Chapter 32: Chapter 0032: Offering a Helping Hand 4_1 Chapter 32: Chapter 0032: Offering a Helping Hand 4_1 Feng Qingxue insisted on giving them the rice bowl, “Uncle, you and Brother Dazhu should not be so polite. We need a full stomach for energy, right? Besides, I beg for food often these days. If I visit a few more houses and come across charitable people, I can always secure enough for Qingyun and me.”
Hearing the phrase ‘begging for food’ made Fen Erhu feel very uncomfortable.
But there was no choice. Firstly, they were in no position to help Feng Qingxue and Qingyun. Secondly, they too had gone out begging due to the increase in destitute people.
Having eaten, Fen Erhu and his son worked even harder.
“Qingxue, the wood you bring is excellent. The worst is old elm, and the best turns out to be golden pear-tree. These would previously only have been used by wealthy families,” remarked Fen Erhu, who was an experienced woodworker.
Feng Qingxue smiled, “I asked for them all from the waste station, and others who didn’t need them.”
Fen Erhu simply nodded without asking anything further.
Lunch is still sweet potato porridge and cornbread, but it warmed the hearts of the father and son.
Following Feng Qingxue’s instructions, they installed the doors and windows they made. They made them sturdy, followed by constructing a bathtub, a wardrobe, a cabinet, and four small stools with the remaining wood.
Most items were furniture parts, which made Fen Erhu’s work much easier since he didn’t have to chop, shave, or polish wood.
However, the lack of matching parts resulted in the furniture pieces looking a bit comical when combined.
Feng Qingxue didn’t mind at all. If everything was perfect, it would attract attention, which wouldn’t be a good thing.
Fen Erhu and his son Dazhu rearranged the composite bed prepared by Qingxue, adding a bed leg made of hard wingceltis wood.
None of the remaining materials were wasted either, as Fen Erhu and his son made a washbasin and a footbath, tightened with bamboo strips.
Despite their hard work, it took the father and son two full days to complete all the furniture. When they returned home at night with the three kilos of sweet potato flour given by Feng Qingxue, no one else but Fen Erhu’s wife knew about her paying them in food for their labour and feeding them.
They behaved this way to avoid causing trouble for Feng Qingxue.
Now that the doors, windows, tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets were installed, the house finally looked complete.
Feng Qingxue was satisfied. The first thing she did was fill up the somewhat uneven large copper kettle that had seen better days at the waste station with water. After cleaning the bathtub, she enjoyed a good bath.
She had been on the go every day, and the evening rub-down before bed didn’t make much of a difference – she felt as though she were going sour.
She also bathed Qingyun after her bath and put on fresh underwear.
While she was bathing, Qingyun was on guard outside; otherwise, Qingyun might have discovered her underwear. But used underwear couldn’t be washed, so she could only temporarily put it in the laundry basket in the space.
As Qingyun was sleeping soundly, Feng Qingxue sorted through the supplies in the space and pulled out a lot of old-fashioned thermal underwear material from a heap of various fabrics. There were light yellow background small broken flowers, light pink background small broken flowers, light blue background small broken flowers, and pure blue background. She sewed two sets of thermal underwear for herself and Qingyun overnight, one light blue, the other light yellow.
When Qingyun woke up and saw the new clothes, she was so excited that she danced in the bed.
“Sister, you’re wonderful,” Qingyun snuggled in her arms, her eyes closed with satisfaction, “After moving out with you, I’ve been living much better than before. I have food to eat, clothes to wear, a house to live in, and a bed to sleep in.”
With her fingers outstretched, Qingyun’s genuine happiness amused Feng Qingxue immensely.
Holding this smart and witty little girl, Feng Qingxue earnestly said, “Sister will let you live an even better life.”
“Hmm.” Qingyun believed she would keep her word. After all, wasn’t she already living the dream life she had yearned for?