Chapter 292: Possibly Uphill
Xiaohu felt a lump in his nose and almost burst into tears.
"Let's go out and bask in the sun every day from now on. Grandma, you will surely be healthy and live a long life."
Old Lady Jin laughed when she heard this, but her sadness faded. "If you live to be a hundred, you'll be a cuckold. It wouldn't be a blessing if you really lived to that age."
When the average life expectancy is now in the thirties or forties, it is indeed a bit unrealistic to talk about living to be a hundred years old.
Xiaohu curled his lips, took her hand and started to act coquettishly: "Grandma wants to live to be a hundred years old, to see me get married and have children, to see my grandchildren grow up, and our family prosper."
Perhaps it was because his description was too beautiful, or perhaps it was the satisfaction brought by seeing the light of day again, this time Mrs. Jin did not refute him, but just shook his hand tightly.
Sang Yu had no idea what had happened at Xiaohu's home. When she returned home, Sang Yongjing had already brought back several large baskets of bamboo tubes made by Carpenter Wang.
"Yu'er, why did you take so long?" Sang Yongjing asked casually, not intending to listen to her answer, and pointed to the baskets of bamboo tubes.
"These five baskets of bamboo tubes were made by Carpenter Wang and his two new apprentices. I've checked them and they're pretty good. Take a look and see if they're any good."
Upon hearing this, Sang Yu stepped forward, picked up the two bamboo tubes at random, and after a quick comparison, she discovered the difference between them.
The three characters "Pearl Drink" were likely carved by Carpenter Wang himself, in one smooth stroke. The bamboo on the barrel was probably carved by an apprentice, and a closer look reveals traces of additions and revisions.
Although there were additions and modifications, the overall pattern was not affected. It still looked pleasing to the eye and met the quality standards she set.
She nodded gently. "You can use it. But after the next batch is finished, you can't just carve orchids. You need to make more patterns."
"Okay, I'll go talk to him later." Sang Yongjing took note of this matter. He had a good relationship with Carpenter Wang, so it would be more convenient for him to communicate in person.
The next morning, a thin layer of mist covered Qingxi Village, and the temperature was so cold that people couldn't help rubbing their hands.
It is already mid-December, and the temperature difference between morning and evening is large. It is only slightly comfortable when the sun comes out at noon.
Sang Yongjing was the first to get up as usual. After a quick wash, he planned to carry the wooden bucket to collect the milk. As soon as he opened the gate, he was startled by the lantern in his hand.
"Xiao Hu? Why are you here so early?"
He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw who it was in the dim candlelight. He knew he was probably delivering the donkey cart, but it was too early.
"Uncle, I was afraid you might need it urgently, and I happened to have brought this donkey and cart home last night, so I thought I'd send it to you first."
Xiaohu smiled foolishly and scratched his head. He knew that he came here too early.
I just don’t know how to express my gratitude, so I can only try my best to do the things within my ability.
"Okay, then lock the door first. I'll ask someone to come out and watch over it."
The donkey cart has been delivered, and we can't let someone pull it back. Sang Yongjing said hello, put down the shoulder pole, and went back to call Xie Qiujin.
When Sang Yu woke up, he walked towards the kitchen in a daze, but inadvertently saw a huge head.
She woke up with a start, and when she looked closer, she realized it was a donkey. Xie Qiujin had lit an oil lamp and was sitting next to him drinking porridge. In the candlelight, the donkey's head looked particularly large.
"Mom." She called out to Xie Qiujin first, and when she turned around, she continued to ask, "When did the donkey cart arrive? Why is it so early?"
"It's been a while. It was delivered just when your father was about to go out." Xie Qiujin said truthfully.
Sang Yu quickly understood what was going on and couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. This little tiger really was always going to repay a favor, and it was worth all her time and effort.
Yesterday, Sang Xingjia planted bamboos at Chai's house for most of the day, and also worked as a substitute teacher to teach the children to read and write. He was exhausted both physically and mentally.
He had already made up his mind that he must follow his younger sister to the city today, and he would rather die than go to the Chai family.
He originally thought that Sang Yu would sternly reject his request, and had even thought of various excuses to force him to go to Lingnan City with her.
However, he didn't expect that as soon as he proposed to go into the city together, Sang Yu agreed, leaving him with a lot of plans in his mind but not saying a word.
His dislike for studying was perfectly normal in Sang Yu's eyes. He'd been tricked into becoming her apprentice, and after a day of hard labor, it was perfectly natural for him to want to slack off.
It just so happens that the business opens today and they need people everywhere, so it might not be a bad thing to let him go with them.
She wanted to let him know that if he didn't go to study with Master Chai, he would suffer physically if he went to the city.
The donkey pulling the cart had black fur, but white around its eyes and mouth. Xiaohu told Sang Yongjing that the donkey was named Baizui and was a well-behaved, hardworking individual.
When the three of them loaded the things onto the donkey cart and walked out, they found that what Xiaohu said was true.
As soon as the reins were pulled, Baizui followed obediently, showing no stubborn temper like ordinary donkeys.
Sang Yongjing touched Baizui's fur, patted it gently and praised him, "You're quite well behaved. I'll feed you more grass when I get back."
The procedures and requirements for renting livestock and renting farm tools are different.
Farm tools can be used as long as they're not broken, but livestock need to eat, drink, defecate, and urinate. If you borrow someone's donkey, make sure to feed it well before returning it.
It was the first time for the three of them to walk on a small road that could be passed by cars. Even Sang Yu, who had already inquired about it, felt a little nervous.
The loess on the path itself was very flat, but after repeated transportation, the ruts were very obvious. There were several deep ruts carved into the ground, leading all the way forward into the distance.
"It must have taken so much stuff to create such deep ruts," Sang Yongjing sighed.
"It's not necessarily something particularly heavy, it's probably because it happens too often." Sang Yu subconsciously thought of the women who disappeared at the entrance of the canyon.
"That makes sense. We're just following the ruts. We won't get lost."
The three of them chatted idly as they walked, and gradually they felt something was wrong.
"Hey, why do I feel like Baizui is having a harder and harder time pulling the cart? Didn't he say he came here after eating?" Even though Sang Yongjing had never driven a cart before, he knew that something was definitely wrong if it was going slower and slower.
Sang Yu frowned slightly. Xiaohu would definitely not find a sick donkey for her. Since there was nothing wrong with the donkey, the problem might be with the surrounding environment.
She suddenly remembered that the information she had heard seemed to say that the small path was directly connected to the official road, which was convenient for transporting goods. Could it be that they were going uphill now?
"We might be going uphill, big brother, come with me and push from behind. Give me some help, and everything should be fine once we get to the official road."
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