Chapter 153 Peach Blossom Spring/Inside and Outside the Valley
When Xu Wenbo shouted, Wei Qinghe and Wang Yunzheng jumped up and ran so fast.
There was no other reason. After they had seen Sang Luo's drawings, they had specially gone to Sang Luo to borrow her charcoal pencils to look at. After returning home, they rummaged through the remaining charcoal from cooking at home. The uncle and nephew also got a few charcoal pencils. Every day, they would sit at home facing their own cave and think about it, trying to see if they could draw one or two designs themselves before Sang Luo designed them.
As a result, just look at the reaction now and you will know that the imagination seems to be not enough and what he drew is far from good.
After trying for a few days without any results, aren't we just waiting anxiously for the Shen family to finish the work?
If it weren't for the lack of tools and the fact that Sang Luo prepared big meals every day for Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan who helped with the work, Wei Qinghe, who couldn't carry anything on his shoulders or lift a wood saw properly, would have been too embarrassed to get involved. Otherwise, he would have wanted to go over and help every day.
Xu Wenbo informed his family, and Xu Wenyin went to the Chen family next door to call her grandmother, and then Mrs. Chen and a few others also ran to the Shen family.
With so many people, they couldn't all squeeze into the cave, so they all camped outside. The three families opposite also saw it and came over to watch the fun.
In addition to Chen Lie, Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan, there is only Sang Luo, the hostess and the original designer, in the cave.
The men were very good at doing things. They quickly moved the beds and tables inside out, and piled up a pile of wood outside the cave. Then they started to work, tamping the ground flat again and again, and roughly repaired the walls before they began to work.
Sang Luo truly witnessed the magic of traditional craftsmanship.
There is not a single nail and no glue is used, but it is much more stable than the modern methods of using nails and glue.
She only saw Chen Lie, Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan carrying the pillars and boards one by one. The three of them cooperated with each other, hammering and pounding, and the platform began to be built bit by bit.
This is the smallest cave in the lower level of the entire valley, about 30 square meters. Its biggest advantage is its regularity. Except for the cave entrance which is less than four meters wide, the widest part inside the cave is about five meters, and the depth is about six meters, so the lighting is very good.
When you enter the cave, you will first see a stove and a wooden table, which is equivalent to a kitchen. Four meters further in, there are shelves that take up about one meter of space. There is also space left for people to walk around, and the entire area serves as an open storage area.
In other words, except for the storage area on the left which is more than one meter wide, the four-meter wide and six-meter deep area on the right can be used as a living area and a living and dining room, which can be used as desired by Sang Luo.
The platform designed by Sang Luo is located along the right side of the cave, with a width of four meters and a depth of about two meters and six. The platform is about fifteen centimeters above the ground.
Watching Chen Lie and Chen Youtian laying the wooden boards one by one, not only Sang Luo's eyes lit up, but also Wei Qinghe and Wang Yunzheng, who grew up in the Wang family mansion and were trying hard to squeeze into the cave, had their eyes lit up.
The log platform, they had seen the wooden board before, it was planed very smoothly, it was so clean!
After part of the platform is laid, start assembling the second layer of the bed.
It is said to be the second-level bed, but in fact it is two sets of cabinets erected above the platform. On the left, near the storage area, there is a set of vertical cabinets that are two meters and one meter high and seventy to eighty centimeters wide. There is a pillar on the right side of the cave, and on the inside are pillars and tightly fitted board walls.
After completing this step, Chen Lie and the other two began to assemble the empty space on the right side of the wall. That set of accessories was assembled into seven sets of small cabinets of different heights. The top one that was pulled open from the front of the steps was a drawer, and the small cabinets on the platform and bed side were small cabinets with doors that could be opened. They were placed against the right wall and the platform column, or in other words, embedded in them.
It's called a small wardrobe, but anyone who has seen the design drawings knows that this is not a wardrobe. It is a set of steps leading to the upper bed!
The kids were the most excited!
Children who grew up in the countryside and had never been to the county town had no idea that a house could be built with two floors. In the village, they had only seen door thresholds, but never stairs. They had never seen a place with several steps to go to bed. This was too beautiful and interesting!
Erniu and Sanniu were already so excited that they pulled Shen An and cried, "Your sister-in-law is so amazing, wow, your brother is also amazing, your bed is so beautiful!"
Chen Xiaoya also pulled Shen Ning: "Aning, do you want to sleep on top or on the bottom?"
