Chapter 132 Mud Basin

Watching the fire in the fireplace slowly die down, she did not get up to add more wood.

Most of the firewood at home is small-rooted branches, and the firewood split into large pieces of wood in the fireplace is more durable.

Going out of the back door of the house, there is a shed for storing firewood outside the rabbit pen. The firewood inside is probably enough to last for a week.

Zhao Yeqing went out of the main door of the house and changed into shoes for going out.

Mu Xi was storing the dried hay in the hay room in the yard.

"I want to go get some wood."

Zhao Yeqing put on his coat, zipped it up, and the white air he exhaled hung on his face.

Mu Xi put the green grass on the drying rack and said, "Wait until I finish this batch, and then we'll go together."

Zhao Yeqing rode on the horse and Mu Xi walked on the side. The two planned to go to the pine forest to chop wood. Pine trees are flammable and easy to burn. Withered branches and dry pine cones are also very useful for starting a fire.

It is difficult for Xiaohong to pull a large pine tree, so it is better to split it into small pieces and put them on a truck for transportation in batches.

After the first delivery, Zhao Yeqing did not ride the horse back to the pine forest, but led Xiaohong by the hand to reduce the burden on it.

Xiaohong's riding horse is not a draft horse, so it can't carry a lot of weight. She has to be careful when pulling heavy objects to avoid causing joint injuries.

If the cow wasn't really slow, very good at throwing mines, and eating wherever it went, she wouldn't have dragged Xiaohong to transport the goods.

When she returned to the pine forest, Mu Xi was already waiting at the intersection. Seeing her coming back, he hurried forward to take the reins.

"We have to hurry. You can't come with us for the first time. There are wolf footprints nearby."

Generally speaking, wolves rarely come out to hunt for food during the day, and the last time they encountered a pack of wolves it was almost dusk, but the two were still worried about unexpected situations.

Only half of a tree was transported, and Mu Xi would come back later to get the rest. He quickly picked up some pine needles and pine cones, took Xiaohong with him and went back.

Since the last heavy rain, there seem to be fewer animals on the meadow. I wonder if they have migrated to higher places.

The wolves may have appeared in this area because they couldn't find food. No trace of wolves had ever been found before.

A bow and arrow were found in the house of the family that found the cow, along with a lot of animal skins, horns and teeth.

She couldn't recognize the teeth, but the horns were quite large, probably those of some kind of deer.

Logically speaking, the meadow over there should be their range of activities.

Zhao Yeqing couldn't figure out the reason so he had to give up. Mu Xi piled all the firewood under the firewood shed.

"I can go by myself, you don't have to go."

Mu Xi didn't want to protect her blindly, but just weighed the pros and cons, "I'll take the horse with me, and when we encounter danger, I can just fire the gun and ride the horse away, and you can prepare the mud basin at home."

The clay pots were prepared so that people could eat green leafy vegetables in winter. Zhao Yeqing nailed a shelf under the south-facing windowsill in the room and planned to place the clay pots on it.

If you use clay pots to grow some vegetables indoors, there shouldn't be any problem in keeping the vegetables alive. It just depends on whether they can grow well.

It’s mainly about light. There’s not much sunlight in winter, and plants love light the most. With light, they can grow even with less fertilizer.

Zhao Yeqing saw that it was not too late, so he told Mu Xi to be careful before watching him leave.

There is also red clay at home, which is used to make clay pots and red bricks.

Clay pots are breathable and won’t suffocate the roots. Most of the ones at home are clay pots, which are not the right size, so she had to make one herself.

There is a ready-made brick kiln at home, so all we have to do is put the clay pot embryo in it.

After mixing the red soil with water to make mud, Zhao Yeqing wanted to make a mud basin with a frame of the same length.

Roll the soil into long strips, stack them layer by layer, and then knead them together.

The unfired clay is a little soft, and if the length is too long, it will easily crack when picked up.

After trying several times and still being unable to pick it up and put it back in, Zhao Yeqing had to resort to the next best thing and split the clay basin into two.

Seeing that there was enough space in the stove, Zhao Yeqing made two more clay basins in case of emergency.

Seal the top of the stove, use pine needles to start the fire, and then add firewood to the stove.

The flame needs to rise to a temperature suitable for firing. The simplest and most brutal way is to see it turn orange.

I stayed by the fire for nearly two hours before the flames changed color. I estimated the temperature must have been around 700 to 800 degrees before I stopped adding more firewood to heat it up.

Just keep burning until the flame goes out.

Wait until the temperature inside has cooled down completely before taking it out.

Mu Xi had already brought back the last load of firewood, and Zhao Yeqing took a handful of fresh grass mixed with hay and fed it to Xiaohong.

Its fur is now shiny and glossy. Zhao Yeqing braided its ponytail into a pigtail and combed and trimmed its hair to the appropriate length using the scissors he found.

She did not shave the hair under the little red saddle. The slightly longer hair could reduce the friction of the saddle on the skin.

While touching Xiao Hong's fur, he did not forget to remind Mu Xi, "Don't get close to the stove, be careful of getting burned."

He took Xiaohong back to the stable and then returned to the room.

The room is relatively warm now. She took out the seeds and soaked them in water at room temperature. She will sow them when the clay pot can be taken out tomorrow.

Mu Xi washed his hands and walked in. The room was warm, so he took off his coat and hung it by the door.

Seeing that she was busy, he walked behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, "What are you planning to plant?"

Zhao Yeqing shrank his neck because of the itchy heat beside his ear, raised his shoulders and pushed his head away.

"Grow some pea tips, just in time for soup pot in the winter."

Mu Xi's chin was pushed open and he looked quite dissatisfied. Seeing that she had soaked the seeds, he reached out and took the small bowl of soaked seeds away from her hand.

He stood in front of the rocking chair, pulled her up from the chair, put his arms around her waist, and held her in his arms, "You're tired, recharge yourself."

Zhao Yeqing clicked his tongue and blurted out what was in his mind, "You are really good at it."

Mu Xi sneered weakly, "It will be more than just this." He tightened his grip on his hands, not releasing it at all.

The man's body temperature was high, and Zhao Yeqing suddenly felt that the fireplace was unnecessary. After hugging him for a while, he felt like he was sweating.

The warmth in the room made people who had just returned from a busy day feel sleepy.

She moved to the side carefully, afraid of accidentally touching the bowl of water and seeds.

Mu Xi thought she wanted to hide, so he simply picked her up from the ground, put her on the bed and hugged her from behind.

Before she could shyly struggle a few more times, Mu Xi's somewhat tired voice rang out,

"It's cold. Don't move. I want to sleep for a while."

Just a few seconds after the words fell, the breathing behind him became even.

Zhao Yeqing......

I envy those who can fall asleep in seconds.

She sat stiffly on the bed, not daring to move.

The person behind her was sleeping soundly. She adjusted herself a little before relaxing and turning gently in his arms.

The features of Mu Xi when she was asleep became softer, and her eyelashes were long, thick and dense, covering her eyes.

It looks like having double eyelashes.

She couldn't help but raise her hand and touch it gently, but the man's eyes slowly opened.

She was caught and was about to withdraw her hand, but the man grabbed it.

There were some red bloodshot eyes and a hoarse voice. "I gave you a chance to touch it secretly, and you touch this?"