"It's so cold today, how about we have mutton hot pot? It'll help warm us up."

“Sure, this weather is perfect for hot pot. I’ll go and start cooking the lamb bones first, then we can gnaw on them later.”

After saying that, Xu Han went to the kitchen again, first blanching the lamb bones in water, then boiling them over high heat before transferring them to an earthenware pot to simmer over low heat to make soup.

Xu Han also took the opportunity to make some plain meat jerky for Mu'er, so that the child could chew on it when she had nothing else to do.

Because it was raining, the outdoor grill couldn't be used, so Xu Han cooked the food directly in the pot.

This method produces beef jerky that isn't too dry, making it more suitable for children.

After the dried meat was made, it was lunchtime, and the group sat down together to eat.

The mutton hot pot we had today didn't have any broth; it was just the original soup, which made it taste even more delicious.

It's bursting with the flavor of mutton, especially the mutton soup – the taste is absolutely divine!

Mu'er can also eat today's mutton hot pot. Mu'er is almost three years old now, and most of the time he just eats whatever the adults eat.

Unless it's particularly spicy food, Xu Han will cook separately for Mu'er; otherwise, they eat together.

After lunch, Xu Han played with the children inside the house and also helped Mu'er review her early childhood lessons.

These are all relatively simple, nothing more than primers like the Three Character Classic or the Hundred Family Surnames.

Just like looking at a picture book, Xu Han pointed to the words and read them aloud, and Mu'er read along with her, also recognizing the words in the process.

Then review what you learned before about memorization; Xu Han and Lu Chuan can both provide guidance on this.

However, Grandpa Zhao would need to teach Mu'er how to translate, because Xu Han was also afraid of making mistakes in her translation...

Although Xu Han graduated from university in her previous life, she hadn't studied for a long time and had forgotten some things.

Therefore, Xu Han would rather not teach at all than impart incorrect knowledge to Mu'er...

Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest continued to process the stones they had collected. After they finished processing the stones, they took out the leftover materials from making furniture and, taking advantage of the rainy day, helped Xu Han make a flower stand.

The flower stand is very simple; it's shaped like a staircase, with sections, so that flower pots placed on it can all get some sun.

The group went about their business, staying inside the house for two days before the rain finally stopped completely.

"The sky has finally cleared up. We finished building the flower beds outside today. Tomorrow, when the road is dry, we'll go up the mountain to see if there are any mushrooms. It's been a long time since we picked mushrooms, and my hands are itching to do it," Lu Chuan said, rubbing his hands together.

“Okay, the road should be dry by now. The famine is over, and there must be a lot of dead trees on the mountain. Let’s see if we can pick more wood ear mushrooms this year. We’ve already finished them, and I’m really craving some more,” Xu Han replied.

After breakfast, Xu Han carried the stones outside, while Lu Chuan went with Grandpa Zhao to find yellow clay to build the flower bed later.

"Is this enough?" Xu Han asked.

"It'll be enough. We'll just build a flower bed next to the courtyard wall at the entrance; it won't take much."

"Okay, you two can build the flower beds as we discussed before. I'll go remove the bamboo thorns around the courtyard wall. We don't need them now anyway. We can fill in the holes later and plant some climbing flowers around the courtyard wall." Xu Han assigned the tasks.

"Be careful. If you can't do it, wait until we finish building the flower beds before you try."

"It's alright, pulling out bamboo thorns is super easy, I can do it. Mu'er is playing by the door, just keep an eye on him for a bit."

After saying that, Xu Han took out gloves from her spatial storage, put them on, and began to remove the bamboo splinters one by one.

It took several days to insert these bamboo splinters, but removing them today felt quite quick.

With a whoosh, one after another, a lot of bamboo splinters were pulled out in no time.

Xu Han placed all the bamboo splinters next to the courtyard wall. These bamboo splinters had been used for two or three years and had long since weathered away. After drying them, she would use them all as firewood.

Let's leave these here for now; we'll use these bamboo splinters for fuel later. They'll all be burned up in no time.

Xu Han was tired, so she went home to drink some water and rest, and also to check on the sleeping Ze'er.

"Mother, Mu'er will watch over your little brother for you. If he cries, Mu'er will go and call Mother."

"Mu'er is such a good boy. He can even help his mother take care of his little brother now. You are such a good older brother."

"Mu'er is the older brother, and the older brother takes care of the younger brother."

"Yes, my little brother is still young, and Mu'er can help Mother look after him."

After resting for a while, Xu Han checked Ze'er's ring. Seeing that the ring was not wet and Ze'er was sleeping soundly, she continued to pull out bamboo thorns.

Lu Chuan and Grandpa Zhao were also quickly building flower beds.

Since the stones were prepared in advance and the mud was already mixed, the two of them only needed to clear out the area where the flower bed needed to be built, then level it with a shovel, and finally start laying the stones.

The flower bed that needed to be built wasn't very high, and the two of them worked together and finished it all in one morning.

After Lu Chuan finished building the flower bed, he saw that the sun was very bright and called out to Xu Han, "Wife, stop for now, it's too hot. Let's go home and rest for a while, and we'll finish it together this afternoon."

"Okay, I'll be right there. Have you finished building the flower bed?"

"It's finished. Come and see if you like it. If you don't, we can make some changes."

Upon hearing Lu Chuan's words, Xu Han quickly ran over.

What comes into view is a pile of stones, about fifty centimeters high, with soil underneath, making it perfectly feasible to grow things in this space.

The stone-built flower bed was antique and particularly beautiful, with a wonderful ambiance. Xu Han was extremely satisfied.

"It looks great, this is exactly what I wanted. Once the ground dries a bit more, I can fill it with soil."

"Yes, soil is easy to find; you can dig some up from anywhere."

"The soil for planting flowers is different from the soil for planting crops. We'll find some compost and garden soil to mix together. Flowers planted in this kind of soil are well-aerated and grow very well."

What is humus?

"It's just piles of rotting leaves from the ground in the mountains. It's nutritious and breathable, and the pine needles are also usable. We'll bring a broom and a basket to collect some to plant flowers."

"Okay, I don't know anything about these things either. Just call me when you're going to get them done."

"Alright, let's go inside. The weather in March is getting increasingly hot. The sun is blinding," Grandpa Zhao called out.