Mountain and Forest Kingdom

Life in winter is long and boring.

Lawrence woke up from the house and lay quietly on his bed.

Since there is nothing to do, there is no need to get up too early.

Hearing the breathing of the beautiful girl next to him, Lawrence turned his head and saw Salil sleeping on her side facing him.

Lawrence looked at Salil's face quietly, at the brown hair hanging on her face and her peaceful sleeping face.

Lawrence looked at the roof again. There were straw baskets for clothes and cloth hanging on the roof, and a layer of old clothes was spread on the straw baskets.

Burning firewood will produce a lot of soot, and the bed and floor will be cleaned frequently. Things that are hung or placed at high places can easily accumulate some soot, so they need to be covered with a layer of old clothes.

Lawrence looked at the roof and pulled down more than twenty ropes from the roof trunks and other places like umbrella canopies.

The entire roof looks densely packed, a little crowded and ugly.

But looking at the skewers of meat and the wheat and flour hidden in the box, even the ugly things became much more pleasing to the eye.

There is not much free space left in the stone house. From here on the bed, you can smell the wool of the Dom sheep not far away.

Lawrence closed his eyes and slept for a while. It was still dark outside.

Since yesterday, we have entered the darkest period called Eternal Night.

After all, Lawrence couldn't get used to this kind of thing. When he didn't want to lie down anymore, he got out of the bed and walked towards the fireplace.

The fireplace was right next to the wooden bed, but the opening was not facing this way. After getting out of bed, Lawrence took a step forward and touched the cold mud wall of the furnace in the dark.

"Lawrence?" Salil sat up from the bed and asked the figure in the dark.

Lawrence said: "Wait a minute, I'm looking for a wood drill. There's no fire in the fireplace. It should have been seven or eight hours."

Sariel lay on the bed and said, "Forget it when the fire is out, we can continue to sleep."

Lawrence touched the wooden drill that was placed in a fixed place. Because he knew about this situation before, he prepared the props for making a fire in advance.

"I can't sleep. Get up and make some food. I can give you lessons and play with you. If you're really sleepy, you can also sleep."

Lawrence began to pull the auger in the darkness, the auger turning rapidly among the boards and pressed hay.

The smell of burnt sawdust arose, and Lawrence picked up the wood drill. Smoke soon rose between the wooden pegs at the top and the holes.

When a weak flame crept up, Lawrence placed it in the fireplace and slowly raised it.

After the flames appeared, there was gradually light in the dark room.

Darkness is a very scary thing. You can't see or feel anything, and it's easy to have random thoughts.

The family began to get busy. Salil looked at the dark world outside and said to Lawrence: "Lawrence, be careful."

Lawrence looked at Salil in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Salil stared outside and said calmly: "I remembered that my father used to patrol the house at this time. One year when it was night time, he went out for a walk and caught a very big wolf."

Lawrence looked at Sophia, "Sofia, from now on Salil and I will fill the urine cans. Don't go out casually."

Sofia nodded with fear on her face and looked at the dark and cold world outside the door, feeling that it was very scary.

Lawrence thought: "In winter, there may be wild animals that sense the warmth here and heat themselves near our house. It is indeed risky for us."

"When spring comes, I will find a way to drive away the wild beasts nearby so that the animals don't come near us."

Sariel nodded and said with a smile: "Don't be so afraid. It doesn't matter how much the wolf talks. Wild boars will look for food in the forest in winter, and bears will also appear where wild boars live or at the beach."

"The bears will all be sleeping and giving birth at this time, so we are safe!"

Lawrence said helplessly: "Salil is right. We happened to have collected some pine leaves. The pine leaves will have a very unpleasant smell when burned. I will light some in the snow later to let the mice and If anything else smells, stay away from here.”

Although it was of little use, Lawrence burned some pine branches while taking out the trash.

During the night, because the temperature is stable, the wind is much less.

Lawrence looked at the wet branches burned on the ground, and then raised his head to look at the distorted green light clouds in the sky.

In this silent and beautiful world, there is a complex feeling of being in a fantasy world.

Saryl and Sophia also came out of the house and stood outside with Lawrence breathing the cold air.

Lawrence asked, "What do wild boars eat in the winter?"

Salil looked at the forest in the distance, "The big wild boar will knock down some dead trees, and then eat the insects, wood and mice inside. Some trees will also have various nuts hidden in them."

"Other birds and small animals in the forest will also go looking for something to eat after the big wild boar knocks down the tree. There should be a lot of edible things on the ground."

"A bear will hibernate. My father said that bears live in icebergs on the seaside and eat big fish, seals and seabirds in the water."

"Bears also sleep when it's too cold."

Lawrence felt a lot more relieved, "Besides bears and wild boars, are there any dangerous things here?"

Sariel shook her head, "No, the wolf's words are not very dangerous, but they are a little unsafe for Sophia and the children."

"Look at that mountain. That's Mount Talim. It has helped us a lot." Salil pointed to the mountain in the distance.

It is a quiet and dark mountain with some big gray trees on it. It is far away from here. It may take several hours to walk.

Judging from the descriptions of Andrew and Salil, the witch on that mountain has unintentionally blessed this place for many years.

Most of the ferocious beasts were blocked at the foot of the mountain, and even the people at the foot of the mountain did not want to get close to this poisonous mountain.

"Okay, let's go back. I'll make a dripping device to determine the time. Although there is no difference between day and night now, study can't be left behind."

Lawrence took the two of them back to the room, took out the blackboard and chalk and started teaching.

When spring arrives, Lawrence will be busy with many things and will not have time to teach slowly, so while everyone has time now, he will teach the two of them various elementary school knowledge.

While supervising the two of them as they learned to do the questions, they used tools to make a dripping device and also made a deck of playing cards.

Eat on time, go to bed on time, lie down on time to play games.

Doing nothing, eating meat every day, often going out at night to feel the peaceful atmosphere, the family gathering together to eat, chat and play poker... It's like celebrating the New Year.