That night, Jiang Xi saw the bell again in her dream. This time, there was no sound from the bell. When Jiang Xi went outside, she found that unlike the previous snowy landscape, the bell had taken her to summer.
Under the blazing sun, birds chirped and cicadas sang.
The bell first led her to a ravine about one kilometer from the Stone House Mountain, where there was a dried-up river.
Two shirtless men were standing in the riverbed digging grayish-white soil. Next to them was a wooden cart piled high with banana leaves and the clay they had dug out.
One of the taller men wiped his sweat with a towel and said, "These clay jars are still the best; they're sturdy and look good too."
Another shorter man chimed in, "Master, this clay is much better than the previous one. I heard the chieftain say that this grayish-white clay is the best material for making pottery."
As Jiang Xi listened in her dream, she unconsciously nodded along. She knew a little about this area; this kind of soil was probably called kaolin, which was best suited for making ceramics. Compared to pottery made from ordinary clay, the pottery made from it had a brighter luster and was more durable.
Before she could react, the bell took her to a hill next to the plains and fields.
Four men, shirtless, were mining a gray-black stone. One of them, with a thick beard, looked familiar to Jiang Xi. After a while, she remembered that he was the blacksmith who made the mother-and-child bell.
Could these stones be iron ore?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she was pushed forward by a force, and this time she arrived at a field ridge.
Jiang Xi had also spent several years in the countryside, and now the fields were full of lush green wheat.
An old man straightened up from the wheat field. He seemed tired and quickly rubbed his lower back with his hand. He took off his straw hat to fan himself and muttered to himself, "This year's harvest is good. There's no shortage of food this year."
Jiang Xi was surprised that they had brought wheat seeds with them.
While she was lost in thought, two women carrying baskets walked past her.
A woman wearing a gray headscarf said, "Let's take a bath in the hot spring while it's still warm."
Another woman heard this, quickly glanced around, lowered her head and covered her mouth, saying, "Keep your voice down, or someone will hear you and the silly boy from the third son's family in front of you will peek at you while you're bathing again."
The woman wearing a headscarf spat upon hearing this, her eyes widening: "Pah! That idiot who's trying to get himself killed, come on, I'll gouge his eyes out!"
They were cursing fiercely, but Jiang Xi only heard the words "hot spring pool" inside.
Could it be a hot spring? There's actually a hot spring here.
Thinking this, she unconsciously followed behind the two women again.
Before they reached the stone house from the field, a fork in the road suddenly appeared on the right. Jiang Xi was puzzled at first, wondering how they could have missed this fork in the road after walking it so many times before.
The two women walked up, and in just five or six minutes, they found two naturally formed hot spring pools in front of them. The water was clear, and the surrounding area was full of smooth, flat boulders.
Jiang Xi could still smell a faint sulfurous odor. The water inside was flowing, and she could see an underground river on one side.
Hot springs are great! They are not only rich in minerals but also contain trace elements, which are good for your health and keep the temperature constant all year round.
Only then did Jiang Xi understand why they had built their houses here. Not only was there a clean water source, but it was also close to dozens of acres of plains and a hot spring with a constant temperature all year round. Compared to the cave where they had lived before, this place was simply paradise.
Before she could even catch her breath, Jiang Xi was taken away again. Lingdang showed her what everyone was doing: some were weaving cloth, and others were responsible for pulling out the fibers from the rattan.
Jiang Xi watched for a very long time; she could even say that she had seen every kind of work the people here did and every resource they used, and she remembered it all.
When there was nothing left to see, she suddenly felt herself emerge from the illusion, and then Jiang Xi fell asleep without knowing anything.
When she woke up the next day, she was still a little flustered. Yan Zheng thought she was having another nightmare, so he quickly came over and touched her forehead.
Jiang Xi looked at Yan Zheng and said, "I dreamed about bells again."
Jiang Xi said, "This time it didn't ask me to do anything for it. Instead, it told me a lot of information, such as where there are iron mines and kaolin, and even what crops they grow. It also took me to see the hot springs."
"I have a feeling that it is saying goodbye to me, but at the same time thanking me."
As she spoke, she hugged Yan Zheng's waist tightly, rested her head on his strong belly, and held him close.
Jiang Xi thought that perhaps it really was her grandmother helping her, bringing them here when she was dying, and that she had triggered the bell because of some kind of bloodline energy.
Yan Zheng knew she had something on her mind, so he didn't say anything, but just gently patted her back.
After a while, Jiang Xi wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips and murmured, "So I have to live well, maybe Grandma can see it."
**
After the temperature rose, spring arrived exceptionally quickly. In just one week, tender green shoots could be faintly seen in the mountains and plains.
Since that day, Jiang Xi has never dreamed about bells again, and she has become even more energetic.
Yan Jing'an's condition has been brought under control, so these past few days around noon, he has been asking to do some light work.
The house is quite cramped now, with three people, plus odds and ends and dry goods.
So Yan Zheng and Jiang Xi have been discussing how to repair the yellow brick house for the past few days. The wood used in the house was quite sturdy, and it looked like the ironwood that Yan Jing'an had mentioned before. The main beams were not obviously damaged and were still quite solid.
There shouldn't be any major structural risks, except that some tiles on the roof beams are broken and need to be replaced. Also, one wall's yellow bricks have collapsed and need to be demolished and rebuilt.
The house is large enough. It's about four meters deep and more than ten meters wide, making it too big to be considered a single room.
So the three of them discussed it and decided to build two more walls in the middle of the room to turn it into three rooms. After entering through the main door, you would see the dining room and living room directly in front of you, and then there would be a bedroom on each of the left and right sides.
Windows are necessary, of course, but they can't be too big to keep warm. They should be solid windows, like doors, so they can be completely closed in winter.
The wooden beds they sleep on now are remnants from the past. Although they're not rotten, they're not comfortable to sleep on. They creak and groan even when you turn over at night.
Jiang Xi thought they might as well fire more bricks, and use the rest to build two brick beds in the house, which would be sturdy and durable.
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