Chapter 15
Among the more than twenty laborers who came up the mountain to help, Shu Wanxiu spotted Xun Yi at a glance.
He carried two tightly bundled bundles of straw up the mountain, but his shoulders and back did not bend under the weight. Instead, he walked at the front of the group as if walking on flat ground.
Shu Wanxiu went up to greet everyone. Although she had interacted with Xun Yi a few times in private, her demeanor and tone of voice did not show any difference when she greeted him.
Shu Wanxiu knew nothing about repairing houses. After everyone started working, some climbed ladders to the roof to remove the roof, while others dug soil and mixed mud to repair the stove.
She looked around but couldn't find anyone she could help with.
After finally getting all the old straw off the roof, she tried to help carry a few handfuls of new dry straw up, but was quickly turned away because she couldn't keep up.
Pang Zhishan stood aside overseeing the overall situation. Seeing that she really wanted to do something, he said, "Why don't you pour water for everyone?"
The repairs were originally planned to be completed in one day, but because there were many people involved, they were finished by noon.
A few hours ago, the roof of the entire house was gray and smelled musty.
After the renovation, the roof turned a brand new, withered yellow color. After sweeping away the fallen dust and small pieces of moldy straw, you could smell the unique fragrance of straw in both rooms.
Shu Shouyi, his skinny legs darting in and out of the two rooms, kept grinning foolishly, afraid that Shu Wanxiu wouldn't notice the changes on the roof. Pointing, he loudly shared, "Auntie, we have a new house!"
More than twenty pairs of eyes were drawn to them by the sudden sound. Although Shu Wanxiu blushed, after responding to Shu Shouyi, she still thanked everyone sincerely before they looked away.
They were all men, and when someone thanked them, they would mostly just nod silently or give a sheepish smile in return.
Pang Zhishan, adept at easing tension, cheerfully stepped forward and said, "Now that you have a new house, you should treat us to rice cakes. We'll owe you this year, but don't forget to make it up to you next year when your harvest is plentiful!"
Shu Wanxiu guessed that Pang Zhishan was referring to some kind of custom in Fangyuan County. Although she wasn't quite sure about it now, she could ask him later! So she agreed without hesitation.
Those who finished their work packed up their tools and left one after another.
Shu Wanxiu saw them off one by one. When it was the stove repairman's turn to leave, he specifically instructed her: "The newly repaired half of the earthen stove cannot be used immediately. It must be dried for at least five or six days before you can set up a pot and start a fire to cook."
Shu Wanxiu can assure you: "Don't worry, I definitely won't need it."
It's not just that it won't be used for five or six days; who knows when it will be useful in the future.
Originally, Shu Wanxiu hadn't planned to repair the stove, but Village Chief Pang felt it should be fixed in one go and took charge on their behalf.
Xun Yi arrived first, but on his way back, he was delayed by something and ended up at the very end, descending the mountain with Village Chief Pang.
After seeing them off, there were no more outsiders on the mountainside. Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi stood side by side outside the house, brazenly looking at the newly renovated house.
Behind them, many seedlings have already sprouted in several vegetable plots they cultivated themselves.
Everything is thriving and prosperous.
Shu Wanxiu was also in high spirits.
"Does Shouyi still like to eat sour grapes?" she asked with a smile.
There used to be a grape tree behind my house that bore a lot of fruit every year.
Shu Shouyi was a glutton. Every time the grapes were still small, green, and hard, he would fuss about wanting to eat them. But when the adults actually fed him the green grapes, he would immediately scrunch up his face, spit out sour water, shake his head, and shout, "I'm never eating them again!"
Before that grape tree died from drought this summer, Shu Shouyi had already made a fuss about it several times.
He clearly remembered that tangy, pungent smell; just thinking about it made his face scrunch up, and his mouth watered so much it was about to burst.
However, after swallowing hard, he nodded vaguely, awkwardly expressing his willingness.
"...I want to eat it."
Shu Wanxiu said very gently, "Then your aunt will go to the mountains to dig one up for you, and we'll dig a hole and plant it under the wooden shed in the kitchen, so it can climb up the wooden pillar."
