Chapter 32

The vegetable seeds that Qin Fangniang had promised to give Sang Luo were delivered personally by Old Woman Chen right after the midday rest. Along with them, she brought two extra pottery basins that the Chen family had cleared out.

She did not enter the house but stood outside the thatched cottage and called for Sang Luo. After Shen An and Shen Ning came out to take the basins inside, she handed the seeds to Sang Luo, explaining in detail which seeds were which. Only then did she bring up the main topic: whether or not Sang Luo wanted to build an additional kitchen.

Sang Luo: ???!!!

Wasn't this like having a pillow handed to her just as she was nodding off?

She absolutely wanted it!

Her smile was as radiant as could be: "What a coincidence! I was just thinking about this at noon. There are so many things I need to do, and this little hut is truly getting cramped. To be honest, I was also thinking of building a wall around the yard; I’m afraid it won’t be safe once winter comes. I was just wondering when I’d have saved enough money to consult you about finding some people to help."

Old Woman Chen looked around and sighed, "It really should be fenced in. It’s fine if there isn’t heavy snow in winter, but if the snow gets deep, wild beasts from the mountains might come out looking for food."

The Shen family’s eldest branch, living in this isolated thatched hut in the mountains, would undoubtedly be the first target.

"Since you have this in mind, you must hurry and get it done before the busy farming season, or no one will have time to spare. Don’t worry about how much money you’ve saved. In our village, we don’t strictly charge for labor when building houses. If the relationship is good, people just come to lend a hand. My husband and your Uncle Youtian can come over, and we can call a few others from the village. You just need to prepare the materials and provide the meals."

"The materials are simple enough. You can cut timber right here on the mountain—there’s plenty that belongs to no one. Then, find some good yellow clay. I have straw for mixing the clay at home, and I’ll have Uncle Youtian bring it over for you later."

Thinking that they were currently lacking everything—even an adult male to take charge—she added, "I’ll also have Uncle Youtian bring some men to help with felling the trees. If you’re willing, since it’s heavy labor, try to make the meals a bit decent. You don’t have to serve dry staples, but make the porridge thick and cook a few home-style dishes."

In these times, saving some grain for the family was considered a gain.

It felt as though everything had been taken care of for her.

Sang Luo’s eyes curved into crescents as she agreed repeatedly. After a brief thought, she said, "Do you think we could start the day after tomorrow? I’ll come to your house in the evening to borrow the stone mortar for pounding rice, and I’ll ask Grandfather and Uncle Youtian about what preparations I need to make."

With the money she would make from her stall tomorrow, she would be able to afford the food for the day after.

"Also, before the kitchen is built, I might need to borrow your place to prepare the meals. We only have one small earthen pot at home, and I really can’t cook anything proper with that."

"That’s fine, it’s no trouble at all," Old Woman Chen agreed readily.

Once everything was settled, Old Woman Chen looked at the plot Sang Luo had cleared behind the house, gave a few more instructions on when to sow and raise seedlings for each vegetable, and told her to ask Qin Fangniang if there was anything she didn't know before heading home.

As soon as Old Woman Chen left, Shen An and Shen Ning almost jumped for joy.

They were going to build a house! Even if it was just a kitchen and a yard fence, it was still building a house.

"Big Sister-in-law, where shall we put the kitchen? How big should the yard be?"

In reality, they couldn't build a very large yard. After all, the house was built on the mountainside; no matter how flat the terrain was, how much space could there be?

Sang Luo was considering this, too. She had forgotten one thing: besides a kitchen, a washroom/toilet was essential. She truly could not stand the one by the woods behind the house—not to mention how dirty and disgusting it was, she also had to be careful not to fall into it...

"Let’s take a look."

She put everything else aside, picked up some small stones, and led the two children to plan the layout of the house on the vacant lot.

Where the wall would go, where the gate would be, where the kitchen would stand—once they agreed on a spot, they marked it with small stones on the grassy ground. When she suggested building a new toilet closer to the house, Shen An and Shen Ning looked horrified, shaking their heads more violently than spinning toys.

"Big Sister-in-law, no, that won't do. It’s too smelly."

