Chapter 53: Know A Thing Or Two
Chen Guifang was unhappy in her heart. Her family’s Er Ya was lying on the kang, but her father-in-law and mother-in-law didn’t care at all. Yet when Tie Dan went missing, they dragged their injured bodies all over the village searching. If it weren’t for Tie Dan pushing Er Ya out to block the stone, how could her family’s Er Ya have suffered like this?
But no matter how unhappy she was, she didn’t dare say it out loud. She sullenly agreed, wanting to exhort her own man a couple of words, but Lin Jianshui had already happily followed back.
Chen Guifang suddenly felt even more depressed. After lazily calling “Tie Dan” a couple of times, the thought suddenly popped into her mind that it would be good if Tie Dan never came back.
If Tie Dan were gone, Er Ya would be the only child in the family, and she would surely get some attention, right?
When big sister-in-law gave birth to Tie Dan, she injured her body, and it was unknown if she could have children later. If Tie Dan were gone, if she gave birth to another son, wouldn’t that be…
Chen Guifang was startled by the sudden thought that jumped into her mind, her heart skipping a beat. Like a thief, she looked around and saw no one paying attention to her before secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
She shook her head vigorously. She couldn’t think like that. Tie Dan had grown up under her watch; how could she hope for Tie Dan to be gone?
But some thoughts, once born, take root in the heart like seeds. Once they find an opportunity, they sprout, gradually growing into towering trees.
Lin Jianshan closed their own front door, and the whole family gathered in the main hall.
Lin Jianshui had no patience and urged, “Dad, just say whatever you want to say quickly.”
Village Chief Lin’s arm really hurt. Without much energy, he looked toward Lin Jianshan. “Eldest, you say it.”
Lin Jianshan licked the dead skin on his lips and, under everyone’s gaze, solemnly spoke of burying the silver and framing others.
The three unaware people listened in surprise. Liu Shi frowned unhappily and said, “Eldest, so much silver—how could you hand it over to a child?”
Lin Jianshan glanced at Village Chief Lin. At first, he also disagreed with letting Tie Dan bury the silver and thought of letting second brother or Zhou Shi do it, but he couldn’t overrule his dad and had to let Tie Dan handle it.
Village Chief Lin thought Lin Jianshui had no brains and might accidentally blurt out the truth. As for Zhou Shi, in his eyes, women were just for cooking, bearing children, and doing work; they couldn’t accomplish big things. Handing it to Zhou Shi was not as good as handing it to Lin Jianshui.
Moreover, Village Chief Lin thought Tie Dan was small, and no matter how formidable Shang Wan was, she wouldn’t guard against a child, right?
“It was my idea.” Village Chief Lin glanced at Liu Shi, who had to swallow her scolding words and said worriedly, “Where did that child take so much silver?”
Lin Jianshan said, “The red cloth has been dug up. Tie Dan’s disappearance must be related to Lu Xiucai Scholar’s family!”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Liu Shi stood up, rolled up her sleeves. “Let’s go to their door and demand the child!”
Zhou Shi also stood up. She had to make that Shang woman hand over her son!
“Mom, big sister-in-law, don’t rush over to get beaten.” Lin Jianshui stood up to block the two, looking puzzled at Village Chief Lin. “Dad, why does our family have to go against Lu Xiucai Scholar’s family? Where exactly did that jade pendant come from?”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.” Village Chief Lin knocked on the table. “Tie Dan should be in that Shang woman’s hands. I have a way to force her to hand him over.”
……
After lunch, Shang Wan broke off a branch and squatted on the ground drawing a sketch of the wooden shed.
The wooden shed was mainly for sleeping and didn’t need to be built too complex, as long as the space was sufficient.
She modified it here and there, drawing and making notes, marking the general materials and quantities clearly.
Yuan Yuan saw it and imitated her, lying at the edge of the straw mat, small hand holding a stone, scribbling randomly on the muddy ground, looking even more serious than Shang Wan.
