Among the twenty-plus laborers who came up the mountain to help, Shu Wanxiu spotted Xun Yi at first glance.

He carried two tightly bound bundles of straw up the mountain, yet his shoulders remained unbent, walking effortlessly at the front of the group as if strolling on level ground.

Shu Wanxiu went forward to greet everyone one by one. Although she had several private interactions with Xun Yi before, her demeanor and tone showed no particular difference when greeting him.

Shu Wanxiu knew nothing about house repairs. After work began, some climbed ladders to remove the roof, while others dug soil and mixed mud to repair the stove.

After looking around, she found no immediate task where she could contribute.

When the old thatch was finally all thrown down from the roof, she tried to help by carrying bundles of fresh dry straw up, but was soon advised to step aside as she couldn’t keep up with the pace.

Pang Zhishan stood nearby overseeing the operation. Seeing her eager to do something, he said, “Why don’t you fetch water for everyone?”

The repairs were originally planned to take one day, but with so many helpers, the work was completed just by noon.

A few hours earlier, the entire roof had been grayish and moldy-smelling.

After the replacement, the roof now showed a fresh, pale yellow color. After sweeping out the fallen dust and moldy straw fragments from inside, both rooms carried the distinctive fragrance of fresh straw.

Shu Shouyi kept running back and forth between the two rooms on his thin little legs, giggling incessantly. Anxious that Shu Wanxiu might not notice the change in the roof, he pointed upward and exclaimed loudly, “Auntie, we have a new house now!”

Over twenty pairs of eyes turned toward them at the sudden outburst. Though blushing, after responding to Shu Shouyi, Shu Wanxiu took the opportunity while everyone was still looking to sincerely thank them all.

Being a group of men, most simply nodded silently or responded with an awkward smile when thanked.

Pang Zhishan knew how to lighten the atmosphere. He stepped forward cheerfully and said, “Now that you have a new house, you should treat everyone to rice cakes. Let’s consider it a debt for this year don’t forget to make it up after your harvest next year!”

Shu Wanxiu guessed this must be some local custom in Fang Yuan County. Though unfamiliar with it now, she could always ask about it later! So she agreed without hesitation.

Those who had finished their tasks packed their tools and began leaving one after another.

Shu Wanxiu saw each of them off. When the stove repair master left, he specifically reminded her, “The newly repaired earthen stove can’t be used immediately. It needs to air-dry for at least five or six days before you can set a pot on it and start cooking.”

This Shu Wanxiu could guarantee: “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t use it.”

Not just for five or six days she didn’t even know when it would ever be used.

Originally, Shu Wanxiu hadn’t planned to repair the stove, but Village Head Pang thought it best to get everything done at once and made the decision for them.

Xun Yi had been at the front when arriving, but for some reason got delayed while packing up when leaving, ending up at the rear and descending the mountain together with Village Head Pang.

After seeing them off, the entire mountainside was free of outsiders. Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi stood side by side outside the house, freely admiring their newly transformed home.

Behind them, the vegetable patches they had cultivated by hand were already sprouting numerous young shoots.

Everything was thriving with vitality.

Shu Wanxiu too felt radiant and joyful.

“Shouyi, do you still like eating those sour grapes?” she asked with a curved, smiling gaze.

There used to be a grapevine behind our house that bore abundant fruit every year.

Shu Shouyi was a greedy little cat who would pester to eat the grapes while they were still hard, unripe green berries. When the adults finally indulged him and fed him a sour grape, he would immediately scrunch up his whole face, spitting out acidic drool while shaking his head and exclaiming, “I’ll never eat them again!”

This summer, before the grapevine withered from drought, Shu Shouyi had already thrown several such tantrums.

He clearly remembered that piercing sourness that went straight to his heart. Just thinking about it made his face crumple up, and his mouth watered so profusely it threatened to overflow.

Yet after forcefully swallowing the saliva, he nodded vaguely and sheepishly expressed his desire.

“…I want to eat them.”