"And disgusting."

Sang Luo thought to herself that she knew how to build a toilet that wouldn't smell. She had renovated a small, dilapidated house in the mountains in her previous life; she knew exactly how to construct a septic tank. But seeing that they were using yellow clay here, she kept her mouth shut.

Bricks were certainly available for sale, and better alternatives to yellow clay, like cement for waterproofing, could probably be found. But did she have the money?

Well, she could save up, but was it appropriate?

No, it was too conspicuous.

She had been on the verge of starving to death just a short while ago. If she started buying bricks to build a latrine and a septic tank after only a few days...

Forget it. She would think of other ways. Being a transmigrator already made her feel uneasy; she should just make money quietly, save some grain, and build up her household assets. Being too flashy was not a good thing.

"Alright, then let's just build a washroom for now."

As for the toilet, she would endure it for a bit longer, perhaps using a chamber pot in a corner of the washroom. She could deal with the rest once she had more money.

Seeing that their sister-in-law had stopped talking about moving the toilet closer, the two children breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Shen Jin arrived with his small hoe, followed by Shen Yin and Shen Tie, ready to start working. Sang Luo set aside the topic.

Shen An and Shen Ning went to clear the land, while Sang Luo shouldered her basket to gather the leaves of the "Immortal Tree."

Today, she needed to explore one or two more hills. The leaves on the nearby hills had been picked clean by her and the two children, and even Shen An and Shen Ning knew not to strip a single area bare to avoid raising suspicion. Sang Luo, naturally, understood this.

Watching Sang Luo head down the mountain with her basket and climb over to another hill, Shen Jin curiously sidled up to Shen An, "Shen An, where is your sister-in-law going?"

Shen An frowned, instinctively disliking Shen Jin’s lack of respect for his sister-in-law. He thought to himself that she was his cousin-in-law, after all. But then he realized his sister-in-law couldn't care less about Shen Jin, so he relaxed his brow.

"Nowhere special, just looking for wild vegetables."

Shen Jin’s mouth twitched, "You guys are still eating wild vegetables every day? Then where do you get the money to buy meat and render pork cracklings?"

Shen An glanced at him, "Why do you care so much? Are you going to clear the land or not?"

"I am, of course I am." Shen Jin immediately shut up. Shen An’s expression made it seem as if he would lose his share of the cracklings if he kept on nagging.

A threat, a pure threat, but he was susceptible to it. He turned and headed toward the plot of land Shen An had marked out for him.

...

As for Sang Luo, she went a bit further than usual this time. Gathering leaves was the primary task, but she didn't miss any other wild vegetables she saw along the way. She spent over half an hour in the mountains, filling a whole basket with leaves and gathering plenty of bracken. On her way back, she pressed the leaves down firmly and placed the bracken on top, completely covering the leaves underneath.

Calculating the amount of "Immortal Tofu" she needed to make for the evening, she ran back and forth to the mountains three times, carrying three full baskets of items, including large leaves suitable for packaging.

Shen Jin was quite sharp-eyed. Seeing Sang Luo from afar, he craned his neck like a goose, but when he saw it was just bracken and lotus leaves, he retracted his neck and continued clearing his land.

His tools were good, and by the middle of the afternoon, the plot Shen An had assigned him was cleared. Shen An and Shen Ning inspected it, and it looked quite decent. Even Shen Ning, who was particularly keen on finding fault, couldn't say anything after scraping the ground a few times with her stone hoe.

"Go ahead and look! I guarantee I’ve cleared this much cleaner than your stone hoe ever could!" Shen Jin was incredibly smug. If he had a tail, it would be wagging right now.

Shen An didn't break his word. He said "wait here," then turned to wash his hands and went into the house to get the pork cracklings.

Shen Yin and Shen Tie, the two younger ones, grew anxious. Their brother hadn't assigned them a plot in the morning, but they were small and weak, and they had been using bamboo strips to scrape the ground...

Shen Yin looked at his work, then at his third brother's, and felt a bit foolish. The difference was too great.

Now the third brother was going to get the cracklings, but what about them?

