In Wen Qian's perspective, her new neighbors had moved with their whole family, which was lively but also very difficult living conditions.
Raising two children here, especially with winter coming, Wen Qian felt it was a huge challenge.
In Wen Qian's observation, there had always been the sound of trees falling in that direction.
It seemed that they were preparing to build a wooden house, since wood was the most convenient building material in the forest area.
Later, Wen Qian would occasionally encounter the two children of the neighbors, and when chatting with them, they would mention the progress of their house.
Since they needed to build the house before winter, and with so many people, they hoped to build a bigger house.
In this regard, Wen Qian did not offer any help, as these people were still not that familiar to her.
Wen Qian had many materials, but she would not readily take them out.
In the previous society, there had always been the saying "an ounce of kindness, a pound of grudge," so Wen Qian dared not casually be kind-hearted, not to mention that it might arouse suspicion.
The neighbors' two children, the elder took the father's surname of Jin, while the younger took the mother's surname of Ning.
This was their agreement before marriage, but they never expected that their two children would be born into such a difficult environment after the natural disaster.
The beautiful future they had envisioned for their children had become a pipe dream.
However, it was fortunate that their family and children were all safe and sound, so they did not expect anything else.
In this era, not many children could survive, and even more adults simply dared not have children.
If the conditions were poor from the start, it didn't matter, as people used to say "more children, more blessings."
But this generation of parents had experienced the good times.
Now, if they had to let their children endure a more bitter life than their own childhood, they were unwilling.
Furthermore, under poor conditions, adults preferred not to have children in order to preserve themselves.
But the existence of these two children still brought liveliness to this forest area, as children's energy is boundless.
While the adults were busy building the house, these two children would go out to gather fruits and catch wild chickens and rabbits.
These two children would also help gather firewood and fish in the nearby river.
In short, when the adults were busy, they could help with many things.
Occasionally, the male head of the household would also go hunting, as Wen Qian could hear gunshots, though not often, and it was unknown whether he had any harvest.
Until one day, the two children came from across the river, Wen Qian saw them carrying something like a pig's leg.
Wen Qian had just finished collecting loofah and pumpkins from the forest farm, which could be used as a cleaning cloth and ladle or jar after being dried, respectively.
She was carrying a large bundle back, which seemed heavy but wasn't, when she encountered the children coming to deliver something.
The two children said it was the game their father had hunted, and they were bringing it as a neighborly greeting gift.
Wen Qian weighed the item they brought and found it to be at least ten pounds, probably a wild boar leg.
It was salted and semi-dried, probably having been cured and hung for a few days after being hunted here.
The older boy kindly reminded her to hang it for a while longer so that it could last even longer.
Just as the children were about to leave after delivering the gift, Wen Qian called out to ask them how they had come over.
The two boys said their father had cut down a few trees downstream at a narrow spot and built a wooden raft to cross over.
Although the location of this makeshift bridge was quite far away, it would still be convenient to have a bridge in the future.
Based on the children's description, Wen Qian roughly knew where the bridge was, and it was difficult for them to carry this thing such a long distance.
So Wen Qian asked them to wait at the door, and she went inside to put the things she was carrying into the courtyard.
She went in and took out a small bamboo basket, and a cloth bag, filling it with some soybeans.
She went to the storage room next door, took down a wind-dried rabbit, and put it in the bamboo basket, making the weight about the same as what they had brought.
Wen Qian brought it out and asked the children if they could carry it, and the two children said they could.
Wen Qian told them to remember to return the bamboo basket the next time they came over, and then let them go back.
Since others had sent her a gift, she should also give a return gift.
The two children only knew that their parents had asked them to deliver something, but did not expect to receive something in return.
When they hesitated, Wen Qian told them it was a matter of reciprocity, so they took the items and went back reassured.
Their parents probably expected a return gift, but did not expect to receive so many soybeans.
They had brought quite a few things from the south to the north, but not much grain.
Some of it was meant to be seeds, and now that so many soybeans had been given, aside from planting some next year, the rest could be used to sprout bean sprouts.
Bean sprouts are a good vegetable dish for winter, and compared to the wild boar leg they had sent over, the other party's weight was no less than theirs, and they had even returned two items.
They also realized that this neighbor was someone who valued propriety.
A few days later, when Wen Qian returned from work, she found a bamboo basket left at her front door.
Inside, there was a small handful of blueberries lined with leaves, and a bunch of wildflowers.
It seemed that when the children returned the basket, they felt they should put something inside, so they did it that way.
The new neighbors appeared harmless, and since they had moved with their whole family, they were also signaling a desire for peaceful coexistence.
But Wen Qian had never crossed the bridge to see how their house was being built.
The older child had previously told her that their family was busy building the house, so the adults were not available.
So Wen Qian figured she would wait until next year when they were done with their work.
After all, she didn't know what to talk about if she went over, and since they had only recently met, she felt it was not good to talk too much.
In general, whether in the past or present, Wen Qian was very passive in external interactions.
However, she did not dislike talking to the two children, who seemed well-mannered.
When they saw her, they were polite, and when they delivered things or passed on messages, they were always very organized.
At first, Wen Qian did not let them enter the main gate, and they obediently stood outside, though curious, they followed the rules.
Later, when Wen Qian was cutting grass by the riverside, she met the elderly person she had not seen before.
The old man was also cutting grass. When he saw her, he nodded in a friendly greeting, though with a hint of surprise, and asked if she was cutting grass to repair the roof.
The framework of their house was already up - one wooden house and one mud-brick house. But the roofs of both were made of wood covered with thatch.
They needed to get through the coming winter first, and worry about the other details next year.
Wen Qian said she was cutting grass to weave mats, but seeing the abundant thatch grass on both banks, she didn't think she would be competing with them, so she didn't wander far.
