Pig Killer

Chapter 142

"Pick them! Cut the hawthorns into slices and dry them in the sun. We can make hawthorn water to drink later." Shen Hui'e said to them with a smile on her face, "It will stimulate your appetite and help digestion."

"Okay!" The big bug responded crisply, "Mother, we also have sour dates. They don't have as much flesh as the big dates, but they're delicious."

"Pick it and eat it." Shen Hui'e said with a smile.

"The hawthorns are sour and sweet, but they are too small." The cat slave muttered softly.

"Just have something to eat, why are you so picky?" Shen Hui'e flicked her finger on her forehead and said.

"The persimmons are big. When they are ripe, we can pick them and eat them." The big insect said with a smile.

"Hmm!" Li Nu's beautiful big eyes curved into crescents and she said, "I like autumn. There are endless delicious foods to eat in autumn."

"Hehe..." Shen Hui'e chuckled when she heard this, thinking that the hawthorn could be made into hawthorn jam, and the persimmons could be made into persimmon cakes.

This way it can be stored for a few more days.

"Don't forget the walnuts and chestnuts!" Shen Hui'e reminded them.

"I won't forget it." Da Chong said cheerfully, "I will go with Zhao Ye and Brother Shen Fang."

"It's a pity that Brother Yuanji is not here, otherwise we could pick more." Li Nu looked at her regretfully and said.

"Your brother Yuanji is working as a ceiling installer with your uncle to make money! He's too busy to play with you little brats." Shen Hui'e said to them with amusement.

"Mother!" the raccoon said in a discontented voice, "We are not little brats."

"No, no." Shen Hui'e smiled and shook her head when she heard that.

In the autumn harvest season, the earth is dyed in colorful colors.

"Mother, the autumn harvest is coming soon." The big tiger looked at her with its round eyes and said.

"Yes! Thank God, the weather has been good this year and the harvest won't be too bad." Shen Hui'e looked up at the blue sky and said.

"Don't let it rain so that we can bring all the crops home." The big insect said, looking at the sky eagerly.

"Let's hope so!" Shen Hui'e said hopefully. The weather is not something we can control.

"What do you want to collect first?" Da Chong looked up at her and asked.

"Corn." Shen Hui'e said without thinking, "After we harvest the corn, we can make porridge! Newly harvested corn must taste good."

"Aren't you going to harvest the edamame?" The raccoon asked, looking at her with wet eyes, "I see the bean stalks are all dry."

"It doesn't matter if it's dried. We can use it for burning later." Shen Hui'e said to them with her eyes as gentle as jade.

After the crops are harvested, the stalks and vines are pulled back and burned as firewood.

"Mother, mother, do we need to rebuild our bed?" said the big tiger, looking at her with his bright eyes.

"I've already contacted them." Shen Hui'e looked at them with bright eyes and said, "I'll be here in a while."

"Mother, mother, won't it be cold in winter?" The cat slave looked at her with his eyes like black grapes and said.

"Be more diligent, so you won't be cold." Shen Hui'e said to them with her crystal clear eyes.

"Be more diligent?" Da Chong looked at her in confusion and asked.

"We have to add firewood from time to time! Otherwise, when it's all burned, the bed will be cold." Shen Hui'e looked at them with a smile, her eyes fell on Cheng Donglai and said, "You guys build one too, otherwise it will be hard to survive in winter."

Cheng Donglai looked at her with some embarrassment and shook his head slightly, "We are not afraid of the cold."

"Nonsense, how can a mortal body not be afraid of the cold!" Shen Hui'e looked at them gently and said, "If you are worried about the money, I will deduct a part of your wages every month until it is all deducted, okay?"

"Okay, okay." Cheng Donglai nodded hurriedly.

&*&

"Second sister, we are here." Bricklayer Lu Jia walked in.

"Come in quickly, have you eaten?" Shen Hui'e stood up and said to the two of them.

Da Chong and the others stood up and saluted, "Uncle Lu."

"Be good, be good!" Lu Jia looked at them kindly.

"Come in with me!" Shen Hui'e looked at them calmly and said, "I want to connect the bed to the earthen stove."

"Ah!" Lu Jia looked at her in astonishment and said, "This?"

"Come in and take a look, then you'll know if it works or not." Shen Hui'e said, looking at them with her bright dark eyes.

"Hey!" Lu Jia and the others followed her into the house.

"I've made room." Shen Hui'e stood in the middle of the room and said, "Let me put it this way! It's cold, so we definitely can't cook outside." She walked to the bed and said, "Build a stove next to the bed, so that you can cook and keep warm at the same time." She looked at them with bright eyes and said, "Do you understand?"

Lu Jia understood immediately after hearing what she said, "Second sister, I understand what you mean! It's just that when you light a fire in the house to cook, there are oil spots everywhere, and your bed is dirty."

"That's easy. Just build a half wall." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her bright eyes and said, "You can put things on this half wall."

Hearing this, Lu Jia stood in front of the bed and thought seriously for a moment before saying, "It's feasible!"

"Then I'll leave it to you." Shen Hui'e said to them with clear eyes.

"We need to add a half wall and a stove, and we need a lot of adobe bricks." Lu Jia looked at her with his dark eyes and said, "I'm going to get some adobe bricks now."

