After the wedding banquet, Ye Xuan and Ye Peng had to go back to continue their classes the next day at noon.
The two men, dressed in scholar's robes, stood at the door, ready to board the oxcart.
Grandma Ye, Grandpa Ye, and Madam Du and Madam Wei were all seeing them off.
"Grandma will catch two chickens for you. Take them to your teacher, and we'll stew them for you and your classmates tomorrow." Grandma Ye handed two tied-up chickens to Ye Xuan.
The twenty chicks I caught last time have grown up.
"Thank you, Grandma." Ye Xuan accepted it with a smile.
Ye Peng stood to one side, his expression conflicted.
Ms. Wei asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
"I...Mom, can I not go to school?" Ye Peng asked anxiously. "I don't want to study anymore! It's not fun at all!"
Madam Wei's expression changed: "What nonsense are you talking about! How can you not study!"
Grandma Ye and Grandpa Ye exchanged a glance.
Old Man Ye said, "Your mother is right."
If my family didn't have the means, I wouldn't have gone to school. But now that I have this opportunity, I should cherish it.
Ye Peng's face fell: "The teacher's lectures are like a monk chanting scriptures; I fall asleep as soon as I listen..."
When Ye Peng was first sent to school, he was very curious and thought it was very cool to be a scholar.
Little did he know, once he started school, he would realize just how difficult those days were…
"I'd rather plow two acres of land than listen to a lecture!" Ye Peng said, almost in tears.
God knows how much he misses his family's fields right now.
"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting!" Old Mrs. Ye said with a laugh.
“Even Xuan’er is so diligent, and you’re just being naughty!” Madam Wei said sternly.
"Alright." Old Mrs. Ye glanced at her and sighed, "No matter what, at least we should keep talking about it until the New Year."
Old Man Ye nodded: "If we really don't want to miss it next year, we'll talk to the teacher again."
Ye Peng was delighted to hear this: "Okay, I'll listen to Grandpa and Grandma."
Madam Wei frowned, stepped forward and pinched his ear: "You better pay attention."
"Ouch... Ouch... I understand."
Just then, Ye Bajin and Ye Erquan carried out the spicy soup.
Ye Peng quickly stepped forward to help.
"Erquan, when we get to town, go and catch six big hens so we can have eggs every day. After you move out, each of you can have two." Old Mrs. Ye took out six hundred coins.
Ye Erquan took the money and left.
A laying hen costs 22 coins per catty, so 600 coins would be about right.
...
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
The walls of Ye Erquan's house are finished. Once the walls are completely dry, the beams can be installed and the roof can be built.
It will take at least seven or eight days.
Besides delivering goods, Ye Erquan also worked at Ye Caiping's construction site.
Ye Caiping watched Ye Erquan laying bricks and laughed, "Second Brother is really amazing. He lays these bricks so skillfully. Among all these people, Second Brother has the best technique."
Ye Erquan plastered lime mud onto the brick surface, grinning sheepishly: "I'm not bragging, but in the entire Qinghe Village, no one is better than me at building walls and houses."
"I think so too," Ye Caiping praised without reservation.
Ye Erquan is different from Ye Daquan. Ye Daquan is all brawn and no brains, only good for digging foundations and heavy work. He can't even build a wall properly.
Ye Erquan was different; he was more reserved and meticulous, skilled in everything from leveling the ground to building walls.
"Second brother, let's stop for now and go home. I have something to tell you," Ye Caiping said.
"Okay!" Ye Erquan finished laying the bricks in his hand, then jumped down and shouted at the people on the construction site, telling the villagers to keep working and not to slack off.
Then they went to the mountain stream, washed their hands and face, and then went home with Ye Caiping.
Once inside Ye Caiping's room, Ye Erquan asked, "What does my little sister want to tell me?"
"This," Ye Caiping said, taking out a blueprint, "I want to build a toilet... a latrine."
Ye Caiping really couldn't get used to the chamber pot here.
The outhouse here only has one bucket, and everyone pulls their bucket in.
Sometimes it would even splash up, which Ye Caiping simply couldn't accept.
Now that I'm building my own house, I must improve the toilet facilities.
Besides, the new house will bring in the stream water, making it much more convenient to use water, so Ye Caiping plans to build a modern squat toilet.
It can be rinsed directly with water after use, making it convenient and clean, and it has no smell.
Fortunately, she used to browse Douyin (TikTok) frequently in her previous life and had seen how septic tanks are built; the principle and construction method are very simple.
Ye Erquan stared blankly at Ye Caiping's drawings: "This is... a latrine?"
"Yes, this squat toilet can be custom-made. After use, you just flush, and the waste flows into the sink behind it. The sink will break down the waste..."
Ye Caiping explained one by one: "Second brother, can you build it?"
As Ye Erquan listened, he began to understand: "Sure. As long as you have someone make that squat toilet and sewage pipe, I can build it for you. It's just... this decomposition, you mean the soil absorbed it, right?"
"right."
"But manure is a good thing; it should be saved for composting. Even if you're in a hurry outside, you can't bear to use it; you have to go home to relieve yourself. Little sister, are you really going to waste it?"
Ye Caiping sighed, "There's no other way. If we want cleanliness and hygiene, we have to sacrifice this."
Ye Erquan said, "How about you put some wood ash in the chamber pot?"
"Where would we put so much wood ash? It's a waste of firewood."
Most importantly, the smell of wood ash is terrible! After all, people need to pee too, not just defecate. And when it's full, you have to empty it!
"Can you build one for me? If you really don't want to, I'll find someone else?"
"No, no, I'll build it for you!" Ye Erquan said urgently. He looked at the blueprints again and again, and laughed, "Although it's a bit wasteful, your outhouse is really ingenious."
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