Chapter 32

Later that afternoon, Qin Fangniang personally brought over the vegetable seeds she promised Sang Luo. Along with them were two more pottery pots that the Chen family had freed up.

She didn’t enter the house but stood outside and called Sang Luo out. After handing the pots to the children, she passed the seeds to Sang Luo, explaining each variety carefully. Then, she brought up the main topic, asking Sang Luo if she wanted to build an additional kitchen hut.

Sang Luo: ?!?!

Was this like giving someone a pillow when they were already falling asleep?

Of course, she had to agree!

She smiled brightly. “How coincidental! I was just thinking about it at lunchtime today. With so many things to do, my little house is indeed a bit cramped. To be honest, I was also considering adding another layer to the courtyard wall. Otherwise, I’m afraid it won’t be safe in winter. I was just planning to save up some money and then discuss it with you to find some helpers.”

Looking around, Mrs. Chen sighed, “Indeed, we should enclose it. Otherwise, if there’s a heavy snowfall in winter, the wild animals from the mountains might come looking for food.”

“If you have this plan, then you need to move quickly. Get it done before the busy farming season begins. Once the farming starts, no one will have time. You don’t need to worry about saving up money. Building a house in the village doesn’t require paying for labor. The more capable ones will help without asking for payment. Both your uncles can come over, and we can also ask the village to bring in a few more people. You just need to prepare the materials and provide meals.”

“Regarding materials, it’s simple. You can chop wood from your own mountain or even find some unclaimed ones deeper in the forest. Then find some good yellow clay, and we have straw in our house. I’ll ask your uncle to bring it over.”

Considering that they didn’t have much going on in their household right now, not even a main man in charge, Old Man Chen added, “For chopping trees, your uncle can also invite a few people to help. If you’re willing, this is a labor-intensive task. The food doesn’t have to be fancy. As long as it’s hearty and thick, with a few home-cooked dishes.”

Saving on food these days could be considered making a profit.

With that, Sang Luo’s concerns were addressed.

With a beaming smile, she agreed repeatedly and then suggested, “How about we start the day after tomorrow? I’ll go to your place in the evening to borrow the stone mortar for pounding rice. I’ll consult Grandpa and Uncle Arita about the specific preparations.” 

With the money earned from selling at the market tomorrow, she could afford to prepare meals the day after tomorrow.

“Until the kitchen is built, we may have to borrow some space from your house to prepare meals. We only have a small clay pot at home, and we can’t really cook decent food with it,” Sang Luo explained.

“Sure, that’s no problem,” Mrs. Chen agreed readily.

With the matter settled,Mrs. Chen took a look at the land Sang Luo had cleared behind the house. She then gave some instructions on when to plant certain vegetables and reminded Sang Luo to ask Qin Fangniang if she had any questions before heading home.

Once Mrs. Chen left, the siblings, Shen An and Shen Ning, practically jumped up where they stood.

“We’re going to build a house! Where are we going to put the kitchen? How big will the courtyard be?” they asked excitedly.

In reality, they couldn’t have a very large courtyard. After all, the house was built halfway up the mountain. Even if the terrain was relatively flat, there wasn’t much space available for building.

Sang Luo was also pondering.

She had forgotten one thing earlier. Besides the kitchen, a bathroom was also important. The one at the back of the mountain was simply unbearable—dirty and disgusting. Plus, there was always the risk of falling down…

“Let’s go take a look,” she suggested.

She didn’t have anything else to do, so she picked up some small rocks and started planning the layout of the buildings with the two children around their empty space.

Where would the courtyard wall be? Where would the gate be? Where would the kitchen be? Once they agreed on a spot, they used small rocks to mark out a boundary line on the grass until they mentioned building a new bathroom closer to the house. Shen An and Shen Ning’s faces were filled with surprise, followed by vigorous shaking of their heads.

“Big sister-in-law, this won’t work. It’ll be too stinky.”

“And disgusting too.”

