The next morning, Xiang Dong and his five companions had breakfast and set off.
They first slid down along the river towards the Songhua River.
Midway, they found a peasant family to rest for a night, and continued their journey the next day.
On the third day, they split into three groups. The first group headed towards Shanxi. This group was led by Xiang Dong and Xiao Shan. Their first stop was Zhangjiakou.
In that area, Xu Mingxuan had three comrades, and then from Zhangjiakou, they would go to Datong in Shanxi, where Xu Mingxuan also had several comrades. After that, they would depart from Datong to Taiyuan to continue their search.
The second group headed towards Hebei. This group was arranged for Xiang Xi and Xiao Shuan, as they were more familiar with the direction towards the capital!
The third group headed towards Shandong, led by Er Hu and Lin Mao. They traveled with Xiang Xi and Xiao Shuan for a while. As soon as they reached the Tianjin area, the four of them parted ways.
This is where we will temporarily set aside Xiang Dong and Er Hu's search for people.
Those who remained in the valley also became busy. Under the guidance of the elder mother, the women were busily making quilts and clothes. The elder mother had all the women from Xu Mingxuan's comrades' families join the sewing collective.
Elderly people generally knew how to make shoes. The elder mother assigned those who could make shoe soles to make soles, and those who could make shoe uppers to make uppers. In short, everyone had something to do, and no one was idle.
The younger wives and girls were assigned to assist the sewing collective, and first learned the basic skills of making clothes.
Uncle De and Uncle Fu were wholeheartedly focused on the greenhouse. The spinach seeds in the greenhouse had already begun to sprout one after another. Uncle De and Uncle Fu guarded the greenhouse every day as if they were protecting precious eggs. If there were no beds in the greenhouse, they would have loved to live there.
Chen Lan also couldn't be idle. She was thinking about the housing problem for a large group of people if they arrived before the New Year. The thought of it gave her a headache.
The winter in Changbai Mountain was unlike other places. The winter was not only long but also extremely cold, with temperatures dropping to minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. It was also currently the freezing season, and even if they wanted to build houses, they couldn't.
Chen Lan was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, racking her brains for a solution. The twin siblings, who were playing with toys, saw their mother with her legs crossed, dropped their toys, and quickly crawled towards Chen Lan.
As they crawled, they kept shouting, "Mama, Mama, horsey, horsey."
Startled, Chen Lan quickly put her legs down, but the siblings were still insistent.
Chen Lan had no choice but to give them horsey rides, one by one. In a short while, she was sweating profusely from exhaustion.
Chen Lan found it strange why her arms were so strong, while her legs were as weak as those of ordinary women.
She couldn't figure it out, and now she didn't have time to think about it. The siblings were still demanding more horsey rides!
Chen Lan's legs were now as soft as noodles! She really couldn't lift them up, and the two little ones were still fussing.
The elder mother hurried over to pick up one of them. This time, Jia Yao was as stubborn as a mule and refused to be held by his grandmother, kicking his little legs and shouting, "Mama, Mama, horsey, horsey."
Chen Lan saw that this couldn't continue. If the children got too upset and sweated profusely, they would easily catch a cold if they were exposed to the wind.
So, she quickly said, "Mama, please put him down. Don't worry about him, take care of yourself. This little fellow is strong. When he gets stubborn, he's like a little mule!"
The elder mother handed Jia Yao, who was wriggling like a loach in her arms, to Chen Lan, and said worriedly, "Lan'er, can you handle it? You're sweating from exhaustion!"
Chen Lan replied, "Mama, it's alright. My legs are weak, but my thighs are strong. It's the same if I let both siblings sit on my thighs for a horsey ride!"
The thought was beautiful! The reality was cruel! After a short ride, the siblings were unhappy, finding the horsey ride boring!
Chen Lan was both amused and exasperated. These two little ones were becoming more and more difficult to please and to fool.
So, ignoring their tantrums, she continued to jiggle her legs, and with her mind, opened the system. She searched for children's toys in the system and scrolled through page after page with her mind, looking for toys that were suitable for the siblings to play with together. She found a toy shop that sold seesaws and immediately placed an order for a seesaw with child seats.
She quickly took it out from the system's warehouse and placed it beside the sofa. The siblings were startled by the sudden appearance of the item and stopped fussing. Chen Lan quickly placed the two little ones on the sofa and prepared to assemble the seesaw. She then said, "Jia Yao, Jia Hui, look at your new toy."
The siblings' attention was diverted, and they no longer pestered Chen Lan. They both crawled towards the seesaw.
Chen Lan quickly assembled the seesaw, tested its stability with her hands, and after a careful inspection, found no problems. She then placed one sibling on each seat of the seesaw and let them play.
The siblings instantly shrieked with joy. Their laughter soon attracted Hu Tou and Xiao Shi Tou, who were playing with building blocks, and Xiao Dou Zi, who was looking at a cloth book.
Xiao Dou Zi put down the book he was holding, stood up by the sofa, and tentatively took a step. He was afraid of falling and stuck his bottom out, hesitating to move. Chen Lan, seeing his adorable appearance, stepped forward and extended her finger for him to hold. With support, Xiao Dou Zi took small steps and walked quite smoothly.
The little ones all wanted to sit on the seesaw, which caused an uproar. The living room was filled with shouts. Xiao Shi Tou and Hu Tou wanted to sit, while the twins, not having had enough fun, refused to let go. Immediately, the living room was filled with cries. Sudán Xiaoshuo Wang.
Chen Lan and the elder mother were momentarily stunned. Chen Lan had never expected the outcome to be this way, almost causing an epic battle.
Fortunately, Chen Lan quickly came to her senses and immediately took remedial measures. She quickly opened the system with her mind and placed another order for a children's slide from the same shop where she had bought the seesaw.
She quickly took it out from the system's warehouse, which resolved the crisis.
While the little ones were still stunned, she quickly unpacked the packaging and assembled it. She also took out two carpets from the system's warehouse and placed the assembled parts of the slide on the carpets.
In a short while, all the parts of the slide were assembled. Chen Lan carefully inspected it again and found no problems. She then taught Xiao Shi Tou and Hu Tou how to play, and they learned quickly.
Xiao Dou Zi, who couldn't walk yet, had to be carried by Chen Lan to the top of the slide, and then he would slide down himself. The little fellow shrieked with joy, clearly becoming much livelier and more cheerful.