Natural Disaster: Back to the End of the World

Part 13

When Yao Ziqing woke up, he felt completely refreshed. As the saying goes, "There's no place like home."

Not seeing his second brother in the room, Yao Ziqing put on his shoes and walked towards the main hall.

Lei Li and Lei Xiao had just returned from outside. Seeing that Yao Ziqing was awake, with sleep marks still on his face, they smiled and ruffled his messy hair.

"Had a good sleep? You stuffed yourself this afternoon, didn't you? You're not a kid anymore, you should know when you're full," Lei Li teased.

Yao Ziqing pulled Lei Li's hand away from his head. "Big Brother's cooking is too good. Where did you guys go? Where's Lei Zheng? Did he go back?"

"We went to check out the vacant land. Your second brother thinks it's suitable, but we need to discuss the details. As for that guy, he left right after you fell asleep, but he'll be back for dinner tonight."

"You guys went to check it out without me? Why didn't you wait for me?" Yao Ziqing pouted.

Lei Xiao was sitting at the doorway, tearing cabbage leaves into pieces. Lei Li rolled up his sleeves and began preparing dinner.

"The land's not going anywhere. After you told me about it last time, I already informed the village chief and set off some firecrackers. That piece of land is ours now. You can go see it tomorrow. Go have some fun; your third brother should be home soon. He doesn't know you're back yet."

As his big brother went into the kitchen, Yao Ziqing sat down on the stone steps by the door. He reached out to help his second brother tear the cabbage, but Lei Xiao smacked his hand away.

Yao Ziqing liked the leaves but not the stalks, so whenever he tore cabbage, the leaves and stalks would end up completely separated. If he did that, they'd have to throw away so much just to make a single dish.

He rubbed the spot where he was smacked and thought about saying that he wasn't picky anymore—even if it was all stalks, he'd eat it.

Watching his second brother seriously tearing cabbage, Yao Ziqing found it oddly mismatched with his usually tough demeanor.

Lei Xiao, noticing the prolonged stare, couldn't resist giving him a look. Yao Ziqing grinned and scooted closer.

"What do you think about building on that land, Second Brother? I want to have a kang (a heated brick bed) in the bedroom. If we stick to the main hall style, we should install underfloor heating there too. And I was thinking, let's add a cellar, something hidden. I didn't think of this before, so Big Brother already found a master in town. But I think we shouldn't hire someone from the town. We should find someone from farther away so that once the work is done, no one knows we built a cellar."

Lei Xiao glanced at him, then stood up with the torn cabbage and went to the backyard to wash it.

Yao Ziqing hurried after him. "Second Brother, say something! Is my idea doable or not?"

To reach the backyard, they had to pass through the kitchen. Seeing Yao Ziqing following Lei Xiao like a little tail, Lei Li couldn't help but think how, despite their age, these two were still inseparable when together.

Lei Lang came home, smelling the food, and habitually called out for Grandma and Big Brother. Getting no response, he put down his bag and was about to check the kitchen when Yao Ziqing poked his head out of the room.

"Third Brother, you're back!"

Lei Lang was surprised, then delighted. "Si'er! When did you get back?! Why didn't you tell me before? I thought you weren't coming home for the holidays when you didn't come back earlier. Why only come back now when school's starting soon?"