I was a hunter in ancient times

Chapter 16 Pine Cone

   After dinner, Zhou Du thought of going on a night walk at night, so he took the initiative to search for something in the pine forest next to the hut, found a piece of rag to wrap it up, and threw it by the door.

In the twilight of the sky full of rays of light, I went back to the house and closed my eyes to take a nap.

He thought that he would not be able to fall asleep after sleeping all day, but he fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed.

When I woke up again, I heard a melodic knock on the door, accompanied by a timid and familiar voice: "Zhou Du, are you awake?" When I opened my

eyes, all I could see was darkness. His heart tightened, and the hand holding the quilt was faintly green in the darkness. After a while, he let go of the crumpled quilt, and opened the door looking for the knocking sound.

The door was quietly opened from the inside, and the knocker standing outside the door didn't notice for a moment, his hands were empty, his upper body became unbalanced, and he fell into the door.

It just landed on Zhou Du's chest.

Zhou Du caught off guard a soft and warm body, and panicked, the little fear in his heart disappeared long ago.

Shen Xi was dizzy from being hit, and complained a little: "Why didn't you make a sound before you opened the door."

Zhou Du lowered his head, looked at Shen Xi who was still nestled in his arms, and raised his eyebrows secretly: "Aren't you getting up yet?"

Shen Xi blushed upon hearing this, squeezed the handle of the lantern tightly with one hand, supported Zhou Du's chest with the other, got up, and rubbed his sore forehead.

Is this man made of iron? Why is it so painful!

With the dim light of the lantern in Shen Xi's hand, Zhou Du closed the door, lifted the small rag bag that was placed by the door before, and asked, "Can I go?"

"Yes." Shen Xi hurriedly put down and rubbed his forehead. Holding a lantern in his hand, he left Zhou's house.

There was already an ox cart parked on the small road not far from the courtyard. The ox cart was not very big, but there were already three or four wine jars of about 50 kg on it, and there was only a few shafts left for people to sit and rest.

Shen Xi sat lightly on the shaft of the carriage, and said to an old man standing beside the carriage: "Grandpa Luo, let's go."

After speaking, he patted the seat next to him and said to Zhou Du: "Come on."

Zhou Du Glancing at the narrow space, he frowned slightly, unmoved by Shen Xi's words.

At this time, Grandpa Luo, who was driving the cart, smiled: "Young man, don't look at my car as small, but it can handle a lot of weight, and my ox is also a strong ox, it can pull you, just sit with peace of mind. "

After hearing this, Zhou Du walked over and carefully got into the carriage. Seeing that the carriage didn't seem to be falling apart, he gradually relaxed his mind.

"Sit firmly, let's start." As soon as

Zhou Du sat down, Luo Fu yelled and raised the bullwhip, and the bull started to walk slowly.

Although there were some bumps during the driving process, the cattle did not run fast because of the wine jars on the car, and they could barely pick it up.

Along the way, Shenxi lit up lanterns, swayed his legs leisurely, and listened to the cicadas and frogs by the roadside.

After driving for a while, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly said to Zhou Du: "Help me carry it."

Zhou Du took his lantern, and Shen Xi took out a cloth-wrapped food box from the gap in the wine jar behind him Come on, untie the cloth bag, open the top layer, use a handkerchief to pick up a steaming bean curd bun and hand it to Zhou Du: "Eat it, it just came out of the oven before going out."

Zhou Du ate half a beggar's chicken at night , not very hungry yet, refused: "I'm not hungry."

But Shen Xi didn't let go: "The road is still long, the further we go, the colder the food will be, and we can only eat cold food when we get to the town, so we might as well take advantage of the heat and stuff our bellies."

Zhou Du Reluctantly, he took the handkerchief from Shen Xi and ate it slowly.

Not to mention that the steamed bean curd bun is really good, the skin is thin and the stuffing is beautiful, the taste is delicate, and the sweetness is moderate, so that Zhou Du, who hardly eats sweets, can eat it.

Zhou Du was puzzled: "You have this skill, why don't you open a food shop in the town."

Shen Xi rewrapped the food box, leaned on the wine jar, and yawned: "That's so tiring, I just I just want to cook three meals a day for my family..."

He was talking, maybe he was very tired during the day, and he leaned on the wine jar and fell asleep.

Zhou Du shook his head, ignored him, stared at the dimly lit lantern in a daze.

After an unknown amount of time, the candle flame in the lantern began to flicker. Seeing that the oil lamp inside was about to burn out, Zhou Du turned his head and glanced at Shen Xi who was sleeping soundly. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, he had no intention of waking him up.

He took out a dry pine cone from the rag bag he was carrying, and stuck it on a fresh branch that he had sharpened. The pine cone is coated with a little turpentine, and it burns when it encounters a fire. The bright fire light instantly illuminates the surrounding roads, making the surrounding darkness recede a lot. How much stronger.

Moreover, the fire burns down layer by layer along the tower layers of the pine cone, and it will not burn all at once. A pine cone burns for a long time.

