Chapter 66 Division of Labor
After finishing the work in the cave, Wu Yuetang went into the small tent he had set up at the innermost part. With the help of the faint light coming in from outside the tent, he turned around and entered the space. The view in front of him suddenly became clear. The air was filled with the faint fragrance of rice flowers, which was much warmer than the cave.
"Finally back," she breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stalking to the warehouse. When she pushed open the door, she nearly stumbled back at the mountain of supplies inside. The system panel lit up on the wall, and the six glittering digits in the points column were dizzying—more than three times what she'd been at the last time she'd left. It turned out her "automatically redeem half of harvest" command had even taken into account the newly born piglets in the pen. No wonder her points were climbing so quickly.
The pigpen was bustling with activity. Three large pigs lay grunting on the hay, surrounded by seven or eight chubby little piglets, nuzzling into the sow's belly for milk. Wu Yuetang rolled up her sleeves and selected the strongest boar. With a deft, quick movement, she removed the hair, gutted, and cut the pigs apart, her movements as if she'd done it a thousand times before. She cut the thickest tenderloin, rubbed it with salt and spices, and hung them in bunches on bamboo poles in the yard to dry. She then tossed the ribs and rib bones into a large vat, poured a secret honey sauce over them, and slowly marinated them with stones—enough dried meat and marinated bones to last the family for a long time.
The poultry shed was overflowing, with duck and chicken eggs tumbling across the floor, some still warm and fresh. Wu Yuetang felt dizzy looking at them, so she simply stored them all in the system store. Listening to the notification sound of her points steadily increasing, she felt a sense of peace. By the time she was done, the sky was already turning pale. She quickly showered, changed into clean linen clothes, and finally, exhausted, left the space.
Outside the tent, the voices of Li and her sisters-in-law could be heard. When Wu Yuetang lifted the curtain and went out, she saw a pot of multi-grain porridge cooking on the fire, its aroma filling the cave. Third brother Wu Zhiyun was circling the stove, but Li smiled and dismissed him, "Go away, tell your second sister-in-law to put the pancakes on. We'll have dinner when your little sister wakes up."
"I'm awake!" Wu Yuetang walked over and saw Chen Zhaodi putting tortillas on the edge of the pot. The worry on her face had mostly disappeared, so she deliberately said loudly, "I have something good to tell you today!"
Over breakfast, she ate hot porridge and told him all about her ideas for a fireplace, floor heating, and wooden doors. Wu Shoutian nearly spit out the porridge he had just taken, pointing at the cave ceiling and stammering, "Building a chimney in the stone? That'll take forever."
The eldest brother, Wu Qingeng, also scratched his head: "Can bamboo buried underground generate heat? I'm afraid it's frozen and cracked, right?"
Mrs. Li put down her bowl and chopsticks, with a curious look in her eyes: "Tang'er, these methods...where did you learn them from?" She remembered that her daughter was too lazy to even touch needlework before, so how did she suddenly know all this?
Wu Yuetang's heart skipped a beat. She quickly picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, "That's what I heard from the peddler who traveled all over the town before! He said that the rich families in the city all do this and it's very warm!" She was afraid of being exposed, so she quickly changed the subject, "Dad, my eldest and second brothers are strong, so they're best suited to go with Ye Jingchen to cut bamboo and find stones. Third brother is young and can climb trees quickly, so let's go see if there's any strong wood to make a door. I'll take Mom and my two sisters-in-law to dig up the soil in the corner of the cave and plant some radishes and cabbages. It's better than eating dry and hard cakes every day!"
Ye Jingchen had just finished his last mouthful of porridge when he looked up and said, "The bamboo forest on the back mountain isn't far away, but the snow is deep. We'll need a machete to clear the way." He looked at Wu Shoutian and said, "Uncle, if you trust me, I'll take my three brothers with me and promise to be back before dark."
Seeing that he spoke confidently, and remembering the young man's support over the past few days, Wu Shoutian made the final decision, "It's settled! The four of you, be careful. If you can't make it, come back soon. Don't try to be so stubborn!"
Once the division of labor was clear, the whole family set to work. Li and Chen Zhaodi found small hoes and squatted in the corner of the cave, slowly turning the soil. The frozen earth was as hard as iron, and each stroke required sheer force, soon dampening their foreheads with sweat. Wu Yuetang and her eldest sister-in-law were also busy, gathering small stones to encircle the turned soil, forming neat little ridges.
Then Wu Yuetang took a charcoal pencil and drew a pattern of a fireplace on the rock wall, clearly marking where to leave a hole for firewood and where to make a smoke outlet. Ye Jingchen came over to take a look and suddenly pointed at a place and said, "This place needs to be tilted three inches outward, otherwise the smoke will flow back." Wu Yuetang was stunned for a moment, but after thinking carefully, she realized that it was indeed the case and could not help but look at him with admiration.
As the sun rose higher, the wind and snow outside the cave subsided. Ye Jingchen and his three brothers, carrying machetes and ropes and wrapped in fur coats, headed out of the cave. Wu Yuetang chased them to the cave entrance and urged, "Choose bamboo as thick as a bowl, and wood that's free of worms!" The eldest brother turned around and waved, "Don't worry, sister. I promise to cut you the best!"
The work in the cave wasn't easy either. After turning the soil, Li and Chen Zhaodi's fingers were red and swollen from the cold, but they persevered, sowing the radish seeds they had brought and watering them with warm water—the spiritual spring water Wu Yuetang had specially retrieved from her inner space, fearing the seeds would freeze. Wu Yuetang, meanwhile, polished stones for the stove, occasionally helping to straighten the tilted ridges of the field. He listened to his mother and two sisters-in-law whispering about family matters, feeling warm inside.
Unconsciously, the sun slowly set in the west, and it gradually darkened outside the cave. Li was just beginning to worry when she heard familiar footsteps coming from the cave entrance. Ye Jingchen and his three brothers came in carrying bamboo and wood. They were covered in snow, and their eyebrows were covered in icicles, but they all had smiles on their faces.
"Look, sister!" The second brother placed a thick piece of wood on the ground. "This pine wood is old and strong! It will definitely be used as a door for ten years!" Ye Jingchen directed the placement of the bamboo against the wall. Each bamboo was cut neatly, and the joints were indeed connected. "I asked them to cut ten more, so that they can replace them in case they freeze and crack."
Wu Yuetang quickly handed over some hot water: "Warm yourself up! Mom has heated up the porridge and some freshly roasted chestnuts!"
When Chen Zhaodi brought the hot porridge, she saw her elder and second brothers excitedly demonstrating the process of chopping bamboo. Ye Jingchen was sitting by the fire warming his hands, his profile looking particularly soft in the firelight. He suddenly felt that although this small cave was small, it felt more like a home than anywhere else.
Wu Shoutian drank his hot porridge, looked at the bamboo and wood piled against the wall, then glanced at the neatly arranged small ridges in the corner, and couldn't help but sigh: "These days, finally, there is something to look forward to."
Wu Yuetang munched on a roasted chestnut, listening to the renewed roar of snow outside the cave. She thought to herself, "Once the fireplace and floor heating are finished, life will only get brighter." She glanced at Ye Jingchen, who was helping to sort the bamboo. He seemed to notice her gaze and smiled at her, his eyes brighter than the fire.
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