Shen Xingmian shared the same thoughts as these people; she didn't know what the point of their actions was.
She had first gone to the mines and then spent more than half a month in the military camp, but the gazes of these people did not affect her much.
But now she has to go back home and live there permanently, and being watched every day makes her furious just thinking about it.
After Liang Wanrong left, she couldn't help but complain to Xiao Yanyue:
"Why are we acting so furtively? Why don't we just kill them all, bring your grandmother over, and that would be fine. Why go through all this trouble?"
Xiao Yanyue was stumped by her question.
The two stared at each other for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing together.
Finally, Xiao Yanyue said helplessly, "How about we just say we're confused because we're worried?"
Shen Xingmian nodded seriously: "Yes, that's how it is."
"Besides, those people were just following orders and didn't do anything wrong; they didn't deserve to die. See, we've found two reasons right away, isn't that enough?"
Rarely hearing this little stickler joke around, Shen Xingmian couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling, and she nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, what Daodao said is absolutely right~"
She thought for a moment and then said, "In that case, we don't seem to need to wait until late at night. As soon as it gets dark, we'll climb over the wall from the back and try to bring the person home as soon as possible."
Xiao Yanyue obediently nodded. He wouldn't object to whatever Mianmian did. Besides, it was all for his sake.
"Okay, you can go back now. I'll come and call you when it's time to leave."
After Shen Xingmian finished speaking, she pushed open the door to the front hall, and the two of them left together, walking towards the backyard. As they walked, she thought about where she should arrange for the elderly to stay.
They called her an "old lady," but it was only because they themselves were relatively young; it didn't mean that Xiao Yanyue's maternal grandmother was actually that old.
People here have children young. Judging by his age, his maternal grandmother might only be in her forties, not that old at all.
Just like that Grandma Wanrong who came earlier, according to seniority, she should be called Grandma, but according to age, calling her Auntie is already the most appropriate.
You can't call Dao Dao's mother "Auntie" and then call her "Auntie" too, that would be a difference in generation between you and Dao Dao.
Ugh, this is really difficult.
Another issue is the rooms. There are many rooms here, but they weren't built for the convenience of setting up a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). Each room requires its own fire to heat up the kang.
A long winter requires a lot of firewood.
She couldn't help but think that it would be great if we could build a large kang (heated brick bed) like those in rural Northeast China, where the flues of several rooms are connected, so if you burn the one at the front, the rest of the rooms can also get some warmth.
If you just burn a little firewood in each room, the rooms won't be cold. Instead of burning so much firewood in each room now.
No, wait!
She's already so rich, how come she still can't shake off the mindset of poverty? Which wealthy family would even be stingy with firewood?
Every household has a large number of maids, servants, and young men; just maintaining these people is a huge expense.
But which wealthy family would care about spending that money?
If you insist on doing everything yourself just because you're worried about the cost of hiring someone, then you'll just become a laughingstock.
She really is...
If others knew about her little scheme, they would definitely label her as "petty" and "stingy."
But Shen Xingmian really found it hard to change these deeply ingrained ideas. From a young age, she had been taught about the importance of thrift, such as "every grain of rice and every bowl of porridge should be cherished," "save water," and not to waste paper, and how many years it takes for a tree to grow to make a few notebooks, etc.
It's practically like inhaling smoke into your lungs.
If I see a tap that's not turned off, I rush over to turn it off. If I see children wasting paper, I feel like I could scold them.
She couldn't help but rub her forehead; the ideas instilled in her since childhood were truly hard to shake off for a lifetime.
Even though she could easily cultivate a small grove of trees now, she still had to consider the issue of needing more firewood if there were more rooms.
It's utterly speechless.
In the past, in rural Northeast China, an entire family would share one kang (a heated brick bed). There was no other way; resources were scarce, so they had to make the most of what they had.
But she's different. Even without the special space, there are so many mountains around here, and so few people. She can chop wood however she wants without anyone interfering.
As long as you have the strength, even if you fill the entire yard with firewood, others won't laugh at your greed; they'll just praise you for being "so diligent!"
Even if she didn't have wood-based abilities, the silver in her space would be more than enough for her to buy charcoal to burn.
She's not limited to collecting silver from other people's warehouses anymore; she can also go to silver mines in the mountains.
The world's resources are inexhaustible, and she really couldn't understand what she was worrying about.
Okay, that's settled then. We don't need to rebuild the house into a continuous heated brick bed. Living separately like this will provide better sound insulation and privacy.
She's still a child and may not care about these things, but adults probably do. After all, in this era, anyone with a modicum of education knows about and highly values propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame.
Shen Xingmian finally managed to shake off the absurd thoughts in his mind before continuing to think about where it would be most suitable for Xiao Yanyue's maternal grandmother to live, preferably somewhere close to him.
However, when the rooms were being assigned, she thought Xiao Yanyue would prefer a quieter place, so she put his room in a corner, right next to hers.
If she wanted her maternal grandmother to be closer to her, she would have to change rooms herself, which would be quite troublesome.
Before the two were separated, she decided to ask Xiao Yanyue for his opinion.
"Dao Dao, you know the layout of the rooms in the house quite well. Which room do you think would be best for your grandmother to live in?"
We definitely need a sunny room, but the main room is already booked. Would a west-facing room be better, as it would receive morning sunlight, which would be more suitable for the elderly?
She didn't really understand these things either, so she quickly added:
"You should choose. I don't really know much about this. If you want to live closer to your grandmother, I can move to a place further away. But the house isn't very big, so I don't think distance is a problem."
"No need to trouble yourself. I'll just be more diligent and visit her more often. Besides, with you here, Grandma's health will definitely be good, and she'll be happy to go out more often, so distance won't be a problem."
Hearing him say that, Shen Xingmian felt there was nothing to worry about, so she made a decision: "Okay, then arrange for her to be next to me, that way I can find out if she has any needs in time."
Xiao Yanyue had no objections and obediently nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to Mianmian."
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