"Chapter 43"

"Borrowing the round winnowing baskets from the Chen family was no trouble. The two large ones at the Chen's were idle at this time of the year. The few vegetables that needed drying were simply strung up in the courtyard."

"Shen Ning, being too small, was only responsible for delivering Shen An’s meals. Another round winnowing basket was brought over to Sang Luo’s house by Qin Fangniang. People chatting leisurely outside their houses after dinner noticed and wondered aloud why she needed so many winnowing baskets."

"Sang Luo smiled and responded unusually to the unfamiliar woman, 'Drying some fern vegetables for storage, otherwise, we’ll have no vegetables to eat in winter.'"

The villagers: "Oh, that's right, Sang Luo doesn’t seem to know much about farming. She can only dry some wild vegetables for storage."

"You still need to know how to grow vegetables. Even at this time of the year, there's more you can plant. If you don’t know, you can always ask Fangniang for advice."

This was a well-intentioned and kind suggestion, and Sang Luo smiled and thanked them for it.

Having previously had little interaction with the villagers, she now seemed to be gradually integrating into the community.

Qin Fangniang watched with a smile, helped Sang Luo with her things, but neither entered the house nor asked further. After glancing at the vegetable garden behind Sang Luo’s house, noting that several patches were now usable, she went home.

……

The moon hung like a silver disk in the night sky, its presence all the more prominent, casting a frost-like moonlight.

The door of the grass house was shut, a fire burned inside, illuminating the interior brightly. Occasional crackling sounds from the burning wood contrasted with the silver frost outside, adding a warm hue to the atmosphere.

In this fire-lit warmth, Sang Luo and the two children began making sour jujube cakes.

A familiar fruit since they were able to walk and run, transformed under simple processing into something entirely different in their hands. After mixing with sugar, Sang Luo smiled, "You can try it now. Pinch a bit and taste it. It's different from the final dried version."

The thought of sugar mixed with sour jujubes had Shen Ning salivating even before tasting it.

The unformed sour jujube cakes were soft, but loaded with malt sugar, the sweet and sour flavor left the siblings enraptured as they each pinched a piece, thoroughly enjoying it.

"It's really tasty. People will definitely buy this!"

"What does it look like when it's dried?"

Sang Luo, with a smile, set up the washed winnowing baskets and methodically shaped the sour jujube cakes in front of the children. After positioning two baskets on the branches of two trees outside, she then ushered the children to tidy up and go to bed.

The mountain nights were growing less hot. Sang Luo decided to also prepare the immortal tofu before retiring to bed after some simple tidying up.

The two children snuggled inside the bed, leaving more space on the outside for her. Shen Ning, sleeping in the middle, was turned to one side. Sang Luo gently moved her a bit further outwards, then lay down to sleep beside her.

……

Unbeknownst to Sang Luo, after her busy day, she had become the main topic of conversation in the Shi and Lu families before bedtime.

Discussions about the house, meals, her character, and the Hu cakes she brought back for the children today made Hu Zi and Er Niu the most envied of their siblings.

The next day, the child labor crew grew from nine to twelve, stunning Shen An and Shen Ning.

Shen An pulled Hu Zi and Er Niu aside: "What's going on?"

The two friends awkwardly scratched their heads: "Well, we told our families about your big sister buying us Hu cakes today."

Shen An: "…But we don't have Hu cakes to eat while working here, that was just a one-time treat from my big sister."

If they were here just for the cakes, they might as well go back home. He didn't really need so many helpers, did he?

Hu Zi quickly clarified, "No, I made it clear to them that there's no reward. My grandfather even scolded me."

Otherwise, there wouldn't be just three new kids. The others, obviously too small to work, were held back by their parents and grandparents, preventing them from joining. Those who came were older and genuinely able to help.

Furthermore, the elder siblings of Hu Zi and Er Niu, like Chen Er Shan, were mid-sized lads, not here to clear fields but to help with mud for bricks alongside Chen Er Shan.

