Chapter 47

The stone mill that she had picked out a long time ago cost two hundred and sixty-five coins, including the wooden frame used to place the millstone. Sang Luo spent more than half a quarter of an hour talking to the owner of the stoneware shop in the shop, and finally got the owner to give her a stone mortar.

The stone mortar was quite large, more than three times larger than the ones sold nowadays for pounding garlic. There were so many people in Sang Luo's family, so if they forgot to pound the rice one day, they could use this one temporarily.

The wooden barrels and baskets on the cart were stacked and arranged to make room, and the shopkeeper and the waiter helped put the millstone on.

This thing is really heavy, but because it can be taken apart and reassembled, women who usually do farm work should be able to carry it with a little effort. But if they carry it up the mountain, it would be really difficult. Qin Fangniang finally understood why Sang Luo specifically greeted her and asked her husband to help move it.

After buying the stone mill, all the money Qin Fangniang had handed over and the money she had originally stuffed in her sleeve pocket were emptied out. She also counted out dozens of coins from her own purse, but it was indeed comfortable to feel a little more light.

She went to pull the cart: "Let's buy some more grain and move into the new house. We will live a good life in the future. First, we need to fill the rice jar. Let's buy a bathtub. From now on, I don't have to worry about bathing in the stream anymore."

Qin Fangniang laughed when she heard this, and she didn't ask Sang Luo to pull the cart: "You can't pull the cart as steadily as I can. The roads in the county are all slabs of stone, so it's easy to pull. You can help me push the cart a little more after we leave the county."

He pulled the cart up and continued what the previous person said: "It's not comfortable to take a bath in a stream, and it's also frightening."

"Auntie also washed in the stream?"

"I have washed it. When I first came here to escape the famine, I didn't have much. Life wasn't much better than yours before. It took time for me to get by."

Talking about the time they escaped from famine, the two went to the grain store and the wood shop and bought a bag of grain and the bathtub that Sang Luo had been longing for.

There were a lot of things, so it took some time to load them onto the truck. The waiter at the wood shop even found a roll of straw rope to help tie up the four sides, to make sure that nothing would fall off even when the truck was parked at an angle.

Qin Fangniang looked at the full cart of things. Except for the two buckets, a pair of baskets and a backpack, which belonged to her family, the rest were things bought by Sang Luo, including a stone mill, a wooden barrel, grain, a bathtub, and a few yellow and fluffy ducklings that kept quacking happily. She sighed, "You guys are finally living a good life now."

Sang Luo also felt satisfied from the bottom of her heart. She had a house, food, a direct access to the mountain, a spring beside the house, a few chickens and ducks in front of the house, and a few rows of vegetables and melons behind the house. She could also earn some money. With such a life, what else could she not be satisfied with?

…

After returning to the village, Sang Luo carried the wooden barrel and the ducklings she had bought home first. Chen Youtian was busy in the yard. When he saw her come back, he knew that it was time for him to move things. After asking for confirmation, he put down his work and went down the mountain along the path.

Sang Luo put the bucket down. Before Shen An and Shen Ning came close, they heard a series of crisp calls. The brother and sister's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, did you buy a duck?"

Sang Luo took the basket with three ducklings out of the bucket and said, "Yeah, you're happy, right?"

No one can resist the furry charm of childhood.

The two little ones were really happy, squatting beside the basket and looking inside. Chen Ning had already reached out to touch it, gently touching the duckling's head. He was so happy that he turned around and said to Sang Luo, "Sister-in-law, I know how to raise ducks. I was the one who fed the chickens and ducks at home before. I'll raise this one."

"Okay, then I'll leave these three ducklings to you from now on. Go find some grass to pad the duck nest. We'll build a duck nest later. I have to go down the mountain twice to move some things."

As they were about to leave, Chen An hurriedly asked what they were going to move. Sang Luo thought for a moment and said, "A bathtub is fine too. Come with me, Xiao An, and help me carry it."

Shen An responded, stopped squatting and watching the duckling, and stood up to follow Sang Luo out.

The wooden bathtub is not very deep, and it can be lifted by one person. It just won’t be easy to carry for a long time, so it is much easier to carry it with two people.

…

When Chen Youtian saw that the thing Sang Luo asked him to help move yesterday was a stone mill, he was also stunned. At that time, Sang Luo had not arrived yet, so he asked his wife: "Why did you think of buying a stone mill?"

This stuff isn't cheap.

Qin Fangniang shook her head and said, "Just say it's useful and we'll know in two days."

Chen Youtian didn't ask any more questions after hearing what she said. The millstone had upper and lower millstones. He weighed the upper millstone and thought it was OK. He said something to Qin Fangniang, and walked away with it. A few steps later, he ran into Sang Luo and Shen An who were coming from behind. Sang Luo saw that Chen Youtian had already moved the millstone and asked, "Uncle Youtian, can you move it by yourself?"

Chen Youtian nodded: "It can be moved."

