Chapter 4: 4. Chapter 4: Moving

Chapter 4: Moving House

When Wennuan woke up again, it was nearly dark. Everything in the house that could be moved had already been moved. Only the wooden bed she slept on remained; the original cabinets and tables had been taken away, leaving the woodshed empty.

Seeing Wennuan wake up, Wenran immediately brought over the medicine that had been warming on the stove for her to drink.

Wennuan took the medicine and tasted a small sip, immediately identifying the ingredients. The prescription was relatively appropriate, though not perfect. She drank it all in one go.

"Third Sister, we can move now." Seeing Wennuan finish the medicine, Wenran looked around the woodshed, feeling a bit reluctant to leave.

From now on, they wouldn't even have a woodshed to live in!

"In the future, Third Sister will definitely let you live in a big house. A house with blue bricks and tiled roofs, warm in winter and cool in summer." Seeing her reluctance, Wennuan comforted her.

Wenran smiled upon hearing this: "Okay, just like the main house, a big house."

Wennuan smiled and said nothing.

The main house? The house she would build would naturally be even better than the main house.

"Has Nuan-jie'er finished her medicine? Grandma will help you get dressed." Madam Wang walked in at that moment. Without waiting for Wennuan’s response, she wrapped her tightly in a tattered quilt and covered her head with a cloth, leaving only her eyes exposed.

Wen Jiarui walked in then, picked up Wennuan, and placed her on the flatbed cart parked outside the courtyard gate. He then dismantled the wooden bed Wennuan had been sleeping on and placed it on the side of the cart. "Nuan-jie'er, Ran-jie'er, let's go! We're off to live in our new house!"

"Okay!" Wenran said happily.

"Mother, you get on the cart too, I'll push you over."

"I don't need to, I'll just walk." Madam Wang waved her hand and strode forward, her pace somewhat hurried, not looking back.

Wen Jiarui pushed the cart toward the end of the village.

Wennuan saw Madam Wang raise her hand to wipe her eyes at the corner, and her heart suddenly felt as heavy as if it were being pressed by a stone.

Wennuan looked back at the blue-brick, tiled-roof house.

This was the house built with the silver earned from Madam Wang’s dowry shop. Because the original owner needed money for medical treatment, it had all been sold to the Zhu family branch.

Not just the house, but the shops and fields had all been sold to the Zhu family.

How could Madam Wang not be heartbroken?

In the future, she would build a bigger and better house for Madam Wang to live in.

When they left, the door to the main house was tightly shut. Madam Zhu considered her bad luck—that was just fine!

It would be best if they had nothing to do with each other from now on! Wennuan thought to herself.

The grass shed was at the end of the village, and they arrived after about a quarter of an hour.

Wen Jiarui, along with a few brothers from the village, had already turned the grass shed into a bamboo house.

The walls were made of fresh, green bamboo; one look at the bamboo told you it had just been cut down. The roof was thatched, and the floor was yellow mud that had been cleared of weeds and packed down. The air was still filled with the fresh, fragrant scent of bamboo and earth.

Due to the rush, the house had only been built as one large room using the original frame of the grass shed.

At this moment, several men around Wen Jiarui's age, along with two boys, were using bamboo to fence in the courtyard.

It was close to the back mountain, and they were worried that without a fence, wild boars or similar animals might break into the house at night.

Seeing them, Wenran immediately greeted them loudly: "Uncle Guangrong, Uncle Quan, Uncle Fugui..."

She called out to all the uncles sweetly.

Wennuan followed suit and greeted them as well.

They received smiles and praise from the men, who then continued their work; after all, it was almost dark, and they had to finish quickly.

They were all farmers and skilled at manual labor. Wennuan watched as one person was responsible for shaving bamboo, one for making the bamboo door, two for weaving the bamboo fence, and three for setting up the fence posts. Everyone was very proficient, their movements swift.

Ran-jie'er very consciously went to find work to do.

Wen Jiarui carried Wennuan into the house and placed her on the wooden bed brought from the woodshed: "Nuan-jie'er, you sit here, Dad will make your bed right away."

Wen Jiarui went out, brought in two long benches, and placed them in another corner of the house. He then brought two bed boards and placed them on the benches, and a bed was set up.

He tied a piece of bamboo to the four legs of the benches, hung up the patch-covered mosquito net, and laid out the tattered mattress. The whole process took less than half a quarter of an hour.

Wen Jiarui carried Wennuan over: "Nuan-jie'er, lie down for a while, there will be food soon."

Wennuan nodded.

Wen Jiarui strode out to help with the courtyard fence.

