After drinking water, everyone returned to the construction site to lay bricks. Bricklaying was a skill, too. The person specializing in this task was called a mason. The Craft system didn’t have this as a standalone item; the knowledge and skill within were categorized under Infrastructure. Ceramics and Stonemason also knew a little bit about it.
The biggest fear in wall building was uneven or unlevel work. But this group, much like with farming, had this instinct in their bones; they could pick it up. Initially, with no feel for it, they hesitated and were inevitably slow. However, with Zhao Penglai and the other two teaching hand-in-hand and supervising the lines, even if progress was slow, at least major mistakes were avoided.
Miao Bing and Taishi Huan, who had the worst feel for it, were tasked with transporting bricks back and forth. Jiang Beibei and Liu Cuo Jin helped mix mortar. When the whole crew worked together, the construction proceeded fairly smoothly.
Yunxiu returned to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. She chopped off the goose’s feet and wings, then used salt, sugar, and their available spices to make a seasoning paste and rubbed it inside the goose’s cavity. Unfortunately, without cooking wine, the deodorizing effect was compromised.
Yunxiu used a stone needle to sew the goose belly shut. She inserted a bamboo tube into the goose’s neck to blow air. Pressing one hand on the seam, her face puffed up red as the goose’s breast gradually swelled and firmed. Yunxiu quickly blanched the goose in hot water to set the shape. After cooling, she brushed sugar water over its surface, hung it on a stone hook to air-dry for a while, and then placed it inside the roasting oven. The fruitwood charcoal inside slowly smoldered and roasted. The goose skin tightened, turned golden-yellow, and glistened with oil.
Yunxiu also steamed a sausage and stewed a large pot of cabbage. She added some cured meat for the fat and threw in the goose wings, feet, and giblets to stew together.
When everyone returned from work, they all crowded at the kitchen door, sniffing eagerly. Yunxiu had just pulled the roast goose out. The smell of roasting meat was exceptionally strong.
Under the candlelight on the cutting board, the goose shone like a gemstone under a jeweler’s display lamp: irresistibly enticing.
Everyone listened to the crisp sound of Yunxiu’s knife separating the goose and swallowed their saliva, eyes staring unblinkingly at it. They were like a pack of starving wolf cubs.
Li Cunxin shooed the people away. “Get back a little, don’t go squeezing the kitchen wall down for me.”
Yunxiu chopped the goose while Li Cunxin took platters and portioned it out.
Back when there were few people and they all ate at one table, it wasn’t a big deal. Once numbers grew, the problem of dish-grabbing emerged, especially between meat and vegetable dishes. Everyone naturally gravitated toward the meat. If some people ate too much, others would inevitably eat less.
After discussion, a few of them decided to start serving individual portions. Meat dishes were divided onto each person’s plate, while vegetable dishes were placed on the table in platters for everyone to serve themselves.
After portioning the goose, Yunxiu also sliced the sausage and distributed it onto everyone’s plates.
When people brought their bowls to get rice, they’d hand the bowl over. Yunxiu would ladle out a bowl of white rice, and Li Cunxin would pass them a small plate of goose meat and sausage. Holding their food, they’d happily find a seat in the main room.
After the two finished serving and went to the main hall, the room was already packed with people. If there was no seat at the table, they just put their plate on a wooden stump and sat cross-legged on the ground. One had to step carefully just to walk in.
Those who got out fastest had grabbed the seats at the table. Yet on the long bench facing the door, only Yan Baiyu sat alone. The two squeezed in to sit beside her.
Yunxiu placed the plates of plum sauce on both ends of the table, saying, “Here’s a dipping sauce for the roast goose. Anyone who likes sweet and sour, come get a little to try.”
Those at the table put a little plum sauce on their plates and passed it to those sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Yunxiu said, “The kitchen ingredients aren’t complete; the goose might have a bit of a gamey smell.”
Miao Bing bit into the goose. The goose meat was inherently rich and tender; it had been cooked to a crisp outside and juicy inside. One bite oozed meat juices. He slurped up the savory juice spilling from the corner of his mouth. “Not gamey, not gamey.” The meat they used to boil in the wild was what you’d call gamey—no salt, no ginger, no spices. After eating too much, their taste buds went numb.
Li Cunxin dipped her goose in a little plum sauce. Savory-sweet, delicious, the sourness cut the grease. In this place, this was truly a tear-jerking, snot-inducing delicacy. Sure enough, the two people in the corner already had glistening eyes. No wonder Yu Muyang kept mumbling “roast goose” to himself.
Yu Muyang had sucked the goose bones repeatedly, chewing even the dregs until they were tasteless before spitting them out. No matter how meticulously they ate this goose, shared among thirteen people, one person only got a few pieces. Together with the sausage, it disappeared in a flash. The remaining half bowl of rice was then eaten with the glossy, oil-braised cabbage and a plate of dried radish.
