SIAS Chapter 18.1

After Yi Qingqing filled the water tank, Zhao Yougen came.

He didn’t talk much and just worked hard. He piled a lot of yellow mud on the stove and helped her smooth out the holes in the wall.

He was very nimble with his hands and feet. He picked up the roof tiles for her before starting work in the afternoon.

“Uncle Yougen, here are the sorghum noodles and some pastries for you. Thank you for your hard work.” Yi Qingqing took out the things that she had prepared earlier.

Zhao Yougen only accepted the sorghum noodles, “As promised, I will only have two catties of sorghum noodles. I can’t bear this pastry.”

“Don’t say that. You even helped me plaster the wall, and the work was done quickly and well. I felt sorry for taking your time so long at noon and not being able to let you have lunch, so I thought of using the pastry to compensate for it.” Yi Qingqing said hurriedly.

It was true that people who helped with work in this village usually had a meal included. Zhao Yougen refused at first but finally accepted it.

Hearing what this young educated youth said was very convincing as if he had helped a lot, which made him embarrassed. Before leaving, he even said that next time if there was a leak, she could go directly to him and he would fix it for her.

Yi Qingqing sent Zhao Yougen away and cleaned up the ashes that fell when fixing up tiles.

Then, she spread the straw mat over the entire kang.

The kang was like this room, not wide, but quite long.

She had previously asked a carpenter to insert a thin wooden stick at a high point in the middle of the kang and fix it in the grooves dug out on the left and right walls.

Then, she took out the piece of light green cotton she got from the sign-in reward, cut it out, made a curtain, and hung it on a wooden stick.

This curtain could be moved to the left and right, and it divided the entire room into two parts, the inside and the outside, along with the kang.

From now on, it will be her bedroom. Once the curtain was drawn, the inside would become dark, which was perfect for sleeping.

The straw felt nailed to the wall on the kang was not as smooth as the straw mat, and it was a little irritating to the hands. Yi Qingqing also wrapped it with cotton cloth, and it was still a little soft when she leaned on it.

The big wooden box was moved to the inside and placed across the kang next to the curtain, making a partition between the kang.

Behind the box was where she slept.

Her little red floral quilt had been laid out. It was flat and very comfortable.

Half of the kang outside the curtain was only covered with straw mats, and a small kang table was placed with tea cups and other things.

The table and chairs she bought were also placed here. The stove was next to the window, and the water tank was placed close to the stove. There was a broom behind the door, and a rope was hung to hang towels.

She put a layer of cellophane on the windows to block the wind and did not put curtains there to ensure the lighting in the room during the day.

This cellophane was also prepared for her by Zhao Xianglan, which made Yi Qingqing feel grateful to her mother again. Only she could be so considerate.

After a while, when the things sent by her family arrived, she would also send something back to her family to make them feel at ease.

After all this busy work, the house had a completely new look.

The light green curtains were drawn to the left and right, complementing the straw mat wrapped in the same color fabric on the wall next to the kang. Coupled with the light shining in through the cellophane, the room had a fresh and natural feeling.

Yi Qingqing clapped her hands, “Finally, it’s done. It looks good.”

She sat on the kang outside and ate the dry food, which tasted delicious.

Her mother brought her two days of dry food and some snacks, which was enough to last until tomorrow.

Last night, the room was dusty and there was no way to take a shower. She was afraid of getting the bedding dirty, so she didn’t unfold all the bedding. She just made do with it all night.

She ran in and out so many times today. Although she was not tired physically at all after taking Dali Pills, she was exhausted mentally.

 

 

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