"Then let's open up the entire area over here." After several people had an idea in mind, they worked together to improve the land on the steep slope. Chunxiao also thought that this piece of land was good. Maybe this was someone else's vegetable garden before.
The four women worked diligently to weed and level the slopes, accomplishing a considerable amount in the morning. Zhou went home early to cook, and Chunxiao and the others returned after a while. When they arrived, they found two stout logs leaning against the wall outside the yard, clearly the ones Yan Bingfa and his men had brought back. The three women hadn't returned yet, so Zhou didn't wait for them. She invited the other wives to dinner, simmered the remaining rice in the pot, and, after saying goodbye to the children, the four of them set off again.
After another afternoon of work, the weeds were finally cleared away. There was still a part of the ground that was not leveled. After the weeds were cleared, looking over, there was a lonely house sitting on the large flat ground. Chunxiao suddenly thought of a mood: lonely smoke rising from the desert, setting sun over the long river. Although this is not a desert, the feeling of sparse population is very appropriate.
"Mom, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Zhang looked at the open space, feeling quite accomplished after all the hard work.
"Continue tilling the land. Go back and ask your father what the arrangements are for tomorrow, and we'll just work together." She rubbed her aching waist. "Let's stop here for today. We won't be able to finish tilling the land in this short time. Let's go back and rest. Let's go. I wonder if they've come back yet."
As a result, just as they got home, Yan Bingfa and his team followed them back. When they came back, they dragged a big wooden stake with them. They were all very tired.
"I cut down six today, and I have to cut down six more tomorrow." Yan Bingfa drank some water, still breathing heavily.
"Do you need so much wood? Six is already a lot." Zhou patted his back with her hand. "You guys take a break first. The meal is ready. We'll eat after you've rested enough."
"Mom, have you finished weeding?" Dashan asked.
"We've finished clearing the dirt, but there's still some ground to clean up tomorrow. I was thinking you'd start repairing the house tomorrow, so I'm waiting to arrange your work."
"All the wood on the roof of the house needs to be replaced, and we also need to make a bed for Chunxiao, cabinets, tables, buckets, basins, chairs, and other necessities of life. We don't have any extra to give away, so we can't use too much wood. I think the labor cost will be more than one or two taels of silver."
"Let's talk about the wages later. We can't save what we need. You've thought it through. What are we going to do tomorrow after we finish the work?" Zhou asked.
"Go to the mountains and cut some bamboo. Even withered ones are fine. First, fence off the yard. It's up to Chunxiao to decide how big the yard should be. If she wants a bigger yard, you can give her a bigger one. It's her place to live in after all."
"Build a fence now? Aren't you going to wait until your house is repaired? Once the fence is put up, it will be inconvenient to go in and out."
Yan Bingfa thought about it and agreed. "Then you guys should prepare the bamboo and put it over there first. We'll build the wall together later. Tomorrow, go to the village and ask if anyone has extra thatch. If not, give a few copper coins and take some back. We'll need it for the roof. You can also clean up the house and clear out any unwanted items."
That night, Chun Xiao lay in bed, eager to fall asleep immediately. However, her nieces had been eagerly waiting for her story all day. If she didn't tell it, she would disappoint them. So, she endured the intense sleepiness in her heart and told them the second half of the story. Only then did her nieces fall asleep contentedly, and she fell asleep a few minutes later.
On the third day, the men continued to cut wood in the mountains, while the women divided the work. Chunxiao and Tian continued to prepare the land, while Zhou and Zhang followed them up the mountain to cut bamboo. They had almost cleared all the stones in the field, and all they had to do was level the ground and clean the outside.
They thought the work was not much and could be completed quickly, but the two of them were obviously much slower, and it was not until around three or four in the afternoon that they finished clearing the land outside.
Zhou and Zhang had already made three trips back and forth, and had cut several bundles of bamboo as tall as a person.
After they finished cleaning the floor, they began to clean the house as Yan Bingfa had instructed. There weren't many things in the house, and they were all tattered and broken. Together, they cleared everything out and threw it into the grass on the far side. The house was soon cleared out. They then used brooms to sweep away the dust and cobwebs, finally giving it a rough appearance.
"It's finally done. It was quite tiring." Tian sat on the ground to rest. "After cleaning it up, and then renovating it and adding some furniture, it will be a nice place to live."
"Everyone has worked hard these past few days." Chun Xiao was also exhausted. "Why don't we tell Dad to take a day off tomorrow? I don't want everyone to be exhausted because of me and it will be a waste of time."
Tian smiled and said, "I'm just kidding. It's not that expensive. The spring planting season was similar. We had to get up early and work late every day for several days. We're used to it."
"Does this bamboo have to be split in half?" Chunxiao looked at the pile of bamboo and wondered how big the yard would be. Naturally, she hoped it would be as big as possible, but it couldn't be too exaggerated, otherwise it wouldn't look like a yard.
"Yes, it needs to be chopped, otherwise it will take a lot of bamboo. I'll take a break and then start chopping." Tian said she would take a break, but she got up before she had sat for a few minutes. Chunxiao followed her to chop bamboo again.
As they were chopping, they saw Zhou and Zhang coming back carrying a pile of bamboo.
"Mother, sister-in-law, you two can take a rest. We have already cleared the area. If it's not enough, I will go up the mountain and chop it myself. You don't have to chop it anymore."
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