Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Storage Rack and Baked Sweet Potatoes

Mr. Sato was wearing a mask while cutting steel pipes in the room. He was supposed to polish the pipes, but as a DIY enthusiast, he had his own work process. Instead of slowly polishing the edges while cutting, it would be easier to wait until the finished product comes out and then polish the exposed edges that may hurt people.

It is not difficult for him to do this repetitive work. Although he calls himself an amateur, he usually helps villagers with welding work. His technique is simple and crude but efficient.

In the intervals between the roar of the cutting machine, he heard Lord Gong taking two children out to feed the chickens and ducks: Lord Gong was still teaching them how to put on raincoats.

Another male student followed him out the door.

He was left alone in the room like this.

Sato's heart beat uncontrollably for a while, and he simply stopped what he was doing and looked at the various things piled up in the room in a mess: large clay jars containing something pickled, glass jars containing dried chrysanthemums and dried mushrooms, wild pears, apples, chestnuts, and hawthorns in small reed baskets, a bag of soybeans, a large bag of flour, dry reed stalks neatly tied into bundles, some rain gear, a fishing rod, sealable empty cans and bottles, and many items bought in his shop.

After looking at all the things, Mr. Sato began to think about how to put them on the shelf, and the nervousness in his heart faded away.

He continued to work, and when he stopped to rest for a while, he heard Lord Gong and the others come back and seemed to have started to prepare lunch.

One of the twins ran in to get the dried mushrooms, and the other followed behind him, grunted twice, and handed him a glass of water.

Minoru Sato took it carefully as if he were receiving a bomb, and said "thank you" vaguely.

He went home to have his lunch. He had agreed at the beginning that he would not eat at Lord Gong's house. The twins saw him finish his water and run out the door with the cup, as if he was called to help in the kitchen.

His thoughts inevitably began to reminisce about the twins from the past.

In the village, any little news would spread quickly, and everyone would take the initiative to inquire about it. Something was amiss with the two children very early on, and by then, their family was very unwelcome in the village, until their mother passed away...

Minoru Sato used to hate the twins. Their existence was the embodiment of instability, danger, and fear.

No one would want to get close to them. Every time they heard the word "monster" and looked at their eyes that seemed to have really seen something, those who had truly experienced it would know the creepy, hair-standing fear.

Before the anxiety and fear spread, Lord Gong arrived.

On the night the barrier appeared, he felt unprecedented ease, comfort, and security.

Those ominous, hidden curses or something else disappeared from them in an instant.

After returning home that night, the villagers talked to each other and found that they were not the only ones who felt this way.

Everyone was extremely grateful that Lord Gong was willing to adopt the two children, and now it seems that the two children have become normal children.

That's good.

The rain outside stopped at some point. Sato went home for lunch and talked about the twins with his wife.

Mayumi Sato patted his arm, indicating that the child had not left yet, and drove her son back to the room. She complained: "Don't talk about those two children in front of Lu."

Sato Minoru disagreed: "With the shrine maiden here, what are you afraid of? Besides, the two children's eyes have changed when they are around the shrine maiden. They are no longer as creepy as before."

Sato Mayumi said, "May the Lord bless you," and then said, "That's a good thing. Don't mention this matter when you go."

Sato Minoru: "How could I say such a thing? That's Lord Miya's house."

Mayumi said sincerely: "You must work hard when you go to Lord Gong's house this afternoon. I told you before that you should sign up for a welding training class. You are always so half-hearted..."

The rest was his wife's usual refrain. Sato, who used to steadfastly defend his identity as a "DIY enthusiast," now thought it would be a good idea to learn a craft. What if the palace-sama needed it in the future? What if he needed to repair a shrine or something? Although welding was rarely used in shrines, he could squeeze in to help out and have another excuse.

Sato Minoru said slowly: "Let me think about it first."

The Gong family’s lunch today was particularly sumptuous.

It doesn't refer to big fish and meat, but the types of dishes: stir-fried water spinach, spicy and sour komatsuna, pumpkin buns, cabbage and egg pancakes, and even roasted sweet potatoes for dessert.

Geto accepted the other dishes well, but was hesitant about the charred sweet potato lying alone in the basket.

Is this black stuff really edible? Has it turned to carbon inside?

Gong Zhili peeled a roasted sweet potato in front of him with a smile. This kind of sweet potato baked in the stove is absolutely delicious. The skin is dry and wrinkled, with scattered wood ash on it. When you pinch it with your fingers, the crumbs fall off, revealing the orange-red flesh inside. The steaming hot air wrapped in the smell of wood smoke drifts upwards. The potato flesh is soft in texture, and it will dent when you press it lightly with your fingers. When you break it open, you will pull out long and thin sugar threads, and sticky sugar juice is still oozing out of the cracks.

The twins' eyes suddenly lit up. They peeled the sweet potatoes like her and couldn't wait to bite into them. They gasped in pain from the heat but refused to stop and wait.

It's dessert!

Children all love desserts, and soon their mouths and cheeks were covered with black ash, but this did not affect their appetite at all.