"No problem." Shen Hui'e responded readily.

"I'm afraid it will take some time to build this." Lu Jia said frankly.

"I understand. Even if it is done, it will take a few days to dry." Shen Hui'e nodded in understanding, "Let's go to the inner room and sleep."

"Then let's start dismantling the bed now." Lu Jia said as he rolled up his sleeves.

"You guys get busy!" Shen Hui'e looked at them with a smile and said, calling the children, "Let's go out."

&*&

Three days later, the kang and stove were built and smoothed.

"Put some hay on it, and the fire will burn more vigorously. Winter won't be unbearable." Lu Jia looked at her cheerfully and said, "A thick straw blanket will also work. The straw stems won't stick to your body." Then he added, "When the weather gets cold in a few days, try to light a fire early. If there is any problem, we will come and fix it."

"Here is the remaining money, please count it." Shen Hui'e handed him the copper coins strung together with a hemp rope.

"Hey!" Lu Jia took the string of money and counted it carefully, "Just right!" Pointing outside, he said, "Let's go."

"Big Chong, please send them off." Shen Hui'e said to her son with bright eyes.

"I'll take you there." Da Chong politely escorted the two of them out of the house.

"Mother, mother, can I sit down?" Li Nu said excitedly while standing in front of the fire bed.

"It seems not." Shen Hui'e looked at her with a smile on her face and said, "It's not dry yet!" She smiled and said, "You can try to touch it with your hands."

The raccoon slave touched it carefully with his hand, "It's so smooth."

"Your craftsmanship is excellent." Shen Hui'e said with a smile on her face.

"It's such a big bed, you can even lie down and roll around on it." The cat slave Hu Lingling looked at her with bright eyes.

"Aren't you afraid of falling to the ground? It will hurt a lot if you fall." Shen Hui'e looked at her with amusement and said.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." The raccoon said with a pair of smiling eyes curved into crescents, "Be careful!"

"Mother, this damp smell is not very pleasant." Da Chong said in a muffled voice, pinching his nose.

"It will be fine in two days." Shen Hui'e shook her head and chuckled, "There is no solution to this."

The big insect who had sent the person back looked at the bare bed and said, "Mother, we need to lay a thick straw blanket on it."

"Okay!" Shen Hui'e responded readily.

"There's plenty of grass, it's soft and comfortable to sleep on." The big insect looked at her with his black eyes and said.

"Why do you lay the grass?" The cat slave Shui Ling looked at her with puzzled eyes and asked.

"Because what else can you lay out besides grass?" Shen Hui'e smoothed her skirt behind her and sat on the bench.

The big bug and the raccoon slave tilted their heads and thought for a long time, then shook their heads and said, "No."

"Winter clothes are filled with grass!" said the big insect, looking at them with his black eyes.

"That's it." Shen Hui'e looked at them with eyes as gentle as jade and said, "Before the troops move, the food and grass must go first. Everyone knows that the grass is not only for the horses, but also for the soldiers to sleep on." Then she added, "It is moisture-proof and warm." Suddenly, she looked at them with interest and said, "Have you ever crawled through the haystack?"

"This...that..." The tiger avoided the question and did not dare to look at his mother out of guilt.

"Speak! I won't hit you." Shen Hui'e looked at him with amusement and said.

"I've been there." Cheng Donglai said with a smile as he stood at the door. "It's warm inside." He then added, "Don't go there in the summer. It can suffocate you to death."

"Look! Keep warm." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her sparkling eyes and said, "We are not rich people. We have endless animal skins, so we don't have to worry about winter." She reminded them, "This straw blanket needs to be exposed to the sun frequently."

"To keep away insects." Cheng Donglai said without thinking.

"Eh..." The raccoon slave had a look of disgust on his face and felt his hair stand on end.

"We have enough rabbit skins this year. Let's sew a mattress and put it on top." Shen Hui'e looked at them with her bright dark eyes and said.

"Rabbit fur is nice and soft." The cat slave nodded vigorously when he heard that.

Shen Hui'e was thinking that she would have to catch more rabbits in the future and prepare winter clothes for Donglai and the others.

Rabbit skin is easy to make, but the key is that she is not good at needlework, so who can she find to sew it?

Shen Hui'e's eyes moved around and she thought carefully. There seemed to be a leatherworker's shop in the city.

Looking for help? The women in the Huang family are busier than the men. The fourth sister is having a baby and has no time, and the sisters-in-law are also busy.

Don’t bother others with things that can be solved with money.

Let’s catch the rabbit first.

Shen Hui'e started catching rabbits. Rabbits in autumn are fat and strong, and are the most delicious.

"Mother, why did you catch so many rabbits?" The big insect looked at her with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "I remember catching a lot in the spring."

"We don't have to worry about winter clothes, but your brother Cheng doesn't have any yet!" Shen Hui'e said as she looked at him with her head slightly tilted.

"Oh!" Da Chong nodded in understanding, and suddenly remembered, "We can sell the rabbit meat, but I'm afraid uncle doesn't have time to deal with the rabbit skin."

"If you hire someone to handle it, you have to pay them some money. You can't let them work for free." Shen Hui'e said simply and easily.