On the other hand, Shi Er Lang was explaining to Chen Lao Han: "Our kids and Lu's heard about Hu Zi and Er Niu eating Hu cakes, so they all wanted to come today. But we put a stop to that, allowing only the three older ones to come and help, agreeing they wouldn't need meals. They come early in the morning for an hour to help dig mud, speeding up the construction, so we can rest a few days before the farming season."

Chen Lao Han nodded in agreement, "That makes sense. We are tight on time."

Knowing the fatigue of farming, he said, "If your kids are willing to work hard, they don't have to leave at meal times. Let them stay and help like Shi Er Lang, eating with us. I can decide this. Sang Luo will be pleased, not offended."

After spending time with Sang Luo, Chen Lao Han understood her character. Initially, they planned to invite more help but didn't to avoid drawing attention, ending up with only the Shi and Lu families. Now, it's still their children coming to help. Although young, they are valuable workers and can take over tasks like mud digging and brick making, freeing up adults for foundation work.

Shi Er Lang and Lu Da Lang exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

Helping with house-building in the village is common, but this scenario, involving young boys, is unprecedented. They might eat almost as much as adults.

But doing so felt somewhat inappropriate.

Reflecting on his father's morning advice to send the boys to help as a goodwill gesture towards Sang Luo, Lu Da Lang hesitated, worrying it might seem like taking advantage instead. "Uncle, maybe we shouldn't. Our kids can help dig for a bit over an hour. That should suffice for our timeline."

Seeing Lu Da Lang's refusal, Shi Er Lang also declined.

Chen Lao Han, accepting their decision, said, "Let's focus on work now. We'll discuss this later."

He planned to consult Sang Luo when she returned in the afternoon.

……

Sang Luo was naturally agreeable to the idea. She didn't want too many villagers helping because of the food they made at home, which she preferred to keep low-profile.

But if it was the Shi and Lu families' kids, who were already helping, what harm could a few more half-grown boys do?

Chen Lao Han chuckled, "I figured you'd be okay with it. They probably felt a bit guilty since these half-grown boys, while not full laborers, still eat nearly as much as adults, so they didn't want to take advantage."

Sang Luo's eyes curved in amusement. Those who got along well with the Chen family were indeed of good character.

She smiled, "I'll talk to Shi Er Shu and Lu Da Shu. Our family's well-known poverty means their help in building the house is already a favor. We're all villagers; there's no need for such detailed calculations."

Chen Lao Han laughed in agreement, "Exactly."

If everything was measured and accounted for, it would be difficult to establish good relations.

Their conversation, a bit distant from others, concluded with Sang Luo going to speak with Shi Er Lang and Qi Da Lang. Always smiling and sincere in her interactions, Shi Er Lang was somewhat easier to persuade, while Lu Da Lang, more like Chen You Tian in temperament, couldn't resist her convincing words.

The matter was settled shortly after.

Once she left, Lu Da Lang, still a bit dazed, was reminded by Chen You Tian, who was working on timber, "What are you spacing out for? Call Hu Zi back and get the boys over."

Lu Da Lang snapped out of his daze and quickly called for Hu Zi.

With the addition of a few boys taking over tasks like digging mud and making bricks, the five men, excluding Chen You Tian who was busy, focused on digging the foundation, significantly speeding up progress.

The half-meter deep foundation was excavated in just two days, and by the time Sang Luo returned from the county, Chen Lao Han, accompanied by Shi Da Lang and others, had already begun building the walls.

For the first time, Sang Luo witnessed the construction of an adobe house.

The foundation had a set of wooden boards fixed on top to form a four-sided frame. The mixed yellow sticky soil was filled in and then compacted using a very heavy tool. Four strong laborers lifted and dropped it repeatedly until the soil was compacted inside the frame. Once the frame was removed, the soil became solid, and the process was repeated for the next wall. This process is known as tamping.

"So, this is how they tamp the soil."

From Chen Lao Han, Sang Luo learned this technique was called "banzhu."