Shen Ning couldn't move her eyes away, staring at her eldest brother assembling the steps, and replied to Chen Xiaoya: "I don't know, I listen to my eldest sister-in-law, and it's so beautiful whether it's above or below."
Xu Wenyin nodded: "That's right, Xiaoya, your family will be ready soon. Once Aning's family is done, your family will start right away."
Chen Xiaoya smiled so much that her teeth were exposed: "I want to sleep on the upper floor, I can go up the stairs."
The seven sets of wardrobes were arranged in order. Chen Lie shook them. As they were embedded in the platform, they fit perfectly and were very stable. He then installed the two thick bedposts on the left side of the steps that supported the second-floor bed. He went up the steps to the upper steps and began to install the bed frame, bed beams and bed boards.
Chen Dashan was handing him some wood. Sang Luo couldn't help but go over to take a look. This should be the first time they made this kind of two-story bed. In order to ensure safety, Chen Lie and his colleagues used very solid materials.
After the bed board was laid, the guardrails, wall panels and top panels were also installed in the same way, and the lofted area under the first bed was fully revealed.
There is a vertical cabinet on the left side of the platform and a combination cabinet-style step on the right side. The width in the middle is about two and a half meters, and the top is even curved. Chinese aesthetics are perfectly presented here.
After the installation was completed, all the wood and accessories piled in the cave were used up, leaving space on the periphery. People who came to watch had already entered and exited the cave, and only then could they see the full picture of the upper and lower layers of this set of bed cabinets, and they were all amazed.
Platform, tall cabinets, steps, and a bed with two floors.
I won't talk about the novel style of the furniture. Just stand at the entrance of the cave and take a look inside. The left wall is lined with shelves and grain bags. Well, the color of wood and sacks. The front inner wall, platform, ceiling, and right side wall of the cave are all made of logs.
The whole cave was bright, who understands?
No, I don’t understand. It doesn’t look like a cave anymore.
Living in a cave and achieving such an effect really refreshes everyone's cognition.
It’s so beautiful!
A group of people came closer to take a look, and then looked at the mud on their feet, and they didn't dare to step on the platform or the steps.
Even though Chen Lie and Sang Luo were stepping on it, no outsider dared to step on it.
It's so clean and beautiful, how can I bear to step on it.
Shi Erlang's wife clicked her tongue: "You usually have to take off your shoes before going up here, right?"
But I'm really envious. Just by making a bed, this cave has become completely different.
A smile also appeared in Sang Luo's eyes. The effect was beyond her expectations.
She didn't know how much thought Chen Lie, Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan put into it, but it was really not rough at all, except that there was no paint and some modern high-tech craftsmanship, but it was really not bad. In fact, in her opinion, it was much better than those so-called whole-house customizations in modern times, okay?
Although Sang Luo had never bought a house in her previous life, and had only simply renovated an old house in the mountains, she also looked for plans online for the renovation of the old house. Big data gave her a lot of advice, and she learned a lot about decoration.
She reached up and touched the wood of the bedpost.
This is real solid wood, planed to a smooth finish. Isn't it infinitely better than the particle board and density board used by various decoration companies in later generations?
Moreover, different from the exquisiteness presented by various high-tech lacquer arts, the one made by Chen Lie and his team has a simple beauty of its own, and it is really not bad in terms of appearance alone.
Chen Lie came down from the second floor and was pleasantly surprised. He turned his head to look at Sang Luo, his eyes bright and he asked expectantly, "Is this what you wanted?"
Hearing this question, Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan, who had been busy for several days, subconsciously looked over.
Especially Chen Youtian, when he was young, he learned the craft from his master for several years, but skills are not easily passed on. What the master wants from them as apprentices is actually free labor, and the real skills are often hidden. After learning for three or four years, what he was taught was very limited. Later, he started a family and could not afford to delay on this, so he went back to farm. Then he fled from natural disasters.
The little craft he learned was gradually put to use when he made furniture for his own home after he fled to Shili Village and settled there. He learned it all by himself, bit by bit. He could make rough and usable furniture, but this was the first time in his life that he had made something so exquisite and novel.
So when Chen Lie asked, Chen Youtian immediately looked at Sang Luo.
The style of this furniture was drawn by Sang Luo.
This is the same feeling I had when I was a teenager and just started learning my craft, handing in my first assignment and waiting for my master to comment on it.
Sang Luo smiled brightly and nodded: "It's exactly what I wanted. It's even better than I imagined. You guys are really capable!"
