Bai Nuo was naturally delighted that someone was willing to help, as she needed help right now. So she didn't refuse. "Great, Brother Tie Niu, it's wonderful that you're willing to come. Could you help me repair the roof tiles?"
Today I need to repair the house and build a kitchen, etc. It's not that I can't do it by myself, it's just too tiring.
"Okay!" Tie Niu agreed and went out. Seeing that Bai Nuo didn't have a ladder, he went home and brought one back. Then he buried himself in his work.
While everyone else was working, Bai Nuo felt embarrassed to stop. After confirming that Tie Niu didn't need their help, she took A Yu up the mountain to cut bamboo.
"What are you doing?" Tie Niu saw Bai Nuo and Bai Yu carrying a bundle of bamboo back from the roof.
"I'm planning to set up a kitchen, and also our bed. I'm thinking of building a bunk bed." Bai Nuo put the bamboo down and dragged it aside before explaining to Tie Niu. Seeing that A Yu's face was flushed from the sun, she comforted him, "Are you tired? Just bear with it a little longer."
"How much bamboo will this take?" Tie Niu clicked his tongue in amazement. This girl was really bold and decisive. If it were someone else, even a grown man wouldn't dare say he could handle the kitchen work. "Wait here, I'll be done soon and I'll get it for you right away."
Then, Tie Niu quickly pulled the tile back up and came down, saying, "Take a look, where else does it need fixing?"
Bai Nuo looked up and saw that the dilapidated house could no longer be called a dilapidated house. The roof had been tidied up, the messy tiles had been repaired, and the broken ones had been replaced with new ones. The entire roof was neat and orderly, and looked as good as new.
Bai Nuo shook her head. "It's very good. Thank you, Brother Tie Niu." If she had done it herself, she wouldn't have been able to make it look like this.
Tie Niu was in a great hurry. As soon as he heard it was okay, he immediately picked up his knife and had Bai Nuo lead the way. They went up the mountain without stopping. He was strong and fast. Bai Nuo and he cut bamboo and carried it down. In just over an hour, there was already a pile of long bamboo next to Bai Nuo's house.
"Brother Tie Niu, come in and help me build the bed." Seeing that Tie Niu was about to go and build the kitchen for her again, Bai Nuo quickly stopped him.
Tie Niu scratched his head, chuckled, and went inside.
Bai Nuo's family has three beds, all side by side, with not much room to turn around. However, if they were made into bunk beds, the space would be increased by half, and it wouldn't be so crowded. Since the old lady is currently ill, climbing up and down is not practical for her, so Bai Nuo put two beds together and placed another one on top of them.
Tie Niu was clearly a very capable worker. He first cut the bamboo into equal lengths and then sealed the wooden plank bed with iron nails around its perimeter. He then placed the planks on top and sealed it again. Following Bai Nuo's instructions, he made a ladder.
"This room is half the size bigger now!" Bai Yu watched as Tie Niu hammered and pounded away, while his sister talked for a long time. The room was now half the size bigger, and there was even room to turn around.
"It would be great if there were two tables and chairs!" Tie Niu looked around for a long time, but he wasn't very satisfied.
"We'll take care of that later," Bai Nuo said with a smile. Looking at the sky, it was almost afternoon, so the two of them didn't dare to waste any time and set up a simple kitchen on an open space near the back of the house.
Bai Nuo's requirements were simple: he just needed something to use and something that could shelter him from the wind and rain.
So the workload in the kitchen isn't too big; you just need to tie the bamboo together with something, build walls on the ground, and then put on a roof. But it's not small either, because it uses a lot of bamboo.
Tie Niu first marked out a space in the open area, then dug down eight bamboo poles, two on each of the three sides, leaving one side as the entrance. Then, he and Bai Nuo sorted all the bamboo poles, digging out the ones that needed notches and splitting the ones that needed to be split. The two of them worked until evening before they finished building the four walls.
During this time, the two of them went and got a bunch of bamboo. Bai Nuo even brought back the bamboo leaves and branches and put them out to dry at the door to be used as firewood later. After finishing the kitchen, Tie Niu saw that there was still bamboo left, so he made two tables and a few stools for Bai Nuo.
Seeing that there was nothing left to do, Tie Niu clapped his hands and prepared to go back. "Alright, girl, everything's done. If there's nothing else, I'll head back."
After spending a day together, Tie Niu no longer believed that Bai Nuo was an idiot. Could an idiot do such work? He was almost as good as him.
"Brother Tie Niu, thank you so much. Have dinner before you leave?" Bai Nuo really didn't know how to thank Tie Niu for his help. When Tie Niu said he was leaving, Bai Nuo paid Tie Niu his wages, but Tie Niu stuffed them back into his hand as soon as he took them out. "What are you doing? We're from the same village. I'm just helping out. I'm not after your money."
Besides, Bai Nuo is already struggling, so he'd be too embarrassed to ask for money.
So Bai Nuo had no choice but to invite Tie Niu to stay for dinner. Nothing is more convincing or sincere than genuinely cooking a good meal.
"I'm not eating anymore!" Tie Niu poured himself a bowl of water, gulped it down, and said, "I have to go back now. My grandpa is waiting for me to eat. I'm off." Then he got up and strode out.
"Tie Niu is such a good man!" Bai Yu murmured as he watched his retreating figure. In the future, he also wanted to become a man like Tie Niu, capable of working and protecting his sister and grandmother.
Bai Nuo turned her head and glanced at the old woman; she was still asleep.
"Are you hungry? Let's tidy up and get ready for dinner." Bai Nuo said to A Yu. The two siblings carried the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen and made two simple stoves with the extra bricks, while the other went to make the bed.
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