Who knows! As soon as I returned to the mountains to farm, I encountered a natural disaster.

It is more likely to find water sources under the cliff.

Generally speaking, it is easy for water to emerge from mountain streams, depressions and cliffs. The two of them have not discovered it yet.

In addition to topography, there is also the direction in which vegetation grows.

The two of them walked forward in the direction with the most abundant vegetation. Their ears were always listening for the sound of frogs, and their noses were not resting. If they could smell the earthy smell, it meant they were not far from the water source.

Mu Xi walked ahead and found some traces first.

As we walked further, we found moss growing under many big rocks.

Zhao Yeqing thought it was lichen at first glance, but upon closer inspection he realized it was indeed moss.

Lichen and moss both grow closely on stone surfaces and tree trunks. They look very similar from a distance, both are green. The difference is that lichens are cold and drought-resistant, while moss prefers hot and humid environments.

Just like plants that have phototaxis, the moss on the ground was like an arrow, pointing in the direction of the water source. The two of them walked less than two hundred meters before they heard the sound of water hitting the rocks.

The plants near the water source were relatively dense. The two cleared away the weeds that were taller than people along the way, and finally saw the water source behind a patch of reeds.

This water source gushes out from the cliff. Like a boiling faucet, it hangs and falls vertically to the ground. At the landing point, there is a circular pit, about one meter deep and two to three meters wide. It is thought to have been formed by water dripping through the stone over many years. .

The water flow is not large, and the small stream formed by the overflow of the puddle is flowing forward slowly. The width of the water flow is less than a palm. It may be because it has been too hot recently. Judging from the depression of the stream, the usual water volume should be ten times what it is now. More than times.

It is located upstream of the water source, and the water quality is the cleanest. There is no need to worry about drinking the bath water of animals.

Zhao Yeqing held up the kettle to catch the water falling from the mountain wall, and refilled the half-empty kettle.

Mu Xi looked around the area and found no animal footprints. "Let's spend the night here tonight."

He marked the entire journey so that he could still find the direction when he returned.

If two people are going to spend the night, it is best to build a simple shelter, otherwise no one can guarantee whether they will fall asleep, or whether there will be caterpillars, spiders or bird droppings on their faces and bodies.

The shelter only needs to be the size of one person, and one of the two people always needs to sit outside and watch the night, because sitting in the shelter will cause blind spots.

Among Mu Xi's tools were portable knives and axes, and he chopped down two trees in a few strokes. Zhao Yeqing recognized that they were the ones he used to make bows last night, but they were thicker than his arms. He chopped two axes on the left and right, and broke them with his hands. Just came down.

It is not difficult to make a temporary shelter. My grandfather used to make it out of fallen branches when he spent the night in the mountains.

The ground in this area needs to be cleared of weeds so that snakes will not crawl over and to avoid causing wildfires when a fire is started.

Mu Xi was responsible for mowing the grass, while Zhao Yeqing collected the dead branches and leaves on the ground to use as fuel for a while.

After it was almost done, Mu Xi started building a shelter, while Zhao Yeqing checked to see if there was anything to eat nearby.

Split the trunks of two trees into four sections, stick them diagonally on the ground to form two triangles, and fix the tops with ropes. The ropes were left over from rubbing the bark of the trees yesterday to make bowstrings.

There is a distance of two meters between the triangles, and there is a beam across the top.

Some wood is also needed to support the leaves on the edges of the beams to build the wall.

Mu Xi cut down another tree, split it vertically in the middle, then split it into four long strips, then cut it into eight sections, put them on both sides at the bottom and inserted them into the soil to fix them. It was just to make a leaf wall, so it was not If it requires too much weight, a thinner one would be fine.

Once the skeleton is set up, it’s time to build the walls.

Using local materials, this area has water sources, a warm and humid climate, and many palm plants grow nearby. Palm leaves are very wide, making them one of the most suitable materials for building shelters.

The leaves of palm plants are like a feather, with a thick stem in the middle and many slender leaves on both sides.

Split two or three large leaves in the middle, and then overlap them. When several layers are stacked, the gaps in the middle will be filled. This is considered to be a tile, and then the leaf tiles are covered on the frame of the shelter.

According to this method, most of the leaves of each palm were removed, and the shelter was finally built.

Zhao Yeqing took his bow and arrow and went out to look for food. He did not dare to go far and only followed the path Mu Xi had just checked for animal tracks.

When the two leopard cubs saw Mu Xi start working, they stopped clinging to him and immediately followed Zhao Yeqing.

There will always be animals coming to drink water near the water source, not to mention when the weather is extremely hot.

No footprints were seen, maybe because there was grass on the ground and the animals drinking water nearby were small creatures, such as snakes, pheasants and rabbits, so they wouldn't leave many traces.

After walking more than ten meters away, Zhao Yeqing stopped going forward. She was searching around ten meters around Mu Xi, ensuring that they could support each other, but the two little guys didn't know where to go. Up a tree.

She is afraid of snakes, and always pays attention to the soles of her feet. Some small green snakes will not be scared away even if they are used to hit the grass with a stick. They swim slowly and leisurely. As long as they do not step on them, they will not bite anyone. The color blends with the grass. Special attention is required.

She kept staring at the ground and saw no animals, but she discovered other food.

Zhao Yeqing caught a glimpse of a vine growing windingly on the ground near the cliff. The leaves were heart-shaped, the leaves were already somewhat withered, and there were strings of green seeds growing on the vine.

Her eyes lit up, it was a wild yam.

The leaves of wild yams will wither in September and October, which is the best time to harvest.

Zhao Yeqing grabbed the vine, followed it to the root, found a thin stone about the size of his hand from the ground and used it as a shovel, and started digging at the root.

The roots of the yam are not particularly deep. After digging out the soil for only ten centimeters, the yam has its head exposed.

Zhao Yeqing did not rush to pull it out, but instead pushed away the surrounding soil, trying not to break it and get the whole thing out intact.

But it took longer than she expected. She dug for a while and then turned back to be alert to whether there was any danger around her. After confirming that it was safe, she dug again for a while.

She called out the names of Luo Lu and Xue Ping a few times, so that she could feel more at ease with them by her side.

This yam was quite old. She conservatively estimated it to be more than four years ago, otherwise it would not have grown so big.

When she heard the sticks and snow cakes coming back behind her, she felt at ease and didn't need to be wary of her surroundings, and focused on digging them out.

The whole tree hadn't been dug out yet, and the one exposed so far was already thicker than her arm.

She couldn't finish them all no matter how much she dug. Zhao Yeqing reached out and pulled the yam, which was thicker than her arm, out of the mud.

The yam that was pulled out was not complete, and a section was broken off in the soil.

But even if only a part of it was pulled out, it was still very big. This section was as long as her forearm and thicker than her upper arm. After weighing it, it was estimated to weigh six or seven kilograms.