Guo Yang and Anu stayed in Wuling Mountain for the time being.

The reason is very simple, the old man didn't say to let him go, nor did he say to let him stay. Since that day, Guo Yang has not seen the old man again.

Guo Yang found that this Wuling Mountain was really poor, except for wild vegetables and bright rice soup, there was nothing to satisfy hunger.

This made him unbelievable, the old man was unfathomable, and he was faced with the problem of eating three or four hundred people on the mountain...... Seems a bit helpless.

Although Guo Yang has no ability to make money, because of his craftsmanship in making bronze ware, there is no problem in supporting himself and Anu, and he can spare a little money from time to time to sell wine.

There were three or four hundred people gathered on Wuling Mountain, all of whom were descendants of merchants, and most of them were old and disabled women and children, and most of them had no martial arts. Previously, these people mainly lived by gathering wild vegetables, and more than half of them died of famine and disease for many years. It wasn't until the old man took his wife and apprentice to live in seclusion here that he began to have a bowl of clear rice soup every day.

These people have a strange dark green color due to the perennial devouring of wild vegetables, and generally show symptoms of puffiness and deformity, and some elderly people are so hungry that they can't crawl, so they lean against the wall in front of the stone house, their stomachs are frighteningly swollen.

And the children, all skinny and with terrible swollen bellies, staggered about the open space in front of the stone house, like a bunch of ridiculous toads.

The mountains were so poor that some of the women went out without enough rags to cover their bodies, so they used some bark to decorate some rags or animal skins together to cover their shame.

"The young and middle-aged people were all killed by the Zhou people, leaving us old and disabled women and children to live in the world, but we are not allowed to farm or breed, so we can only fend for ourselves." An old man who was dying of starvation refused to swallow the bowl of clear soup and insisted on leaving it to the young man.

Guo Yang wandered around Wuling Mountain for two days, and he was shocked and sad.

He has also experienced widespread famine, even more large-scale massacres and persecutions, and witnessed the death of too many recalcitrant merchants. But on the whole, it was all a matter between men, a group of powerful men persecuting another group of men who had lost their combat effectiveness.

Pure hunger made a large group of old and disabled women and children take off their human form, and Guo Yang had a new understanding of the world, and felt that some of his previous cranky thoughts were really a bit hypocritical.

He decided to stay, he wanted to keep these people fed.

Guo Yang took Anu to understand the situation within a radius of more than 100 miles, and found that the Wuling Mountain area actually has a good environment, and crops such as oats and millet can be planted. In addition, there are many warm valleys in the mountains, so you can consider reclaiming wasteland and raising some chickens and ducks at the same time.

The mountains are full of dense forests and there are many wild beasts of all kinds, and he and Anu can hunt and make a living while growing crops in the wasteland.

What surprised Guo Yang the most was that there was a very large canyon more than 40 miles away from here, and there were many natural karst caves in the canyon, which were enough to serve as a shelter for those old and disabled women and children.

Moreover, the Grand Canyon also has a small waterfall that forms a huge pool of water with a strange fish with four legs and a long tail that makes a crying baby sound when caught.

Guo Yang and Anu wandered around the Grand Canyon for two or three days, and then returned with a general idea in their hearts.

"Senior, I found a large canyon more than forty miles away from here, where it was relatively warm, and there were some natural caves in it, which could be cleaned up and resettled by hundreds of people. Also, there is a large waterhole in the canyon and a lot of wasteland that can be cultivated, I think...... If you can, why don't you move to the Grand Canyon? ”

The place where the old man lived in seclusion, in a small inconspicuous valley, a few thatched huts, a field was cultivated in front of it, and some flowers and plants that Guo Yang had never seen before.

"Moving there, how do you solve the problem of food?" The old man didn't come out, but asked through the door.

"The younger generation has observed in the past few days, where a large area of wasteland can be reclaimed, and at the same time, some chickens and ducks can be raised. As for the recent food problem, Anu and I will go hunting, there are many wild beasts in the dense forest, and it will be no problem to support everyone for three or four months. ”

Guo Yang said respectfully.

In the hut, the old man was silent for a long time, as if he was groaning.

"Senior, Guo Yang plans not to leave for the time being, and will talk about it when the food problem of these people is solved. I hope that my predecessors will agree. Guo Yang continued.

"Okay." The old man said lightly, "I'll ask Yanzi to send you the little bit of food that is left." ”

"Thank you, senior. The juniors are gone. Guo Yang didn't dare to lose his courtesy, even if the old man didn't go out, he still bowed honestly and bowed, and then left.

……

Hundreds of old and disabled women and children moved, so that Guo Yang finally knew what slowness was.

Originally, everyone was hungry, and normal walking was a problem, not to mention the rugged mountain roads. In order to give everyone the strength to walk, Guo Yang and Anu entered the depths of the dense forest two or three days in advance, hunted many wild beasts, and settled everyone to have a full meal, and then began to move.

Along the way, stop and go, from time to time someone fainted, had to stop to rescue, more than 40 miles of mountain road, actually walked for seven or eight days. By the time everyone arrived at the Grand Canyon, all the beasts they had hunted had eaten.

Fortunately, after these few days of animal flesh nourishment, coupled with light activities, the three or four hundred old disabled women and children were actually a little more energetic than before.

As soon as he entered the Grand Canyon, Guo Yang instructed twenty or thirty young women to clean up a few leeward and sunny caves, clean up a little, and then settle everyone down.

He and Anu went into the mountains and forests again, hunted a number of wild beasts, from tigers and leopards to rabbits, as long as they could eat, they all hunted and moved back to the Grand Canyon.

"Young master, the beast meat hunted is enough to eat for a month, the problem is, you have to find a way to store it. Spring is coming soon, and the meat of the beast cannot last long. Anu was very good at hunting, and he personally stripped and washed each beast and hung it on a cold stone wall, so that it was slowly frozen into dry meat.

In addition, he cleaned all the animal skins, found some nitrate soil in the mountains to concoct, and sewed a batch of coverings and animal skin dresses for everyone.

Guo Yang touched the concocted animal skins and was amazed by Anu's craftsmanship: "I can't imagine that your method of concocting animal skins is so simple, and the effect is so good." I'm still wondering what to do with these hard hides. ”

"Young master, Anu was originally born in Orion, and concocting leather is what we Di people do every day." In the face of Guo Yang's praise, Anu was a little embarrassed, scratching the back of his head and said.

"Well, let's solve the problem of food and clothing first, and then find a way to open up the wasteland." Guo Yang looked at the faces of those old and disabled women and children, and finally showed a trace of freshness, and he was still quite happy in his heart.

"Young master, you have to get some salt, otherwise, everyone will get sick." Anu reminded Guo Yang.

"Well, that's the big deal." Guo Yang was a little worried.

The mining, purification, and sale of salt were monopolized by the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty and local princes, and the price was extremely high, and it could only be purchased by the registered population. At present, these hundreds of people are all descendants of merchants who fled from Yandi, and they have long lost their nationality and become vagrants, even if they have money in their hands, they can easily buy salt and farm tools.

For the purification of salt, Guo Yang and Anu knew it, but they searched for a hundred miles, but they did not find salt soil, which made him very anxious.