Sang Luo thought to herself that she knew how to build a bathroom that wouldn’t smell. After all, she had renovated a small, dilapidated house on the mountain in her previous life, so she knew the structure of a septic tank very well. However, she decided not to mention it. Considering they were using yellow clay to build the house, she closed her mouth silently.

Bricks were definitely available for purchase, and cement substitutes with better waterproofing properties than yellow clay should also be possible to find. But did she have the money?

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

Not really. It would attract too much attention.

Just a few days ago, she was almost starving to death. Now, she wanted to buy bricks and build a bathroom.

Forget it. She thought about alternative solutions. Crossing over already made her feel guilty, and now that she was running a stall, it was better to quietly save up some food and money. Being too active wasn’t a good thing.

“Alright, let’s change it to a bathhouse.”

As for the toilet, they would have to endure it for now. They could put a toilet in one corner of the bathhouse and wait until they had more money before making any more changes.

Seeing that their sister-in-law had stopped speaking, Shen An and Shen Ning let out a sigh of relief.

As they chatted, Shen Jin, carrying his little hoe, followed by Shen Yin and Shen Tie, arrived to start work. Sang Luo then shifted her focus to work.

Shen An and Shen Ning went to work on the land, while Sang Luo carried a basket on her back to collect leaves from the fairy tree.

Today, she had to explore one or two more hillsides. Most of the usable leaves from nearby hillsides had already been picked by her and the two younger siblings. Even Shen An and Shen Ning knew not to pick more than necessary to avoid arousing suspicion. Naturally, Sang Luo understood this principle as well.

Shen Jin watched Sang Luo descend the mountain with a basket on her back, then disappear into another mountain. Curious, he approached Shen An.

“Shen An, where is your sister-in-law going?” he asked.

Shen An frowned. He didn’t like Shen Jin’s casual attitude towards his sister-in-law. However, he reminded himself that she was Shen Jin’s sister-in-law. Considering this, he relaxed a bit.

“She’s just looking for wild vegetables,” Shen An replied.

Shen Jin’s lips twitched. “Are you guys still eating wild vegetables every day? Where do you get the money to buy meat and cooking oil?”

Shen An glanced at him. “Why do you care? Are you still reclaiming land?”

“Yes, of course,” Shen Jin replied awkwardly. Shen An’s expression seemed to imply that if he didn’t get any cooking oil, he wouldn’t have to eat anymore.

It was a clear threat, but he was easily threatened. He turned and headed towards the piece of land Shen An had assigned to him.

…

Meanwhile, Sang Luo ventured slightly farther than usual this time. Although collecting leaves from the fairy tree was her main task, she didn’t overlook other wild vegetables along the way. After spending over half an hour in the mountains, she returned with a basket full of fairy tree leaves and some ferns. To ensure the leaves stayed intact, she pressed them down firmly and placed the ferns on top of them in her basket.

Shen Jin was quite observant. From afar, he watched Sang Luo, his neck craning eagerly. When he realized it was just ferns and lotus leaves, he relaxed and went back to his work.

He was using good tools. Before Shen Zheng arrived, Shen An had cleared the piece of land he assigned to him quite well. Shen An and Shen Ning both inspected it and found it quite satisfactory. Even Shen Ning, who was eager to find faults with him, used a stone hoe to plow back and forth a few times but found nothing to criticize.

“Go ahead and look. I guarantee it’s much cleaner than your stone hoe!” Shen Jin boasted proudly. If he had a tail, it would surely be wagging now.

Shen An didn’t eat his words. After leaving a remark, he went to wash his hands and then returned to the house to fetch the pig oil dregs.

Shen Yin and Shen Tie, the two younger siblings, immediately became anxious. Although their second brother hadn’t assigned them a path in the morning, they were still weak and used bamboo chips to plow the land. The land they cleared… 

Shen Yin looked at his own plot and then at his third brother’s. The contrast was stark. 

Now, his third brother would definitely get some pig oil dregs, but what about them?

Shen Yin became flustered and stood there with his head hanging down. Shen Jin laughed happily. “Don’t worry, take your time plowing. There’s still plenty of time.”

As he spoke, he glanced towards the house from time to time. As soon as he saw Shen An coming out, he hurried over, extending his hand. “Hurry up, give me the pig oil dregs.”

