Ye Wenxue promptly made an excuse: "I'm busy. My children at home need constant care, and I need to plant another batch of radishes before winter. I'll come see you again tomorrow."
As she walked out from behind the bamboo house, she nearly bumped into Xu Lin, who was groping his way over with a wooden stick.
Lanqing and Madam Xu took on the task of cooking for everyone. They didn't have to provide any grain or vegetables; all they had to do was contribute one person, and they would receive ten copper coins every day.
In addition, since Xu Lin never ran around or wandered around after losing his sight, the Xu family trusted him and didn't pay much attention to him when they were busy.
But after regaining his fighting spirit, Xu Lin didn't want to stay cooped up in the house doing nothing all the time, so he thought about going to the charcoal burner to see if there was anything he could do to help and contribute to the family.
Seeing Xu Lin about to fall backward, Ye Wenxue quickly caught him and placed him on a bench under a tree: "You want to help?"
Xu Lin nodded.
Ye Wenxue hesitated for a moment: "Do you know carpentry?"
"Won't."
Do you offer massage services?
"Won't."
Ye Wenxue took a deep breath and rephrased, "Do you understand Braille?"
Xu Lin was even more confused than her: "What is Braille?"
"It's... a script used specifically for the blind." Ye Wenxue thought and thought, but couldn't think of anything that blind people in ancient times could do. She racked her brains and said jokingly, "They can't even sew shoe soles, sew clothes, or wash bedding. How about you help me take care of the children?"
However, her children are all very sensible and obedient, so when Xu Lin comes over, it's not him taking care of the children, but the children taking care of him.
Xu Lin hesitated, touching his eyes, "I will certainly help take care of Brother Cheng's child, but... given my current situation, I'm afraid I'm willing but unable to do so."
He composed himself and quickly came up with an idea: "Carrying charcoal down the mountain requires baskets, so how about I learn to weave baskets?"
As for bamboo... the bamboo house is surrounded by bamboo, so there's not much to worry about in terms of raw materials.
“That works too.” Ye Wenxue thought about what the bald man had said about no one in the bandit stronghold knowing how to carpent, so why not have him teach the bandits and Xu Lin at the same time?
There was no need for Xu Lin to handle the knife-making process; he could simply weave baskets to pass the time.
Ye Wenxue ran back to the vicinity of the charcoal kiln and discussed it with the bald man, and forcibly stuffed Dazhuang into the team learning to weave baskets.
Since the rain, Dazhuang has been diligently learning carpentry, trying to make a bamboo umbrella every now and then, but after so many days, his progress has been slow.
Ye Wenxue is only half-baked and can't teach very smart students well. It's better to let him learn from the bald man who can make a living as a carpenter for a couple of days, and he can also look after Xu Lin, who is not very convenient.
Baldy thought it over and over but couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he had no choice but to work three jobs a day with tears in his eyes, and still not earn much.
"...If you're too busy, it's not impossible to postpone it." Ye Wenxue looked at his face, which instantly contorted with rage after hearing her words.
"No...it's nothing, I'm perfectly fine. These are jobs I'm supposed to do, and they earn me money, so how could I be tired?" The bald man poked his dark face out of the charcoal kiln and said listlessly.
Ye Wenxue suddenly realized that he and Xu Lin must have something in common.
Back in the valley, Dazhuang learned that he could meet Uncle Xu and Baldy, whom he had only heard about from others, ahead of time. A smile immediately appeared on his face: "Mom, don't worry, I will definitely study hard!"
After mastering the carpentry skills, he secretly threw away everything Suiye had made, including the bamboo umbrellas, and replaced them all with his own!
Ye Wenxue, unaware of Dazhuang's thoughts, patted the dirt off his head and said, "Don't overexert yourself. Just think of it as going to keep your Uncle Xu company. Everyone at home is busy, and he'll be bored all by himself."
Da Zhuang's eyes darted around: "Hmm!"
Siwang rested his chin on Ye Wenxue's lap: "Mother, I want to go too. I haven't seen any outsiders in so long."
Ye Wenxue sighed helplessly. Siwang was almost five years old, yet he was still so good at acting cute: "Wasn't that one hanging on the cliff last time a stranger?"
Siwang was stunned. Recalling how he had mistakenly believed that person's words and almost been deceived, he immediately pouted and buried his face in Ye Wenxue's arms dejectedly: "He's not an outsider, he's a bad person."
Ye Wenxue and Dazhuang laughed: "You'd better learn your lesson and not believe what others say every time."
Siwang was sullen and was about to continue acting cute and trying to get out of the valley to play when Shuangshuang pushed him away with one hand: "Go away, I have something to ask my mother, don't cause trouble here."
Siwang was furious, but he couldn't beat Shuangshuang, so he turned around and ran off to play with the little wild boar.
"Mother, when I practice my fist and short sword, I always feel like I'm not quite getting into the swing of things. Can you take a look?" Shuangshuang put away her smug expression in front of Siwang and gave Ye Wenxue a flattering smile.
"Alright," Ye Wenxue handed Yuanyuan, the baby in her arms, to Dazhuang. "Mother will show you. We girls need to practice our skills, especially when times are turbulent..."
"Mother is right! Mother is the best!"
......
Ye Wenxue took Shuangshuang's hand and walked to the open space to practice martial arts, leaving Dazhuang and the round-eyed baby in her arms staring at each other.
"Huh?" Yuanyuan looked up in confusion, then leaned in and kissed Dazhuang on the chin. "Yay yay yay."
Dazhuang suppressed a laugh, put on a stern face and scolded Yuanyuan: "Men and women shouldn't touch each other. You're not allowed to kiss me again next time! Nor are you allowed to kiss other boys!"
Yuan Yuan didn't understand. She thought her older brother thought one kiss wasn't enough, so she dazedly leaned forward and kissed him again: "?"
Dazhuang couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.
Sanyuan walked out with several sheets of paper, the ink still wet, intending to have his older brother check them. Before he could even speak, he saw Dazhuang's hearty smile and hesitated, not daring to step forward.
...I always felt that my older brother's laughter was a bit too unrestrained.
When Ye Wenxue set off for the bamboo house again, she took Dazhuang with her.
This wasn't Dazhuang's first time visiting the bamboo house, but it was the first time he'd seen so many people there. Back then, only Su Jiu lived in the huge bamboo house; now, with people coming and going, plus those learning carpentry from him, there were at least twenty people, none of whom he recognized.
Having not seen so many strangers in a long time, Dazhuang, despite his boldness and composure, was still just a child not yet nine years old. He couldn't help but feel afraid and hid behind Ye Wenxue.
“This is my Dazhuang, his full name is Cheng Zhihuai, you can just call him Dazhuang.” Ye Wenxue pulled Dazhuang out from behind her. “Dazhuang, come and meet your Uncle Xu.”
Da Zhuang withdrew his gaze from examining the muscular physique of the passing bandits, peeked out hesitantly, squinted at Xu Lin's excited expression, and whispered, "Uncle Xu."
Xu Lin's head, which had been clouded by the argument, suddenly cleared up. He continued to argue with Ye Wenxue, "I am older than Cheng Dingfang. Dazhuang should call me Uncle Xu!"
We can't let Cheng Dingfang be half a head taller than him for no reason!
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