Chapter 57

Both of them had been busy for four days before picking all the chilies on the mountain. It would be winter soon, so Xu Ran didn’t need to worry about the chilies’ rotting. And it was just because of the cold weather, they couldn’t go out easily. They could stay at home and make chili paste.

At the same time, Xu Ran comforted himself that this place was so poor that there were no entertainment programs.

In addition, in the past four days, not only had they picked chilies, but they had also got in all the potatoes and garlic in the surroundings, as well as the wild pears on the trees. Xu Ran was even lucky enough to get a stalk of Ganoderma, which made him so happy that he even jumped up.

This was a real harvest for them.

But problems came as well. With so many harvests, it was really difficult for only two of them to move all of them home.

They dared not ask for help. In this village, a little trifle would be known by all the villagers in less than a meal’s time. If the villagers knew about them, it would not be so easy for them to come to the mountain again in the future.

Seeing the sullen look on Xu Ran’s face, Liu Tong walked over to hug him, “Ran, I can move all of them. By moving back and forth a few times, I can get everything back.”

“No, you are a Ge’er. How can I let you do such a heavy job? I will share the task with you, but I’ve thought of a good way. We won’t have to work so hard when it is made,” said Xu Ran with a smile.

Liu Tong didn’t know what kind of person Xu Ran had been before he became a fool. But he knew that after Xu Ran recovered, he could always invented some weird things which were quite useful. Liu Tong felt it was really pity for Xu Ran to be a fool in those years, otherwise he would have passed the imperial exams at the provincial level.

But if he was not a fool, how could he, Liu Tong, marry him? Although being a fool was a pity for Xu Ran, Liu Tong felt it was lucky for himself. Anyway, Liu Tong felt very ambivalent.

After Xu Ran talked about the design of his handcart, both he and Liu Tong were so excited that they started to go to cut wood. They brought tools with them, one of whose reasons was for convenience, the other was for fear of wild animals, as a result of which they might have a tool for self-defense.

The axes and hoes in their house were given by Wu Mei and other friends. Because these tools were not used much, Xu Ran didn’t spend money on the new ones. At the moment, seeing Liu Tong trying hard but failing to cut down the tree,  Xu Ran realized that these tools should be replaced.

After working hard for half a day, Liu Tong only chopped down two trees. Though the trees were not very big, they were enough for a handcart.

The modern handcart could be seen everywhere in modern times, but it was probably not popular in this era. After all, it was still so many years away.

Liu Tong could not only cut stones, but also do carpentry. He was really versatile. Xu Ran stood by the side to guide the production process. After a day’s hard work, they managed to make a simple product. The main problem was the wheel. It was not easy to do without tools.

Xu Ran tried to push the handcart, and found that its wheels could roll. He then asked Liu Tong to put a bag of chilies on it. He pushed it for a few steps and found that it could work. Xu Ran was relieved.

Although the handcart was not good-looking, it could be used. It was precisely because of this cart that Xu Ran suddenly had an idea to make a fortune. He thought of Xu An, who was a carpenter. He believed if this kind of cart could be made in batches and then sold, they would surely make a lot of money.

It was getting late, so they two planned to rest for one night on the mountain before going back tomorrow.

The number of buns they brought was only enough for them for three days. In the next few days, all of them relied on Liu Tong’s hunting of wild animals. At the moment, Xu Ran still felt the smell of roast pheasants or hares in his mouth, and even the taste of wild pears was no longer pleasing. This was not a good phenomenon. Still, Xu Ran was clear that if Liu Tong was not present, he would have starved to death in this mountain.

Although to sleep in the cave was not comfortable, it wasn’t that bad either. The main reason was that Xu Ran could enjoy a human pillow, Liu Tong. These days, he was lying completely on Liu Tong’s body. What was amazing was that he felt natural to do so.

The next day, just after the sun came out, Xu Ran and Liu Tong woke up. They packed up the things in the cave and prepared to go back home.

Today, there were so many things that they needed to move home. They didn’t know how many trips needed to run back and forth, while they couldn’t bring them home together. Thus, their transporting work could only be staggered.

Xu Ran said to Liu Tong, “Tongtong, let’s move some things to the front first, and then come back to move the rest. When they are all moved there, we can move them home one by one because it’s not very safe here in the cave.”

“Okay,” Liu Tong agreed.

They put two bags of chilies on the handcart, and then Liu Tong pushed it, while Xu Ran carried a bag on his back. Thus they two walked out along the road where they had come.

When they were about to walk out of the forest, Xu Ran said, “Tongtong, let’s unload the things and keep them here! We need to move quickly, because someone may come here and take them away. ”

“Alright,” Liu Tong obeyed. At the same time, he quickly put the cart in place, and immediately went to help with Xu Ran’s bag on his back. After putting well all the three bags of chilies, they both went back to the mountain again.

In this way, they hurried back and forth many times. Xu Ran felt weak at the knees and his shoulders hurt badly. However, he saw that Liu Tong, though a Ge’er, pushed two bags of heavy objects at one time. He controlled himself and did not complain. Thus when Liu Tong noticed this situation, Xu Ran was completely exhausted.