Lord Highlander

  Chapter 282 281. Valley Field (Part 1)

The sulfur mines mined are full of warehouses, but the rocky area is not that big, and the rocks containing the sulfur mines are all stalagmites protruding from the solidified magmatic rocks. According to the current mining progress, the pustule mountain It doesn't seem to take too long to extract all the sulfur in the rocky area.

In the past half a month, nearly 40 villagers from Wall Village have entered the rocky area one after another, and have almost dug a small half of the stalagmites in that area. They want to hollow out all the stalagmites in the entire rocky area. It can be completed before the first snow falls after winter.

It is a lava channel formed by the solidification of a lava river. The magma in the lower reaches of the channel has completely solidified, but if you climb up the pustule mountain, you will see hot magma rolling in the channel without going too far. Here There are still some stalagmites, but this part of the stalagmites came out of the hot magma.

  The vicinity of the magma is very hot, and ordinary people can hardly get close to it, so even some sulfur mines upstream cannot be mined at present.

After discussing with the old village chief, Suerdak decided that at least until the sulfur mines in the rocky area were cleaned up, they would go to Hailansa City to sell these sulfur mines. When the news leaked out, the villagers in other surrounding villages also Flocking here, this is not the worst situation. The worst thing is that if the nobles in the city know the existence of this open-pit sulfur mine, once they submit an application for fiefdom to the city hall of Hailansa, I am afraid that the pustule mountain will To become the territory of a nobleman.

   It is related to whether Wall Village can get rid of poverty. Uncle Brett has repeatedly warned the villagers not to let this secret out.

  …

  I heard that there was a group of bandits fleeing into the mountain, preparing to rob the autumn grains of various villages. The old village chief, Uncle Brett, had been running around for several days to form a guard patrol team.

  For the mountain people in the barren land of Paglos Mountain, the autumn harvest is almost the main ration for the next half a year.

  In the cold winter and dry spring, it is almost impossible to get any food. If you want to get food that can fill your stomach, at least you have to wait until the rainy season comes.

  The wheat in the village has almost been harvested, the grain field is full of wheat stacks, and some wheat stacks are also piled up in the wheat fields on both sides of the ravine.

After the men who dug the hole in the pustule mountain came back, everyone began to plan to go into the mountain pass to collect some chestnuts. Most of the mountains inside the mountain pass are the territory of the Hailansa nobles. In addition to some oak trees, there are also There are some pines, hazels, chestnuts, and a great variety.

  Of course, if someone blatantly walks into the territory of a nobleman's house to pick chestnuts and is discovered by the guards patrolling the forest, his leg will be broken.

After living in the barren land for so many years, the villagers have already found some survival rules. For example, although they cannot enter the noble territory to pick chestnuts, they can pick chestnuts in the forest belt at the junction of the two noble territories. The division of territories between the nobles is almost always calculated according to the top of the mountain, so the boundaries between the territories are not clear. In order to avoid unnecessary disputes, the nobles usually reserve a public forest belt of about 100 meters at the junction of the territories. .

  The villagers living in the barren land outside the mountain pass go to those mountains in groups every autumn to pick chestnuts in the public forest belt, and of course some other mountain products, such as hazelnuts and mushrooms.

  In the public forest belt, you can pick up anything, but the nobles have three requirements for these disheveled mountain people: first, they are not allowed to hunt, second, they are not allowed to cut down trees, and third, they are not allowed to pick acorns.

Although there are few monsters in the forest, some wild boars, bobcats, and lynxes can still be seen frequently, and occasionally black bears can be seen. Women and children usually dare not enter the forest rashly. After the men in the village came back, Everyone started to discuss how to go to those public forest belts to pick chestnuts, because there are more than a dozen natural villages around, and everyone will go into the mountains, so it is very important to seize those public forest belts with rich products.

Only the most experienced hunters know where there are the most chestnut trees. In the past, the old village head, Uncle Brett, took the lead in this matter, but this year, Uncle Brett will discuss with other village chiefs about gradually guarding the patrol team, so this year The matter of leading the men into the mountains to pick chestnuts and mushrooms fell on Charlie and Luke, two young men. They had learned from the old village head for these years, and they also had their own understanding of the forest.

What the old village head has to deal with is the other village heads. Now that the autumn harvest is coming, it is the time when labor is needed everywhere. The village heads of each village have their own ideas in their hearts. It's hard to do patrol well.

Although Suldak also wanted to go into the mountains with Rita and Natasha, and it was a rare opportunity to take a walk in the mountains in this crisp autumn weather, but the old village chief proposed to let Suldak stay in the mountains. The purpose is to find Suldak in time if there is news of the bandit group.

  With him, it is possible to deal with the bandit group for a while, and then take the opportunity to report to the guard battalion of Hailansa City.

  So... As long as the children in Wall Village can carry a basket, they all go into the mountains with the adults. Only a group of old people who have difficulty walking are left in the village. They have to stay at home to take care of some younger children.

On the grain field, Suldak is leading two horses and pulling a big stone mill, pressing the ears of wheat on the ground. It looks round like a big golden blanket. Little Peter Running happily behind Suldak, old Sheila was always worried that little Peter would be kicked by the horse, and she tried to dissuade him while carefully caring behind him, but little Peter didn't listen at all.

  Old Sheila dragged the reluctant little Peter away, and she also wanted to prepare lunch.

   Near noon, a few old people in the valley field threw the wheat ears scattered on the ground into the golden blanket, and then went home to have lunch, and came back to pick the wheat on the valley field in the afternoon.

Only Surdak and Selina, who was holding a sheepskin book, were left on the valley floor. She was responsible for counting the stacks of wheat. Only Selena knows who the stack belongs to.

  Suldak led the two horses to the stone trough on the edge of the valley, unloaded the rope from the stone roller, and let the two horses drink some water and eat some grass.

  Selena leaned against the edge of the wheat stack, and she was also busy all morning.

  In autumn, it is usually cool in the morning and evening. Selena also put on a yellow wool sweater over the linen shirt, and a long linen skirt on her lower body, sitting against the stack of wheat.

  At noon, the glare of the sun was shining on the valley field, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose. The sun made Selena's fair face flushed, and she wiped off the sweat from her forehead and temples with a silk handkerchief...

  (end of this chapter)