Sang Luo stopped talking and went with Chen An to carry the bathtub. On the way back, she met Chen Youtian and asked him to wait while she helped carry the millstone on the lower level.

As for the bag of millet, Qin Fangniang was asked to take it back, and Sang Luo would go over and pound it into rice herself later and bring it back.

After Chen Youtian got the stone mill back, he helped assemble the wooden base frame with mortise and tenon structure. He asked Sang Luo where to put it. Sang Luo pointed to the innermost side of the kitchen. Then the two of them carried the things over together and placed the stone mill.

After the work was done, he said, "I have also made Xiao An's bed. You are back just in time. Let's see where to put it in your room. I will help you install it after I have cleaned it up."

They were all mortise and tenon structures, and now they looked like just some small pieces of accessories. If he didn't help to install them, and Sang had to install them himself, it would probably take him a long time to figure it out.

"The bed was made so quickly?" Sang Luo was a little surprised and said, "The room was cleaned early in the morning and it's being installed now."

As he said that, he went to help Chen Youtian move the bed boards and bedposts.

Well, it really should be □□ pillars. The four legs of the bed are complete cylinders sawed from a piece of wood. There are grooves on the top. It should be the legendary mortise and tenon structure that is more solid than nails.

After everything was moved into the house, Chen Youtian installed it while Sang Luo watched from the side. It was really smooth!

Four round wooden pillars and a board of different thicknesses were put together into a bed with a few hammerings in Chen Youtian's hands.

The bed boards were laid out one by one. Sang Luo went over to try them with her hands and found them to be very solid.

She gave Chen Youtian a thumbs up and said, "Uncle Youtian, your cooking skills are amazing."

Isn't this much better than the three benches and a few bed boards that Shen San gave them?

As for Shen San, he is my uncle, so I am too lazy to comment on him.

Chen Youtian was praised, so he smiled, put away his tools, and said, "I have some clean straw at home. You can go and fetch some over later. Put the straw on the bed and then the mat, so that you can sleep more comfortably. You don't have to go to the market to buy the mat. My mother is weaving it at home. It should be ready soon. It's also a gift to celebrate your new home. I think I'll send it to you in the evening."

Mrs. Chen had been in this thatched hut before, so she knew exactly what the bed inside was like. It was such a narrow bed, with three people squeezed in it. When the weather got hot, they would probably want to sleep sideways.

So there is no particular time for giving gifts. Once the bed is made and the mat is woven, it will be delivered naturally.

When Sang Luo heard that the old lady had almost finished weaving the mat, she was stunned. It would be a lie to say that she was not touched. It was precisely at this moment when she was so moved that she could not even say thank you.

She smiled: "Our Xiao An is so lucky that he can sleep in a new bed tonight."

Chen Youtian smiled, then thought of another thing, and said, "By the way, my mother has asked about the chickens you want to raise. The Lu family can spare two, and there is another family in the village that can spare two. If you can raise four, you can buy from both families. If you can't raise so many, you can just pick one from each family. They are all good breeders."

Sang Luo was happy: "It's a good day today. The chickens and ducks have settled down here. Uncle, I'll go down with you and bring the chickens back. Also, please leave your tools here and lend them to me. I'm thinking of building a chicken and duck shed with bamboo."

Chen Youtian was unwilling to do so. "Okay, then I won't pack up and will go back first. You can use those things as you like and send them back to me when you are done. You can collect the remaining wood yourself later. It will be useful for whatever you do in the future."

Sang Luo agreed and asked Chen Youtian to wait for her. She went into the house and took out the old cloth bag. When she went out, she ran into Chen An and Chen Ning who were looking for hay. Sang Luo said, "It's just right. An Ning, you are at home. Xiao An, come with me to your grandmother Chen's house and bring back some straw."

Chen An didn't know that his new bed had been installed. He just heard his sister-in-law asking him to help. He gave all the hay in his hand to his sister, turned around and went down the mountain with his sister-in-law.

The first place we went to after we went down the mountain was Chen's house. It was also a coincidence that the old lady had just finished weaving the mat. When she saw Sang Luo and Shen An coming with Chen Youtian's house, she smiled and said, "You came just in time. This mat is for you. You can take it back when you come."

Then he asked Chen Youtian: "Is the bed ready?"

Chen Youtian nodded: "It's ready. Just put some straw on it and put some mats on it and it will be ready to use."

Shen An’s eyes lit up: “Uncle Youtian, my bed is ready?”

When I went out, I saw it was still a pile of wood.

Chen Youtian smiled and said, "Okay, that's perfect. You can take the straw back by yourself. Your sister-in-law has to go buy chickens, so she can't take the straw now."

When Granny Chen heard this, she smiled and said to Sang Luo, "Wait a minute, Xiao An, come with me. Grandma will draw the straw for you."

"Yeah!" Chen An responded, said something to Sang Luo, and happily followed Mrs. Chen out.

They have a new bed! Soon they will have a chicken. They are so happy!