"Strap these boards onto your feet, then lean forward like me and keep your balance..."
Jiang Wan, with a pair of simple homemade sleds on her feet and two wooden sticks for ski poles, pushed off lightly and glided away.
Wearing her white wolf fur cape, she seemed to blend into the snowy landscape.
Gliding a short distance ahead, she turned her feet, quickly changed direction, and returned to the group.
The villagers, young and old, were astonished by her skill, finding it hard to believe that ordinary wooden planks could allow someone to move as if flying.
Many children, seeing how effortlessly she played, clamored for their parents to make them sleds too, wanting to experience that flying sensation.
Er Lang and a group of pre-teen boys selected for training couldn't wait. As soon as Jiang Wan returned, they immediately strapped on the sleds, eager to try what they had just learned. However, they couldn't maintain their balance at all. The moment they stood up, they fell face-first, much to the amusement of the onlookers, who burst into laughter.
Only Er Lang, wobbling, managed to slide a considerable distance. Though clumsy, he didn't fall.
Jiang Wan thought highly of Er Lang's physical condition. The young man was naturally suited for martial arts, but unfortunately, he was born into a poor family, a waste of the excellent resources heaven had bestowed upon him.
However, he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, so it might be too early to call it a waste.
Jiang Wan didn't have the time to teach everyone individually, so she decided to teach her elder brother first and then have him train the others.
Er Lang, with his innate talent for these matters, understood what needed to be done with just a little guidance from Jiang Wan. He was quick to grasp the concepts and apply them, truly a top student! After only two brief lessons from Jiang Wan, Er Lang could already glide with great stability.
Jiang Wan immediately became a hands-off manager, saying, "They're all yours now, Brother Er. Go for it!"
Er Lang was delighted and immediately began training the group of young men.
Jiang Wan, along with Cheng Sinian and a few other little ones, squatted by the village bonfire, roasting dried meat on sticks while watching the young men tumble. It was quite entertaining.
The young men, full of youthful energy, mastered the skiing techniques after two days of falling. Each of them was now gliding swiftly on their two old wooden planks.
Jiang Wan had Jiang Pan build a sled, loaded it with heavy objects, and had the young men try pulling it. The results were quite good.
Thus, the villagers watched as a group of young men, with Jiang Pan, set off to buy grain. They then turned their attention to making sleds for their own little darlings.
Making sleds wasn't difficult. After flattening a wooden plank, they would bend it into a curve, heat it over a fire, and let it cool to set the shape.
So, a group of little rascals, clutching their sleds, happily rushed into the snow and began their attempts to learn skiing.
The adults stood by, watching them fall and laughing heartily.
Cheng Sinian looked at the children with envy, wishing he could join them. However, he was naturally frail, and such activities were only for him to watch. Madam Cheng would never allow him to participate.
Seeing his longing gaze, Jiang Wan turned and found the village carpenter, asking him to help make a sled for Cheng Sinian.
The construction of the sled was not complicated. The carpenter found a few planks and finished it in no time.
Cheng Sinian asked curiously, "Wan Wan, how do you play with this?"
Jiang Wan carried the sled into the snow and instructed, "Here, sit on it."
Cheng Sinian obediently sat on the sled. Jiang Wan handed him two sticks and said, "I'll push you to slide. Do you know how to control it?"
"I know!" Cheng Sinian's eyes lit up. "Just like Brother Er Lang and the others, I'll use the sticks to push off the ground to accelerate or slow down!"
Jiang Wan smiled and nodded, "That's right. Alright, one, two, three, go!"
As Jiang Wan called out, she pushed him from behind with all her might.
She was strong enough that she didn't need a running start; she immediately sent the sled sliding.
Cheng Sinian felt as if he were flying, letting out excited screams.
The children nearby, still struggling with their sleds, stared with envy, pointing at the sled and crying to their parents, "I want to play with that too!"
The adults in the village wished they could grab their unruly children and give them a good scolding.
"You troublesome things! We're fleeing famine! You're all acting like it's a festival back home. Is this appropriate?!"
Jiang Pan and the others returned before dark, but they didn't bring back much grain.
"This snow is too heavy. That town wasn't prosperous to begin with, and many houses have collapsed. Grain prices have quadrupled, making it outrageously expensive. So, we only bought a little to tide us over. We'll go to other places to buy more later."
Anyway, with the sleds, they could now travel faster than on horseback.
They had taken so long today simply because they had lingered in the town.
The villagers, now filled with hope because of the sleds, didn't fret over the small amount of grain purchased.
With the sleds, the villagers of the small mountain village began to worry about the luggage that couldn't be brought along earlier.
After some time, they not only managed to bring all the luggage and carts but even brought back Jiang Wan's family and Madam Cheng's carriages.
Jiang Wan was truly speechless at their efforts.
Such heavy things!
The elders, however, said, "It's better to keep things within sight. Otherwise, if they're lost, you won't be able to find them."
Most of the village men had learned to ski, making the task of buying grain much easier. Following the official road for about a hundred li, there was a large town. Jiang Pan, along with the village men, made several trips, bringing back a considerable amount of grain, oil, and salt.
Jiang Wan asked Jiang Pan to bring back some vegetable seeds for her, as she planned to try growing vegetables at home.
With her special ability, growing some greens was a simple matter. She had Da Lang help her build two long wooden troughs, fill them with soil, scatter the seeds, and then infuse the soil with her ability every morning and evening. Within a couple of days, new sprouts emerged from the soil.
Cheng Sinian, the son of an official, had never witnessed seeds sprouting before. He was so curious that he squatted by the wooden troughs every day, meticulously recording everything with paper and pen, his earnestness comparable to academic research.
Also squatting by the wooden troughs with Cheng Sinian was Madam Su.
She was purely driven by her cravings.
Pregnant women are prone to cravings, and with the heavy snow blocking the mountains these days, Jiang Wan couldn't go into the mountains. Therefore, all wild vegetables, mushrooms, and fruits were out of stock. Now, she eagerly awaited the vegetable seedlings to grow quickly.
When the other villagers heard that the Jiang family was growing vegetables indoors, they thought it wouldn't work, but they were also curious and came to watch. Upon seeing the tender sprouts, everyone started to consider it.
Wooden troughs were easy to make for anyone with hands, and vegetable seeds could be shared among a few families. Since they were idle anyway, it was worth a try. If it didn't work, there was no loss, and if it did, everyone would have vegetables to eat – a wonderful outcome.
Thus, the villagers of the small mountain village gained a new pastime.
The days, filled with everyone's various endeavors, slowly slipped into the twelfth lunar month and then towards the end of the year.