Chapter 147
Compared to the mountains, home was lively and comfortable. Before even waking up at dawn, Lu Gu heard the rooster crowing. Having slept only in the latter half of the night, and with the bedding being so warm, he was reluctant to get up. Eyes still closed, he nestled closer to the heat source beside him.
Shen Xuanqing had no reason to refuse his fulang's affectionate gesture. Without opening his eyes either, he pulled Lu Gu closer and murmured in a low, hoarse voice, “Let’s sleep a little longer.”
The chicken and duck pens in the backyard were quite far away, and with the cold weather, aside from the rooster’s crowing, most of the other livestock were still curled up in their nests.
Villagers rose early, but since their new house had no neighbors nearby, they couldn’t hear the usual morning bustle. However, it wasn’t long before the courtyard gate was knocked, it was Wei Lanxiang.
The dogs, sleeping on burlap sacks, barely stirred upon recognizing a familiar person. Only Guaizi let out a soft woof and wagged his tail, though he didn’t bother getting up either.
Lu Gu opened his eyes. The room was unlit, and the light was dim, with only a faint glow seeping through the paper-covered window.
“No need to get up. I’ll open the door.” Shen Xuanqing sat up, quickly dressed, and rubbed his face before stepping out.
Lu Gu rolled onto his side, hugging the quilt as he drifted in and out of drowsiness. When he finally roused himself, he remembered it was time to feed the cow. Outside, Wei Lanxiang and Shen Xuanqing were talking, and upon hearing footsteps, Lu Gu propped himself up and called out, “Mother.”
“Mm.” Wei Lanxiang responded but didn’t enter. Instead, she called from outside, “You two sleep. I’ll feed the cow and sheep, no need to hurry.”
In the past, whenever they returned from the mountains, Wei Lanxiang would let them rest longer, sparing them from chores. People could grow accustomed to such treatment, and with Shen Xuanqing around, Lu Gu no longer feared oversleeping as he once did.
Wei Lanxiang had never imposed strict family rules on her daughters-in-law, so she didn’t mind Lu Gu not getting up to greet her. On the contrary, she urged him and Shen Xuanqing to sleep more.
It wasn’t just them, Shen Yaoqing and Shen Yan hadn’t gotten up this morning either. Feeding the cow was originally Shen Yaoqing’s task, but Wei Lanxiang, doting on her son, took it upon herself.
Shen Xuanqing accepted this without fuss. Since it was just tossing hay which was most of which had been prepared the day before, and no heavy labor was involved, he saw no need to help and simply returned to bed.
The bedding was still warm with Lu Gu in it.
The cow and sheep pens in the backyard were too far away to hear any noise.
Lu Gu couldn’t fall back asleep. After lying still for a while, he decided to sit up.
Sensing his movement, Shen Xuanqing opened his sleepy eyes and asked, “Not sleeping anymore?”
“No.” Lu Gu reached for his clothes. Since he had only carried a basket yesterday while Shen Yan herded the doe, and Shen Xuanqing had done the heavy work of pushing the cart, he said, “You sleep. I’ll light the clay stove to boil water.”
Then, remembering Shen Xuanqing’s shoulder injury, he asked softly, “Does your shoulder still hurt?”
Shen Xuanqing, still lazy and unwilling to rise, pressed a hand to his shoulder and replied, “It’s fine.”
“Then sleep.” Lu Gu dressed quickly, stepped over Shen Xuanqing’s legs at the foot of the bed, and got up.
As soon as he left the room, Guaizi lifted his head to look at him, wagging his tail before yawning and curling back up, tucking his head in.
The clay stove was under the eaves behind the house. A few thin sticks of firewood lay scattered on the ground, but they weren’t enough. Lu Gu headed to the woodshed for more.
“Mother,” he called out to Wei Lanxiang, who had finished feeding the cow and was now heading toward the rabbit hutch.
“Why are you up?” Wei Lanxiang walked briskly as she spoke.
“Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d boil water first.” Lu Gu replied, pushing open the woodshed door to gather a bundle of firewood.
Wei Lanxiang had already entered the rabbit shed, picking up a broom, shovel, and dung basket to clean up the droppings.
The cooler weather meant fewer flies, and though the smell of manure lingered, it wasn’t as unbearable as in the heat of summer.
More livestock meant more manure for fertilizer. This year, their fields had more fertilizer than before, ensuring better crops next year. To villagers, manure wasn’t just filth - sometimes, when cattle or mules dropped dung on the road, people would scramble to scoop it up.
Soon, the eastern sky brightened as the morning sun rose.
Lu Gu crouched by the clay stove, striking flint to spark a fire. The embers landed on dry tinder, igniting quickly. He carefully placed the burning tinder into the stove and added a handful of dried leaves from a nearby broken basket, causing flames to leap up.
After propping thin sticks inside, he stood to fetch water with an earthenware pot. Just then, Dahui rose from his burlap sack, shaking his fur vigorously, even his head and ears flapped, before yawning and trotting over.
No comments:
Post a Comment