Xiaoyue saw Gao Lei under Xiaohutou, but she turned her head away and struggled to carry the firewood step by step towards the village.
Gao Lei followed Xiaoyue for a while. Seeing how hard Xiaoyue was working, he really wanted to go up and help her, but his pride got in the way, so he just silently followed behind Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue entered the courtyard of her shack, put the firewood on her back inside the fence, took off the rope, and followed the path in the middle to the edge of the shack, where she placed the basket on the small table outside.
Because she was concerned about how her house was being built, she went to check on the construction site behind the shack. She found that Gao Sheng had really put in a lot of effort. The foundation was already laid, and there were three rooms. There was a door in the middle, a bedroom on one side, and a storage room on the other side. All three rooms were the same size and had windows at the front and back. According to Xiaoyue's plan, the kang (a heated brick bed) in the bedroom was built on the north side, and the stoves in the kitchen were also built on the north side, with two stoves, one on the east and one on the west.
There's a foundation in the middle of the kitchen, which leads to the guest room or dining room. The living room opens into the kitchen, and the kitchen opens into the two rooms on either side. There's also a door to the north of the kitchen, and all three rooms have a porch on their north-facing sides.
Xiaoyue also saw the houses of Old Man Ge, the Gao family, and Sister Yang, but Xiaoyue wanted to build her house like that, unlike the other houses where the kitchen was built in the side room. Xiaoyue didn't have the means to build a side room yet, and she didn't want to put firewood in the kitchen. She wanted to start a fire outside, but it was too cold to do so in winter. So Xiaoyue built a whole row of porches outside to store firewood, and she also wanted to build a cellar inside the porches.
...
Xiaoyue only remembered that she died in the winter after the Laba Festival that year, and the cold felt to her very bones.
Xiaoyue wasn't sure where she came from either, only vaguely knowing that she was from the south. And when Ge Erping took Xiaoyue to Qingfeng Academy, when Xiaoyue asked Gao Lei to write something, she held the characters and realized she could write them at a glance, and they all seemed familiar.
While at the market, Xiaoyue saw the signboard and felt that it looked familiar, but only vaguely. She decided to find a book to identify it when she had the chance.
Upon arriving at the embroidery workshop, Xiaoyue became certain that she could embroider, so she decided to wait for the peddler who came from door to door to ask if he had any embroidery orders.
...
Xiaoyue went around to the backyard and found the people building the house sweating profusely as they were making adobe bricks. Seeing this, Xiaoyue quickly went to the water vat in the front yard, filled a pot with water, and carried the pot and four porcelain bowls to the backyard. Finding only three people there, she poured three bowls of water. She handed the first bowl to Uncle Gao Sheng. After Uncle Gao made a piece of adobe brick, he rinsed his hands in the small water used for making adobe bricks, took the bowl from Xiaoyue, smiled, revealing a set of big white teeth, and excitedly said to Xiaoyue, "We can start building the brickwork tomorrow afternoon. The front will all be built with adobe bricks, and the backyard will have walls made of mud and straw."
Xiaoyue didn't understand either, she just smiled and poured Uncle Gao another bowl of water.
At this moment, the two people came over. Yang Dahua was a few years older than Xiaoyue, and Xiaoyue had a good relationship with Yang's wife, so she quickly picked up another bowl and handed it to Brother Yang. Brother Yang took the water and drank it all in one gulp.
Xiaoyue felt a little resentful towards herself. Although she didn't have to cook for herself, she should at least be given some water. So Xiaoyue poured another bowl for Brother Yang.
Then he handed the bowl to Gao Yu as well.
Gao Yu also drank a bowl of water in one gulp. Xiao Yue then refilled the kettle, and Gao Yu took it and drank another bowl. Finally, he felt relieved. Because he was about the same age as Xiao Yue, he jokingly said...
“My dad won’t let us drink your water, saying it’s hard for you to carry water. You should at least prepare some water for us, instead of letting Brother Yang and me work thirsty.”
Xiaoyue blushed, while Uncle Gao scolded Gao Yu, "You little brat, you talk too much. If you don't finish paying off the thousand yuan debt, you won't be able to eat when you get home today." Uncle Gao said to Gao Yu with a smile.
Gao Yu, never one to back down, immediately retorted, "Why don't you care about my brother? I'm still working on the clay, while he hasn't even started."
Gao Yu muttered under her breath, clearly dissatisfied.
Upon hearing Gao Yu's words, Uncle Gao kicked Gao Yu to the side, laughing and scolding, "Why don't you compete with your brother in academics?"
Seeing the two of them arguing, Brother Yang chuckled and tugged at Gao Yu's clothes, saying, "How much do you have left? I'll give you the adobe I made."
Gao Yu chuckled, "I finished a long time ago, I've already taken off 1200 yuan, but I'm still unhappy with Old Gao's attitude towards his two sons." Gao Yu playfully said to Yang Dahua, then, before Uncle Gao could come over to discipline him, he went around to Xiaoyue's back and asked...
"Sister Xiaoyue, have you seen my brother?" she asked, looking worried.
After asking this question, Gao Yu secretly tugged at Xiaoyue's sleeve, pulled her aside, winked mysteriously, and whispered in Xiaoyue's ear:
“After he finished laying the foundation, he saw that you had no firewood, so he went to the mountains to gather firewood for you. He had never done this kind of work before, and I was afraid he would cut off his hand.”
Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue's eyes widened. She looked Gao Yu up and down, then touched Gao Yu's head to make sure that Gao Yu was neither sick nor had a fever. Xiaoyue's face flushed again.
What's going on here? Xiaoyue thought Gao Lei was chopping firewood for the family while she was on the mountain. Thinking about it, it makes sense. As the only scholar in the family, how could they bear to let him chop firewood?
Seeing Xiaoyue's surprised expression, Gao Yu whispered to her, "Dad originally only wanted me to come to your house to help him build the house, but my brother insisted on coming along too. It's clear that he treats you differently from others, right?" Gao Yu gave her a knowing look.
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