Chapter 20: Completion

“◎Slippery Little Fox◎

Jiang Che was, after all, a grown man. Before he got married, even though his mother loved him dearly, there were still many things she couldn’t take care of, which led to Jiang Che’s clothes always looking good on the surface.

On the outside, he dressed quite well, enough to impress others, but underneath, his socks, underwear, and even the autumn and winter clothes like thermal shirts and pants looked like they hadn’t been changed in a long time. Some of them even had threads coming loose.

Jiang Che usually didn’t pay much attention to these things. As long as he had something to wear, that was enough. But since his wife was willing to put thought into preparing things for him, he would be a fool to refuse.

With a satisfied smile, he said, “Alright, just take care of these, it’s fine,” then added, “But don’t just focus on me; you should also make a few new outfits for yourself.” He couldn’t stand the thought of not updating his wardrobe while his wife was still wearing her old clothes.”

““Stop worrying about me, I won’t freeze.” Indeed, although Wei Xuan didn’t have many clothes, they all looked quite new, and for now, she had enough to wear.

After talking about clothes, Jiang Che brought up the topic of building a clay stove.

“Wife, have you decided where you want to build the stove?”

Wei Xuan thought for a moment and felt that the yard wasn’t very big, so it didn’t matter much where it was built.

“How about in front of that small room, by the wall next to the kitchen?”

After she spoke, seeing Jiang Che remain silent for a while, she nudged him, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it not okay?”

Jiang Che snapped back to his thoughts and replied, “Oh, no, I was just wondering if we could also fix up our kang at the same time. That way, we won’t be so cold when we eat or sleep in the future.”

The kang they were sleeping on now was a dead kang, with no chimney. Wei Xuan was afraid they might suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning, so she preferred it to be a bit colder rather than placing a stove in it for heating. Jiang Che had no choice but to go along with her.

Since Wei Xuan had now mentioned building a clay stove, Jiang Che thought that since they would need to buy materials and hire a craftsman anyway, it would be better to do everything at once. Otherwise, with the weather continuing to get colder, he was afraid his wife might get sick from the cold.

When Wei Xuan heard that the kang could be modified, her eyes brightened, and her tone lifted a bit: “Is it complicated? Do we need to tear down the current kang and rebuild it?”

“No need,” Jiang Che chuckled. “I’m not very sure about the details. How about I go find someone who knows tomorrow and ask?”

“Alright, just don’t forget to ask about it. If it’s possible, find out how long it will take to finish. We can pay extra if needed.”

Wei Xuan had always thought that getting a kang would be very troublesome, which is why she had never mentioned it. She planned to endure through this winter and wait until next summer to find a craftsman to handle it.

But now that she realized she had overcomplicated things, she didn’t need to wait that long. She almost wanted to find someone to do it immediately.

Jiang Che, seeing that his words had made his wife so excited, felt helpless and had no choice but to physically coax her to sleep.

The next day, when Wei Xuan went to work, she still had a joyful expression on her face. Sister Hong noticed and teased, “Looks like you had a very nice time last night!”

Wei Xuan was still shy about these matters, not at all like Sister Hong, a middle-aged woman who had already had children. Even though they were very familiar with each other, Wei Xuan didn’t take the bait.

Sister Hong, knowing that the young girl was bashful, dropped the subject with just that one comment. Before others could start joking, she stepped in to protect Wei Xuan: “Alright, alright, let’s keep it down. Time to get to work.”

Wei Xuan gave her a grateful look and then threw herself into a day’s work.

In the evening, while Wei Xuan was cooking in the kitchen, Jiang Che returned with the craftsman.

Wei Xuan heard the two of them talking outside for a while, and then the craftsman walked through the kitchen, making some hand gestures.

After sending the craftsman off, Jiang Che came into the kitchen, rubbed his stomach, and asked Wei Xuan, “Is there anything to eat? I just grabbed two buns for lunch while I was out, and I’m starving now.”

Wei Xuan slapped his hand, which was about to reach for the dish, and said, “How dirty! Go wash your hands first. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Nothing bad comes from eating with dirty hands.” He muttered, but obediently went to wash his hands.

After washing up, the two of them didn’t go to the main room to eat. With no one home all day, the main room was sure to be cold.

Wei Xuan made Jiang Che move over two chairs, and they sat by the stove, eating while warming themselves by the fire.

After swallowing a mouthful of food, Wei Xuan asked, “What did the craftsman say after looking today?”

Jiang Che was really hungry and was eating quickly, but when he heard Wei Xuan’s question, he got too rushed and ended up choking: “Cough… cough, cough…”

Wei Xuan quickly put down her utensils, grabbed a cup of water, and handed it to him. “Oh my, you’re such a big guy, yet you can’t even eat properly.”

She spoke while helping him pat his back.

“Ugh, okay, okay, are you trying to kill me?”

Her good intentions were being taken as something else, so Wei Xuan increased the force and gave him a slap on the back: “Hmph, being beaten to death sounds better than choking to death.”

Jiang Che couldn’t stand his wife being so fond of him. He laughed and said, “Hey, how could I bear to die when I have such a beautiful wife?”

After a bit of playful banter, they finally started discussing the serious matter.

“The craftsman said that to make the kang usable, we just need to open up the flues at the four corners and let the smoke vent out from the wall corners. As for the clay stove you mentioned, the two of us looked around and still think it might be best to build it in front of the bathroom, like you suggested that day. But if we do that, the door to that room will need to be changed to open in a different direction.”

Wei Xuan asked, “But doesn’t that make it more complicated? We’d have to seal the original door and create a new one. It probably won’t be finished anytime soon, right?”

Jiang Che nodded. “It will be a bit of a hassle, but it’s manageable. However, the craftsman also mentioned another option: we could build the stove directly in the kitchen. He looked at the kitchen and said that if we build it by the corner, it won’t take up much space. The only thing is that it will require more bricks, and the chimney for the clay stove would need to go up to the roof.

Personally, I think it’s better to just build it in the kitchen. It’s too cold outside in the winter, and even with a shed, it won’t block much of the wind.”

Wei Xuan agreed: “Alright, then let’s do it this way. We’ll get started tomorrow. We can’t keep delaying the goods we promised to Brother Wu.”

The next day, Jiang Che returned with the craftsman, and this time, there were two additional helpers. Since both of them still had to work during the day, they only had the evenings to get the job done. Even though the three craftsmen were working quickly, it still took three days to complete the clay stove and kang.

And that was with the extra payment.

However, that night, when Wei Xuan lay in the warm bed, she felt that the money spent was definitely worth it.

The day after the clay stove was finished, Wei Xuan and Jiang Che prepared to start making the first batch of sauce. If they didn’t, Wu Yun would probably come knocking soon.

These past few days, every time Jiang Che went to deliver goods, he made sure to avoid him, worried that he would get caught and be asked for things.

Each time the braised meat was delivered, Jiang Che would slip away, never staying for long. It made Wu Yun curse him behind his back, calling him a slippery little fox.