After two more days, the basic structure of the kitchen, bathroom, and front yard walls was visible. The half-grown boys' prepared mud bricks were put to use. In just a few days, walls of the kitchen and bathroom were erected, and door and window frames set, only leaving the roofing and thatching to be done.

Besides buying a few mats of reeds from the county, Sang Luo didn't have to worry about anything else. By August 22, the two modest rooms and the walls of the front and back yards were completed, with the walls finely plastered with bran mud.

The new mud-brick house completely changed Sang Luo's perception of rural adobe houses. It was not ugly at all, and in fact, quite appealing with its rustic red hue, thanks to the high-quality yellow sticky soil chosen by Chen Lao Han from the mountains.

Compared to this, the main house that had only been minimally repaired before moving in seemed quite rough.

Nonetheless, the house was successfully completed, showcasing the diverse skills of the villagers. They even crafted the stove for her.

Except for the bed promised to Shen An, which was still unfinished, the doors, windows, tables, benches, and a wooden case for storage were all ready.

In the kitchen, even the wooden frame needed for tofu-making and filtering soy milk was prepared by Chen You Tian and hung from the beam.

For the tofu molds and tofu-lifting boxes, Sang Luo described their design to Chen You Tian. Although he didn't know their purpose, he crafted them using the leftover wood from the house construction.

Along with the money she earned, Sang Luo gradually equipped her house with the necessary kitchen and household items.

To express her gratitude and warm the house, Sang Luo planned a feast. She borrowed a calendar from Chen Lao Tai Tai's house, picked an auspicious day, and invited the three families for a meal.

In Qi Yang County's countryside, due to modest living conditions, it was rare to hold both a beam-raising and housewarming feast separately. Usually, a toast to the beam was made on the day of its raising, and then a combined feast was held when moving into the completed house.

The auspicious day was set for August 25.

By that day, the villagers would start their autumn harvest. Sang Luo assured them there was no need to help with the preparations; they just needed to come and eat after finishing their work in the fields.

The families agreed to attend, but not everyone would come. Typically, the eldest member of each family would come, along with those who had helped with the work. Maybe a couple of children would accompany them, and each family might send a woman to help with the cooking and cleaning on the day.

Even this arrangement promised a lively gathering.

There would also be a group of young guests - the children who had been helping with the land clearing these past days. Shen An had started planting in the backyard with guidance from the uncles who worked there. The children who helped deserved to be honored as well, so naturally, they were included in the invitation.

As these were Shen An and Shen Ning's friends, Sang Luo entrusted the task of organizing the event to them, much to the excitement of the young siblings.

"We can invite people to a feast?"

And the guests would be a group of children.

"Why not?" Sang Luo smiled warmly. "This is your home too, after all. And you both have put in so much effort to make our home what it is today, haven’t you? You can invite the friends who helped you, and if you have other close friends you'd like to invite, that's fine too. Just let me know the approximate number so I can prepare."

Even Shen An, who usually tried to act mature and composed like an adult, couldn’t contain his excitement at Sang Luo's words, his eyes beaming with joy.

"Sister-in-law, inviting those who helped is enough. My best friends have already come to help."

"Alright." Then turning to Shen Ning, "Do you have any friends you’d like to invite, Ah Ning?"

Shen Ning blinked and said, "I'll just invite Xiao Ya."

She usually followed her brother, and her close friends were also his friends. Besides Xiao Ya, she didn't have any other particularly close girlfriends to invite.

Sang Luo smiled and said, "Alright, I got it. You two go ahead and let your friends know."

Shen An, unable to contain his excitement any longer, said, "Sister-in-law, then Ah Ning and I will go right now."

With Sang Luo’s nod of approval, he excitedly grabbed Shen Ning's hand and they both ran off like the wind.

Author’s note:

①The information was sourced from Baidu. Additionally, the methods of building mud-brick houses vary slightly from place to place. I have chosen one of these methods for use in the story.