When the helpers finished laying out the tiles and said their goodbyes, Lin Lan shared a piece of meat and a half-foot-long cornmeal cake filled with a myriad of different vegetables each. Everyone was quite happy with the food as they happily sauntered their way to their respective homes.
Han Qingyun refused to accept it, “Sister-in-law, the pig’s head is not that big, I think it would be better to leave this for the children.”
“We bought it for today— if we ever want to eat it, we will just buy more in the future,” Lin Lan insisted and forced him to take the meat, ushering him to rush back home for dinner.
The two masters (Carpenter Wang and the mason) refused to come over to have dinner with them as they were content to continue working on the new house. Lin Lan sent them the food and drinks, asking Han Qingsong to accompany them for their dinner. She also had Sanwang ask his grandfather to accompany the guests for a drink, but Old Man Han refused the invitation.
After dinner, the mason was in charge of building the walls and the carpenter was building the furniture. On the other hand, Han Qingsong helped the masters to lay the groundwork, learning to build walls and plaster them at the same time.
Because there were bricks and tiles prepared, plus an abundance of quicklime, yellow sand and cement, the masons were able to finish their task easily. Compared with making plywood walls with yellow clay, this was many times easier.
This was their definition of working, also the true action of building an actual house.
After all, if homeowners just decided to ‘wing it'(1), would it be considered ‘building a house’?
(T/N: Doing something without much preparation and just deciding to try and see how it goes)
The two masters left only when the dark fully cloaked the village.
Lin Lan prepared the meal and made her way to the new house, where Han Qingsong and the kids were, in order to get them to eat.
Xiaowang had led Wangwang towards the hopscotch as they played in the main room, and when he saw her, he immediately ran over and took her hand. He called out softly, “Mom.”
Lin Lan took his little hand and touched his head, ushering him to the west side.
The other children were all in the west area making plans. There was no furniture and kang in the newly built house, so there were buzzing echoes whenever one of them spoke.
Erwang, “There’s three rooms— one main room, an east room that our parents would sleep in and some of us in the west room.”
Everyone grew up as it was common practice for parents to occupy the east room and the children would usually take the west.
Maisui was not happy, “What about me?”
Sanwang smiled and said, “Sister, didn’t we all share a kang together before? Of course you are sleeping with us.”
“I’m a girl, how can I sleep with you stinky boys?!”
“Then…you’re going to sleep with our parents?” Erwang teased her.
Maisui stomped her foot, “Or I can have our father set up another space for a kang in the middle. I will sleep on the head of the kang and you will sleep over there.”
Maisui gestured towards the place where there was no platform for the kang and stomped hard, “Here.”
Sanwang, “Sister, are you going to occupy such a large space yourself?”
Maisui, “How is it big? Maybe our parents will have our little brothers and little sisters in the future as well.”
Sanwang, “Then, what about Xiaowang, who has to sleep with us when he grows up? Or would he be sleeping with you?”
Xiaowang clenched Lin Lan’s hand, “I want to be with mom.”