Chapter 101 Living Behind a Curtain
By the time all the work in the kitchen was done, it was already past midnight.
After the family washed up, Chen Lie bolted the gate and went back to the house. Chen An and Shen Ning had already made two reed curtains, and even took the extra reed poles back to the firewood shed in the backyard and put them away.
Naturally, the tallest one was the one who was responsible for hanging the curtain. There were no nails at that time, but it was not difficult. There was a beam right above the two beds. Chen Lie was tall enough and could reach it by standing on the bed and raising his hand. He fixed the rope on the beam and then passed it through the gaps in the reed curtain to hang up the curtain.
Sang Luo brought her two younger children to stand below to help check the position and height. After some work, two curtains appeared in the room, successfully separating the two beds by about three-quarters, leaving only the foot of the bed for people to get in and out of bed.
To be honest, this arrangement made to separate the two beds is really not as good-looking as the one Sang Luo used to coax Chen Ning when viewed from the entrance of the house.
But when Shen An and Shen Ning climbed onto their beds and watched again, the feeling was different, very novel and interesting.
The two little ones were very excited. They jumped onto their own beds and were not satisfied with just looking at it. They even moved the curtain with their hands and peeked at Sang Luo's bed.
Chen Ning was very happy and praised sincerely: "Sister-in-law, it turns out that hanging a curtain really looks better."
Doesn’t it look beautiful when viewed on the bed? It creates a small space. Moreover, the reeds are woven very delicately, and the raw material itself has a simple beauty.
However, Sang Luo got a headache when she saw Le Zhizhi and his sister climbing onto the bed opposite.
She looked at Chen Lie, and Chen Lie looked at her, obviously confused as well.
Sang Luo is used to not relying on others if she can solve problems by herself, so she called Chen Ning: "Aning, come and sleep with your sister-in-law over here, and your brother and Xiao An will sleep over there."
The brother and sister were stunned.
Shen An: "Don't big brother and big sister sleep together?"
Chen An really didn't mean anything else when he said this. At his age, especially since he had no parents since childhood, he didn't really understand that couples had to live together. He just grew up watching his uncle and aunt living in one room, and Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie living in another room.
The rooms are separated by a small curtain. Shouldn't the eldest brother and his wife have one room, and he and Aning have one room?
Chen Lie almost blushed again, but Sang Luo was very calm and didn't take the child's words seriously at all. She smiled and said, "I prefer Aning to sleep with me."
This sentence made Shen Ning happy, and she immediately stopped thinking about whether her elder brother and sister-in-law should sleep in the same room.
My sister-in-law likes to sleep with her! Of course she goes!
She happily moved her pillow. Sang Luo had already occupied the inner side of the bed, so Chen Ning simply placed his pillow on the outside, closer to the curtain.
Chen An was also very happy to sleep with his elder brother. His elder brother had been away from home for a long, long time. He was also happy and took the initiative to lift the quilt and patted the half of the bed near the curtain: "Brother, then you come and sleep here."
Shen Lie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But he glanced at the place Shen An had reserved for him and said, “You sleep outside, closer to Aning, and I’ll sleep inside.”
Because the distance between them is far, she might be more comfortable.
Chen An and Chen Ning didn't notice the subtle little secret of their eldest brother and sister-in-law at all. They just thought it was very funny and enjoyable that the brother and sister were separated by a curtain.
Shen An moved his seat without saying a word.
Chen Lie felt relieved, and seeing that everyone had gone to bed, he turned around and asked Sang Luo: "Then I will turn off the lights?"
Sang Luo was a little confused. She always felt that there was something wrong with this conversation.
But he still nodded: "Turn it off."
After hearing her response, Shen Lie turned to the table and blew out the lights.
On the first night Chen Lie returned home, he and Sang Luo slept on two adjacent beds, choosing the farthest distance between them, each sitting on one side and lying very properly.
In the middle was the chattering of Shen An and Shen Ning. The brother and sister chatted for a few sentences, and then recited the excerpt from "Thousand Character Classic" that they had already learned before falling asleep.
Chen Lie and Sang Luo listened to the two children's little voices reciting in the dark.
Chen Lie, who had been home for several hours, felt at this moment that his nearly three-year exile was over and he was home.
My younger brother and sister are very nice.
