Chapter 29: Chapter 29
Chapter 29
"Ew, this medicine is really bitter."
"But it’s less bitter than some of the boiled concoctions the doctor makes."
"I still really don’t like it," the children complained before they went back to sleep.
Today, they had gathered their bedding together to stay warmer. Yueqian let them sleep on her spring mattress, which easily accommodated all four without any issue, since the children were small.
Her blankets, better than those bought from the town, blocked the wind and retained heat effectively. When combined with the children’s blankets, they were exceptionally warm. The children slept so comfortably that they didn’t want to wake up in the morning.
Mu Heng woke up first, but he couldn’t go out to fetch water today due to the high snow making it impossible to leave the house. Moreover, they wouldn’t be able to use the kitchen today since it wasn’t well-sealed, allowing snow to get inside.
Fortunately, before the winter, they had bought coarse flour sheets and had another jar of water in the house. They would have to wait for the sun to come out before attempting to fetch any water outside.
Yueqian looked at the stream not more than 100 steps away and pondered for a moment before consulting her husband.
"Husband, should we try to make a long-distance water fetching device today? If it snows like this again, it will be difficult to get water." Upon hearing his beloved wife’s suggestion, Mu Heng paused to listen.
He knew she was knowledgeable, so he didn’t think to dismiss her idea.
"A long-distance water fetching device?"
"Yes. I want to make a pulley system. My idea is to plant some tall wooden poles in the ground, extending along the path to the middle of the stream. To fetch water, we could use a rope that runs along these poles, and after collecting the water, we could reel it back using a pulley. What do you think?"
Yueqian proposed her idea, aware that each time they could only fetch a little water because the wood might not withstand the weight of a full bucket. But it would be better for them to put effort into pulling the pulley than having to dip into the snow to collect water.
Besides..., the water at the edges of the stream would soon freeze, leaving only the deeper middle parts liquid. Waiting too long could lead to accidents. Last year wasn’t without incidents where people trying to fetch water had stepped on thin ice along the edges and fallen in.
Some even died from fatally chilled...
She didn’t want such a tragedy to befall her husband. Yueqian felt they had just started having good times together and did not want to become a widow so young.
"If we are to do this, we need to find very thick rope, and we don’t even have a pulley," Mu Heng thought it over and agreed, but it might be too late now as they lacked the equipment.
"Um, how about we try using my dowry then?"
"Dowry?" Yueqian, looking for a solution, once again resorted to her dowry.
It’s strange indeed that such materials could be obtained from her dowry.
While it makes sense for valuable items like money, jewelry, land, or others, the first time Yueqian brought out a plethora of food from her dowry, he was surprised. However, he could still understand that her family might have been worried she’d suffer here, so they included an abundance of food.
But rope, pulleys? Were they the same?
Even Yueqian, who said it, felt like laughing.
"Actually, when I was in the capital, I liked to invent things. Maybe my mother was worried I’d have nothing to do here, so she included them just in case," Yueqian gave a somewhat ridiculous explanation.
Mu Heng just raised an eyebrow incredulously but didn’t expose her secrets.
Even though he was her husband, it wasn’t unusual for her to have some secrets, just as he didn’t share everything with her.
"Then let’s give it a try," he said, though deep down he was sure she would definitely have the necessary items.
Yueqian knew he was starting to suspect something odd. His pretending as if nothing was amiss made her feel shy, but also appreciated it. If he had pressured for the truth, it could only have led to discord.
Yueqian went into the house and brought out the necessary items. She even brought small wheels that would make it easy for the rope to slide along from pole to pole.
Mu Heng watched the suspiciously good-quality equipment and pondered for a moment before planning on his own.
As the snow started to lessen and some of the ice began to melt, the young man went outside. He dragged the wood he had previously cut for making a chicken coop and used it now.
He dug three half-meter holes starting from the house, attached the small wheels to both sides of the poles, and tied the rope to the pulleys. After testing the setup by pulling it back and forth and seeing no snags, he went back inside with the other end of the rope.