Shen An glanced at his brother’s half-dirty, half-dotted hands and twitched his lips. “Aren’t you going to wash your hands?”

“No need; why wash them? Eating a bit of dirt won’t make me sick.”

Shen An couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and handed him a piece of pig oil dregs.

Shen Jin’s sharp eyes caught sight of the remaining piece in Shen An’s hand, and his eyes lit up. When Shen An walked towards his two younger brothers, instructing Shen Yin and Shen Tie to wash their hands and eat the pig oil dregs, he immediately called out, “Shen An, they only plowed that little bit of land?”

Shen Yin and Shen Tie, who were just pleasantly surprised, never expected to receive a backstab from their own elder brother. They froze in place.

Shen Jin, however, was too excited to notice the shock he had caused his two younger brothers. He quickly caught up with Shen An, bargaining with him, “Then you have to give me two more pieces. I cleared much more land than the two of them combined. They each have a piece for that little bit they cleared. I should get three pieces, right?”

Shen An gave him a sideways glance. “What are you dreaming about? This is the price we agreed upon.”

Shen Yin and Shen Tie, seeing that their second brother didn’t refuse to give them any, breathed a sigh of relief. They hurriedly ran to a spot near the mountain where there was a small spring, washed their hands, and rushed back. With water in their hands, they quickly wiped their hands on their clothes to dry them. “Second Brother, our hands are clean.”

Shen An smiled and gave each of them a piece.

Afraid that their third brother would snatch it away, as soon as they got the pig oil dregs, they stuffed them into their mouths. They chewed happily, their eyes squinting with delight. “The pig oil dregs taste so good.”

After toiling for several hours to clear the soil, rocks, and grass roots, the hardship was instantly forgotten.

Shen Yin, being the elder, ate with pleasure. He thanked Shen An happily and even remembered to thank Shen Ning beside him.

But Shen Jin couldn’t take it. He had already finished his piece of pig oil dregs and now watched as his two younger brothers chewed on theirs. He stomped his feet. “Shen An, this isn’t fair! Why should it be the same for everyone, regardless of how much land they cleared?”

Shen An chuckled. “Because they have sweet mouths and are well-behaved, unlike someone who’s always begging for food.”

Under the eaves, Sang Luo almost burst out laughing when she heard this.

Bamboo shoots, indeed.

But when it came to Shen Jin, all she could think was, Well done!

Sang Luo didn’t laugh out loud, but Shen Ning did. She laughed so loudly that she heard Shen Jin’s promise to Shen Yin to give him the pig oil dregs after clearing his land. The little girl’s mood soared. Finally, she felt at ease.

After finishing their pig oil dregs, Shen Yin and Shen Tie licked their fingers and palms that had touched the dregs. The two younger brothers were ecstatic. However, seeing their third brother constantly complaining about the unequal distribution of land, Shen Yin, who understood the situation better, quickly spoke up: “Second Brother, I haven’t finished clearing my land yet. I’ll continue later, and I’ll come tomorrow too. It might be slower, but I can clear just as much land as Third Brother.”

Shen Tie, who was like a little follower of his fourth brother, nodded eagerly too, adding a hint of a childish tone, “Second Brother, I’m also obedient.”

Shen Jin glared at the two kids, feeling an urge to ask who they were trying to please. Who was their real elder brother!?

But he bit his lip, still savoring the lingering aroma between his teeth, and wisely swallowed his words.

The one with the pig oil dregs was the real elder brother.

He glanced down and saw Shen Tie sticking out his tongue to lick his palm, his face filled with bliss. Shen Jin’s hand couldn’t help but twitch, but when he lifted it, it was dirty…

He couldn’t bear to lick it anymore.

Swallowing hard, he looked at Shen An, then at the small plot of land his two younger brothers had cleared, and finally at the large plot he had cleared. Unwillingness welled up in his heart, but he couldn’t resist the allure of the pig oil dregs. In the end, he relented. “I’ll clear another plot. Will you still give me pig oil dregs?”