Chen Youtian smiled so hard that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, and he looked so contented.
Chen Lie's face was full of joy, his mouth was grinning so hard that it couldn't close again: "As long as you like it."
He turned to Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan and said, "Then let's move the original bed in and install it?"
The wooden bed that was previously used by Sang Luo and Shen Ning to sleep on now fits perfectly on the platform. Sang Luo gave a timely suggestion to saw off the four bedposts to make the bed a little lower, so that the space on the lower level would be better and they would not feel depressed when sleeping.
Chen Lie agreed. Indeed, the beds on the upper and lower levels in the blueprint drawn by Sang Luo were lower than the bed they were using now.
A few people went out to saw the bedposts, while Sang Luo smiled and told the onlookers to go up and take a look if they wanted to, and she would go get some water and wipe it again later.
This made everyone laugh. Mrs. Chen maintained order: "Two or three people, take a look. Don't all squeeze up. Those with thick mud on the soles of their shoes should not go up. Just take a look like this. Everyone can see it."
Shi Erniu took off his shoes and said, "Grandma Chen, I'll wear some cloth socks and go up. I want to walk up those stairs."
This caused everyone to laugh again.
The bed on the first floor was also installed amid the hustle and bustle. A 1.8-meter-wide bed was placed vertically on the first platform, and a 1.5-meter-wide bed with a guardrail was placed horizontally on the second floor.
Shen An and Shen Ning were so happy that they didn't want to come down.
The brother and sister took on all the work of wiping the beds, cabinets and floors, without Sang Luo having to lift a finger. Xu Wenyin, Xu Wenbo, Chen Xiaoya and Shi Qiaoer could not be taken away by the family. The Shen family did not have enough rags, so they went back to their own homes to find clean towels and took the initiative to help wipe the furniture, walls, ceiling and floor. In the end, they were everywhere.
After work, you can stay and play on this bed which is like a room. You can wipe it again and again and still be reluctant to leave.
The children were watching with curiosity, while the adults were interested in its function. The bed and floor were already being cleaned, so they all stepped aside to watch.
This bed and these cabinets can hold so much. Just this set of beds can hold so many cabinets.
Not to mention the big wardrobe on the left, which can hold a lot of things. With such a big wardrobe, the bedding and clothes that are not used at home no longer need to be piled up in a mess on the shelves. Let’s talk about the steps on the right, seven wardrobes and six drawers. The six wardrobes are arranged from high to low, so they can hold a lot of things.
It goes without saying who is envious. Every family's cave is in a mess like a refugee camp. Everyone would be envious of having so many cabinets!
Chen Lie and his companions moved back the tables and chairs that they had moved out earlier. They couldn't help laughing when they saw the children clinging to the bed on the platform and unwilling to get down, and Mrs. Chen and her companions who didn't go up to the platform but stayed by the side, touching the closet and the steps from time to time.
He looked at the floor of the cave and said to Sang Luo, "I'll go out and get some shale tomorrow. We'll clean it up and lay a layer of it on all the places in the cave that don't have a platform. It should be much cleaner and brighter. We'll build the stove tonight after we make dinner. As for the door, we'll do it after we help the other family build their beds."
The family is still using the simple door that was made at the beginning. It has been a long time since the yellow mud was brought back, but there has never been time to build a stove, so we are still using the simple stove that Sang Luo built at the beginning.
Sang Luo had no objection and said, "The door and the stove are not urgent. This one can be used now. Don't work too hard. Take a few days off first."
Chen Lie really didn't care about himself. In order to meet the deadline, he worked a lot at night. Except for the three and a half hours when he fell asleep, Sang Luo rarely saw him rest.
Little did she know that just these gentle words made Shen Lie's heart tremble.
Sang Luo didn't feel that her words had any effect on Shen Lie at all. Instead, she thought of another thing. She pulled Shen Lie's sleeve and led him to the right stone wall next to the platform and asked, "Our original lampstand is blocked by the wall board. I took out the oil lamp and the fire starter. Do you think we should carve a new lampstand? Is this position okay? It's close to the platform, so it's convenient for turning off and lighting the lights."
Chen Lie's eyes were on Sang Luo's hand that was pulling his sleeve. His fingers were curled up nervously, but he let go when she pulled him over.
Chen Lie could hear what Sang Luo said, but it seemed as if he couldn't hear it. The sound of his own heartbeat in his eardrum drowned out Sang Luo's voice.