"Let Xiao Long try doing it," Mu Heng told the young child.
The boy took the rope and started winding it. When it reached the stream, it sank with the bucket and the rope. Then he pulled it back, and this time it was a bit heavier. Thanks to the pulley, the rope didn’t spin the wrong way since it was set from the start, so when he grew tired or ran out of strength, he could still stop.
However, this task of pulling the rope wasn’t beyond their capability.
Little Xiao Long pulled the rope easily. Even when Huan’er tried, she also found it not too heavy. So, when this task was completed, the children were overjoyed. In the future, when there was no snow, this water-fetching pulley system would still be usable, making this a great joy for them.
"Sister-in-law, did you acquire this knowledge from reading books?" Xiao Long asked hopefully.
He too wanted to be as knowledgeable as his sister-in-law. If sister-in-law had learned these things from books, he would devote himself to reading more, so in the future, he could solve problems for others effortlessly. He very much wished to be like sister-in-law at this moment.
Even for something as challenging as fetching water, she gave few words of advice, and they got an easy solution. In the future, even if lazy, they could still fetch water from inside the house, making the idea of lying down while fetching water no longer a funny joke.
While they were eating and talking—it was just past noon—a frantic call interrupted the happy family.
"Brother Heng. Brother Heng, are you there? Hurry, there’s been an accident." A woman’s scream rang out, and Mu Heng quickly stood up, exchanging worried glances with Yueqian. Soon, all four members of the Mu Heng family were heading outside.
At the front of the house, a familiar thin woman stood in the snow. Yueqian raised her eyebrows slightly when she recognized who was braving the snow to reach their home.
"Fu Yu?" Yueqian exclaimed softly, her expression significantly worsening. This signaled a sign of impending trouble.
Yueqian thought of Aunt Liao, who had been unwell the other day, wondering what might have happened to her today. She had only recently made amends with Aunt Liao, so naturally, she was concerned.
However, Mu Heng’s reaction was different. Having received help from Aunt Liao several times, if it was her matter, he would undoubtedly lend a hand as best as he could.
"What has happened to Aunt Liao?" Mu Heng asked anxiously, knowing her health wasn’t the best, especially in such cold weather.
"It’s not her, Brother Heng. Aunt Liao is fine, but it’s Uncle Liang. He fell into the river. He’s now down with a fever at home, and someone has gone to town to fetch a doctor. But even then, the doctor might not be able to come see him, or it might be too late," Fu Yu explained the cause of the commotion in one breath.
Mu Heng frowned slightly. They had just finished building the water-fetching device to prevent such incidents. Just last year, someone had died due to such an incident, and now it had happened to someone close like Uncle Liang.
"Let’s go, let’s go see Uncle Liang," the young man said urgently. He quickly put on his shoes and an extra coat.
Yueqian watched the two getting ready to leave and called out to them.
"Husband, may I come with you?"
"Sure, but it’s very cold. I’m worried you might fall ill," Mu Heng said, not stopping her but expressing his concern, which made Yueqian smile faintly.
"I’ll wear several layers. But does Uncle Liang’s house have enough thick blankets? Or should we take ours too, in case it helps him warm up faster?" She knew from her own experience that the blankets from this era did not provide as much warmth as the ones she had obtained from the department store.
They seemed to just have cloth sewn in many layers. The cloths were just simple cotton cloth, not in fine texture, so if they needed to get the warmth so quickly, the blanket they had might not suffice.
It seemed Mu Heng was also aware of the special quality of the blankets Yueqian had brought for their use. Realizing this, he nodded for his wife to bring one of their own blankets, as they had two at home. This way, after lending one to Uncle Liang’s family, they could still sleep closer to each other under the thick blanket upon their return.
The beautiful woman hastily gathered the items, including a strangely shaped fabric bag of hers. Mu Heng took great care of his wife, and even though they were in a hurry, he always slowed down a bit to wait for Yueqian.
This caused Fu Yu to look on with jealousy.