Anxious, Shen Yin reached for the hoe his third brother had left aside. Shen Ning quickly stopped him, "You're not even as tall as the hoe handle, yet you dare to use this? If you cut your foot, don't come crying to me."

Shen Yin pouted, looking at the stark contrast between the two plots, and stood there dejectedly with Shen Tie.

Shen Jin laughed heartily, "Don't be in such a hurry, just scrape away. There’s still plenty of time."

As he spoke, he kept glancing toward the house. As soon as Shen An came out, he rushed over, hand outstretched, "Hurry, hurry, give me the cracklings."

Shen An looked at his half-black, half-grimy hands and twitched his lips, "Aren't you going to wash your hands?"

"No need, why wash? A little dirt won't hurt."

Shen An couldn't be bothered with him and placed a piece of pork crackling in Shen Jin’s hand.

Shen Jin had sharp eyes; seeing that Shen An still had some in his hand, his eyes brightened. When he saw Shen An walking toward his two younger brothers to have them wash their hands and eat, he immediately shouted, "Shen An, they've only cleared that little bit of land and they get some too?"

Shen Yin and Shen Tie, who had just been hit with a pleasant surprise, didn't expect a backstab from their own brother and froze in place.

Shen Jin didn't notice the devastating blow his shout had dealt to his brothers' morale. He excitedly chased after Shen An and bargained, "You should give me two more pieces! I cleared more land than the two of them combined. They get one piece for that little bit, I should at least get three."

Shen An glanced at him sideways, "What kind of beautiful dream are you having? What I promised you is the price."

Shen Yin and Shen Tie saw that their second brother hadn't said they couldn't have any, so they breathed a sigh of relief. They scampered off to the small spring by the mountain, washed their hands, and ran back, wiping them on their clothes. "Second Brother, our hands are clean."

Shen An smiled and gave each of them a piece.

The brothers, afraid their third brother would snatch them, immediately stuffed the cracklings into their mouths, crunched them, and their eyes curved with delight. The younger one beamed, "The cracklings are so fragrant."

The exhaustion from scraping dirt, rocks, and grass roots for hours vanished in an instant.

Shen Yin, being older, was happy and thanked Shen An joyfully, not forgetting to thank Shen Ning as well.

Shen Jin couldn't take it. He had already finished his one piece, and seeing his two brothers chewing away, he jumped up and down, "Shen An, this is unfair! Why is it the same regardless of how much land is cleared?"

Shen An laughed, "Because they are sweet-talking and obedient, unlike someone who keeps talking about begging for food."

Sang Luo, who was spinning hemp under the eaves, almost laughed out loud.

That was savage.

But since the target was Shen Jin, she only wanted to say: Well done!

Sang Luo didn't laugh out loud, but Shen Ning did—and quite loudly. Ever since her second brother promised Shen Jin cracklings for clearing land, the little girl hadn't felt right. Seeing Shen Jin jumping up and down, she felt so refreshed and satisfied.

Shen Yin and Shen Tie finished their cracklings, licking their fingers. They were thrilled. However, seeing their third brother still complaining about how little land they had cleared, Shen Yin, who was becoming more sensible, quickly said, "Second Brother, I'll finish my plot later and keep at it tomorrow. It’ll be slower, but I can clear as much as Third Brother."

Shen Tie, his little follower, nodded quickly, adding in a milky voice, "Second Brother, I’m also obedient."

Shen Jin glared at the two kids, so angry he wanted to ask who they were trying to please and who their real brother was!

But he smacked his lips, savoring the lingering rich fragrance, and wisely swallowed his words.

The one with the cracklings is the real brother.

Looking down, he saw Shen Tie sticking out his tongue to lick his palm, looking absolutely intoxicated. Shen Jin’s hand moved involuntarily, and he lifted it, but looking down, he saw it was black...

That was a bit hard to lick.

Shen Jin swallowed his saliva, looked at Shen An, looked at the small patch his brothers had cleared, then at the large one he had cleared. He was unwilling, but he couldn't resist the deliciousness of the cracklings. He finally gave in, "I’ll clear another patch, will you give me more cracklings?"