He suppressed the inexplicable palpitations in his heart and nodded: "This is a good spot, I'll do it."
His throat felt a little tight, and he turned around in embarrassment, trying to hide his nervousness by looking for tools.
He was chiseling a lampstand on the wall. Mrs. Chen and the other women who had not left yet saw that Sang Luo was also going to clean up the cave. They did not stay long and told Chen Lie to go to her house to help tomorrow, and then went out with a group of women.
No matter how slowly you clean the floor, it is clean by now, so clean that it shines.
The little ones reluctantly got off the platform and put on their shoes, but they didn't leave and just watched Sang Luo decorate the cave.
The bedding and pillows for both beds were ready, so they just had to be laid out. Sang Luo took out the fabric she had bought before and pulled a curtain beside the second bed.
The wolfskin mattress that Chen Lie used to sleep on the floor was no longer needed now that he had a bed. Sang Luo picked one and spread it on the banquette at home. The wolfskin was thick and felt very soft to sit on.
Now that she had the seat cushion, Sang Luo did not skimp on it. She had bought a large amount of cloth when she was preparing to escape to the mountains. Now she took out a small piece of cloth, cut it simply, and made two lumbar pillows.
Unable to find any other filler at the moment, I found some very soft hay that had been dried in the sun, kneaded it into a softer texture, and then stuffed it in.
As soon as one pillow was made, several children took turns sitting on it to experience it. They bounced their buttocks and waists on it, spread their hands, and sighed with satisfaction, which made Sang Luo, who was filling another lumbar pillow nearby, smile.
Xu Wenyin touched the wolf skin and the pillow, looking eagerly: "Sister-in-law A'luo, how could you come up with such a beautiful and comfortable couch? Can you draw a couch like this in the picture for our house?"
It was as if Sang Luo had a pair of hands that could draw miracles, and once she drew them, they would be able to possess them.
Sang Luo agreed with a smile. Chen Xiaoya sat on another chair, propping up her cheeks with her hands on the table, her eyes curved: "Sister-in-law A Luo painted it for my family. I also have wolf skins at home...blah blah, blah blah..."
Chen Lie, who was chiseling the stone wall on the other side, would glance over from time to time, and then quickly look away before Sang Luo noticed.
…
In the evening, they treated Chen Youtian and his son to a sumptuous meal, and invited Old Man Chen as well, as a way of thanking the Chen family for their help over the past few days.
Well, there is meat, vegetables, soup and rice, which is a very rich meal for living in the valley.
At night, Chen Lie and Shen An finally didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore. After asking Sang Luo, Chen Lie and Shen An slept on the lower bunk, while Sang Luo and Shen Ning slept on the upper bunk.
Chen An looked at it eagerly, feeling envious in his heart, but even though he couldn't go up the stairs, the first floor was beautiful enough for him to burst with excitement.
Sang Luo and Shen Ning now have their own little world, which becomes extremely cozy when they draw the curtains.
Chen Lie, lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling above, thinking that this was the home he and Sang Luo had arranged, his heart was filled with sweetness and warmth.
They fled, and lived a life that the three siblings could never have imagined before.
The four members of the Shen family all had good dreams tonight.
…
The next day, Chen Lie and Chen Dashan took a long journey and brought back two baskets of shale. Chen Lie went to Chen's house to do carpentry work, and Sang Luo took Chen An, Chen Ning, Xu Wenbo, and Wang Yunzheng to lay the shale themselves. The Shen family cave has become a scene in Yungu, and each family has come to visit it several times as a model house.
Everyone in the valley has dreams and hopes. The Chen family's drawings have come out, and Sang Luo is also drawing the Xu family's drawings after communicating with the Xu family. The furniture styles made by the two families take into account the situations of each family, and are different from those of the Shen family. Each has its own style and is stunning in its own way.
There is no need to ask Sang Luo to draw the pictures for the Shi, Lu and Zhou families. Just looking at the pictures of the three families will basically give you a reference.
They could have shale, and they could take some risks and ask Chen Lie and Chen Dashan to take them on a long journey to transport it back, but for the platform, walls and roof, except for the Xu family who had plenty of food, and the Chen and Shen families who had their own ideas and skills, the Zhou, Shi and Lu families didn't dare to think about it.
Country people value human touch. When neighbors help others with work, no one will ask for money, but at least they will treat them with good food.
