Chapter 165
The cold wind howled, and the sky was gloomy. Winter days grew dark early, and to save lamp oil, farming families ate dinner earlier than usual.
Today, Shen Yan went to wash the dishes, so Lu Gu went into Ji Qiuyue’s room to hold Zhao’er and play with him for a while. Ji Qiuyue had plenty of breast milk and fed the child well, so he felt heavier in his arms.
As he was holding the baby, Zhao’er’s chubby little face suddenly changed expression. Soon, the swaddling clothes grew warm and damp, and his hands and sleeves got wet too. He quickly said, “He peed, he peed.”
Winter wasn’t as convenient as summer. Babies couldn’t be allowed to freeze, so they were naturally bundled up in thick layers, making it harder for them to relieve themselves. They had to change clothes frequently, but fortunately, they had prepared plenty of baby clothes, so the child wouldn’t run out of things to wear.
“Let me handle it.” Ji Qiuyue was already used to Zhao’er peeing or pooping in her arms. After taking the child, she glanced outside the door and said, “It’s getting late, and the wind is so strong. You and Erqing should head over soon, it’ll be dark before long.”
“Mm.” Lu Gu nodded, wiping his hands and sleeves with a handkerchief, then picked up the tube sleeves by the bed and slipped them onto his hands. He had already been thinking it was time to go, today the wind was strong, the sky looked ominous, and it would probably snow tonight.
[筒袖 (tǒng xiù): tube sleeves, a traditional Chinese hand-covering garment, often made of fabric or fur, shaped like tubes (open at both ends) to protect hands and wrists from cold while allowing finger mobility.]
Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing sat in the main room weaving rabbit cages. Whether at the old home or the new house, there were split bamboo strips everywhere. With more and more rabbits being raised, the hutches weren’t enough, so cages had to be used. Bamboo could be cut freely from the mountains, so making a few more wouldn’t hurt.
Wei Lanxiang was weaving bamboo baskets. Their family’s farmland had increased, and during planting and harvest seasons, bamboo baskets were needed for carrying crops. When they couldn’t manage the work themselves, they hired laborers, so having extra baskets on hand was necessary.
“It’s getting late, should we go?” Lu Gu came out and asked. The window in Ji Qiuyue’s room was closed, so he looked toward the sky outside the main door, it was already dusk.
“Go ahead.” Wei Lanxiang looked up and said. The wind was strong, and though the new house wasn’t far, the later it got, the colder it would become.
“Understood, Mother.” Shen Xuanqing put down the half-woven rabbit cage, clapped his hands clean, and stood up to leave with Lu Gu.
As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, a gust of icy wind hit them. Lu Gu felt his face sting from the cold, but fortunately, both of them wore badger-fur collars around their necks, preventing the wind from seeping in—otherwise, they’d be shivering.
The wind was too strong to talk on the road, opening their mouths would only swallow cold air, so they walked in silence, hurrying toward the new house. Just as they opened the courtyard gate, a few scattered snowflakes began to fall.
When they opened the door, all six dogs, big and small, crowded around them, wagging their tails and making it hard to take a step.
Before returning for dinner, Lu Gu had already fed the dogs. A few days earlier, Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing had gone up the mountain and hunted several plump badgers. Like the others, Lu Gu didn’t care much for badger meat, but with so many dogs at home and little meat to spare in winter, they’d been mixing badger meat with coarse grain buns to give the dogs a treat and help them fatten up. A sturdy build would help them endure the harsh winter.
The brazier still held faint red embers. The two of them brought over dry, lightweight grass tinder and blew on it to revive the flames. On such a cold day, even if they couldn’t bathe, soaking their feet and using tangpozi would at least let them rest comfortably at night.
“Forgot to bring in the shoes.” Just after scooping two ladles of water into the clay pot, Lu Gu remembered the shoes left out to dry. There had been sun earlier in the day, but the weather had turned in the afternoon. He and Shen Xuanqing had been in a hurry to return for dinner and forgotten about them.
“I’ll get them.” Shen Xuanqing tossed a bundle of firewood onto the ground and went to the front courtyard corner to retrieve the two pairs of cotton shoes.
“Still damp.” He placed the shoes against the hallway wall, and as soon as he set them down, two puppies wagged their tails and sniffed at them.
Clothes didn’t dry well in the cold. After adding enough water to the pot and covering it, Lu Gu said, “We’ll sun them again when the weather clears in a couple of days.”
“Mm.” Shen Xuanqing nodded in agreement.
Since he wore out shoes quickly, Lu Gu added, “You have plenty of shoes, one pair less won’t matter. Didn’t Mother make you a new pair just the other day? That’s enough.”
“I know.” Shen Xuanqing smiled. He usually didn’t pay much attention to clothes and shoes, but since the topic came up, he asked, “What about you? Do you need a couple of new clothes or shoes? I remember we still have some unused cloth from before.”
Lu Gu sat by the clay stove, warming his hands and the spot dampened by the baby’s pee. Since he’d been wearing these clothes for several days, he planned to take them off at night and wash them when the weather improved. His eyes curved slightly as he replied, “There’s still some left, but I have enough clothes and shoes. The winter clothes made last year are still like new, no need for more.”
The clothes from last year had only been worn for one winter, and for country folk, that was practically new. Lu Gu, in particular, already had four pairs of cotton shoes to rotate and plenty of inner and outer garments, there was no need to make more since he couldn’t even wear them all.
Seeing this, Shen Xuanqing didn’t press further. As long as there were clothes to wear, it was fine. He pulled over a small stool and sat down, warming himself by the fire while waiting for the water to boil.
The firelight was warm, and the puppies squeezed between their legs to bask in the heat. Guaizi whined nearby - lately, he’d been acting jealous like this. Lu Gu and Shen Xuanqing ignored him, not wanting to spoil him too much.
Guaizi was clever. Seeing that no one paid him attention, he stopped deliberately whining for affection and instead went to play with the cuju ball in the main room. This one was newly woven by Shen Yaoqing, the old one had been worn out, not very sturdy to begin with, and had been gnawed on by several dogs. Last time, when they were playing with Shen Yan in the backyard, it had broken.
The cuju ball rolled to Lu Gu’s side. He picked it up and tossed it farther away. Guaizi, Dabai, and the two puppies all ran after it. Since Dabai was closest, he grabbed the colored rope on the ball first, which displeased Guaizi, who tugged at another rope to fight over it.
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