The pine cones that fell in the pine forest and the pine resin on the pine trees had been unexploited for many years. I don't know how much they had accumulated. Zhou Du picked and picked at random and made a bag of rags, which was enough for them to use all the way to the town.

Luo Fu watched Zhou Du's movements from the side, secretly marveling: "I've lived most of my life, I don't know that this pine shell has such uses."

Originally, he also brought a few self-made torches for backup on the road, but this time he will not need them.

Zhou Du didn't answer him, seeing him working hard to drive the ox cart, he took the initiative to hand him a pine cone torch.

Luo Fu took the torch, the more he looked at it, the more frightened he became. They drive cars and often walk at night, so it is inevitable to prepare some lighting objects. The self-made torch does not add fuel, and the straw on it burns out quickly. If fuel is added, the cost will be high.

One must know that he only earns ten copper coins for running a car, and he has to use seven or eight torches along the way. How much fuel can withstand such hustle and bustle? So they often drive in the dark, and even people and cars fall into the ditch frequently. He was fine when he was young, but how many times can he withstand the fall with his old arms and legs?

The young and middle-aged people in the family have to work in the fields during the day, so how can they do such laborious work, but if he quits, the family will lose some income.

Now with the pine shell torch made by Zhou Du, there is no need to worry about these things. The pine shell and the resin on it are all over the mountains and plains. Before driving back, go to the pine forest to pick up some, and you don't have to worry about it all night. .

The more Luo Fu thought about it, the more excited he became, and he thanked Zhou Du: "Young student, if you want to take a car in the future, just talk to the old man, and you won't be charged for the fare."

Zhou Du pursed his lips and wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, Shen Xi was Awakened by Luo Fu's excited voice, he stood up, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Grandpa Luo, what are you talking about?"

Luo Fu quickly told Shen Xi about the pine tower torch. up.

"Oh," Shen Xi responded and glanced at Zhou Du. Seeing that Zhou Du didn't care, he turned back to talk to Luo Fu: "Grandpa Luo got a great deal this time. If there is a lack of lighting, this pine cone resin can also solve the urgent need."

"And this pine resin also has medicinal effects. I heard from my little uncle that rosin is warm in nature and calms the five internal organs. It can relieve cough and eliminate phlegm, pull out pus and detoxify, promote muscle growth and relieve pain. Long-term use can also make you light and youthful. Prolong life."

"This..." Luo Fu was immediately speechless by Shen Xi's words.

If the pine resin is only used for lighting, he would be able to repay the favor, but if it has medicinal value and can prolong life, he will never repay the favor anyway.

For a moment, Luo Fu scratched his heart and lungs in embarrassment.

At this time, Shen Xi hastily changed the subject again: "Grandpa Luo, Zhoudu wants to settle in our village. He thinks our village has good mountains, rivers and people, but he can't find a way out. Grandpa Luo, you are old and experienced There are many things, can I ask you for advice?"

Shen Xi opened a door for Luo Fu who couldn't find his way, his eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh happily and said: "Young student, you want to settle in our village? , okay, my daughter is married to the new head of the village, I will ask you tomorrow, and I will definitely help you with this matter, just wait for it with peace of mind."

"Oh, then Thank you, Grandpa Luo," Shen Xi said while thanking, "Zhou Du said that I will invite you to drink with Grandpa Luo some other day."

"No, no, you all told the old man such an important matter, I thank you before it's too late , how dare you eat your food." Luo Fu didn't dare to answer this matter, so he quickly refused.

Shen Xi said again: "We just said a few words casually, it's not as good as Grandpa Luo's help, we still have to invite this meal."

Luo Fu sighed: "You two are still too young to do nothing, then If there is such a calculation, it is fortunate that I met, if it were someone else, I would not be coaxed around, treat guests to dinner, don't talk about it."

Shen Xi nodded obediently: "Okay."

Zhou Du was listening to the conversation between the old and the young, and almost couldn't help laughing when he heard Luo Fu's words, don't be fooled around.

You are the one who gets played around.

The method of making this pine cone torch is too simple, even if he doesn't learn it today, others will learn it tomorrow, and there is no need for him to return any favors.

Besides, the medicinal value of turpentine is useless. The doctors all know it, at most it has been popularized by science.

For this matter, he not only had to help him settle down, but also thanked them in turn, and worried that they would be cheated, so he taught them earnestly.

Zhou Du raised his eyes and looked at Shen Xi.

This kid is pretty good at fooling people.

Sensing the sight of the person next to him, Shen Xi turned his head to meet him, gave him a smile with curved eyes, then put his index finger on his lips, and gently gestured for silence.

Zhou Du raised his eyebrows, his lips twitched, and said two words silently: "Thank you."

Shen Xi smiled, and also replied with his lips: "You are welcome."

After such a long time, Luo Fu consciously followed Zhou Du and Shen Xi became acquainted, and along the way, they nagged and told them a lot of past events in Taoyuan Village, which also made this night's journey not so boring.

Soon, the night dissipated, the morning light was twilight, and the sun was rising, and the road could be seen gradually. The three extinguished the pine tower torch, and the number of pedestrians on the road gradually increased. They followed the crowd and joined the team entering the city.