They have a large population and a large cave. If they really build it according to that standard, it will take a long time. They don't have the hunting skills of Chen Lie and Chen Dashan, so they can't afford to entertain them. Therefore, the Zhou, Shi and Lu families all chose a relatively practical plan of only making beds and cabinets. One of the cabinets must be step cabinets to satisfy the children's greed.
As for the floor, walls and ceiling, you don't have to worry about that.
…
The Chen family's construction is still in progress. The rice seeds that were sown earlier have grown to the point where it is time to transplant them.
Of course, the Chen and Shen families no longer had to do this work. Those who were idle in the valley and who did not have carpentry skills and could not help took the initiative to take on the work in the fields. Even Wei Qinghe, the scholar, was not left out.
In the blink of an eye, it was already mid-April. Chen Lie and his companions were still helping the Zhou family, and Zhou Cun had ranked his family last.
There are already a lot of edible vegetables in the valley now, and the families no longer need to go out to find wild vegetables. The frequency of leaving the valley has been reduced to an extremely low level. Except for Chen Lie and Chen Dashan, who are skilled and brave, and Lu Erlang occasionally, who would go out for a walk and hunt when they have nothing to do, the other families followed and picked enough shale. They almost never go out and have really begun to adapt to the life in the valley.
During this period, Chen Lie made his own stove and chimney at night when he did not need to make furniture for other families. He discussed with Sang Luo and made two sets of storage racks at the stove, which could not only hold a lot of jars and pots, but also enclosed a long and narrow kitchen room.
The shelves behind the storage rack can be pushed and pulled left and right. They can be opened when not cooking to allow air circulation and prevent the storage area from being too stuffy. When cooking, the shelves are pulled up and the kitchen becomes surrounded on three sides. The top can then be sealed to separate the doors of the cave and the kitchen. When cooking, the cave door can be closed to basically isolate the fumes and prevent them from going into the cave.
Although cooking with pottery pots is basically based on steaming, boiling, stewing and roasting, it is naturally best if the fumes can be dissipated outside the cave.
At this time, the entrance of the cave is still two and a half to six meters wide except for the space occupied by the kitchen. In order to maintain light and transparency as much as possible, in addition to the partition between the kitchen and the cave, the door is still the original simple style. The door panel is removed during the day and does not take up space, so the light and ventilation are not affected at all.
The house was kept in order and there was no need for Sang Luo to go out, so her life gradually became more leisurely.
When Chen Lie and Chen Dashan went out hunting, Chen An and a group of children were reading under a big tree in the valley. When Sang Luo saw these children, she couldn't help but think of Chen Lie's desire to learn to read.
Chen Lie was very busy, but he did not put this matter aside. Most of the time, even if he was busy until very late, he would ask Chen An and Shen Ning to recite the Thousand Character Classic, and he would memorize them silently. Because Chen An often took the book out, and Chen Lie was busy during the day, sometimes he would listen to Chen An reciting the book at night. While Shen An was asleep, he would take out Shen An's bamboo slips and recognize and memorize them word by word.
As for the brushes made by Sang Luo, there were also a few pieces of stone polished by Chen Lie in his spare time in the cabinet under the table. These brushes and stone pieces have always been used by Shen An and Shen Ning. Sometimes Sang Luo would even practice calligraphy to pass the time. However, Chen Lie, who actually made these things, has never had the chance to pick up a brush.
Ever since Chen Lie came back, he seemed to have endless work to do, mostly for this family, or to make them live better and more comfortably. Sang Luo looked at the group of children under the tree in the distance with a thoughtful look on her face.
After Shen Lie finishes his work with the Zhou family, he should be free now, right?
Since she has both the writing materials and the ink, could she make a book for Chen Lie as well?
Thinking of this, he didn't bother with anything else. He went outside the Chen family cave and picked out a few pieces of bamboo tubes. While Chen Lie and Chen Dashan were still out, he borrowed a saw from Chen Youtian, and then used the machete at home. He started working at the entrance of his own cave. Based on his memory of making bamboo slips with Chen Youtian before, he prepared to make a book of bamboo slips for Chen Lie to learn to read.
Everything in Yun Valley was beautiful, as if the story of Peach Blossom Spring had begun.
Outside Yun Valley, two and a half months had passed since the last time grain was forcibly requisitioned.
After two and a half months of eating coarse food, good people have remained good, but those who have bad natures in their bones have been pushed to the brink of collapse. The dark side of human nature that was hidden during the peaceful years has begun to stir and is ready to burst out without them realizing it.
At this point, all that’s missing is a trigger to break out of the cage.
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