Chapter 46 Hu Qingshan Comes to the Door
As Guo Baiwen rode into town in an oxcart, he happened to see Hu Qingshan pushing a cart and standing in front of his shop.
"This is--"
"Take a look at the furniture we ordered for the main room before. Is it all here?"
I've been so busy that I almost forgot I ordered so much furniture from carpenter Hu.
Seeing that Hu Qingshan was struggling to carry it all by himself, he went over to help.
It's not an easy place to talk to people near your home.
Guo Baiwen quickly opened the door and stepped aside, "Happy New Year! Your woodworking workshop is starting work so early?"
"Happy New Year! We haven't started work yet, but my dad was thinking that since you were busy with the shop, now that you finally have some free time, you'll probably need these furniture pieces for the house."
"The second day of the Lunar New Year is still a bit too rushed. It might have delayed your New Year's visit today, right?"
"We've already visited almost all the neighbors yesterday. We originally agreed to deliver it to your house during the first month of the lunar calendar, but since we had some free time today, we decided to deliver it to your house first."
“My family isn’t in a hurry. It’s fine to deliver it after the carpentry workshop opens.”
"The carpentry workshop will open after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Craftsmen can't rest for too long," Hu Qingshan wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "otherwise their skills will be rusty."
When he last came, Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua hadn't moved in yet.
This was the first time I'd run into them since they were delivering furniture. So I smiled at them, said "Happy New Year," and then took a handful of red dates from my cloth bag and gave some to each of them.
Guo Xiaohua wasn't shy, so seeing Grandma Guo accept the dates, she reached out and took them, saying, "Thank you, brother."
Hu Qingshan chuckled at the word "brother" and casually pinched the little girl's two small buns in the hair.
"You're welcome."
Grandma Guo watched with a smile as the two got along well.
After Guo Baiwen and Hu Qingshan had carried all the furniture they brought on the cart into the house, the two were finally able to sit down, have a drink of water, and rest.
They brew coarse-leaf tea at home, but because Grandma Guo doesn't sleep much, drinking too much tea makes it even harder for her to sleep.
So this tea only used a small amount of tea leaves, but a lot of honey was added.
With just one sip, Hu Qingshan smiled. "My son, Abao, will love the taste of this tea."
Children love sweets, so the maltose, brown sugar, and other sweets we buy are always put in a basket and hung high up.
It used to be used to prevent insects, but now it's used to prevent children from getting hurt.
Guo Baiwen knew that he had just become a father and was at the age where he found children fun.
So the two chatted for a while about the children's funny stories. Guo Baiwen knew that Hu Qingshan had grown up in the county town since he was a child, and because he was a carpenter, he knew many of the residents in the town.
He had originally intended to ask on behalf of Guo Xiaohua, so after chatting for a short while, the conversation shifted from the topic of how fast children grow and need to change their clothes frequently to which skilled embroiderers were in the county town.
Guo Baiwen's original intention was to inquire about a few reliable and skilled embroidery masters.
But to everyone's surprise, once the conversation started, Hu Qingshan immediately became proud and said happily, "Although making clothes takes a lot of time, my wife's skills are well-known in this county."
"If it weren't for moving furniture today, I would have loved to show off the new clothes she made to you."
It's like someone handing you a pillow when you're feeling sleepy!
Guo Baiwen suddenly became excited, "My sister-in-law is actually an embroiderer?"
Although Hu Qingshan didn't know what was making him so excited, he nodded and said proudly, "That's right, just look at whose wife she is! I'm not exaggerating, go out and ask around in any cloth shop, my wife's embroidery skills are famous throughout the county!"
That's quite a big statement.
Grandma Guo, who was holding a red date, stopped eating it and sat down beside her upon hearing this.
Guo Baiwen didn't need to say anything more after that.
Hu Qingshan and Grandma Guo chatted so enthusiastically that Guo Xiaohua and Guo Baiwen couldn't get a word in edgewise.
They chatted about all sorts of things, and somehow they decided to visit Hu Qingshan's house to offer New Year's greetings in a few days.
Of course, paying a New Year's visit was just an excuse; the main reason was to see Hu Qingshan's wife's cooking skills.
Hu Qingshan was happy to let others know about his wife's excellent cooking skills, especially since he had met Guo Baiwen several times and felt that the family was quite nice.
As for the matter of wanting Guo Xiaohua to not become an apprentice, Grandma Guo hasn't mentioned it yet.
It's one thing for them to visit other people's homes for the New Year and want to check on things along the way.
Whether Guo Xiaohua suits someone's taste or whether they are willing to accept her is another matter.
Regardless of whether she will ultimately succeed in becoming an apprentice, it would be good to let Guo Xiaohua broaden her horizons and see if she is interested.
To avoid her always feeling that her family is forcing her to study.
It's getting late today, and we're rushing too much.
Tomorrow is the third day of the Lunar New Year. It's a folk custom not to visit relatives and friends on the third day, lest you attract bad luck (a traditional custom). It's also a time to avoid causing trouble for others.
So the visit to Hu Qingshan's house to pay New Year's respects was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
Grandma Guo poured Hu Qingshan two more bowls of tea, and the two chatted for a while before reluctantly ending their conversation.
When they saw the person off, Guo Baiwen helped him with his cart, and then suddenly remembered that he was missing something at home.
"A large wooden tub?" Hu Qingshan asked, winding the hemp rope he had used to tie the furniture around his hand. "It's a large wooden tub for bathing, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Even if it's for bathing."
Their toilet was too small and not as warm as the kitchen, so they took showers in the kitchen during the winter.
The stove was right next to us, so if we wanted to add some hot water, it wouldn't take up much time on the way.
However, after standing in the shower and using a lot of water, even if a small drain has been dug in the kitchen floor beforehand, the floor will still be wet for a while.
Even after you've finally managed to wash your legs and feet clean, they can easily get covered in yellow mud from the ground.
Moreover, even with the stove in the kitchen providing heating protection, it's still hard to avoid feeling cold when standing and being showered with water from a ladle.
Especially after hot water washes over you, the initial heat dissipates, and in the gap between the first ladle of hot water and the next, a chilling wind is always ready to seep into your bones.
This led to the need to wash with hot water, ladle after ladle, in order to keep warm.
One reason is that the drainage channels on the ground can't hold that much water at once, and another is that it's too wasteful of water for just three people to take a bath like that.
Often, even after boiling, the water in a large water vat wouldn't be enough for their whole family to take a bath.
It's more economical and warmer to use a bathtub.
Hu Qingshan nodded. "There are still a few finished products in the bathtub woodworking shop. What kind do you want?"
Guo Baiwen didn't have many requirements for the bathtub. "I just want a big one, and it would be even better if it's made of wood that doesn't easily get moldy during the rainy season."
There's no way around it; the summers here are hot and humid, especially during the rainy season. Even spare chopsticks that aren't used often easily get moldy.
His request made Hu Qingshan laugh. "It's probably difficult to prevent wood from getting moldy after being soaked in water. Brother Guo, when you're done using it, just take it out and air it on a sunny day."
Too.
Guo Baiwen nodded, "Then I'll go to the woodworking shop with you later and pick out a bathtub that I like and bring it back."
He didn't want to wait another day to take a cold shower.
Perfect timing! On the way back, I can also deliver the rocking chair I got from today's sign-in to Grandma Guo's room.
In this kind of life, one can lie in a rocking chair, warm oneself by the fire, and eat a dried persimmon or peel an orange.
This is what winter rest should feel like – a lazy, carefree time!
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Author's Note: Bonus chapter is here! [heart emoji]
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