Chapter 40 1/2

After ensuring there were no threatening small animals around, Sang Luo pushed through some bushes and bent down to pick one up.

She wiped off the dust with her hand and tore open the fruit skin, and yes, it was indeed a Chinese date. Just seeing the flesh made Sang Luo’s mouth water uncontrollably.

Taking a bite, the juice was sweet, but the flesh became increasingly sour. Sang Luo’s face contorted with sourness.

Wow, it’s sour and refreshing!

After overcoming the sourness, Sang Luo finished eating the date and threw the fruit and peel back on the ground for the mountain to reclaim.

Shili Village was truly surrounded by mountains. Each household had several nearby hills. Deeper areas were rarely visited by people. During the season when Chinese dates ripened, they would quietly fall to the ground, untouched by anyone. Sang Luo picked up ten of them, but three had already gone bad.

It didn’t matter. She threw the spoiled ones aside, letting them return to the mountains. Chinese dates were best when fully ripe and naturally fallen. With the ground covered in fallen dates, she didn’t need to shake the branches or hit the tree. Just picking them up from the ground was enough for her to have a great harvest.

After carefully selecting and picking, she quickly filled half a basket. Satisfied, she started her journey back, picking wild vegetables along the way and layering them densely on top of the basket.

The mountain road was tough, and by the time she reached the hill where her house was located, it was almost dusk. Old Man Chen and his group of five were coming out from the other side of the mountain, carrying a partially processed tree trunk. Seeing Sang Luo, Old Man Chen glanced at the basket on her back and asked with a smile, “Just came out of the mountain?”

Old farmers who toiled on the land naturally admired hardworking individuals.

Sang Luo smiled and replied, “Yes, picking some wild vegetables to sell tomorrow. Grandpa, you’ve all worked hard today.”

As they exchanged pleasantries, the eyes of Shi Erlang and his companions fell on the basket of ferns carried by Sang Luo. But none of them dared to ask. They waited until Sang Luo finished her conversation with Chen Lao Han. Then, Sang Luo made way for them to carry the tree trunk, and once they were far enough, Shi Erlang asked Chen Youtian in a low voice, “Is your wife and Alei’s wife going to sell ferns in the county? Does anyone really spend money to buy that stuff?”

Chen Youtian was an honest man who never lied. Besides, the people around him had a good relationship with his family. So, he honestly replied, “Well, some people do buy them. Unlike here, there aren’t many mountains in the county, so even a penny or two can make a big difference. There are people willing to try it.”

As he mentioned this, Chen Youtian felt the need to make up for any deficiencies he might have implied regarding Sang Luo’s situation. So he added, “But there aren’t many buyers, after all. There’s just not much demand for wild vegetables. Plus, nowadays, you have to pay an entrance fee to enter the city, and there’s also market tax at the market. These things don’t sell for much in a day, and it’s not much money at all.”

He wasn’t lying. Not all the wild vegetables they brought in each day could be sold. Making a few wen in a day was considered quite good, and even six or seven wen was possible.

Although Shi Erlang found it strange that Sang Luo was carrying such a heavy basket, he wondered why she would gather so much if it wasn’t easy to sell. But having known Chen Youtian for decades and knowing him to be an honest man, he dismissed his doubts. Maybe there was a bigger market for it?

If one basket wasn’t much and two baskets could sell for a wen, he couldn’t believe it. The mountains were abundant, and with just a half-circle trip into the mountains, they could easily gather enough to sell.

Shi Erlang convinced himself of this idea, rationalizing Chen Youtian’s words.

Back at the grass hut, when they had set down the tree trunk they had brought, Old Man Chen turned to Sang Luo, who had followed them, and said, “Alei’s wife, can you outline the size of this house, where to build what, so tomorrow we can bring back some mud to make bricks and have one or two people stay here to clean the ground, dig out the stones, and deal with the grass roots? Then we can start digging the foundation.”

