Chapter 51: Cabinet 2

Chapter 51: The Cabinet 2

After thinking for a moment, Chen Youyan asked Gu Wen, "A wooden cabinet needs to breathe, but that means it can't keep bugs out—is it because you gotta have holes for air, and bugs just crawl in through 'em?"

Gu Wen gave a tired nod.

Chen Youyan said, a little hesitant, "I've heard that rich folks in town, come summer, tack thin cloth over their doors and windows to keep bugs out but still let the air in..."

"Could we do the same thing on a cabinet—cover the holes with that kinda cloth to keep bugs out but still let it breathe?"

"It could, but bugs can chew through wood—thin fabric like that wouldn't stand a chance against 'em."

"Then what if we made the holes smaller and packed closer together, and added some bug-repelling herbs on top of that?"

Chen Youyan thought some more. "And anyway, bugs that can chew through cloth and wood are probably pretty rare, right? If wood's a no-go, what about soaking some window paper in bug-repelling herbs, poking little holes in it, and sticking it over the air vents?"

Chen Youyan didn't think like a carpenter, so he could come up with ideas outside what Gu Wen's teacher had drilled into him.

The more Chen Youyan spoke, the more Gu Wen's eyes lit up.

He hugged Chen Youyan's arm tighter without even realizing it.

Chen Youyan didn't notice. He was too busy thinking, remembering what Gu Wen had said about bug-proof wood and pricey herbs.

The wood thing was actually easy to figure out.

With his embroidery—making clothes, sachets, handkerchiefs, all that—not everything cost the same.

Some threads were brighter, rarer, or had dye that didn't fade, and those cost more.

So when he sewed clothes, he only used the pricey thread where it'd show the most.

Same went for fabric.

Undergarments sat against the skin all day, so he used nicer cotton for the kids' undershirts and cheaper stuff for the outside.

When Gu Muan and Yin Hongxue were little, especially in winter, clothes were a pain to wash, so they wore smocks over everything—and the cloth for those was even cheaper.

So mixing good thread with cheap thread, nice fabric with cheap fabric, that's how you made a good piece of clothing.

"You said bug-proof wood's expensive—well, we could just use it around the air holes."

"For the inside, we could use cheaper camphor or fir. For the frame that holds the whole thing up, we could use tough jujube or elm."

"And if we slather every board with bug-repellent stuff, that oughta do the trick."

Gu Wen, being a carpenter, didn't shut down his amateur ideas, so Chen Youyan kept going, more sure of himself.

"You said it needs air holes to breathe—but I don't think we gotta rely just on holes. We could put two little compartments inside the cabinet, one for charcoal and one for quicklime, to soak up the damp."

"And since we're adding compartments anyway, we might as well toss some dried bug-repelling herbs in there too."

This idea came from summer, when it rained a lot and clothes in the wardrobe got all clammy. Kids have delicate skin, and wearing damp clothes had given Gu Muan and Yin Hongxue big red rashes.

Back then, worried sick about the kids, he'd found some charcoal the next day, wrapped it in thick cloth, and stuck it in both their wardrobes.

It was a Hail Mary, but wouldn't you know it, it actually worked.

"And don't worry about the herbs—our little guy's about to start learning from a master soon, right?"

"Yan Geer!"

Gu Wen couldn't hold it in anymore. He scooped Chen Youyan up and spun him around, over the moon.

"Whoa!"

Chen Youyan was startled at first, but then he heard Gu Wen's big laugh, hesitated, and started laughing too.

But the laughing didn't last. Mid-spin, Chen Youyan locked eyes with four pairs of happy eyes.

It was Gu Daniu, Wang Xiuxiu, Yin Hongxue, and Gu Muan—just back from selling eggs in town and from painting class.

Wang Xiuxiu still had her hand over Gu Muan's mouth, so all you could see was his big, bright eyes staring without blinking.

Chen Youyan: "..."

Chen Youyan's face went red, and he quickly smacked Gu Wen's shoulder.

"Ah Wen, put me down!"

Gu Wen wouldn't at first—until he caught those four pairs of eyes too. He froze, then set Chen Youyan down in a hurry.

Once his feet hit the ground, Chen Youyan backed up fast, putting space between them. They both turned their heads the other way, like they were total strangers.

Gu Wen frantically smoothed his sleeves, ran a hand through his hair, and brushed off the almost invisible sawdust on his clothes.

Chen Youyan, meanwhile, patted down his sleeves, tucked back loose hairs, and tugged at the cloth around his waist.

Gu Daniu and Wang Xiuxiu had laughter in their eyes, but they politely looked away.

That just left Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan, the two little ones.

Yin Hongxue saw how awkward his dads were and looked away too.

But Gu Muan yanked Wang Xiuxiu's hand off his mouth and blurted out, "Dad! I wanna fly too!"

He'd just watched his dad spin his other dad around!

He'd wanted to ask from the get-go—after Dad was done flying, could he get a turn?—but Grandma had clamped her hand over his mouth the second he opened it.

And now, An Geer was about to pop from impatience!

The little guy spread his arms out like a baby bird trying to fly, flapping his way toward Gu Wen.

Gu Wen blinked, then rushed over.

"Fly, fly, fly—Dad'll get our An Geer flying right now."

Gu Wen let out a quiet sigh of relief and scooped Gu Muan up, spinning him around.

"Hahahaha Dad hahahaha..."

The little boy's giggles broke the awkward silence in the yard.

Chen Youyan cleared his throat, asked Yin Hongxue how class went, then turned to Wang Xiuxiu to ask about the eggs.

Wang Xiuxiu smiled and said, "Great—spring eggs sell like hotcakes. We drove the mule cart around town twice and sold every last one."

Wang Xiuxiu and Chen Youyan talked as they headed to the front yard.

Yin Hongxue had wanted to tag along, but Chen Youyan stopped him.

Sure enough, Gu Wen set Gu Muan down and picked Yin Hongxue up instead.

"Let's give our Xue Geer a spin too."

Gu Wen now had a clear vision for the bookcase and was buzzing with excitement and energy.

After playing with the kids for a bit, he sent them out to the front yard.

Gu Muan was still a little reluctant to go.

But then he suddenly remembered the candied fruit Grandpa and Grandma had brought back, and with his mouth watering, he dragged Yin Hongxue off.

Gu Wen, meanwhile, dove straight into his woodworking.

For a farming family, even the cheapest wood was precious.

His workshop had paper and brushes too, and Gu Wen bent over the table, ready to sketch out a full design.

The cabinet would sit on legs raised a chi off the ground, ideally made of hard elm.

The inner lining, shelves, and back panels would be fir.

Charcoal absorbs moisture, so why not give the wood a quick scorch too?

But Gu Wen quickly scrapped that idea.

Scorched boards would turn black, and unless he covered them with pigmented lacquer, they'd look awful—but that would drive up the cost.

So why not just slather on tung oil, and plenty of it?

Grind insect-repelling herbs into powder, mix it into the tung oil, and coat the boards with the blend.

As for Chen Youyan's idea of adding compartments for moisture-proofing and pest control, why not just build an inner and outer cabinet instead?

That way, ventilation improves, and the whole cabinet is sealed off against dampness and bugs.

The space between the inner and outer cabinets would be packed evenly with moisture-proof and bug-repelling materials.

Then, he'd add a few decorative air vents in hidden spots at the bottom and top of the cabinet.

The more Gu Wen sketched, the clearer his plan became, and the faster his brush flew.