if they were disobedient, they would have to be fed with muscle-softening powder and starved for a few days.
In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-to-late April. The two had been away from home for half a month. During the days when Xia Qingyue had her period, she walked a shorter distance because she was too tired to bear it.
After leaving the salt lake, they visited many other places marked on the map, including the cliff waterfall to watch the sunset, Crescent Bay to see the night view, and the karst caves in Chengjing Mountain, and enjoyed the unique beauty of each place along the way.
At the same time, they used maps to avoid dangerous places where wolves and ferocious beasts roamed, and had a smooth journey.
At the beginning of May, when the overall journey was more than halfway completed, they arrived at the junction of Yunzhou and Wuzhou.
Yunzhou is surrounded by mountains, and there are countless snakes, rats, insects and ants in the mountains. There is fog all year round. Apart from these bad things, there are more herbs and wild fruits in the mountains than Xia Qingyue could have imagined.
They deliberately spent a few days staying in several mountains.
In just one day, they found six ginseng plants and more than ten Ganoderma lucidum plants of different ages and types.
Like other medicines that are scarce and expensive in Xiangzhou, they can be easily found here with a little effort.
Han Zhibai had been collecting medicinal herbs along the way, but he had not collected many before. When he came here, he found a lot of the herbs he wanted.
He focused on collecting medicinal herbs, while she enjoyed picking mushrooms, looking for wild fruits and hunting.
The two of them stayed here happily for a few days. They originally wanted to stay longer, but she wanted to get to Wei Hai as soon as possible to eat cherries at the end of spring, so she left with a hard heart.
Three days later, they entered Wuzhou.
Another five days passed, and they arrived at the outermost area of a forest called Beiyuan Forest.
Vines can be seen everywhere, the ground is covered with fallen leaves, the trees have lush crowns and a variety of species. Many of the trees look unfamiliar and the light inside is dim.
In the silence, there were occasional caws and unknown voices, as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at you sinisterly in the dark, giving people a weird and eerie feeling.
uuuuu-
Heihei and Xiaobai seemed to have sensed a premonition of uneasiness. They huddled on the ground fearfully, not daring to move forward.
Xia Qingyue was watching intently. Han Zhibai turned around and said to her in a very serious tone, "Qingyue, once you enter this forest, don't wander around and don't touch those things. Eat what we brought with you, and I'll get you some water..."
She was not a fool. She could see that the forest in front of her was different. She could feel that it was dozens of times more dangerous than the dense forest in Lianfeng Mountain.
"I know. I will listen to you and will never do anything wrong."
He squatted down and gave the two little ones some solemn instructions, then took out two long-sleeved shirts from his bag.
They entered the Beiyuan Forest at noon, the brightest and hottest time of the day.