Lu Chengjing held the medicine bowl, drinking while observing the big and small one seriously drawing. Seeing the similar expressions on their faces, he inexplicably felt the medicine in the bowl less bitter.
Following Shang Wan’s instructions, Shi Tou went to Uncle Zhang’s to borrow a saw and a plane, worried the tools wouldn’t be enough, and also huffed and puffed to sharpen their family’s only two axes.
“Done!” Shang Wan tossed away the branch and patted the mud off her skirt hem.
Xiao Huan brought water over, craning her neck to look, only seeing a messy scribble on the ground that she couldn’t understand at all.
“Sister, is this the shed we’re going to live in?”
Shang Wan drank half a bowl of water and asked back, “Isn’t it obvious?”
Xiao Huan looked at the complex drawing on the ground, then at Shang Wan, hesitated for a bit, and said euphemistically, “Sister, how about we still go ask Uncle Zhang for advice.”
She really didn’t want to be buried alive by a collapsing shed in the middle of the night.
“That’s people’s means of livelihood. Going to their door isn’t troubling them?” Shang Wan waved her hand. “It’s just a simple wooden shed; I can put it up in minutes.”
Shi Tou brought over the axe, saw, and plane together.
Shang Wan began assigning tasks. “I’ll handle sawing the wood. Shi Tou, you use the plane to smooth out the uneven places. Xiao Huan, take care of Yuan Yuan and your brother-in-law.”
Shi Tou and Xiao Huan had no objections. Lu Chengjing did; he wanted to see Shang Wan’s sketch.
Shang Wan carried him over and placed him on the straw mat, pointing to the drawing on the ground for a simple explanation. Xiao Huan and Shi Tou perked up their ears to listen in.
Yuan Yuan tossed away the stone in her hand, crawled over to join in, her little head nodding bit by bit along with Shang Wan’s explanation, as if she understood.
The more Lu Chengjing listened, the more he felt Shang Wan’s designed wooden shed was similar to a prison cell in structure, and all single rooms too.
Seeing his odd expression, Shang Wan said straightforwardly, “If you have opinions, speak up.”
Lu Chengjing probed, “You… designed it like a prison cell?”
“Referenced a tiny bit.” Shang Wan said truthfully, “Temporary, simple enough to live in is fine.”
Lu Chengjing pointed to the connecting parts in the drawing. “How do you plan to connect them?”
In the earlier explanation, Shang Wan hadn’t mentioned this part; the drawing only had simple lines, which made him concerned.
“Of course with nails…” Shang Wan’s words paused as she suddenly realized she had no nails now, no screws, no various connecting tools she was used to.
Lu Chengjing took it as Shang Wan planning to make bamboo nails himself and said gently, “Bamboo nails are generally used for furniture. Small items in the shed can be fixed with bamboo nails, but the places where the shed roof meets the round posts won’t hold; it’s prone to collapse.”
Shang Wan: What the heck is a bamboo nail?
She looked at Lu Chengjing, eyes slightly surprised. “You understand construction too?”
Lu Chengjing puzzled it out; construction probably meant building houses. He nodded. “Seen it in books, know a little.”
Shang Wan knew people in this world, especially scholars, were mostly modest. Lu Chengjing’s “know a little” probably translated to knowing quite a bit.
She wasn’t in a hurry to start work anymore and called Shi Tou and Xiao Huan to sit on the straw mat together, humbly asking Lu Chengjing for advice. “Did the book teach how to fix them?”
“Yes.” Lu Chengjing recalled while slowly explaining the content from the book.
He had been in poor health since childhood and didn’t go out much. His only pleasure during the days confined to bed was reading books.
The books he read were miscellaneous. Besides the required classics, histories, and anthologies from the county school, there were many miscellaneous books. He didn’t stick to any category, reading whatever was available. Over time, he had some knowledge of all sorts of things.
The three big and one small were focused on Master Lu’s little classroom when someone came to spoil the mood.
The Lin family came to demand the child.
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