Chapter 151 The Transformation of the Little West House

I slept incredibly well that night, and when I woke up, all the fatigue from the previous day was gone.

The first thing I do when I open my eyes is look at the kitten. I was too tired yesterday, so I just put it in the box and fell asleep.

The little guy didn't make a fuss and stayed quiet all night without making a sound. Of course, it's also possible that I was sleeping too soundly and didn't hear him.

As soon as I got out of bed, I startled the little guy. He opened his round little eyes, looked at me hazily, and let out two soft, sweet meows, which completely melted my heart.

I carefully lifted it out of the box and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed). Gently stroking its soft fur, I prepared to think of a good name for it.

This kitten is entirely orange except for its four little paws, which are white, like it's wearing white gloves. It's quite cute.

Cream puffs? Milk cakes? Strawberry? I thought of several names, but couldn't decide.

Forget it, they say a humble name makes a child easier to raise, so let's call him Iron Egg.

Place the limp little iron egg on the ground and let it explore the east room to get acquainted with its surroundings.

After leaving the east room, I took out a small can of goat milk from the refrigerator and let it melt. I'll come back later and cook it to feed Tiedan.

The chickens and ducks were kept in their coop all day yesterday, and this morning they couldn't wait to go out for a stroll, so they all crowded at the entrance of the chicken coop.

Open the chicken coop door and the yard gate, and there's no need to rush. A few plump little ducks waddled their bottoms and led the whole flock of chickens and ducks to the fenced area on the mountain.

When I arrived, they were all obediently digging in the soil looking for insects and eating wild vegetables.

After closing the fence gate, I prepared two large buckets of pig and chicken feed. After feeding the pigs, I carried the chicken feed to the fenced area on the mountain to feed the chickens.

On the way back, I cut another bundle of grass, fed the rabbits, and finally I could pack up the things in the small truck.

The cabinet for storing Chinese medicine is very large, so we need to set aside a special space for it.

The small west room has a bookcase on one wall and a medicine cabinet on the other. I'll find a writing desk in town to put in the middle when I have the chance. That should be great.

There's a lot of stuff in the west room now. If we want to put in a medicine cabinet and a writing desk, we'll have to move everything except the bookcase.

The most space-consuming item is the exercise bike generator, which needs to be moved to another room.

The only empty space now is the breeding shed.

Rabbits were raised in the breeding room during the winter, but after the rabbits were moved out, the room was thoroughly cleaned and the windows were opened for ventilation for a long time.

There's no odor now, and it's very clean.

The exercise bike generator in the small west wing was moved to the breeding room and placed on the shady side of the breeding room, while the vegetables could still be grown on the sunny side as usual.

There were still some dried vegetables and empty cardboard boxes left on the floor of the small west room. They were all tidied up and put into the basement.

After cleaning the floor of the small west room, you can start moving things.

At home, we have a special trolley for carrying heavy items, making it much easier to move the medicine cabinet than it was in town.

The west wall of the small west room is lined with bookshelves, while the east wall houses medicine cabinets.

Four small medicine cabinets, stacked two on top and two on the bottom, perfectly replicate the arrangement in a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

They also brought in a large leather suitcase full of traditional Chinese medicine tools and books.

There was already some empty space on the bookshelf, so we picked out a few space-consuming tableware items and put them in the basement, freeing up a large empty space.

The TCM books were categorized and placed inside, and they filled the entire bookshelf perfectly.

Then, take out some of the wine from the bottom cabinet of the bookcase and replace it with traditional Chinese medicine tools. The supplies related to traditional Chinese medicine are now completely organized.

With this arrangement, the whole room looks much more stylish.

There is a bookcase against the west wall.

The wooden grid is filled with books of all colors, with a few cups, plates and bowls interspersed among them, adding an artistic touch to the bookish atmosphere.

You can vaguely see the items inside through the bottom glass cabinet door.

Several cabinets on the left and right sides displayed wines of various colors, while the cabinets in the middle neatly arranged small pure copper scales, acupuncture kits, stethoscopes, and blood pressure monitors, giving it an ancient and mysterious feel.

The medicine cabinet is against the east wall.

This traditional Chinese medicine cabinet seems to have been steeped in a century of history, its dark brown wood grain gleaming in the morning light.

The drawers with brass-trimmed corners are neatly arranged, each compartment with two yellowed pieces of paper pasted on them. The ink stains of herbs such as "Chuanxiong" and "Danggui" are stained on them, and if you get a little closer, you can smell the faint fragrance of herbs.

It's a bit empty in the middle; it would be perfect if I added a writing desk.

I don't plan to move the desk from the east room over. It's more comfortable to study in the east room when it's cold. I'll just pick out a desk I like and move it back next time I go to town.

The small west wing was later transformed into a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

Although I find the traditional Chinese medicine cabinet and books quite novel and interesting, I don't have time for them right now. The first batch of vegetables on the mountain has ripened, and it's time to harvest, process, and replant. I've been very busy lately.

Coming out of the small west room, I saw that the goat's milk had completely melted, and a layer of water droplets had condensed on the outside of the bottle.

The thawed goat milk was exactly the same as the goat milk before it was frozen, which is really amazing. In the past, when frozen milk was thawed, a lot of white coagulated particles would appear, but I didn't expect that the goat milk would be unaffected.

Pour the goat milk into a small saucepan, stirring constantly while cooking. As soon as it boils, quickly remove it from the heat, otherwise the milk will boil everywhere.

After the goat milk cooled down a bit, I poured some into the kitten's bowl. After being hungry all night, the little guy finally got to drink milk, and he was so happy that he was scratching his head with his paws.

I won't feed the rest to the dog; I'll put it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and feed it to the kitten for the next meal.

The sun was already high in the sky, and we hadn't had breakfast yet. The dogs and I were starving together.

If we need to eat quickly, we should eat noodles.

Cut the cured pork into small pieces, stir-fry it in a pan until the oil is rendered, add some chopped green onions and garlic, stir-fry until fragrant, then add water.

While boiling water, I quickly ran to the vegetable garden, picked a couple of bunches of bok choy and cilantro, and plucked two palm-sized cucumbers.

When I got home, the water was already boiling. I added various seasonings such as salt, chicken essence, and sesame oil, then put a large handful of noodles into the pot and cracked in five poached eggs.

Add a large handful of bok choy to boiling water, cook for a few more minutes, and then remove from the stove.

Cover the noodles and let them simmer for a while; they'll become stickier when you eat them later.

Shred two cucumbers using a grater, add some chopped cilantro, scallions, and minced garlic, then season with aged vinegar, light soy sauce, MSG, and sesame oil.

After stirring well, a refreshing cucumber aroma fills the air.

Here's a large bowl of noodles, topped with a poached egg, some bok choy, and a generous amount of cured meat—that's mine.

The rest were left uncovered to air dry.

I didn't eat much when I got home last night, and I ate breakfast so late that my stomach started to hurt from hunger.

Blow on the noodles to cool them down, then slurp them up. The aroma of the cured meat and the fragrance of the seasonings blend together, creating a very satisfying experience.

Paired with a big bite of cold cucumber salad, it's refreshing and helps cut through the greasiness.

I slurped down a big bowl of noodles, and barely left a plate of cucumber salad.

Pour out the sauce from the bottom of the plate, and add the remaining cucumber shreds to the pot of boiling noodles. Stir with chopsticks.