Shu Wanxiu said very gently, “Then Auntie will go dig up a vine from the mountains for you. We’ll plant it under the wooden shed by the kitchen, letting it climb up the wooden post. In a few years, we’ll have a whole trellis of grapes. Then in summer, we can sit under the trellis enjoying morning and evening meals while gazing at the abundant grapes, and then…”

Suddenly her eyes turned mischievous.

After a deliberately mysterious pause, she leaned closer and raised her voice: “Lots of caterpillars will fall into your bowl! Your morning and evening meals will turn into caterpillar-and-greens porridge!”

Shu Shouyi’s mouth quivered, tears nearly falling.

Having teased him on a whim, Shu Wanxiu quickly realized she’d gone too far. She immediately scooped him up into her arms to comfort him, explaining her real plan.

“There won’t be any caterpillars… Auntie will not only plant grapes for you but also peach trees, jujube trees, and chestnut trees. Every year from now on, we’ll plant sweet melons when spring comes, just in time to eat them at the start of summer.”

In her arms, Shu Shouyi’s eyes shone brightly, whether from the unshed tears or anticipation of future life.

…

The day after the roof was repaired, the weather suddenly turned cool.

The autumn wind’s first gusts brought Shu Wanxiu a great sense of urgency.

On one hand, stockpiling firewood needed to continue; on the other, she needed to find materials to stuff into their clothes for winter warmth.

Cotton was beyond Shu Wanxiu’s wildest dreams, so she could only consider reed catkins.

She knew reed catkins provided poor insulation, but if she gathered enough and combined them with the leftover half-bundle of rice straw from repairing the roof, they might barely survive the winter.

However, since arriving at Five Tablet Village, she hadn’t explored the area. Now it was too late to search for reed marshes herself, so she directly asked Aunt Chen.

Aunt Chen said that following the stream downhill from their house for half an hour would lead to a wide shallow water area. For dozens of miles around, only that shallow shore had a large reed marsh.

Without another word, Shu Wanxiu immediately went searching for it.

Along the way, she grew anxious, worried others might have harvested all the reeds, but she breathed a sigh of relief upon arrival.

It was truly an enormous reed marsh, stretching beyond sight.

This time she had entrusted Shu Shouyi to Aunt Chen’s care. After all, these reeds grew by water’s edge where mud near the shore was deep. Even adults needed caution a child with short legs might panic if stuck in mud, leading to accidents.

She had brought a backpack basket when leaving home, but Aunt Chen proactively lent her a grain sack, saying it was lighter and could hold more.

The sky was overcast, making even the winds blowing from the water feel particularly chilly.

Shu Wanxiu rubbed her arms and walked along the shore for a while before selecting a spot with abundant reed catkins and relatively dry, less watery ground. She took off her straw sandals, gathered some wild grass from around her, tied the sandals together at both ends, and hung them around her neck.

Finally, she rolled up her pant legs and sleeves, carefully watching her steps as she entered the reed marshes.

The reed stalks were slender and delicate, with four or five fringed leaves growing on a single stalk.

Shu Wanxiu had rolled up her sleeves to protect her clothing, but she had no intention of letting her arms get slashed and bleeding profusely either.

With each lift of her hand, she exercised extreme caution, gently hooking the branches and avoiding contact with neighboring leaves as much as possible.

There was no need to take excess straw stalks she only broke off the tiny spike stems at the very tips of the stalks.

After what felt like a long time, the weight in her hemp sack hadn’t increased much, but the quantity had piled up to about half full.

She shook the bag to settle the contents, then went ashore to find another lush spot for gathering.

After switching locations twice like this, the entire hemp sack was completely full.

Only then did Shu Wanxiu sling the now somewhat heavy bag over her shoulder and take a leisurely moment to admire the surrounding scenery.

In the distance, layers of mountains rose one after another, while nearby, the water shimmered with ripples.

When she first arrived, she hadn’t noticed it, but now, upon closer inspection, she realized this body of water was exceptionally wide. If she hadn’t heard from Aunt Chen that this was merely a shallow marsh, she would have mistaken it for a lake.

But… even if it was just a shallow marsh, being this expansive, there ought to be fish in it, right?

And these reed marshes they were practically perfect hiding spots for pheasants and wild ducks.

Thinking this, Shu Wanxiu found her feet somewhat reluctant to move.