书斋小说网

第 6 章（第1页）

“Wehaveenoughfoodforseveraldays，”Ayaosaidhappily。Suyuanglathesky“severaldaysisn’tenough，weneedmoreforthewinter”。WhileAyaobusiedherselfarrangingthesupplies，Suyuauroherroom。Shecarefullyclosedthedoor。Frombehherclothes，shetookoutthesmallpouchshehadcollectedfromthemountain。Insidewereseveralpoisonousplants，amongthemwasaite，abeautifulplantwithblue-purpleflowersthatcouldbefoundinmountainions。

Itsbeautywasdeceptive，Suyuanhadlearnedaboutpoisonousplantsthroughyearsofwanderingthemountains。

Whenshewaslittle，shehadfollowedNannyZhangtogatherherbs。Later，sheandAyaobeganexplthemountainsthemselves。Overtheyears，Suyuanhadlearnedwhichplantscouldcureillness，whichcouldcausesiess，andwhichshouldneverbetouchedcarelessly。Sheknewenoughtouandthatnaturedidnotdividethingsintosimplygoodandevil。Thesamemountainthatprovidedfoodcouldalsohidepoison。Thesameplantthatlookedbeautifulcouldtakealife。

Suyuancarefullyseparatedtheplantsandstoredthemaway。Shehadnoimmediateiionofusingthem。

Aftershereturothecourtyard，Ayaowasstrugglingtanotherbundleoffirewoodbehtheroof。Suyuanstaredather。"Ayao。"

"Yes?"

"Howmuchfooddowehaveleft?"

Ayaothoughtforamoment。

"Ifweeatcarefully。。。perhapstwoweeks?"

"Twoweeks?"

Ayaonodded。

Suyuanlookedtowardtheemptyerbesidethekit，thentowardtheground。

Athoughtsuddenlycrossedhermind。

"Whydontwedigacellar?"

Ayaoblinked。

"Acellar?"

"Forstfood。"

Suyuancrouchedandtouchedtheearthwithherfingers。

"Thegroundwillstaycoolerthantheroom。Wekeepvegetables，driedmeat，andotherfoodthere。Itwillalsokeepthemawayfromthesnow。"

Ayaoseyesslowlywidened。

"Thenwecouldstoremuchmore!"

"Exactly。"

Suyuanstood。

"Wellochooseadryplace。"

Thetwogirlsimmediatelybeganiingthecourtyard。Theyeventuallychoseaerhekitwherethegroundwasslightlyraisedandprotectedfromrain。

Theworkwasnoteasyastheyhadnopropertools，sotheyborrowedanoldshovelandusedwhateverequipmenttheycouldfind。Ayaodidmostofthedigging。

Suyuanhelpedwhenevershecould，thoughshehadtostopfrequentlywheneverherbodybecametired。Byevening，theirhandswerecoveredindirtbutthebeginningsofasmallcellarhadfinallyappeared。Thefollowingdaysbecamebusy，vegetableswereslicedthinlyanddriedbehthesuwassaltedandhungwherethecoldaircouldpreserveitandsomeherbsweredriedformedie。

Thefirewoodwasstackedlybehtheeavesandeverybitoffoodtheyhadgatheredfromthemountainswascarefullysorted，nothingwaswasted。

Suyuanevenbeganmakingsmallbundlesofdriedvegetablesthatcouldlaterbeaddedteorsoup。Itwastiringworkbuttheydidntplain，theyknewwhatwintermeant。Coldnights，frozenrivers。emptykitsandamotherwhosebodycouldnolongerwithstandthecoldaseasilyasothers。Ifthepalacewouldnotprepareforthem…Thentheywouldprepareforthemselves。

Thatevening，Suyuanstoodoutsidethekitandlookedattheirgrowingsupplies。

Ayaosatnearby，exhausted，rubbingheragarms。

"Miss。。。"

"Hm?"

"Doyouthinkwellsurvivethewinter?"

Suyuanlookedtowardthedistantmountains。

Afteramoment，shesmiledfaintly。

"Wewill。"

Shepaused。

"Wehaveto。"

Thewindsweptthroughthecourtyard。Thefirstleavesofautumndriftedacrosstheoldstoh。Shedidntknowwhattheingwinterwouldbringbutsheknewohing。Shewouldnotletthecoldtakehermothernotaftereverythinghermotherhadalreadylost。。Winterroagahergirlkhatbeforethesnowarrived，theOrchidCourtyardwouldfaceastormfarmoredangerousthanthecold。