Chapter 104: Hardship
Editor: Atlas Studios
Fei Bai brought over two thick blankets and smiled apologetically at Mu Yangling. “As soon as our master came back, he asked me to send them to you. He said that even if he has to endure the cold, he can’t let you and Young Master Bowen suffer the cold. Where should I lay the blanket for you?”
“Your master is capable of saying such a thing?” Mu Yangling glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. “Has his mouth been smeared with honey or is he crazy?”
Fei Bai chuckled and did not dare to reply.
With an tsunderely snort, Mu Yangling took the blanket from his arms and touched it. Seeing that it was indeed very thick, she was satisfied. “Did you make that up yourself, or did Fan Zijin teach you to say it?”
“Oh my god, how would I dare to lie to you?”
Mu Yangling nodded. “So Fan Zijin was the one who taught you. Hmph, go back and tell them that on account of their sincerity, I won’t hold it against them for breaking my brick bed. I’ll accept this blanket as their compensation.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll definitely relay the message.”
“Hurry along, then.”
Fei Bai wiped his cold sweat and went out. As soon as he went out, he rode his horse and galloped away.
Recalling this lady dared to beat up the Fourth Young Master on the ground, with that monstrous strength of hers, she could easily make him suffer with a slap. It was better not to offend her.
Mu Yangling hugged the blanket and happily went to look for her great-aunt.
This thatched house was a real thatched house made of yellow mud. The roof was low and covered with thatch. As Mu Shi was tall, his head almost touched the roof the moment he entered the dim house.
In the cold night, it was unknown if the house was leaky. They did not bring many blankets from home. Previously, they had thought that they could at least keep cozy on the heated brick bed for tonight. Tomorrow, Mu Yangling would bring her two cousins into the mountains to gather firewood. Even if there were not enough blankets and firewood, they could still survive the winter by keeping warm on the heated brick bed.
Alas, that was before she accidentally slapped off the rocks on the edge of the brick bed, and Qi Haoran collapsed the brick bed with a kick. They did not dare to light a fire at night for fear of accidentally starting a fire in the house?
There were a total of five thatched huts. Mu Shi, his wife, and the twins had stayed in one, Mu Yangling and Little Bowen stayed in the second, and Madam Ma-Liu and her granddaughters stayed in the third. There were also one on the left and right. One was used as a kitchen, and the other was used to store miscellaneous items.
Such conditions were considered superior among the military households. Now that many civilian houses had been burned down, Qi Haoran had arranged for several families to stay in one hut. Some could even only live in the shed area of the camp with their families. They would only have a house to live in after Qi Haoran arranged for his men to build huts for everyone tomorrow.
Hence, Qi Haoran really took good care of the Mu family.
However, Shu Wanniang was very worried. In two years, her son would grow up. He couldn’t still sleep with his daughter then. There was also Xiuhong and Xiulan. They were girls and had to have their own rooms. However, with the Mu family’s current situation, it was hard to say if they could have enough to eat in the future. Hence, Shu Wanniang sat in the house with worry.
Mu Yangling didn’t think too much about it. She had hands and feet, was strong, and didn’t lack wisdom. There was no reason for her not to survive. She knew that she just had to get through the current situation first.
Mu Yangling carried a blanket for her great-aunt and the others and placed it together with the previous one. She said, “Great-aunt, Qi Haoran and the others sent this over. Put the old ones underneath and cover yourself with the new blankets. Don’t heat up the brick bed tonight. Since Qi Haoran can collapse the brick bed in my room with a kick, who knows if yours is sturdy or not?”
The great-aunt had long heard the commotion over there, but with Qi Haoran and the others around, she didn’t dare to go over. Now that she heard that Mu Yangling’s brick bed had collapsed, she hurriedly asked, “If your brick bed has collapsed, where will you sleep at night?”
“We’ll go over to sleep with my mother. Don’t worry, Great-aunt. The brick bed in my father’s hut is huge.”
“What if it collapses with so many of you lying on it?”
“…” Mu Yangling had never thought of this question. She said in surprise, “Then what should we do?”
“Come and sleep with us. We’re light.”
Xiuhong happily went forward and grabbed Mu Yangling’s hand. “That’s right, Cousin. Sleep with us.”
Mu Yangling hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She carried another blanket to Shu Wanniang’s place and looked at the twins who were still sleeping soundly. Sighing, she said, “I didn’t expect that out of the four children in the family, except for me, who got to enjoy life when I was born, the rest would end up suffering.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? What are you worried about when your father and I aren’t even worrying?” Shu Wanniang picked up the hay from her hair and said, “Your father is still here. You and your brother just have to be happy.”
In Shu Wanniang’s heart, her husband was omnipotent.
Mu Yangling was not so optimistic. “Mother, Father doesn’t know how to farm. Besides, Father has to go to the camp to train now that he’s a soldier.”
Shu Wanniang’s face stiffened. “Isn’t he only going to the battlefield during wartime?”
“Mother, dream on. If they don’t train while things are peaceful now, will soldiers still be soldiers in wartime? They’d certainly have to train. Moreover, Father and the others are still new recruits, so they have to train even harder.” Besides, they were under the command of Qi Haoran, who was passionate about training soldiers. She had no doubt he would train them super hard.
Mu Shi only returned from the campsite when it was dark. By then, Great-aunt had already prepared the food. Seeing that he had returned, she hurriedly called Xiuhong to serve the food.
“How did it go?” Shu Wanniang went up to him and asked, “Why are you back so late?”
“Since everyone is new, they have to be trained from the ground up. I wanted to figure out their situation, hence I’m back only now.” Mu Shi was a section commander leading 100 men. If he wanted to figure out the situation of each family before tomorrow, he naturally had to ask them one by one.
The entire family sat down and ate together. After dinner, Shu Wanniang asked, “What are we going to plant on our land?”
Mu Shi said nonchalantly, “We’ll plant whatever others plant. The seeds will only arrive in two months. We’ll talk about it when the time comes. Let’s think about how to survive this winter first. The food at home can last us until spring, but what should we do after spring? The camp will manage my meals, but I don’t know what you guys will be eating when the time comes.”
Mu Yangling said, “Then I’ll go into the mountains to take a look after gathering some firewood tomorrow.”
“No.” Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang shouted at the same time. Mu Shi looked at his daughter sharply. “Look at this weather. Are you courting death by entering the mountain? I’ll think of another way. If you dare to enter the mountain, I’ll beat you up.” Even Mu Shi would definitely not enter the mountain in a snowy day unless he had no choice. Not to mention the wild beasts that could not find food in the mountain, if one lost their way in the cold, they might just end up staying in the mountain forever.
Mu Yangling shrunk her neck and responded.
Seeing that they still didn’t get to the point after talking for a long time, Madam Ma-Liu couldn’t help but interrupt. “Aren’t you going to discuss the spring planting any further?”
What was there to discuss? Didn’t they say that they would plant whatever the others planted?
The entire family looked at Madam Ma-Liu in confusion.
Madam Ma-Liu sighed. At this moment, she somewhat understood what Mu Shi had said back then. If she hadn’t come, they probably wouldn’t be able to farm.
Madam Ma-Liu said, “There’s a total of 180 acres of land at home. Do you think you can plant all of them? Although the Imperial Court is giving plowing oxen, we won’t necessarily receive one. Even if we do, won’t it be exhausting for the oxen to plow so many fields? You have to choose the fertile lands to farm.”
“Before farming, you have to plow the soil and remove the weeds. Be it planting wheat or rice, you have to serve the land well before that. Also, you need to start thinking about the fertilizer that you’ll need when spring arrives. These preparations have to be done before then.”