Chapter Twenty-Five
Zhou Lin returned home at noon and, together with Mu Yunqian and his son Mu Heng, made two trips back and forth to carry the finished wooden bed back home.
The new bed, painted with wood varnish, looked shiny and brand new, completely out of place in this dilapidated house.
Mu Jin dismantled Zhou Lin's tattered clothes, which were so patched they had nowhere left to mend. Some of the fabric was used to make rags, and some was used to make a pair of spring shoes for Zhou Lin.
I dampened the cloth and carefully wiped the new bed clean.
"Brother, this is the first time I've ever slept in such a nice bed."
Zhou Si lovingly touched her new bed, which was half the size of Zhou Lin and Mu Jin's bed, her eyes full of affection.
"Brother, what are those long pillars at the four corners of your bed for?"
After wiping the curtains, Mu Jin replied, "There are many mosquitoes in the summer. With this, it's convenient to tie the bed curtains."
"Then I'll cut four bamboo stalks later, brother. You can help me tie them up when the time comes."
Zhou Lin smiled and nodded. Mu Heng and the others had originally planned to help move the bed into the house, but Mu Jin wanted to air it out in the yard.
Since it was almost lunchtime, the father and son didn't plan to eat at their house. They declined Mu Jin's repeated invitations to stay and hurried back home.
Before Hibiscus could react, Little Owl, despite his small size, had a surprisingly strong jumping ability. He leaped onto the bed and left several small muddy paw prints on the freshly cleaned bed.
Zhou Lin chuckled, gently took it off the bed, and scolded, "You can't get on the bed!"
The little owl tilted its head, looking like it understood but not quite, and didn't climb back onto the bed.
Hibiscus didn't scold the little owl; instead, she carefully wiped away the tiny footprints it had left with a rag.
He glanced at the muddy room, then at the clean and bright new bed, and sighed.
“Our house is so old that the walls are crumbling with dirt, making it a real hassle to clean. The old bed was fine, but this new bed has been covered in dust for only a short time since we moved it in. It really breaks my heart to see it like this.”
They cherish all new things.
Zhou Lin put the little owl down, feeling guilty. "Ah Jin, I will work hard to earn money and build a new house as soon as possible."
Mu Jin shook her head and said, "I'm not urging you to build a new house. There's so much money, you can't rush it. I was thinking of going to the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain to cut some bamboo. Don't some people use bamboo to build new houses? Our house isn't big. We can dry it, apply some wood varnish, lay a layer on the floor inside, and put a circle around the walls. That way, we won't get mud on the bed."
Zhou Si's eyes lit up upon hearing this, "Big brother, I'll go with you to cut bamboo."
The boys all love cleanliness, and their favorite thing to do is to tidy up their own rooms, making them clean, bright, and spacious.
Zhou Lin nodded, "Then I won't go to my master's place for the next two days. I'll take two days off to clean up the house."
"It's fine for just the two of us, Si'er and me. You go ahead and do your work. Once the bamboo is dry and the wood is varnished, you can ask for another day off."
Zhou Lin naturally listened to her husband. Seeing the sun rising high, she thought for a moment and said, "Today is the Lantern Festival, let's have lunch at our parents' place. We've been very busy lately and haven't visited them in a long time."
"I was thinking about it. Si'er and I went there early this morning. Mother is doing well. She said that she doesn't have anything to do, and that we shouldn't bother her. We should just live our lives well."
The truth is hard to hear, and Mu Jin hadn't embellished anything, but Zhou Lin still felt a pang of sadness upon hearing it.
Mu Jin smiled and said, "I think Mother is right. We have neither money nor land now, and how we will live in the future is still a problem. Father and Mother have two younger brothers, so we should get by first. Otherwise, when Father and Mother are fifty years old, how will we be able to come up with two coins a month?"
Zhou Lin twitched the corner of his mouth and didn't mention going to the Zhou family to see Zhou Wushi and Zhou Laosan again.
After lunch, the three of them carried the dried bed into the house.
Mu Jin took the silver coins out of the pit and, following Zhou Lin's instructions, found the hidden compartment of the new bed and put the silver coins inside.
The craftsmanship of the wooden frame is truly exquisite. The hidden compartment is cleverly designed, located on the inside of the footrest when sleeping. It is also spacious, and when closed, it is not noticeable.
Before I thought about it, even the silver buried under the bed wasn't so safe. There was a family in the village who went to visit relatives in town and stayed for two days. When they came back, they found several holes dug in their bedroom.
Now I can finally relax a little.
After laying out the bedding, Mu Jin nodded in satisfaction, picked up the machete she had borrowed from the hunter Mu's house, and went with Zhou Si to the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain.
Today is the Lantern Festival. Before evening, the children in the village went out carrying small lanterns made by their families.
They chased and played on the village road, comparing whose lantern was the biggest and the prettiest.
Mu Jin, carrying bamboo, glanced at the scene with a smile in her eyes and said to Zhou Si, "There should be a Lantern Festival fair in town today. Would you like to go and take a look?"
Zhou Si shook her head. "Let's talk about it next year."
Bring the bamboo home, cut off the thinner stalks, and split it in half.
I found an open space and started sunbathing.
"Brother, I've brought you some Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls)."
The two were busy in the yard when they heard Mu Bai's clear voice outside the door.
