Zimo stayed inside the shed the first day for two reasons. The first was that he didn't feel comfortable with so many people around. The second was because he needed to wait for the clay before starting to build and the foundation.
On the second day a large amount of stones and clay had been moved. In the morning LongWei planned to go hunting to gather meat for the men, but before he left he fetch water from the river to make mud for Zimo.
Zimo took out his new trustee iron shovel and started work. He had already dug the basic shape of the foundation and the tunnels for the ondol or heating system. Now he needed to make it deeper, and use mud and stones to strengthen at build the walls.
When the workers saw Zimo they were confused. They had never seen anyone build a maze under a house before.
"Hey, boss Zhang!" Yan DanDan yelled as he approached Zimo.
Zimo didn't notice him right away so he was surprised when he called out. Seeing Zimo's nervously step back, Yan Bo smacked his brother across the back of his head.
"Sorry, boss Zhang. We didn't mean to scare y'a. Just wondering what y'a doing." Yan Bo said bowing his head in apology.
"Ah, no. It's okay. I'm making the foundation for the house." Zimo said. He remembered the two brothers often talked with LongWei so he wasn't too nervous.
"We get that, we just don't understand why it's some kinda maze." Yan DanDan said.
"You're not wrong about it being a maze. This area here is the kitchen. The fire in the kitchen will be here and the heat will pass through these tunnels heating up the rest of the house." Zimo explained as he pointed to the foundation he had dug out.
"Seriously?! Will something like that really work?" Both brother said excitedly. They had never heard of anything like it before.
"It should, but I've never made it before. So, I can't for certain." Zimo admitted feeling shy. The two brothers were very expressive and honest.
"Oh! But what kinda floor are ya gonna use. If ya use wood, won't it burn up?" Yan Bo asked.
"We are going to put stone first, and on top of the stone we can put the wood." Zimo explained.
The longer he talked to the Yan brothers the more comfortable he felt. They talked for awhile before LongWei showed up to take Zimo away for lunch.
Zimo, left with LongWei and they chatted about the Yan brothers.
"Dear, the two brothers are really funny. It's a little hard to understand them speak sometimes because of their accent, but they are really nice. They asked me a lot of questions and looked excited to learn."
Hearing Zimo talk so much about other men, LongWei felt a little sour. Taking advantage of the afternoon nap. LongWei kissed Zimo's lips red. Zimo was kissed until he couldn't think of anything, when suddenly LongWei pulled open his robe and started kissing and sucking his pale thin chest.
"Dear, wait... stop. It feel...it feels strange." Zimo said between gasps.
"Weird or good? Hehe." LongWei chuckled as he continued to mark Zimo's chest with seductive plum blossoms.
...
In the afternoon, LongWei wanted zimo to take a break from digging the foundation and do lighter work. So they switched. LongWei dug the foundation with the new shovel. Impressed by his little birdie's innovative mind. While Zimo ent around the yard, feeding the chickens and tending to the garden.
The days past without event. The logging group had almost completely finished. And the clay team had gathered a lot of clay. Zimo didn't want them working on the house directly, so he asked them to trim the branches of the trees that had been cut.
At night on the last day LongWei lay awake. He had heard some wolves off in the distance. Usually wolves lived further up the mountain. Hearing them so close, he couldn't help but worry.
"I'll need to take a look tomorrow and for the next few days after for any tracks. If they have decided to make this place their territory I will need to hire other hunters to track and kill them all." He thought.
Wolves have a large territory and hunt in packs. They are also very vengeful creatures. If they make this their territory they will become a threat to himself and especially Zimo. Killing one won't be enough. Because of their vengeful nature the whole pack will need to be killed or the remaining wolves will hunt them down.
LongWei looked down at Zimo who was asleep. That night he was the only one sleeping well. The workers also heard the wolves off in the distance and were glad to be leaving the mountain soon.
YOU ARE READING
Living on a Mountain with my Husband
RomanceZhang Zimo was an orphan. His life was hard, but he later grew up to be a successful author. Then, one day he died. After waking up, he found himself in ancient Chinese society, living as an abused man about to be married off to a comatose husband...