He carefully turned his head and looked in the direction of the curtain.
He also has a wife, although he has not yet received her approval.
On the other side of the curtain, Sang Luo, who had been called Ali's wife for several months and had become very accustomed to it, opened her eyes in the darkness and finally faced these four words. Since Chen Lie came back, these four words were no longer just a code name.
In her previous life, she lived for 28 years and never had time to experience a relationship, but in this life, she went straight into marriage.
Chen An and Shen Ning had finished memorizing the book without knowing when. They had been busy all night and it was getting late. The two younger ones were actually sleepy, especially since the quilt was soft and warm. Chen Ning had fallen asleep while listening to his brother reciting the book, and Chen An's eyelids gradually became heavy.
"Good night, sister-in-law."
"Good night, brother."
Before Chen Lie could figure out what good night meant, he heard Sang Luo's gentle voice from the other side of the curtain: "Well, good night."
Chen Lie turned his head to look at the curtain and met Chen An's eyes. He patted his brother, opened his mouth, and imitated Sang Luo to say good night.
Shen An was satisfied with his good night and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
In the dark night, there was only the rhythmic breathing of two children. Chen Lie listened for a while and asked in a low voice: "A Luo, when will you get up to make tofu tomorrow morning?"
Sang Luo had not slept yet, and when she heard him ask, she replied softly, "Fourth watch, Chou Zheng."
When Chen Lie heard this, he realized that they could only sleep for two hours every night?
Well, he came back today, and he took a shower and went out, which wasted some time. But I think they can only sleep for three hours at most on normal days.
It’s too hard.
He asked softly, "Is the soft tofu ground the same way as today?"
Sang Luo hummed softly.
Chen Lie: "Okay, I'll get up tomorrow morning and call you after I grind the beans."
Sang Luo couldn't help but glance over the curtain before she said yes softly.
It’s nice to have someone to help share the burden that I’ve been carrying for so long.
There was a man in the room, and Sang Luo thought she would not sleep well tonight. However, to her surprise, she felt a little uncomfortable at first, but then she fell asleep without knowing when.
Perhaps because Chen Lie had said before going to bed that he would grind the beans in the morning, Sang Luo was no longer worried and slept particularly soundly. The subtle movement of grinding beans in the kitchen made Sang Luo confused and trapped in her dream, and she just thought it was herself who was grinding the mill.
Not until the movement stopped did she seem to wake up from her dream. She was a little confused at first, and opened and closed her eyes. She was stunned for a while before she realized that she had forgotten to get up and make tofu!
She turned over and sat up, quickly putting on her jacket, until she heard deliberately light footsteps outside, and Sang Luo's sleepy brain finally started working. Yes, Chen Lie was back, and she didn't need to grind beans this morning.
The faint light of the oil lamp spilled into the room. Sang Luo raised her eyes and saw Chen Lie pushing the door open. Their eyes met and Chen Lie was visibly stunned: "Just woke up?"
Sang Luo nodded, and Chen Lie quickly placed the oil lamp on the table, retreated quickly, and closed the door.
Sang Luo: ...
How does it feel to be seen by a stranger, um, the opposite sex, in the morning when you just woke up and haven't washed or dressed yet?
Just the way she is now.
Sang Luo rubbed her brows, gave up thinking about it completely, and got up quickly.
…
Previously, due to the refugee incident, Qin Fangniang and others were accompanied by Chen Youtian, Lu Dalang and Shi Erlang when they went to the stall every day. Today, except for Chen Youtian, it was their men who came to accompany Gan and Feng Liuniang.
The two couples who reunited after a long separation seemed to be in great love with each other.
Sang Luo smiled, and was genuinely happy for the two of them. Of course, with so many people coming, she no longer needed to help carry the goods down the mountain, and she could just take delivery of the goods.
This was the first time that Shen An and Shen Ning stayed in bed since they started making tofu at home. They listened to their eldest brother and sister-in-law and stayed in bed.
The first snow in Qiyang County lasted only one day and then stopped. The snow outside stopped falling, but the melting snow was much colder than the snow. On such mornings, I couldn’t understand how happy it was to be able to stay in bed until breakfast before getting up!
