Chapter 171
After Shen Xuanqing left, it wasn’t suitable for Lu Gu to sleep alone in the new house. He originally thought of moving back, but after discussing it with Wei Lanxiang, since Shen Xuanqing would be in the mountains for at most seven or eight days, and their bedding and clothes were already here, they decided against it. Moving back and forth seemed pointless, so instead, Wei Lanxiang and Shen Yan brought their quilts over to sleep in another room.
The new house had a full three rooms, built even larger than the old one, making it more spacious to live in. This way, Shen Yaoqing could also sleep with his wife and son at night without being separated.
Dahui and the others had also gone up the mountain, leaving only Dabai and the two pups at home. But this was enough. Although there were idle troublemakers in the village, given the slight respect the Shen brothers commanded, no one dared to steal from them. If caught, with Shen Xuanqing’s temper, he wouldn’t stop until the thief was thoroughly beaten. In the countryside, family with strong young men wouldn’t be bullied.
Early in the morning, Wei Lanxiang got up to feed the pigs and livestock without a moment’s rest. Living here made her work more convenient.
Lu Gu and Shen Yan got up a bit later. After dressing and stepping out of the room, Lu Gu heard movement from the newly built straw shed at the back, Shen Yan was boiling water to heat breakfast.
When this house was built, they hadn’t set up a kitchen. At the time, Shen Xuanqing hadn’t thought much of it, figuring that since the family wasn’t divided, they’d still eat at the old house, so a kitchen wasn’t necessary yet. After setting up the stove recently, they built a straw shed to shield it from wind and rain.
The shed only had the stove, a counter, utensils, and containers for oil and salt. The new house had a storage room with rice and flour, so the shed only kept half a sack of grain for daily meals. Since there wasn’t much, the straw shed was enough. At most, they’d eat breakfast here, while proper meals were still had at the old house.
Shen Yan yawned by the stove and turned at the sound of footsteps, wiping tears from her yawn. "Brother Guzi, I heated that crispy oil cake for you."
"Okay." Lu Gu’s voice was slightly hoarse from sleep. Seeing Shen Yan yawn, he couldn’t help yawning too and stretching. The weather was lovely today, with a gentle breeze - neither too hot nor too cold, making everything feel lighter.
With Shen Xuanqing gone, the household chores fell on others. Fortunately, they’d hired people to cut grass, easing the burden so the family wouldn’t be overworked. Lu Gu scooped a ladle of water into a wooden basin to mix with hot water later. As he poured, he said, "I’ll open the gate first. He Zhi and Dong ger will be here soon to take the cart."
"Okay, go ahead." Shen Yan agreed, adding more kindling to the fire.
Lu Gu opened the front gate and removed the wooden threshold, placing it behind the door. The two pups ran out to play. He glanced at them, as long as they didn’t go far, it was fine. Since the water wasn’t boiling yet, he grabbed a broom to sweep the front yard. Doctor Wang had advised him that since he wasn’t ill and could move freely, he shouldn’t sit or lie around too much during pregnancy, some activity was good.
Before he finished sweeping, Shen Yaoqing arrived. He usually handled the dirty work like cleaning manure, while lighter tasks like feeding or chopping grass could be done by others.
"Eldest Brother." Lu Gu greeted him, then asked, "Have you eaten? Yan Yan is boiling water."
Shen Yaoqing had woken up late today. "Good timing, I haven’t eaten yet. Remember to take it easy, let Shen Yan do the sweeping. No need for you to do it."
"I’m idle anyway, a little movement is good." Lu Gu smiled. After being with the Shen family for so long, he was familiar enough with Shen Yaoqing to chat without hesitation.
"Mm." Seeing it wasn’t heavy labor, Shen Yaoqing didn’t stop him and went to tidy the rabbit hutches. After finishing the morning work, he’d check the fields. Weeds needed pulling from the wheat, and with spring plowing nearing, the rice seedlings had to be inspected.
Just as Lu Gu finished sweeping and leaned the broom against the wall, he heard Dabai bark twice outside, followed by He Zhi’s cheerful voice teasing the dog for barking so early.
He Zhi and Chen Dongdong came daily to take the cart, and the dogs knew them. Dabai barked twice more but otherwise stayed quiet.
"Dong ger." Lu Gu smiled at Chen Dongdong as he entered.
"Guzi, you’re up so early, you should sleep more." Chen Dongdong still wore patched clothes, but they were clean. With warmer weather, unlike winter, more people were washing clothes by the river.
He knew about Lu Gu’s pregnancy. Over the past few days when coming for the cart, Lu Gu had usually woken late, so he couldn’t help asking today. But no one minded a pregnant person sleeping in, it was expected.
Not just in Qingxi Village, but even neighboring villages knew Wei Lanxiang’s daughter-in-law had given birth and now his son's fulang was expecting again. Before New Year’s, she’d been so overjoyed she couldn’t help sharing the news with anyone familiar while buying tofu or pork. Word spread, and soon many knew about Lu Gu’s pregnancy.
"The weather’s nice today, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to walk around and enjoy the breeze." Seeing Chen Dongdong carrying a water jug, Lu Gu added, "If you run out, just come here to scoop water. It’s closer than going home."
Both being shuang’er, they’d naturally grown closer. There were fewer shuang’er than women in the world, and unlike women who could nurse, shuang’er sometimes struggled to marry since they couldn’t breastfeed.
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