Return to the small mountain village in 1981

571-580

Chapter 571 Chapter 572: Completion Chapter 571 Chapter 572: Completion

After lunch, Zhou Huaian told Zhou Huairong and others about digging the wine cellar. The three brothers told him to mind his own business and they would help with carrying soil.

Zhou Huaishan even teased him and asked him to use the salary he earned from hiring the guests to buy good wine and food to entertain them, and Zhou Huaian readily agreed.

The next morning, Master Xue and his two grandfathers arrived. The family had hired a master chef, and Zhou's mother also came to help with cooking and housework.

Busy days always pass quickly, and Yang Chunyan didn’t even have time to prepare rice dumplings before the Dragon Boat Festival arrived.

Zhou's mother and sister-in-law Zhao Huifang made salty ham dumplings and sweet candied date dumplings, and stewed two old ducks. They called all the brothers together and celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival at Zhou Huaishan's home.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the eighth day of the first lunar month was the day when Yang raised the beams for the country. The family hired people to dig a wine cellar. Yang Chunyan and Zhou Huaian presented gifts, had a wedding banquet at her parents' home, and then hurried back to Funiu.

After getting familiar with them, I learned that Lao Xue and his old husband came from northern Shaanxi. He said that there was a water source in the mountain behind Zhou's house, so we couldn't dig too deep, but could dig wider. Digging two rooms would allow us to hide a lot of things.

Zhou Huaian and his brothers naturally did whatever their master said. After drinking the wine for the beam-raising ceremony, they went back and worked for another two days. Finally, two cellars of about 40 square meters in size were completed.

After the wages were settled, the three Xue family members moved the tools to Zhou Huaishan's house. The three of them had to go back to help plant the seedlings at home before coming back to work.

Zhou Huaian took Yang Chunyan to the backyard alley, opened the oval wooden door, and entered an alley about two meters deep and one meter wide.

It was dark and chilly inside. After turning on the flashlight, she saw that the two cellar rooms were about one meter wide. Yang Chunyan felt that it was somewhat similar to the cave dwellings she had seen on TV in her previous life.

The floor of the cellar was paved with yellow bricks, and charcoal and lime were laid underneath the yellow bricks to prevent moisture. The kiln walls were planed and then smeared with clay, and the kiln roof was supported by willow rafters.

"Is it cool?" Zhou Huaian looked at her with a smile, "How about we move in in half a month?"

Yang Chunyan shook her head, "No, it's not that hot on the mountain!"

"Alas!" Zhou Huaian sighed and said, "After the inside was dug out, my third brother said that if he had known it would be dug like this, he would have dug two more rooms after the house was repaired, and my third sister-in-law wouldn't have to hide in Ning'an."

Yang Chunyan remembered Zhou Huaishan's words last time that Li Qiuyue's legs were swollen and she looked less energetic than when she was at home. Every time she went there, she would ask if Xiaolin and Xiaoru were okay. When he was about to leave, his eyes were filled with tears and she felt pitiful just by looking at him.

"She hid there alone, worried about others finding her. She couldn't go out and interact with people for several months. She also had to worry about her children at home. It was very torturous."

Zhou Huaian hugged her, "Yan'er, after hearing what Third Brother said last time, I was thinking that since we already have Little Nine, it's better not to have a Second."