It was completely dark by the time everyone finished their work.

Madam Wu had borrowed some rice and flour from a neighbor, boiled porridge, steamed buns, and picked some greens from the vegetable garden.

In the evening, Old Master Wen had thrown over a piece of meat, saying he had bought too much and couldn't finish it.

He dropped the meat and left immediately, giving no one a chance to speak.

Madam Wang knew he was secretly subsidizing their family so they could treat the villagers who helped them to a meal that wasn't too shabby.

She truly had both love and hate for this man!

Madam Wang gave the meat to Madam Wu, who used these simple ingredients to prepare a meal, treating the villagers who helped build the bamboo house to a simple dinner.

During the meal, Madam Wang and Madam Wu ate inside the house with the children.

Wen Jiarui accompanied the villagers to eat in the courtyard.

Wennuan glanced at her own bowl, then at the others' bowls.

In her bowl was thick meat porridge with bits of meat, smelling very fragrant and sweet.

The others' bowls contained only thin porridge water—truly just water, very clear, without a single grain of rice to be seen.

Madam Wang said happily: "Time to eat!"

Only then did everyone lift their bowls and take a satisfied sip of the hot porridge water.

There were three black-flour buns on a plate. Madam Wang picked one up and handed it to Wennuan: "Nuan-jie'er, you eat a bun. Luo-ge'er and Ran-jie'er, half each; Chun-ge'er and Hou-ge'er, half each as well."

In her memories, the family hadn't eaten buns for a long time. If it weren't for the move today marking a new beginning, Madam Wang wouldn't have been willing to make three extra buns for the children.

Wennuan took the bun but didn't eat it.

Wen Chun, the eldest son, looked very much like Wen Jiarui. He shook his head: "Grandma, I'm not hungry. You eat the bun."

Wen Hou's stomach was already growling, but he finished his porridge water in one gulp: "Grandma, I'm not hungry either. You and Mother split the bun! I'm going to sleep."

It was late at night; if you were asleep, you wouldn't feel hungry. Why eat so much? It was a waste of food.

"Second Brother, wait." Wennuan split the bun into two and placed them into Wen Chun's and Wen Hou's bowls. Then, using a spoon, she added a spoonful of thick meat porridge to Madam Wang's and Madam Wu's bowls.

Just as she was about to add some to the other four children's bowls, their expressions changed!

Madam Wang realized what was happening and quickly grabbed her hand: "Nuan-jie'er, what are you doing?"

Wennuan said as a matter of course: "Meat porridge, let's all eat together."

From the original owner's memories, the family hadn't eaten meat in nearly half a year.

Not to mention meat, they hadn't even had a full meal in who knows how long.

"No need, Nuan-jie'er. Your health is poor; eating some meat is just right to nourish your body. We don't need it. Grandma already ate outside just now; I'm just thirsty now, so I'm drinking some porridge water."

Madam Wu also nodded quickly: "Mother already ate a bowl of meat porridge while cooking just now, I'm not hungry. Nuan-jie'er, be good, you eat it yourself!"

As they spoke, they tried to spoon the meat porridge—which hadn't even dissolved into the porridge water yet—back into Wennuan's bowl.

Wen Chun put the half bun back on the plate: "Nuan-jie'er, Big Brother isn't hungry. I ate at the main house. You eat it!"

Big sister's health was poor; she should eat more. Once she was healthy, everything would be fine.

Wen Hou also put the bun back on the plate: "Nuan-jie'er, Second Brother also ate at the main house. I'm so full I can feel it in my throat; if I eat more, I'll throw up. You eat it. Eat your fill, eat well, and your body will get better. Once you're better, Second Brother will take you up the mountain to find bird eggs!"

After saying this, he even pretended to burp!

Wenran and Wen Luo also quickly indicated they weren't hungry.

If Third Sister went hungry, her health would suffer. If her health suffered, they would have to spend money on doctors, and she might even lose her life. It didn't matter if they ate less, as long as their sister was healthy.

Wennuan put down her bowl with a calm expression: "If you don't eat, then I won't eat either."

She just sat there, her expression resolute, looking as if she would only eat once they did.

The whole family: "..."

How did Nuan-jie'er seem to have changed after falling into the water?

She wasn't this assertive before!

No matter how they tried to persuade her, Wennuan wouldn't eat. In the end, they couldn't win against her, and under her gaze, they painfully ate half a bun and a bowl of porridge water with a spoonful of meat porridge each.

That was enough for Ran-jie'er to have another meal!

Seeing them finish, Wennuan finally ate the remaining half bowl of thick meat porridge.

(End of chapter)