Chapter 17 Wooden Shelf

After picking all the red flowers, just half an hour had passed.

Lin Shuo said, "Let's go, let's go to the red flower field where we saw Wei Jingge before and pick some red flowers."

Lin Qian stopped them. She looked up at the sky and said, "The time for picking red flowers has passed. Let's go tomorrow."

"Sister, why is there a time limit for picking red flowers?" Lin Shuo asked in confusion.

Even Wei Jing looked over, his face full of curiosity.

Lin Qian explained, "Safflowers must be picked before the 7th hour of the twelfth lunar month. They are fresher at this time. If they are picked at other times, most of the moisture in the flowers will have evaporated, and they won't look as beautiful. They won't fetch a good price."

Lin Shuo and Wei Jing looked at each other and nodded.

"So what are we going to do next? Go home or stay a little longer?" Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Shuo asked.

Lin Qian looked around and found that they were near a pine forest. She said, "That's the pine forest over there. Why don't we go dig some Poria cocos? It's easy to find and valuable."

Wei Jing and his mother must be quite short of money, so it would be nice to have him contribute to the household expenses.

"Okay, let's go. I think it's almost time for lunch, so let's eat here instead of going down the mountain. I'll see if there are any pheasants or rabbits." Lin Shuo nodded and walked towards the pine forest, looking around for prey.

When they arrived at the pine forest, Lin Qian told Wei Jing where Poria cocos usually grows, and then the two of them began to look for it.

Lin Shuo went hunting.

"Qianqian, I found it, come quickly." Wei Jing suddenly shouted.

She quickly walked over to take a look, and it was indeed true. Lin Qian gave Wei Jing a thumbs up and said, "Brother Wei Jing, you are awesome."

With the small medicine hoe in hand, Lin Qian and Wei Jing dug out the Poria cocos in a short while.

When Lin Shuo came back with a pheasant, Lin Qian and Wei Jing had already dug out three large pieces of Poria cocos.

Lin Shuo plucked all the pheasant's feathers, then skillfully cut open the belly, took out a tinderbox, lit it, and roasted the pheasant over the fire.

"Shuo Shuo, did you guys always roast chicken outside before? How come you are so skilled?" Wei Jing asked, somewhat surprised by Lin Shuo's trial movements.

"Yes, my father taught me. He said that things like killing chickens and fish should only be done by men. Women should not be allowed to interfere. So when he is around, he does these things. When he is not around, I have to do it."

What Lin Shuo said was true, and it was also true in modern times. Zhao Xiu had never killed fish or chickens himself, as these were all done by Lin Wu.

If Lin Wu was not around, this job would fall on Lin Shuo.

Therefore, Lin Shuo started learning how to kill chickens and process fish at the age of twelve, and by the time he was thirteen, he was already adept at doing these things.

After hearing Lin Shuo's words, Wei Jing nodded thoughtfully, glanced at Lin Qian who was picking herbs, and then looked down at his own slender and thin hands.

The pheasant was roasted quickly, and as the aroma emanated, the three people's stomachs growled.

"Hehe, it's time to eat." Lin Shuo smiled and began to divide the chicken.

Both chicken legs fell into Lin Qian's hands, and Lin Shuo and Wei Jing divided the remaining roast chicken equally.

After eating, the three continued to look for Poria cocos until dusk. They dug five more and then went down the mountain together.

The baskets of the three people were all filled to the brim.

After getting down the mountain, the three of them noticed that Lin Qian's small, dilapidated house had been demolished into ruins, with several piles of blue bricks placed around it.

There were about ten men busy working there, probably building a house.

The three of them didn't go there and went straight home.

Lin Changcan was feeding chickens. When he saw the three people coming back, he immediately came to greet them, limping as he walked.

"You're back, why did you bring so many things? Put them down quickly and don't get tired." Lin Changcan hurried over to take off the basket on Lin Qian's back.

Lin Qian smiled and said, "It's okay, these are just herbs, they're very mild. Grandpa, what's wrong with your leg?"

Lin Changcan patted his leg and said, "It's okay, it's an old problem. It's been raining these past few days, and I've been moving around a bit more. So it started to hurt. It didn't hurt before when I was fine."

Rheumatism, cold legs.

At this time, Zhao Xiu and Zhang Yufang came back. Zhao Xiu said, "You went into the mountains again? I was wondering why you didn't come back for lunch today."

The three nodded, and then Lin Shuo said, "Mom, hurry up and cook, we are all hungry."

"Okay, I'll cook it right away and we'll be able to eat soon." Zhao Xiu said.

Zhang Yufang glanced at the energetic Wei Jing and asked, "Are you tired?"

Wei Jing shook his head: "Not tired, I've been feeling much better these past few days. I ran all day today and didn't feel tired at all."

"That's good. I'll go into the kitchen and help."

Wei Jing nodded.

Zhao Xiu and Zhang Yufang washed their hands and went into the kitchen.

Lin Qian turned around and asked Lin Changcan, "Grandpa, is there a stove at home?"

"I remember there seems to be one. Wait, grandpa will find it for you." Lin Changcan thought for a while, then went to look for it.

Lin Shuo and Wei Jing hurried to help.

Lin Qian carefully poured out all the safflower and placed it on the winnowing basket.

The small stove was quickly carried out by Lin Shuo and Wei Jing, and Lin Changcan helped to light the fire.

"Qianqian, what are you doing?" Lin Changcan asked.

"Oh, we went up the mountain today and picked a lot of safflowers. I'll dry them and then we can take them to the town to sell." Lin Qian said.

Lin Changcan nodded, then looked at Lin Qian holding the dustpan in her hand. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't you feel tired holding it all the time? I'll make you a stand later, and you can just put the dustpan on it."

"Okay, thank you, Grandpa."

Lin Changcan touched Lin Qian's head and went to look for wood.

There were a lot of ready-made pieces of wood in the woodshed. Lin Changcan picked two long ones and started splitting them in half with an axe.

When Lin Wu came in, Lin Changshen had just split one.

"Dad, what are you doing? Let me do it." As he said that, he took the axe from Lin Changcan's hand.

Lin Changcan smiled and made way for him, saying, "I want to make a shelf for Qianqian."

Lin Wu glanced at Lin Qian and immediately understood. "I see. Aren't your legs hurting? Take a break. I'll take care of it."

"It's okay, I'll watch you do it."

The wood was quickly finished, and Lin Wu asked, "Dad, do you have any nails at home?"

"Oh, no, a family like ours wouldn't need nails."

Lin Wu was dumbfounded: "How can we do it without nails?"

Lin Changcan came over with his hands behind his back and said, "Look, you still can't do it? I'll do it, and you just need to help me."

"good."

The commotion here also attracted Lin Shuo and Wei Jing, and they also walked over to see Lin Changcan setting up the stage.

Lin Changcan used a machete to carve a hole in the wood, then sharpened another piece of wood and inserted it into the hole. This is called a mortise and tenon joint.

Although Lin Wu was good at manual carpentry, he mostly relied on iron nails. He rarely saw such ancient carpentry skills.

"Dad, you're the best."