Xiaoyue smiled and led Uncle Gao to the window. She lifted a corner of the grass and saw a long horizontal stick in the pit, with five or six short sticks on top of it, covered with large leaves. On top of the large leaves was a layer of turf, just like the surrounding environment.

Uncle Gao understood at a glance, nodded with a "haha", and then said to Xiaoyue, "The house will be finished today, don't worry."

...

Xiaoyue led Xiaodouding to plant green beans. Next to the stone fence, Xiaoyue used a pickaxe to dig a hole, and Xiaodouding was responsible for throwing two green bean seeds into the hole. Then, Xiaodouding used his little feet to cover the green bean seeds with soil and tamp it down.

Xiaoyue finished digging holes in both rows and then went to the village well to fetch a bucket of water.

Then water it.

By noon, four rows of green beans had already been planted.

After watering the vegetables, Xiaoyue straightened her back and decided to plant the rest of the vegetables in the afternoon.

After washing his hands, he took out the medicine pot and started brewing medicine for his third sister-in-law, cooking rice, and cutting a bunch of chives.

Lu Xiaomei got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat in the courtyard for a while.

Once the medicine was ready, Xiaoyue poured the liquid into a bowl, let it cool for a while, and then touched the bowl with the back of her hand to make sure it wasn't too hot before handing it to Lu Xiaomei, who was sitting outside, and letting her drink it.

I poured her some clean water again so she could rinse her mouth.

They moved the long table outside, and the three of them each had a bowl of rice and a plate of stir-fried chives on the table.

After Lu Xiaomei and Xiaodouding finished eating, Xiaoyue persuaded them to go inside and take a nap.

Xiaoyue then tended two vegetable plots next to the bean field, sowing rapeseed in one plot and celery seeds in the other, and watered them thoroughly.

Xiaoyue cleared two more rows of scallion fields, sowed scallion seeds, and carried water to irrigate them.

Then he went inside to check on the two men, who were sleeping well, and then went to the backyard to bring water to Uncle Ge and the other two.

After returning, Xiaoyue planted cabbages on a plot of land about two-tenths of an acre east of the gravel road. Xiaoyue thought that since the cabbages would be plentiful in winter, she would also need to buy some potatoes. Oh, and next time she went to the market, she would have to buy some ramie seeds to sow on the reclaimed land.

Xiaoyue made five more trips to fetch water to water the cabbage field, thoroughly soaking it. In the evening, seeing how tired Xiaoyue was, Lu Xiaomei leaned on a stick, and the little boy tended the fire. The mother and daughter cooked a sorghum rice dish with some oil and salt.

Seeing that the mother and daughter had finished, Xiaoyue went to the back to take a look. The roof was neatly covered with straw, and the window paper was pasted on. The doors were also installed. Xiaoyue pushed the door open and went inside. The floor was smoothed, and the stove was built, with one large and one small stove platform according to Xiaoyue's request. The stove was placed outside. She went into the east room, where the kang (heated brick bed) on the north side was not yet completely dry.

In the west room, just like in the east room, Xiaoyue carried firewood and filled each stove with a piece of wood.

The big pot was cooking, and Xiaoyue put the small pot on the stove, filled it with water, and started heating the kang (heated brick bed) on the west side.

Upon reaching the north side of the house, the shed was also quite nice, though the horizontal and vertical supports were a bit too dense. Uncle Gao built an 800-meter-high base, then inserted 500-meter-wide, 2-meter-thick planks into it and secured it under the eaves. This created an arc shape, which was then covered with paper windows. There was a door on the east and west sides, also with paper windows, except that the door windows were double-layered.

They went around to the east side and entered the north courtyard, where they saw Uncle Gao packing his things. Xiaoyue quickly went to help him.

Uncle Gao, Brother Yang, Gao Yu, and Xiaoyue said goodbye, and the three of them left.

The meal was ready, and Xiaoyue tidied up to eat and brewed the medicine.

After washing the pot, I sat down in the new house, added two buckets of water, then added firewood and started a fire, opening all the windows to let in fresh air.

Xiaoyue was watching the fire, and Lu Xiaomei took a small stool and sat down in front of Xiaoyue.

When they saw that Lu Xiaomei had also come to the backyard, they called Xiaodouding to come to the backyard as well, and leaned the front door against the door frame.

When they arrived at the backyard, they saw Lu Xiaomei adding fuel to the fire. The firelight illuminated Lu Xiaomei's face, revealing that her sickly sallow complexion was gone, replaced by a rosy, thin face. Her eyes were brighter, and she had visibly gained some weight, no longer looking as haggard as when they first met.

"Sister-in-law, we can move in tomorrow or the day after. Aren't you happy?"

"I'm happy, but I can't do anything and I'll only be a burden to you."

"Don't talk about being a burden. Once you're better, you can cook and sew, and I'll take care of farming and picking vegetables."

"OK."

"By the way, I bought two bolts of cloth when I went to town last time. One of them was soaked in water, so it's no good. Let's stick the cloth on the wall and the windowsill."

We'll pick out the less desirable fabrics, brush on several layers of paste, and make layered soles, letting them air dry a lot so we can't get enough of them. Then we'll each make at least one pair of shoes.

Make another set of autumn clothes for one person.

Xiaoyue's eyes lit up. She got excited at the mention of cloth, knowing that two bolts of cloth cost less than one bolt.

She continued, "If we have enough fabric, we'll make another set of bedding. My sister-in-law is counting on you for everything, so you need to get better soon."

Lu Xiaomei tilted her head and smiled at Xiaoyue. When Ge Sanlin brought Xiaoyue back, he entered the west wing without asking a single question about her health. He simply put Xiaoyue on the kang and told Lu Xiaomei that from now on, the little bean should call her "mother."

If you didn't know how much of a blow you would feel after hearing Ge Sanlin's words, that he wouldn't even look at you, you would feel utterly heartbroken.

Fortunately, Xiaoyue was there. Xiaoyue was not like the Ge family, and she was different from him.

When Lu Xiaomei married into the family, Ge Sanlin left in less than a year, leaving her to take care of her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law all by herself.

My sister-in-law is already fifteen, and she still expects me to do her laundry. I'm fine with doing chores for her, but she always finds fault with the clothes, saying they're wrinkled or not clean enough.

My eldest and second eldest brothers don't live in this courtyard, and I can't usually find them.

Lu Xiaomei did all the work.

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