The next day, the sky was clear and the air was crisp.
After breakfast, Yang Ge changed into rough, coarse cloth clothes, donned a bamboo hat, and climbed onto the roof. With a small knife in hand, he meticulously scraped off bird droppings and moss from each tile.
The Xie Family’s young maid, sweeping the neighboring courtyard, looked up and saw him. Excited, she waved vigorously and shouted, "Young sir, when did you come back?"
Yang Ge waved back, "I just arrived last night."
The young maid fibbed, "Is it too early? We were just about to have breakfast."
Yang Ge replied, "Thanks, but I’ve already eaten."
The young maid said, "I saw smoke coming from your chimney just now. I thought Big Brother Liu had come over to tidy up your house again."
Yang Ge laughed, "Haha, you go on with your work. I’m cleaning up the courtyard today, and tomorrow at noon, invite your sister to come over for a meal."
The young maid readily agreed, "Sure, shall I come over early tomorrow to help you out?"
Yang Ge smiled and answered, "That would be great."
He bent his head down and continued to focus on cleaning the roof, meticulously removing all the dead leaves and weeds from between the tiles.
Once done, he jumped back into the courtyard, picked up a bamboo broom, and swept away the dead leaves, weeds, and moss he had cleared from the roof, then switched to a palm broom to sweep the entire yard inside and out twice. Still not satisfied, he put down the broom, walked into the kitchen, and lifted out a man-high water tank. Using a gourd ladle, he scooped up the water Fang Ke had fetched the night before and carefully washed the entire courtyard until the original color of the stone slabs was revealed. Only then did he feel satisfied, put down the ladle, and went back into the kitchen to get a shoulder pole and buckets.
But as he carried the buckets to the front door, he paused...
He thought for a moment, set down the pole, and briskly walked to the backyard. Huang, seeing this, wagged its tail and followed him.
The moment he entered the backyard, Erhei, who had dealt with issues all night there, came wagging its head and nuzzled him.
"You two, stay back..."
Yang Ge pushed away Erhei and Huang, released a light blue True Qi slowly seeping into the neglected vegetable garden’s soil. He walked around while quietly sensing the surroundings.
After pacing around the garden, he stopped at the northwest corner and increased the output of True Qi...
Moments later, he made a chopping motion with his hand against the earth below.
Bright golden Qi flashed, leaving behind a seam several inches long in the mud.
Yang Ge stared at this seam, spread his fingers, and released a stream of True Qi from his palm into the crack. A few moments later, he sharply pulled upward, drawing a clear stream of water along the crevice...
He dipped his finger into the spring water and tasted it... oh, it was a bit sweet!
A farmer, a mountain spring, a bit of a field!
Job done!
He gleefully slapped his thigh, "Martial arts truly are a fun thing!"
He went to the tool shed to get a shovel with a sense of ceremony. He spat on his hands, twisted his waist, and began to shovel left and right, shoveling flying...
By the time the spring water in the crevice barely covered his insteps, he had already dug a water well one meter squared and over one person deep on the spot.
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He sprang up from the well, humming "Today is a good day," and went to the corner to carry over the bluestone bars left from earlier demolition. With a karate chop, he split them into smoothly polished bricks.
He laid these bricks snugly at the bottom of the well, leaving only the spring opening, then built up layers around the walls of the well. He enclosed the wellhead with four whole pieces of bluestone, only waiting for later to bind them with sticky rice juice.
"Job done!"
He clapped his hands, very pleased with his craftsmanship, proudly feeling that if he could return to his own time, he alone could serve as an entire engineering team and make a fortune in just a few years!
"Hmm, and not afraid of encountering a heartless boss who refuses to pay after the work is done!"
Yang Ge daydreamed for a while, then cheerfully patted Huang’s head and motioned with his hand, "Come on, extra dish for lunch!"
In the distance, Erhei, who had been napping in the wasteland, saw him about to leave and quickly got up, biting at his sleeve.
Yang Ge dodged its sharp teeth and backhandedly hugged its head while vigorously rubbing it, "Stay put, I’ll come to build your stable this afternoon..."
...
A small two-entry courtyard.
Yet Yang Ge always found chores to do.
Supplying water today, rebuilding the toilet tomorrow, handling drainage the day after, and clearing land to plant vegetables on the fourth day...
The small courtyard seemed like a world of its own.
Yang Ge stayed at home, enjoying himself.
Meanwhile, the Shopkeeper, who hadn’t seen Yang Ge at the inn first and hadn’t seen him second either, couldn’t sit still anymore. He took his cane and came to Chaimen Street; upon entering, he was dazzled by the drastically changed courtyard.
The Shopkeeper pointed with his cane towards the water faucet next to the kitchen, "Have you been busy with these things while at home these days?"
Yang Ge cheerfully invited the old man to sit under the grapevine, "Yes."
The Shopkeeper seemed to want to say something, but didn’t know what to say. After a while, he finally relaxed, "Well, that’s good. We were worried you were avoiding us."
Yang Ge went inside to get some tea and responded with a smile, "How could I? But I really have been avoiding your daughter."
The old man slapped his thigh, "We knew you were avoiding that girl... So, are you planning to wait until you’re thirty-something like Fuyu before settling down?"
Yang Ge sat down with the old man, "That’s a conversation for later. Honestly, with your insight, haven’t you noticed something off about your daughter?"
The old man calmly nodded, "I have noticed, yes."