After dinner, Lou Yunchun continued to chisel and cut mortise and tenon joints while Xu Jiang opened the door, swept the floor, and counted the inventory of books, calligraphy and paintings, paper and pens. She then cut the paper and made a book to record the accounts. This was supposed to be work before the New Year, but it was put aside because they were too busy before the New Year.
With each knock, Xu Jiang filed and categorized all the books. By the time she finished her work, Lou Yunchun's shed was also ready.
"Ajahn, come here."
"Here I come."
Xu Jiang heard the sound and went there. As soon as she entered the backyard, she saw Lou Yunchun walking around the newly built donkey shed with a satisfied look on his face.
"Not bad, it looks quite good." Xu Jiang also walked around the donkey shed a few times, then picked up Cao Shu's sketch and compared it with it. The mortise and tenon joints fit perfectly, and even the wood was planed cleanly and smoothly. She looked up at the roof. The sedge was laid thickly and neatly, so it shouldn't leak. She praised Lou Yunchun, "Excellent craftsmanship!"
Lou Yunchun raised the corner of his mouth with a mess of grass and wood on his head. To have her say something good meant that all his efforts today were not in vain.
Xu Jiang brought a broom and swept the shed clean. She then spread some sedge for the donkey to make a nest. Then she said to Lou Yunchun, "Bring the donkey and horse in to try out the new nest."
Because they were working on the shed, the donkey and horse were tied to the tree in front of the door. Having been blasted by the northwest wind all day, the donkey had nearly frozen to death. Now, being led into the backyard by Lou Yunchun, it trotted clatteringly toward its kennel. Arriving at the kennel, it paused, looked left and right, sniffed, and finally, reluctantly, entered.
After entering the den, it turned around a few times, then started digging sedge with its hooves. It didn't lie down on the grass until the sedge was all over the ground. Then it rolled over and over and had fun.
Look very happy.
Lou Yunchun went to get the horse again. The horse was very docile and went into the shed when asked. It did not roll around on the ground like the donkey, but stood there silently.
"It's a perfect size." Although it's still a little crowded, it's much better than before. Xu Jiang walked over to Lou Yunchun, picked the grass clippings off his hair, and brushed off the wood chips on his body. "There's hot water on the stove. Go wash up."
"Yeah." Lou Yunchun leaned over and kissed her on the lips, then went to the bathroom to wash up.
Xu Jiang brushed off the heat from her face and went to cut fodder for the donkey and horse. As soon as the fodder entered the trough, the donkey turned over and rushed over. The reins were tangled around the donkey, tightening it, but the donkey was so hungry that it still ran forward regardless.
Seeing the shed shaking, Xu Jiang quickly backed away. Then, with a loud bang, her vision blurred, and sedges came rolling in, covering her face and body.
The shed that Lou Yunchun had just built collapsed.
Xu Jiang stood there, stunned.
Hearing the noise, Lou Yunchun came out of the bathroom and saw Xu Jiangsha standing in front of the collapsed donkey shed. His face changed and he rushed over to pull her away, checking her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Xu Jiang came back to his senses and brushed off the grass dust on his body. "I'm fine. I wasn't hit. Let's go see how the donkey and the horse are doing."
The horse poked its head out of the haystack and appeared to be alright, but the donkey was buried in the grass, crying miserably, "Ahhhhhhh." Lou Yunchun and Xu Jiang hurried forward to move the grass and wood away, only to discover that the donkey was entangled in a rope and couldn't move.
"You deserve it! You're the cause of this trouble!" Xu Jiang slapped it hard, and then rescued it together with Lou Yunchun.
The two men led the donkey and horse out and checked them several times. They found that they only had some scratches and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Jiang slapped the donkey on the butt again and scolded it, "Look, you've collapsed the newly built nest. You'll freeze to death tonight!"
As he was cursing, the scene of the couch being torn off the shed just now appeared in front of his eyes again, and he couldn't help laughing.
Lou Yunchun couldn't laugh. He was just glad that she was not hurt. Also, the shed was not big, and the beams and sedge were not heavy, so they did not hurt the donkey and horse.
He went forward to clear away the wood and sedge, and examined Uncle Cao's sketch for a long time before he found out the reason.
"The pile is buried too shallowly."
After saying that, he took out his pickaxe and started digging the hole again.
Xu Jiang stopped laughing and advised, "It's getting late. Let's do it again tomorrow."
"If you don't fix it, you'll have nowhere to sleep tonight." Lou Yunchun said soothingly, "It's okay, the beams and columns are not damaged. It will be fixed in a short time by re-burying the piles and setting up the beams."
"Then I'll help you."
"No need." Lou Yunchun looked up at her body covered in dust and said, "Go change your clothes and wash up quickly. This sedge is prickly. You'll feel itchy soon."
"That's nothing." She wasn't that delicate. She had been dirtier before, but Lou Yunchun had never seen it.
Xu Jiang rolled up her sleeves and cleaned the sedge and wood. "You two are quick, and it's all dirty anyway. Let's fix it first and then wash it."
Lou Yunchun felt depressed.
Seeing him blaming himself, Xu Jiang stepped forward, cupped his face, and rubbed it, comforting him: "Don't worry. The stake is too shallow. We can just bury it deeper. This time, we'll work together to build a stronger one, so we won't have to worry about that stupid donkey causing trouble."
Lou Yunchun rubbed her hand and sighed.
How come his Ajahn is so good?
Afterwards, the two worked together and quickly reburied the four pillars.
Lou Yunchun took a hammer and pounded the pillars and beams hard into the soil, then tamped the soil with a shovel and shook it vigorously to ensure it was stable before he embedded the surrounding beams and put them on the roof.
"It shouldn't fall off now, right?" Xu Jiang held onto a pillar and shook it hard, but it didn't budge.
Lou Yunchun cut more than a dozen wooden wedges to reinforce the joints, and only then did he finally feel relieved.
"No more couch."
There was one final step: laying the sedge. The two of them divided the work, Lou Yunchun setting up a stool to lay the sedge on top, while Xu Jiang laid it below, until they had laid three full layers of sedge before stopping.
"All done." Xu Jiang clapped her hands, took out the broom and swept the shed again, sighing, "Not to mention a donkey, even a human could live here."
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