Breakfast was soy milk with egg and soy dregs pancakes. Sang Luo and the two kids ate them regularly and it was fine. But this was Chen Lie's second time drinking soy milk and his first time eating soy dregs pancakes. He added flour, eggs, and chopped vegetables, and seasoned them before frying them in oil. The pancakes were so delicious that he couldn't stop eating them.
He also knew that he ate a lot. If Sang Luo hadn't made two large plates, Shen Lie might not have dared to pick up his chopsticks.
Sang Luo couldn't help laughing. Their family really could provide enough tofu dregs cakes.
Her family didn't have much other stuff, but they had plenty of bean dregs. If she couldn't finish them all, she would occasionally give some to other families. The chickens, ducks, and geese in the family also had this nutritious meal every day, but they couldn't consume all of it, so she dried the rest and stored them.
There were two plates of tofu dregs cakes. Sang Luo and the two children didn't finish one plate together, but Chen Lie finished one plate by himself. Sang Luo knew how he grew up. He was smart. He knew how to hunt with Chen Dashan when he was a teenager. Otherwise, how could he be allowed to eat his fill according to the way Shen San and Li Shi did?
Chen Lie also knew that he had a big appetite, especially in the past two years. He felt a little embarrassed after eating: "Da Shan and I will go into the mountains later and see if we can get some pheasants to add to the dishes."
Two years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to say that I could get something back from going into the mountains. But it’s different now. In the past year, I have been growing almost exclusively in the deep mountains and forests, so I still have some confidence.
When Sang Luo heard that he was going into the mountains to hunt, she was surprised: "The snow hasn't melted yet. Isn't it safe to go into the mountains at this time?"
Chen Lie smiled: "The snow in the north is really heavy. The snow here is nothing compared to it. Besides, snowy days have their advantages."
It is difficult for animals to hide their tracks in the snow, so if hunters have enough experience, they will have a good harvest when they go into the mountains.
He said as he stood up to collect the dishes and prepared to wash them, but Shen Ning didn't let her eldest brother get involved and took the job over with a smile.
"Brother, let me wash the dishes. I have nothing to do right now."
Sang Luo is really tired every day. The two children will take the initiative to do some simple chores. However, since the beginning of winter, the water used for washing dishes at home is warmed by the residual fire in the stove, so washing dishes is not uncomfortable.
Chen Lie didn't compete with his sister for these tasks. He nodded: "Then I'll go prepare it."
It was only at this time that Sang Luo realized that the oversized bag that Chen Lie brought back yesterday contained, in addition to a box of ginseng and a few pieces of clothing, all weapons hidden in the middle.
A bow and a big knife wrapped in cloth.
That’s right, it’s the kind used in the imperial army.
Seeing Sang Luo looking at it, Chen Lie said, “It was taken from the dead soldiers when the enemy army had not had time to clean up the battlefield.”
When he came to his senses at this point, he was worried that Sang Luo, a woman, would be taboo about things used by a dead person, and he became a little nervous for a moment.
Sang Luo had never thought about that at all. On the contrary, the situation was chaotic, and these were all good things to save lives, especially in the hands of people who knew how to use them.
The two emperors of the Dagan Dynasty had extremely strict control over weapons, and civilians were not allowed to privately possess weapons. This was why Chen Lie and his group were able to avoid government inspections along the way when they returned through the mountains and forests. Otherwise, not only would these things be confiscated, but the people would also be convicted.
She moved closer: "And what about the roll of animal skin? Is it arrows?"
Chen Lie saw that she didn't show any fear, nor did she frown. Instead, she came closer with interest. He immediately felt relieved and smiled: "Yes, it's a feather arrow."
As he spoke, he opened the roll of animal skin, revealing a large bundle of dozens of finely crafted arrows.
Sang Luo's eyes lit up: "This is a good thing, but it has to be hidden well."
She looked around and said, "Put it under the bed. This room is locked during the day when no one is around."
The village system at that time was extremely strict, and the system of collective responsibility was implemented. Reports from neighbors were very common, so these things could never be revealed in front of the villagers.
When Shen Lie heard her praise this as a good thing and even wanted to help hide it, the smile on his face could not stop, and his eyes curved: "Okay."
He took out the bow and arrows that he would need when going into the mountains, packed up the rest, and hid them under the bed as Sangluo had said.
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