"Why are you here at this hour? I have plenty of food here, take it back and share it with Zhou'er."
Mu Bai, without any hesitation, placed the bowl directly into the kitchen.
"After lunch, Dad and the others took Second Brother to town. My Uncle hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so he went to the town clinic to get checked out. I didn't want to go with the crowds, so I stayed home to watch the house. I thought we still had some glutinous rice balls left over, so I brought them over for you to try."
Mu Jin felt a warmth in her heart and moved a stool over. "Play here for a while."
Mu Bai's bright, watery eyes circled the yard. "Big brother, what are you doing?"
"The house is covered with paving, and dust keeps falling inside."
Mu Bai nodded; he knew his older brother was very particular about cleanliness.
"Then I'll help you."
"No, this machete is sharp. Be careful not to hurt your hand. Sit still and play with the night owl."
Mu Bai then looked down and saw the puppy that had been circling around him several times.
"Hey, bro, you have a dog? It's so cute! I was wondering why it was making those whimpering noises. I thought I was just imagining things."
He then picked up the little night owl and hugged it, scratching its exposed belly.
Mu Jin was also quite surprised. Today, whenever a villager passed by her house from a distance, the little guy would start barking in his baby voice.
When Mu Bai arrived, it wagged its little tail and circled around him without making a sound.
It's really a clever dog, it even recognizes its own relatives.
Mu Jin and Zhou Si worked for most of the day, piling up the cut branches into a small mountain, waiting to dry so they could be used as firewood.
To be honest, few people in the village use bamboo as firewood; the crackling sound is quite frightening.
But these small branches don't make much noise, and they're good for burning when dried.
Mu Bai went home as soon as the sun began to set, bringing back about ten glutinous rice balls.
The three of them ate glutinous rice balls again for dinner.
"Next year will be over, spring will come, and the ground will thaw. The money you earn from carpentry won't be enough. We need to find a piece of land, cultivate two or three acres of wasteland. No matter what, once there's a harvest, we won't have to pay for grain."
As Mu Jin lay on her new bed, thinking about the days to come, she began to feel worried again.
Zhou Lin tossed and turned several times, but the new bed didn't move an inch, only making a slight creak. He was quite satisfied.
Upon hearing this, he said, "Open up a few more acres. I've already learned how to make beds, and after a while, I'll learn how to make wardrobes. Perhaps my master can give me a few days off."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Husband, you are really amazing. No wonder Uncle Heng wanted to take you as his apprentice before."
Zhou Lin immediately perked up, "Ah Jin, let's try out this new bed and see if it works well?"
"Si'er is still next door." Mu Jin was half-heartedly pushed down by Zhou Lin.
"I just tried it, but there was no sound. Speak softly, he can't hear you."
So all that flipping through things was about this? Mu Jin was speechless and quickly became lost in thought, unable to recall anything else.
The new bed proved to be sturdy.
When Mu Jin woke up early the next morning, feeling weak and sore, Zhou Lin had already left.
With her body covered in stains, Mu Jin sighed. That old bed really did hinder that big guy's performance.
Zhou Si went to the bamboo forest and cut some more bamboo. Hearing the noise, he called into the house, "Brother, you're awake. The kitchen is keeping some warm coarse rice porridge for you. You can eat it as soon as you get up."
Mu Jin opened the door, and Little Night Owl sat upright in the doorway. Both the man and the dog looked at him.
A little embarrassed, he asked softly, "How long has your older brother been gone?"
Zhou Si, being inexperienced, naturally did not know the reason why Mu Jin's voice was so hoarse. "It's been going on for a while, brother. Typhoid fever is no small matter. Should we go see Doctor Mu?"
Mu Jin quickly shook her head, "It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after breakfast."
Zhou Si was skeptical, thinking that his elder brother must be worried about the money. If he didn't get better by noon, he would drag him to Doctor Mu's place.
Fortunately, after drinking the porridge, Mu Jin's throat felt much better, which put Zhou Si at ease.
"The shop in town is opening today, and we're missing everything at home. I'm going to Nianjun's place, and we'll ride in his oxcart to town to buy everything we need."
Zhou Si nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Brother, it's getting late. I'm afraid Brother Musheng and the others have already gone to town."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Mu Sheng's voice called out to them from outside the door.
After Mu Jin and Zhou Si got into the oxcart, Mu Nianjun smiled and said, "I was thinking you two would definitely go to town to buy some things."
On the cart were the cotton cloth that Mu Nianjun had woven these days. Zhou Si also brought the handkerchiefs and pouches that he had embroidered, thinking that if his elder brother didn't have enough money today, he could exchange some to make up for it.
With a smile in his eyes, Mu Jin revealed his childlike nature when he was next to Mu Nianjun.
“Brother Nianjun, we are of one mind. I just told Si’er that I was going to your house to find you, and you and your brother-in-law came here.”
Mu Nianjun patted his head with a tender look in her eyes. After the family split up, they were short of money and had many things to do at home. Mu Jin's chin was getting sharper and sharper.
"There are many things to do at home, so you need to eat more. If you are short of money, just tell me, and I will lend you five taels of silver to tide you over."
Mu Jin smiled and said, "Brother Nianjun, we have enough money at home, don't worry."
As the sun gradually rises, the shadows of the trees sweep across people's faces, casting dappled patterns.
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