That dried radish had just been served today, too. Yunxiu had dried it long ago; she pickled it and only just brought it out today. Stir-fried with sizzling Sichuan peppercorns in oil, it crunched loudly in the mouth, appetizing and refreshing. One strip of dried radish could wipe out a big mouthful of rice.
Jiang Beibei said, “This dried radish is quite good.”
Wang Ran smiled. “Good for pairing with alcohol.”
Xia Qing smacked her lips and sighed. “I really want a ice-cold beer.”
Yan Baiyu said, “Wanting red wine would be slightly more realistic than that.”
Xia Qing’s interest was piqued, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Yan Baiyu. “What, is Sister Baiyu a wine friend too?”
Yan Baiyu smiled slightly. “I don’t drink heavily.”
The men present were tickled by this topic, their hearts itching. Zhao Penglai’s throat worked. He couldn’t help but ask, “Village Chief, since we have grain, couldn’t we also brew alcohol? And vinegar, is that…”
Yunxiu said, “Engineer Zhao, we can barely eat our fill, and you’re already thinking of brewing alcohol?”
Yunxiu pointed at the dishes on the table. “Let me tell you all, this is our last luxurious meal for a while. In the days ahead, we won’t be eating so extravagantly.” With more people, food consumption had increased. Although they weren’t exactly pinching pennies now, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, they couldn’t be too self-indulgent. They needed to plan their food input and output, living by the books.
Li Cunxin asked, “Yunxiu, can you brew vinegar, alcohol, or soy sauce and things like that?”
Yunxiu said, “How would I know that?”
Yu Muyang looked blank. “But you’re a chef.”
Yunxiu ground her teeth. “Who says a chef must know brewing? You studied computer science; can you definitely fix a computer?!”
“…Good point.” Yu Muyang said weakly.
Li Cunxin thought it over. “That should fall under the Food Processing talent. But even if we had that talent, we don’t have the spare capacity to focus on brewing right now. For one, our grain stock isn’t abundant enough to allow extra spending beyond three meals a day. And two, the raw materials for brewing vinegar, alcohol, and soy sauce require not only rice and wheat but also crops like soybeans and sorghum, which we currently don’t have.”
“So, for the current stage,” Li Cunxin grinned, “just stop thinking about it.”
Everyone’s heads drooped. The tiny spark of excitement had been cruelly smashed back down with a splat.
Zhao Penglai slapped the table, full of macho spirit. “We need to recruit people!”
Xia Qing jeered along, “Yeah, recruit people!”
“Open more land!”
“Yeah!”
“Plant hundreds, thousands of mu of fields!”
“Farming! Fck yeah, farming!!!”
The next day, everyone continued building the house. The water buffalo was taken to haul bricks. Li Cunxin could only lead the black donkey and, together with Yunxiu, carry the plow to go clear the wasteland and plow.
This was the land chosen for planting potatoes. Li Cunxin led Yunxiu westward. It wasn’t far from the adobe houses either; the trees were sparse, the weeds lush. There was a shallow pond along the way.
Yunxiu knew Li Cunxin had a small plot here for growing notoginseng, but she’d never been. When the two reached the edge of the field, Yunxiu saw a shelter built in the field, covered with straw. “Why did you put up a shelter here?”
Li Cunxin carried the plow to the wasteland beside the field and panted. “Notoginseng is afraid of direct sunlight, so I built a shelter.”
Li Cunxin picked up the broken stones at her feet and tossed them away, laughing. “I didn’t put much care into it back then. The yield wasn’t good. Just never thought I’d end up using it several times.”
The weather was fine with a light breeze. Li Cunxin gazed into the distance. “The soil here is loose and aerated, suitable for plants like notoginseng, potatoes, peanuts. When we have more seeds later, we’ll expand this area too.”
Li Cunxin withdrew her gaze, dusted off her hands, and said to Yunxiu, “Alright, you can head back.”
Yunxiu said, “Let me help you here for a while. No rush to cook anyway.”
“It’s fine. I can do it alone. I’ll finish plowing today.” She had calculated yesterday; there weren’t many potatoes left. At best, it was only half a mu’s worth. Plowing half a mu with Mei Wenqin wouldn’t take a whole day.
“Alright then. Be careful.”
“Got it.”
The two had brought Gamma along on their way here. Yunxiu turned to leave. Li Cunxin patted Gamma, who lifted its head to look at her. Li Cunxin gestured for it to follow, and Gamma circled Li Cunxin once before trotting after Yunxiu, escorting her back.
Li Cunxin returned to the wasteland. There were no nearby trees to tether the donkey.
Li Cunxin glanced at the wooden posts of the notoginseng shelter and hesitated, but finally dismissed the idea of tying the donkey up. These posts weren’t nearly as sturdy as the ones in the donkey shed. What if the donkey had a stubborn fit and pulled the shelter down?
