he had planned to stockpile food, but household chores kept piling up, so she never got around to it. Today, taking advantage of some free time, she quickly gave the order.The Marquis went into the ci...He was also bold and daring, jumping from such a high place.

This startled Madam Liu in the team, who cried out in alarm, fearing he would be broken.

The women around couldn't help but laugh, Madam Liu blushed and hurried a few steps away.

For a moment, everyone gathered at the foot of the cave.

Liu, the鏢頭, bowed to the crowd with a smile and introduced everyone.

"I've checked out all these caves and given them a quick clean. Perhaps because they are high up, no wild animals have come in to settle, there's only some bird droppings. The downside is that the wind is strong near the entrance. If we want to stay here, we'll probably need to block the opening."

The village head nodded repeatedly with joy, "You've done well to find such a good place. It's tailor-made for us! Now we won't have to worry about freezing in the winter anymore!"

Uncle Zhao and the others were also delighted, "These several caves should be enough for us to live in. Head Liu, tell us how big each one is and how many people it can accommodate. Let's quickly settle our belongings; we still have a pile of work to do."

The Liu, the鏢 head, started counting from left to right, “The first and second are about the same size, each can accommodate twelve or thirteen people. The third is the largest, able to house over thirty people. The fourth is slightly smaller, but six or seven people have no problem. The fifth is around twenty people, and the sixth is also about ten or so.”

All the villagers were looking up at the cave, from the outside it looked about the same, there was no real difference in quality or direction.

The village head pondered for a moment and then said, “Li Jia’s eldest daughter, your family has twelve or thirteen members, wouldn't it be good to live in the first house on the left”

Li Laotai, carrying her granddaughter, was also pondering this matter. The whole family living in one mountain cave, separated from outsiders, would make everything more convenient.

The village head said this, which coincided with her thoughts. So she replied, "Alright, thank you, village head. We'll stay here."

The village head pointed to the second cave, “That one next to Old Fourth’s family. My wife and I, Lao Zhao, six of us, Zhang the doctor, and…”

He hesitated for a moment, then pointed at Liu Biao's family of three.

"How is Liu's family doing If anything comes up, feel free to discuss it!"

"Alright, then the three of us will live with the old men."

Liu Biatou's family was most familiar with the Li family, and they couldn't fit into a single cave. It was better to live closer together.

There were still four caves left, and the village head just threw them to everyone. "You guys figure out your own groups, just remember to stick together through thick and thin. Don't settle down, gather together, and then bicker over trivial matters all day long."

"Don't worry, village head. There isn't anyone here who would be so foolish." The villagers all agreed.

After rushing about for nearly a month, they had both physically and mentally reached the brink of collapse.

Everyone was extremely eager to settle down and make a match, wasting no time.

But the problem that lay before them was, the entrance was too high up, how were they to get up there

The village head, holding his pipe bowl aloft, bellowed, "You bunch of idiots! You think it's a bad thing that the cave entrance is high up It takes effort to climb up there for you lot, and it's just as difficult for the beasts! Even if a thief came along, it wouldn't be easy! So sleeping on top is the safest option. You won't even need to keep watch at night!"

The villagers blushed and quickly nodded, "Uncle, we know this cave is good, but... how do we climb up, how do we get in and out"

Still, Liu Biao laughed heartily, solving the mystery for everyone.

"This is easy, everyone find some vines and weave a soft ladder, I'll go up and tie it for you. Send the elderly and children up first, afterwards, we can use willow baskets to haul water and move things up and down!"

"Oh, that's a good way to do it."

"I'm going to cut the vines now!"

"Together, together!"

The villagers were always hardworking and never shied away from labor, but they were accustomed to following orders and lacked flexibility in thinking.

Once an idea came, he started to get busy.

The women were not idle either. They left their children with the elders to look after and hurried off to cut hay, leaving it aside for bedding later.

... still chopping wood and preparing to cook, just as busy as ever.

Soon, the bamboo ladder was woven one by one. Liu Biaotou took a few steps back, leaped up almost ten feet high with a flying leap, and then grabbed onto the protruding stones on the mountain cliff. After several jumps, he jumped into the cave.

Once the rope ladder was secured, the men scrambled up eagerly, followed by those who had descended on the willow baskets. Then they pulled in the elderly and children.

As the women were thinking they would have to come and go often, they tried climbing the soft ladder themselves.

As a result, he hung in mid-air, screaming, then fell after only a few feet, looking utterly foolish.

For a time, the canyon echoed with a lively uproar.

The village head and Uncle Zhao and the others were all grinning, watching with amusement. The anxiety and unease that had been weighing on their hearts finally dissipated for the most part.

After a whole day of busy work, when the sky turned dark, families finally calmed down a little.

Li's cave had been tidied up by the diligent Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru, clean and free of even a single stone fragment.

This cave is about the size of two rooms, divided into inner and outer parts.

The thickest layer of dried grass was placed closest to the cave wall, covered with oilcloth, and then bedding.

This is the sleeping arrangement of Grandma Li, her daughter-in-law, Jia Yin, and her grandsons, Jia Xi and Jia An.

Later, the middle area was separated by bamboo curtains. Outside that were Li Lao Er, Li Lao San, Li Lao Si, and Jia Ren and their brothers' positions.

Further out, there are seven or eight steps away is the cave. Here, at this place, the family is preparing to build a dirt stove. It's too cold in winter, so they will burn fire inside the cave to cook.

This way, it also warms the cave and avoids going up and down.

Lao Li tidied up the packages and baskets in the house, while Jia Yin followed behind, occasionally making small movements.

For example, fill the bags with sorghum, the baskets with sweet potatoes, and the jars with rice...

Originally on the road, everyone gathered all the food together to make cooking easier.

Now that everyone lived separately, and it was inconvenient to go in and out of the caves, they divided the food again.

Li Jia's return brought only ten or so kilograms of sorghum rice and over thirty sweet potatoes.

The glutinous rice flour at home for Jiayin is running low.

Li Lao Tai spread out her clothes and socks on the bedspread, ready to air them out.

She turned back and instructed her daughter-in-law to gather plenty of mountain goods tomorrow. After all, with so many people in the family, they couldn't afford to go hungry during the winter, so they had to be quick about it.

As a result, her mouth opened and she couldn't close it.

Her sorghum sacks were so full they were about to spill over, the sweet potato baskets were almost buried by sweet potatoes, and the rice cans were overflowing...

She shuddered in fright, instinctively looking towards the entrance of the cave. Seeing no one, she let out a sigh of relief and then turned back to glare fiercely at her granddaughter.

Jia Yin leaned on the wall, walking wobbly, and finally giggled as she rushed into grandma's arms.

She was overjoyed. Finally, there were no outsiders around, so she didn't have to sneak food to her family in the middle of the night anymore. She could do whatever she wanted and eat whatever she liked!

But Old Li embraced her granddaughter and patted her bottom.

This girl is getting bolder and bolder. Before, she'd only do little things at night or find some cover. Now, in broad daylight, she just flaunts them around! What if someone saw her What then

"Put that away quickly!"

Li Lao, lowering her voice, hissed a warning in her granddaughter's ear. Jia Yin had been spanked for the first time and felt some injustice, but obediently restored the grain and sweet potatoes to their original state.

Lao Li let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing that neither daughter-in-law had noticed, she instructed them, "Go fetch firewood and draw water. Let's start cooking. Fu Niu is hungry."are of them. You two shouldn't overwork yourselves either, money can always be earned.""Got it, Mom," Tao Hongying smiled and replied, then added more dishes for her daughter, whispering "threats.""I'...