The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 153: Peach Blossom Spring / Inside and Outside the Valley

Xu Wenbo’s shout sent Wei Qinghe and Wang Yunzheng racing off.

Ever since they saw Sang Luo’s blueprints, they borrowed her charcoal pencils to take a closer look. At home, they fashioned their own charcoal pencils from leftover cooking fuel. The uncle-nephew duo tried for days to draft their own designs before Sang Luo made one for them, but their results fell short.

After days of futile attempts, they were eagerly awaiting the completion of the Shen family’s project. If it weren’t for the lack of tools and Sang Luo’s daily big meals for the hardworking Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan, Wei Qinghe would have eagerly joined in to help despite his lack of woodworking skills.

Xu Wenbo informed his family, while Xu Wenyin went next door to the Chen family to call her grandmother. Soon, Mrs. Chen and a few others joined them, all heading to the Shen family.

As more people gathered, it became too crowded to fit everyone inside the cave. The neighboring three families also noticed the commotion and came over to watch the excitement.

Inside the cave, apart from Shen Lie, Chen Youtian, and Chen Dashan, there was only Sang Luo, the hostess and original designer.

The men’s handiwork was impressive. They moved the bed and table out of the cave, piled up the wooden materials outside, and then started working. They leveled and re-leveled the ground, roughly smoothed the walls, and then began the real work.

Sang Luo was amazed by the traditional craftsmanship.

Without a single nail or drop of glue, the structure was sturdier than modern ones with nails and glue.

She watched Shen Lie, Chen Youtian, and Chen Dashan move each piece of wood, aligning and fitting them together. Bit by bit, the platform took shape.

This smallest cave in the lower valley, roughly thirty square meters, was quite regular in shape. The entrance was less than four meters wide, with the widest part inside about five meters, and a depth of over six meters, with excellent natural light.

Inside the cave, the stove and wooden counters served as a kitchen. Further in, four meters of shelving took up about one meter of space, leaving room for movement, creating an open storage area.

In essence, the entire cave, except for the storage area on the left, had four meters in width and six meters in depth for living space and a combined living-dining area, all open to Sang Luo’s design.

Sang Luo’s design for the platform extended four meters across the right side of the cave, with a depth of about 2.6 meters, elevated fifteen centimeters above the ground.

Watching Shen Lie and Chen Youtian lay the wooden planks, Sang Luo’s eyes gleamed with excitement. Even Wei Qinghe and Wang Yunzheng, who grew up in the Wang family mansion, were fascinated by the progress.

The wooden planks, previously seen, were planed to a very smooth finish. It was so clean!

After part of the platform was set up, they started assembling the second-level bed frame.

Although called the second-level bed frame, it was actually two cabinets set up on the platform. Near the storage area on the left was a tall cabinet, about 2.1 meters high and 70-80 centimeters wide. On the right side, against the cave wall, were supporting pillars, and on the inner side were tightly fitted plank walls.

Once this part was complete, Shen Lie and the others began assembling the right-side space against the wall. The assembled components formed seven small cabinets of varying heights. The top drawers could be pulled out from the front, while the side facing the platform and bed had small cabinets with doors, placed or embedded along the right wall and platform pillars.

These small cabinets, as anyone who had seen the blueprints would know, formed a staircase leading to the upper bed!

The children were the most excited!

Having grown up in the countryside and never having been to the county town, they didn’t even have the concept of a two-story house. They had only seen doorsteps in the village, never stairs, and certainly never a bed requiring a few steps to climb up. It was beautiful and fascinating!

Erniu and Sanniu, already excited, grabbed Shen An and exclaimed, “Your sister-in-law is amazing, and so is your brother! This bed is so beautiful!”

Chen Xiaoya pulled on Shen Ning, “An Ning, are you going to sleep on the top or bottom?”

Shen Ning, unable to take her eyes off her brother assembling the stairs, replied, “I don’t know. I’ll listen to my sister-in-law, and both the top and bottom are beautiful.”

