Tong Wenyao nodded, then wrote down her feelings and the level of spiciness she could handle. Qiu Zhen came over to watch her write and said in surprise, "Wenyao, you can write!" Tong Wenyao nodded, but for convenience, she wrote in simplified Chinese. She looked at Qiu Zhen with admiration, and suddenly felt a little proud.

"Qiu Zhen, if you want to learn to read, you can come to my house and I'll ask my second brother to teach you."

Qiu Zhen shook her head after hearing this, "Will it be too much trouble for your second brother?" Tong Wen Yao said while writing without raising her head, "How could that be? My second brother can teach two or three. Don't worry, Wen Jiang and Xin'er are now taught by my second brother." She lowered her head and did not look at Qiu Zhen, so she missed the blush on Qiu Zhen's face.

After finishing writing, she put the notebook away, took the basket, and waved to her, "Okay, Qiu Zhen, I'm going back first. If you want to learn to read, you can come over the day after tomorrow afternoon. We're going into the mountains tomorrow." When Qiu Zhen heard that they were going up the mountain, she also said she wanted to go. After the two agreed on a time for tomorrow, Tong Wenyao went back.

Seeing that it was still early, she thought of going to the workshop at the village entrance to take a look. While walking, she took out a small notebook and looked through everyone's favorite styles. She found that most people liked both the long and square spicy strips.

Before they knew it, they arrived at the wasteland at the entrance of the village. The foundation of the house had been laid, and the main task was to build the walls. Tong Bo and the craftsmen said that meals would not be provided, and they would be paid twelve cents a day. The villagers agreed. They could go home to eat at mealtimes, as it was close to home and there was work to do. If they went to the county to carry the goods, they would only get ten cents a day, which was not as generous as here.

Before she even reached him, an older man who was cutting through the wall said, "Wenyao, call your brother home for dinner." Tong Wenyao had only been in the village for a short time and didn't know the man's name, but that didn't stop her from responding, "Uncle, I came over to see you."

Tong Bo heard Tong Wenyao's voice inside and came out, "Yao'er, I'll go back with you when you're ready." She smiled and replied, "Second brother, don't worry, I'll take a walk first."

The uncle was now building the wall around the yard, and the second brother explained, "I plan to have the wall around the yard built three meters high, so that it can also protect us from some villains." Tong Bo was thoughtful and she nodded in agreement. If the budget was limited, she would have wanted to buy the land on the back mountain.

The yard was quite large, about half the size of a football field. She had also seen the entrance to the house when she arrived. The reserved space was ample, so there was no need to worry about traffic jams later. There were two small rooms near the entrance. Tong Bo said these were reserved for the gatekeepers, who would also watch over the yard at night. The other room was for grinding chili powder. He had already ordered a stone mill a few days ago, and it would be placed in this room. With two teams already working on it, it was estimated that it would be completed soon.

"Yao'er, we'll build three large stoves in each of the two workshops as you requested." Four large windows were left in the house. When the time comes, they'll be covered with window paper to allow for better light transmission. Tong Wenyao nodded, but still felt a little regretful. How wonderful it would be if she could make the glass windows of her previous life!

After passing through the workshop, we came to the backyard, which was as spacious as the front yard. Tong Bo said that the well digger would come in two days. It would be much more convenient to dig a well in the backyard at that time. Although bamboo could be used to draw water from the stream in the back mountain, it would be safer if there was a well.

When it was time for dinner, Tong Bo told them to go back and eat and come back after dinner. The uncle in the lead responded, "Okay." Tong Wen Yao also prepared to go back and eat with her brother. After closing the courtyard gate, they walked to the end of the village.

The village chief stood at the door of his house, eating with a bowl of rice in his hand. Tong Bo would greet him when he passed by, and she would greet him too. When he met someone he didn't know, Tong Bo would whisper to explain which family they were from, which solved her embarrassing situation.

Then, Tong Wenyao discovered that her brother got along well with many people in the village. Young and old, they were all very welcoming to him, and some even said they wanted to go to his house for dinner when they had time. If Tong Wenyao knew why the villagers were so welcoming, she probably wouldn't be able to laugh anymore.

Before she even walked back to her thatched cottage, Xin'er jogged down the hillside, her bangs blown by the wind. Because she was wearing a cotton coat, Xin'er ran like a little penguin, a little clumsy but cute.

"Sister, hold me." Xin'er acted coquettishly, wanting her to hold her, but Tong Bo reached out and grabbed her, "Wen Yao is busy and tired today, how can you let her hold you? I'll hold you." Xin'er seemed to have succeeded, and smiled wickedly, "Then please, second brother, hold me!"

But Tong Bo knocked her on the head, "Xin'er, you're so cunning that you're even playing tricks on me." Xin'er immediately hugged her head and ran back, "Brother, I'm going to tell mom that you hit me."

Tong Wenyao was amused by Xin'er and laughed heartily. With Xin'er as a lively figure, the family was filled with more laughter and joy. "Sister, you are finally a little childish now. You have become too mature since your exile."

Tong Wenyao asked him, "Second brother, isn't it good to be mature? If I'm not mature, how will my mother live? My eldest brother only knows how to fight and kill, so naturally I have to support him. If I didn't have the courage, I wouldn't go to Shennv Mountain alone to save people."

Tong Bo looked towards the thatched cottage on the hillside and said, "Thanks to you for saving my father. Otherwise, I don't know how sad my mother would be." Tong Wenyao looked at her brother, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Second brother, Second Uncle is also my family. It's my duty to save him. Besides, we are a family. You don't have to thank me."

Tong Bo recalled the experience she had told him in the kitchen yesterday. Even though she had avoided a lot of the bloody details, he could still glimpse some danger from her words.

After lunch, she took Qian's mother's pulse and adjusted her body condition. She was now six months pregnant and her belly was already showing. It was estimated that the due date would be around the time after the Chinese New Year.

Mother Qian is in much better health now than before her exile, and her face has become a little rosy. "Mom, there are some red dates in the room. Eat some red dates every day, and don't eat too many pears."

Qian's mother nodded. She listened to her daughter. Tong Wenyao then asked her if she wanted to go to the mountains to pick chestnuts tomorrow. He had seen two chestnut trees when he had entered the mountains before. On the way to exile, she had come across a chestnut tree before. Plus, her second uncle had shot a pheasant, and she had made chestnut chicken, which made Tong Wenyao remember it all the time. So whenever he had time to go up the mountain, he would look for chestnuts. The last time he went up the mountain with his second uncle, he was busy hunting and didn't pick any. Now that he was free, he asked her if she wanted to go up the mountain to pick chestnuts tomorrow.

Tong Wen Yao was thinking about the little snow leopard she raised at home. It seemed that the rations that the snow leopard had prepared for it were almost finished, so it was time to go into the mountains to hunt some wild game, otherwise it would have nothing to eat.