Gong Zhili ate more politely than them. She peeled the fruit into small pieces with her hands and ate them. Of course, her hands were definitely dirty. Seeing this, Xia Yujie also learned from her method and tried his best to avoid getting the black ash on his face.

The roasted sweet potato is warm in the mouth, its sweetness spreading from the tip of the tongue to the back, forming a semi-caramelized layer near the skin, with a slight chewiness when chewed; the core is moist, with fine fibers like bean paste. The smoky aroma seeps into every inch of the flesh, the charcoal smell intertwined with the sweet potato fragrance, and a faint astringent taste of wood ash lingers in the throat after swallowing.

After eating the roasted sweet potato, Geto Xia Yu was silent and thought about something. He said to Gong Zhili, "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Miyajiri was wiping Nanako's mouth, and Mimiko was waiting nearby with her sticky hands. Hearing this, she said, "Any ideas about the container for the Curse Jade?"

Geto Xiayou nodded, "Satoru sent me a message."

Once he returns to the technical high school, he will be able to obtain the cursed tool.

Gong Zhili nodded and said, "Okay, if you want to go out tomorrow, you can pay Mr. Suzuki from the canteen to give you a ride."

She: "Do you have any money left?"

Xia Yujie saw that she belatedly realized that she should be concerned about whether he had money. Instead of complaining, "I gave you most of the money before," he said, "Maybe there is still some shortfall."

Gong Zhili continued to wipe the child's hands without looking up: "Then go to the box under the bed steps in the northernmost room and get some money."

Geto Suguru readily took the money, feeling as if his parents were ordering him to get pocket money.

Miss Mingminggong is younger than herself.

Wait, Miss Gong doesn't go to school at this age?!

--

Until the afternoon when the storage rack was completed, Geto Suguru was unable to ask the doubts in his heart. That was because as soon as the storage rack was completed, Gong Zhili pulled the whole family to put things in order. After tidying up the storage room, she cleaned it again. After finishing these things, she started measuring the dimensions in the living room.

Gong Zhili is choosing a place to repair the stove.

The two tatami mats in the center of the living room should be moved away first, and a 20 cm deep hole should be dug underneath.

At the same time, a chimney needed to be hung on the roof above his head. Gong Zhili found that he did not have enough screws, and he did not buy enough hanging rings, and he also bought not enough insulating asbestos nets.

And to screw the eyebolts and insulation overhead, she needed a ladder.

When Geto Xiayou put away the materials for repairing the stove, Gong Zhili had already gone out and came back home carrying a ladder.

She put the wet ladder next to the shelf, thinking to herself that the materials should be ready this time.

She also rented an electric screwdriver. Although she wanted to buy it, Boss Sato only had this one, so she had already ordered a new one from him.

Xia Yujie squatted casually in the living room, his hands on his knees, and asked, "Miss Gong, are you going to fix this stove by yourself?"

Gong Zhili hummed and said, "I know how to fix it. It's very simple. If Boss Sato can bring back the refractory bricks in the next two days, and we work overtime, we can finish it in two days."

She added the refractory bricks later because she thought the stove could be left in place during the summer. She planned to install rectangular tables on the other three sides of the stove. When the stove was no longer lit in the summer, she would lift up the folding tabletops under the table to form a complete square table.

Therefore, she went to Mr. Ito to return the table she had ordered and asked him to modify it according to the new size. Mr. Ito was very interested in this foldable table that required more craftsmanship. He asked her questions for a long time and kept praising her for this method.

Xia Yujie looked up at her: "Don't you need my help?"

Gong Zhili was surprised: "But you are leaving the village early tomorrow morning, aren't you?"

Finally, Geto Xiayou couldn't help it: "If you say you need help, I can leave later, and I also have a curse spirit." He is such a big man, and if he has the curse spirit, he can help her do a lot of things in a short time.

He didn't believe she hadn't thought of this.

Gong Zhili was stunned for a moment: "Aren't you in a hurry to leave?"

Geto Suguru was frustrated: "No - I'm just not in that hurry." He believed that there would be enough time for him, half a day or so, that Wu could squeeze out for him.

Gong Zhili touched his chin and said, "Curse spirits are indeed useful, but you don't seem to like summoning them to work. Let's not do it. Besides, we can't start the work until the fire bricks arrive tomorrow. It might even rain tomorrow."

Geto Suguru stopped talking and looked at the tatami.

Yes, why has it been raining these few days since he came?

Gong Zhili also smiled and squatted down, tilting her head to see his expression: "Life here is actually not bad, right?"

Geto Suguru raised his eyes and faced her smiling face.

Gong Zhili said cheerfully: "If you think it's good, remember to recommend it to your classmates when you go back - just kidding." She was not ready to have too much interaction with the world of sorcery at the moment.

Xia Yujie curled his lips and said, "Another classmate of mine, Ieiri Naoko, will be here tomorrow morning."

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I'll post one update first, and then write the other one. I may not be able to post any more today because I have to go out in the evening.