In a few years, we'll have a whole trellis of grapes. Then, in the summer, we can sit under the trellis and watch the grapes ripen and feast on them, and then..."
Her eyes suddenly lit up with a cunning glint.
After pausing mysteriously, she raised her voice and leaned closer to him, saying, "A lot of caterpillars will fall into your bowl!"
"Your breakfast and dinner have turned into caterpillar-shaped vegetable porridge!"
Shu Shouyi's lips trembled, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Shu Wanxiu teased him on a whim, but when she realized things were going wrong, she immediately scooped him up, hugged him, and comforted him, then told him her real plan.
"There won't be any caterpillars..."
"Your aunt will not only plant grapes for you, but also peach trees, jujube trees, and chestnut trees. Every spring, we will plant melons, which will be ready to eat in the summer."
Shu Shouyi's eyes shone brightly in her arms, whether from the tears he hadn't shed earlier or from his anticipation of the future, it was hard to tell.
...
The day after the roof was repaired, the weather suddenly turned cool.
The sudden autumn wind brought Shu Wanxiu a great sense of urgency.
On the one hand, we need to continue stockpiling firewood; on the other hand, we need to find something that can be stuffed into our clothes to keep warm.
Shu Wanxiu didn't dare to even think about cotton; she could only try to find a way to get cotton from reeds.
She knew that reeds weren't very good at keeping warm, but if she brought back more, along with the remaining half-bundle of straw from repairing the roof, she should be able to get through the winter.
However, she hadn't explored the area since arriving in Wupai Village, and it was obviously too late for her to search for the reed marshes herself, so she simply asked Aunt Chen directly.
My aunt said that if you walk downstream for half an hour along the stream at the foot of their mountain, there is a wide shallow beach, and for miles around there is only a large reed marsh next to that shallow beach.
Without saying a word, Shu Wanxiu immediately went to look for it.
She was anxious on the way, worried that the harvest would be gone, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived at her destination.
It was a huge reed marshland, stretching as far as the eye could see.
This time, she entrusted Shu Shouyi to Aunt Chen because, after all, this reed patch was located by the water, and there was a lot of silt near the water. Adults had to be extra careful, and children, with their short legs, would panic if they got stuck and couldn't pull their legs out, which could easily lead to an accident.
She carried a basket on her back when she left home. Later, Aunt Chen lent her a burlap sack for storing grain, saying that the sack was both lightweight and could hold more things.
The sky was overcast, and even the wind blowing by the water seemed unusually cool.
Shu Wanxiu rubbed her arms, walked along the riverbank for a while, and chose a place with lots of reeds and relatively dry water. She took off her straw sandals, gathered some wild grass from the surrounding area, tied the sandals to both ends, and hung them around her neck.
Finally, he rolled up his trousers and sleeves, carefully watching his step as he entered the reed marsh.
The reed stalks are very thin and long, and each stalk can grow four or five leaves with rough edges.
Shu Wanxiu rolled up her sleeves to protect her clothes, but she didn't intend to let her arm get cut and bleed profusely.
She was extremely careful with each movement, gently hooking down the branch and trying not to touch the leaves.
Don't remove the excess straw; just break off the tip of the ear stalk.
After an unknown amount of time, the weight of the sacks in his hands hadn't increased much, but the number of sacks had piled up to halfway.
She shook the bag to let the sediment settle, then went ashore and found a lush spot to pick more fruit.
After changing locations twice, the entire sack was completely filled.
Shu Wanxiu slung the bag, which had finally gained some weight, over her shoulder, and only then did she have the leisure to look at the surrounding scenery.
In the distance, mountains rise one after another; nearby, water ripples.
She didn't realize it when she first arrived, but now that she looks closely, she finds that the area is far too wide. If she hadn't heard from Aunt Chen that it was just a shallow beach, she would have mistaken it for a lake.
However... even if it's just a shallow pool, it's so wide, there should be fish in it, right?
And this reed marshland is simply a perfect hiding place for pheasants and wild ducks.
Thinking this, Shu Wanxiu found it hard to move her feet.
A note from the author:
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A little extra content was added at the end of this chapter. The update from Thursday will be posted tonight at 9 PM. [kissing emoji]
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