Upon hearing this, Sang Luo became enthusiastic. “Alright, Grandpa, wait for me to put away the basket, and I’ll be right there.”

Shi Erlang’s group, resting nearby, waited eagerly to follow along. It was important for them to understand the details of the house they would be helping to build; otherwise, they wouldn’t know what to expect.

Sang Luo quickly returned, leading the group of five helpers, and pointed to the left side of the grass hut where she currently lived. “Let’s build the bathroom right here. In my hometown, we emphasize having the toilet upstairs and the kitchen downstairs. The toilet is usually in the northeast corner of the courtyard, so I’ll place the bathroom here.”

This arrangement made it convenient for bathing and nighttime bathroom trips without having to walk too far in the dark, especially in winter when it was too cold to go outside at night.

Old man Chen understood that Sang Luo’s “toilet” referred to a chamber pot, which would be cleaned daily. Having it close to the main house wasn’t a problem, so he nodded in agreement.

Shi Erlang’s group didn’t quite understand. What was a bathroom? Shouldn’t one just use an outdoor toilet? How did a bathroom come into play? 

Moreover, in rural areas, people usually washed in the river, carried water in a tub for bathing indoors in summer, and simply dumped the water after use. Why would they need a separate bathroom?

They weren’t familiar with Sang Luo, so they didn’t feel comfortable asking her directly. Instead, they kept their questions to themselves and planned to ask Chen Youtian and his son later.

Meanwhile, Chen Youtian, while Sang Luo was explaining, walked away for a moment. He went to the area where the children had cleared the ground behind the grass hut and picked out some smaller stones from the pile that the children had collected. Then, he called a few kids over to help him transport the stones to where Sang Luo was marking out the house.

As Sang Luo explained, Chen Youtian used the stones to mark the lines. With the stones arranged densely, it became clear where the walls, doors, and windows would be. After asking about each detail, several children found the activity amusing and eagerly helped transport stones. Shen An, however, was lost in thought. He was building his own house, so he quietly followed along and listened to the instructions while also handing stones over.

Sang Luo found marking the lines with stones convenient. She walked a few steps forward and to the left with some stones that Shen An handed her. “Let’s build the kitchen here. I want the kitchen to be a bit bigger.”

As she spoke and arranged the stones, Shen Erlang and his group were astonished. This time, it wasn’t as sensitive a topic as bathing and using the toilet, so there was no reason not to ask directly. Shen Erlang spoke up, “Isn’t this kitchen a bit too big?”

It was almost half the size of their kitchen and almost as large as a room in their house.

Sang Luo smiled and explained, “Yes, it’s a bit larger. But since my family doesn’t have any fields, I’m thinking of making some food to sell in the future. So, I’ll need two large stoves inside and some space for water buckets and basins in the back. It’ll be more spacious and convenient.”

In fact, she planned to install stone mills for making tofu in this kitchen. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient to handle in the courtyard, especially during rainy days. Therefore, the kitchen needed to be spacious enough to accommodate this equipment.

Upon hearing that Sang Luo planned to have two large stoves for cooking, even though they didn’t know what kind of food she would make, they all nodded in understanding. They realized that without any fields allocated to the Shen family except for this small plot of land, Sang Luo had to travel over twenty miles to the county every day to sell wild vegetables for a living.

Chen Youtian and Chen Youtian assumed that when Sang Luo mentioned making food to sell, she was referring to making tofu. They also understood. They were helping to build the kitchen to ensure she could work without hindrance.

Once the kitchen was settled, they discussed the location of the courtyard walls and the main gate. Sang Luo thought she was finished after arranging everything, but then she didn’t lay stones for the section of the right courtyard wall next to the grass hut.

Pointing to the back of the grass hut, Sang Luo said, “Grandpa, I also want to enclose a backyard here. I won’t disturb the area where the children are gardening in the back. I want to build a wall around this area next to the house. This will make it easier for me to dry things.”