Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
On the second morning, Liu Qingxi simply cooked two bowls of porridge and, after eating with Liu Qingyan, hurried to Zhang Sanyou's house.
When they arrived, Song was at home. "Qingxi, you're here! Your Uncle Sanyou has gone up the mountain to gather materials for you. Have you eaten yet?"
"Aunt Song, my brother and I have already eaten. You all should eat quickly!" Liu Qingxi knew that when others offered food, it was merely a polite gesture; farmers in this era did not have the means to host guests.
If someone who didn't understand this were to eat at another's home, they would be consuming someone else's rations, leaving them hungry.
Song was taken aback; she hadn't expected Liu Qingxi to refuse so decisively.
She had regretted asking as soon as she opened her mouth. What if Liu Qingxi agreed? What would she do then? If she couldn't help them fix their house but ended up feeding them, wouldn't that be a loss?
But Liu Qingxi's refusal made her feel quite ashamed of her earlier thoughts.
"Alright then, Qingxi, you wait here. The head of the household should be back soon!" She moved two stools for Liu Qingxi and Liu Qingyan to sit down.
However, Liu Qingxi did not rest; instead, he looked at the items Zhang Sanyou had prepared yesterday, which included clay, some wheat straw, and a few bamboo strips. These were all good materials.
Meanwhile, Song hurriedly called her children to eat so they could help afterward.
The commotion at their house did not go unnoticed by the neighbors. A few people asked, "San You's family, what are you all doing?"
"Oh, it's just that the house is a bit damaged. We want to see if we can fix it. If we can repair it, we won't have to rebuild and can save a lot of money," Song replied cheerfully.
"But it looks like it's not easy to fix; it seems fundamentally broken." This situation was common; most people ended up rebuilding.
"Well, we're just going to give it a try! Qingxi has a way; it's just going to take some effort!" Song answered with a smile.
Others clearly did not believe it, but they did not say so directly, only agreeing, "It's worth a try; we can learn from it later."
"Alright then, if it's a good method, let everyone know!"
However, what Song did not know was that after a few women left, they looked down on her actions: "Are you and your husband foolish? There has never been a successful repair in history."
"Exactly! And listening to a girl? Isn't this the girl that the Wang family kicked out two days ago? How is she related to the San You's Family now?"
"Who knows? It's ridiculous that this girl can actually fix houses."
"Whatever, it's their madness!" After finishing that, one woman quickly changed the subject: "Hey? By the way, are those two kids from the Liu Family really infected with the flower disease? How dare the San You's Family bring them in?"
"The rumors were quite convincing, but we just saw them; there’s no problem at all. They don't have any red spots on their faces or necks; they look perfectly healthy."
This was because Liu Qingyan had taken a bath yesterday, and by morning, most of the red spots had faded.
"It seems we don’t need to worry anymore. If it were true, we would all be in trouble."
After hearing this, a few of them seemed to find some sense in it; as long as they didn't catch the flower disease, that was best!
"Alright, alright, I won't chat with you anymore; I need to hurry back to work!"
Liu Qingxi was unaware of these discussions. However, as Liu Qingyan's red spots gradually faded, people no longer avoided them as they had before.
Meanwhile, Zhang Sanyou's family was indeed very efficient; by the time Song and the others finished their meal, Zhang Sanyou had already returned.
"Head of the household, quickly put down your things and eat something. Qingxi has been waiting for a while!"
Zhang Sanyou, with Song's help, set down the log he had carried back, smiling apologetically at Liu Qingxi, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Uncle Sanyou, you eat first. Just let Aunt Song help me!" Liu Qingxi didn't mind at all.
This was the first attempt, and it was a plan she had thought of yesterday. The initial tasks were generally manageable for most people and didn't require much strength, so Song and a few of their children were sufficient.
"Aunt, come help me. We need to sift this soil first; there shouldn't be any clumps in it. Also, break up the wheat straw a bit. We need to make some Mud Bricks!"
"I know how to do that; don't worry, I can handle it!" Song rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
While busy, she chatted with Li Hui, "You have no idea. When we built this house, your Uncle Sanyou and I worked day and night. All the Mud Bricks were made by us.
Each one took a lot of effort, but they are quite sturdy. It's been about ten years now; back then, we didn't even have our eldest Hammer yet!"
There was a sense of pride in Song's tone; this house was the fruit of their labor.
"Alas! If it weren't for the passage of time leading to its decay, we wouldn't want to tear it down. Our eldest is already thirteen; in a couple of years, he should be marrying. Everything costs money!"
From her conversation with Song, Liu Qingxi learned a lot about the customs of this era. It turned out that children here typically married at around fifteen years old.
Well, in modern times, they would still be middle or high school students, knowing nothing at all. Here, they had to take on the responsibilities of adulthood or raising children—just thinking about it was terrifying.
After a while, Song seemed to suddenly realize something was off: "Look at me! You're a Young Lady; what am I doing working with you? Qingxi, please don't mind me; Aunt just got carried away."
"Aunt Song, it's nothing!" Liu Qingxi shook her head; there was much in Song's words that she urgently needed to understand.
At that moment, Zhang Sanyou quickly finished his meal and came over. "You all wait a moment; I just happen to have the mold for making Mud Bricks at home, the same one we used before, and I kept it in good condition."
"That's great, Uncle Sanyou! This way, we can save some effort and won't need to make a new mold!" Liu Qingxi smiled.
Of course, the sooner the better. After helping Zhang Sanyou's family, she still needed to repair her own house quickly.
With Zhang Sanyou's help, progress sped up significantly. In just one morning, they made several dozen Mud Bricks and cut Bamboo Strips into sections.
"Uncle Sanyou, these Mud Bricks can't be used right now; they need to dry for a while. Can I come back later? Your house won't have any issues for the time being!"
"Alright, but when can you come, Qingxi? Hehe, can you try to come as soon as possible?" Zhang Sanyou rubbed his hands together, eager about the house repairs.
"Don't worry, Uncle Sanyou. I'll come over as soon as the Mud Bricks are ready. Just call me when they're done. We live in the West Side of the Village courtyard, but you can make more Mud Bricks so we can fix other places too!"
"Sounds good!" Liu Qingxi's straightforwardness pleasantly surprised both Zhang Sanyou and his wife.
After leaving Zhang Sanyou's house, Liu Qingxi and Liu Qingyan had been busy all morning and were just about to head home when they suddenly heard a voice calling from behind.
"Qingxi! Qingyan! Are you here? Wait for me!"
Comment 0 Comment Count