Thinking this, she simply let the donkey roam free. Fortunately, the donkey was very close to her and quite sensible. It wouldn’t run too far on its own and would come when called.
She began clearing debris from the ground, tossing the broken stones and snapped branches to the side. The donkey nibbled at the weeds in the field. This animal was gluttonous and wanted to taste everything.
Out of the corner of her eye, Li Cunxin saw the donkey stick its head into the shelter. She called out, “Mei Wenqin, don’t you dare go eating the seedlings in there for me! That stuff doesn’t taste good. If you nibble their heads, I’ll come back and nibble your head!”
The donkey went inside the shelter for a look, found it uninteresting, and retreated. It ambled along the side of the shelter.
Li Cunxin continued her head-down work of clearing debris. The donkey occasionally made an onk-aaah sound, as if chatting with her. Li Cunxin liked having some noise around; too much silence caused her an indescribable panic.
Amid the donkey’s rising and falling, chatty brays, the sound suddenly turned sharp, short, and urgent, echoing repeatedly.
Like a stone thrown into water. Li Cunxin’s heart skipped a beat, the jump making her feel ill.
“Mei Wenqin, what’s wrong?” she asked, running towards it at the same time.
The donkey was furious and irritable, facing off against an object on the ground in front of it, as if confronting an invading predator.
Li Cunxin couldn’t see clearly what the opponent was at first and thought it was a wild animal. But from her angle, she couldn’t see the opponent’s body shape, so she concluded it wasn’t a large predator.
The donkey kicked it, stomped on it, bit at it with its teeth. Yet every attack only injured itself.
Li Cunxin ran to its side and finally saw the enemy’s true form.
It was a thorn bush that had somehow spread across this spot, bristling with sharp thorns.
Li Cunxin froze, pursed her lips. That familiar, forgotten, unpleasant feeling began to spread.
The donkey was still frantically retaliating. Li Cunxin tried to soothe it. “Mei Wenqin, don’t be afraid. It’s okay. We won’t touch it.”
The donkey was exceedingly stubborn. Li Cunxin tried to pull it away but couldn’t. It absolutely had to knock this thorn bush over, trample it to pieces, bite it to shreds.
Only when the thorns jabbed deep into its flesh, the pain severe enough to startle it, did it learn to retreat and flee.
But once the donkey started running, it wouldn’t stop.
Li Cunxin’s strength couldn’t hold it back. But she refused to let go. She was afraid that if she did, the donkey would run far, far away, and she’d never find it again.
She wanted to jump onto its back, but clearly lacked that level of athletic coordination.
“Mei Wenqin, stop!”
The donkey ran faster and faster. At first, she could just barely keep up. The moment her strength faltered, she fell and was dragged along. Yet still, she did not let go.
This atmosphere, this situation, she sank into it. She sometimes forgot herself easily, completely oblivious that the present was no longer the past, no longer that same situation she was once in.
To an onlooker, this person seemed to have a few screws loose. Not letting go even in such danger, risking being kicked or rammed by a donkey hoof, was a deadly risk.
The reins were looped around Li Cunxin’s wrist. She clutched the rope tightly with both hands. The taut rope left deep marks etched into her skin.
Twigs and grass blades slashed past like thin whips, delivering a fine, dense stinging pain.
“Mei Wenqin, don’t be afraid! Stop! It’s okay!”
She shouted, her eyes rimmed red. Whether from urgency or fright, her roar trembled, a film of moisture glossing her eyes.
That stubbornness was rooted deep in her heart.
She thought, this time, she absolutely would not let go.
She scraped over broken stones and branches. Fortunately, her clothes were thick, and she mercifully didn’t collide with any large rocks or tree trunks.
It was just the donkey, spooked and running wild, fleeing without regard for direction, covering quite a distance.
Something hit Li Cunxin’s head, stunning her for a split second. In that instant, her body went airborne.
Splash! Water flew everywhere.
When Li Cunxin came back to her senses, freezing, muddy water had already risen around her.
The donkey had dragged her into a water pit. The pit wasn’t deep, but the choking instinct upon inhaling water made her involuntarily let go of the rope.
The donkey ran out of the pit. Soaked to the bone, Li Cunxin crawled out. She was completely exhausted. Seeing the donkey running away, she yelled, “Mei Wenqin!!!”
That stubborn donkey had finally calmed down. Hearing its person call, it stopped and looked back at her.
Her tears spilled over. Past the blur, there was only a fading dark silhouette.
Perhaps seeing the donkey turn back, the tension inside her finally let go. She felt groggy and faint, her body drained. She took a few steps, stumbled, and fell flat onto the ground.
Once she fell, she couldn’t get back up.
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