Xu Wenyin nodded, “Exactly! Xiaoya, your family’s turn is coming soon. Once An Ning’s house is done, it will be your turn.”

Chen Xiaoya beamed, showing her tiny teeth, “I want to sleep on the top so I can climb the stairs.”

After the seven small cabinets were arranged, Shen Lie gave them a shake. Being embedded in the platform, they fit tightly and were very stable. He then installed the two thick support pillars for the upper bed on the left side of the stairs, climbed a few steps, and started assembling the bed frame, beams, and bed board.

Chen Dashan passed him the wooden materials from below, while Sang Luo couldn’t resist coming over to watch. It must have been the first time they made such a two-level bed, so to ensure safety, Shen Lie and the others used very solid materials.

Once the bed board was laid, the railings, sideboards, and top board were installed, revealing the entire structure, including the space under the first bed level.

On the platform, the left side had the tall cabinet, the right side had the combination cabinet steps, and the middle was about 2.3 meters wide. Even the top had a curved design, showcasing traditional Chinese aesthetics perfectly.

With the installation complete, all the wooden materials and components piled up in the cave were used up, clearing the outer area. Those who came to watch could now enter the cave, seeing the two-level bed cabinet in its entirety, and were all amazed.

A platform, tall cabinets, stairs, and a two-level bed.

The furniture’s innovative design aside, just looking into the cave from the entrance, the left wall was lined with shelves and grain bags. The natural wood color and the beige of the burlap sacks, along with the cave’s front wall, the platform, and the top and right side walls, were all made of raw wood.

The entire cave was bright inside. Who would understand this?

No one did. It no longer looked like a cave.

Living in a cave could actually look like this? It completely changed everyone’s perception.

It was truly beautiful!

People hesitated to step inside with their muddy shoes, even though Shen Lie and Sang Luo walked on it. No one dared to step on such clean and beautiful flooring.

Shi Erlang’s wife commented, “You’d have to take off your shoes to walk on this, right?”

But the envy was real. Just one bed completed and the cave already looked completely different.

Sang Luo’s eyes also sparkled with joy. The outcome exceeded her expectations.

She didn’t know how much thought Shen Lie, Chen Youtian, and Chen Dashan put into it, but it was truly refined. Although it lacked paint and some modern high-tech craftsmanship, it was far superior to modern custom-built interiors.

In her previous life, Sang Luo hadn’t yet bought a house. She had only done simple renovations on an old house in the mountains, but she had researched plenty online. Big data had fed her many suggestions, so she knew a fair bit about renovation.

She touched the wooden material of the bedpost.

This is solid wood, planed smooth and shiny, far superior to the particle board and fiberboard used by various renovation companies nowadays.

Moreover, unlike the refined look achieved through various modern lacquering techniques, Shen Lie and his team created a rustic beauty of their own. In terms of appearance, it truly stands out.

Shen Lie came down from the second level, clearly delighted. He looked at Sang Luo with bright, expectant eyes and asked, “Is this what you wanted?”

Hearing his question, Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan, who had been busy for several days, instinctively looked over.

Especially Chen Youtian. When he was younger, he had followed his master for a few years to learn the craft, but skills were not easily passed on. The master took on apprentices mainly as free labor, often keeping the real techniques to himself. After three or four years, he had only learned limited skills. Later, he got married and couldn’t afford to spend more time on it, so he went back to farming. Eventually, they fled from natural disasters and settled in Shili Village.

The little he learned began to come in handy as he started making furniture for his family, relying on himself to figure things out. He could make rough, usable furniture, but creating something this intricate and innovative was a first in his life.

So, when Shen Lie asked, Chen Youtian immediately looked at Sang Luo.

The design of this furniture came from her drawings.

It was just like the feeling of handing in the first piece of homework to a master for feedback when he was an apprentice.

Sang Luo beamed and nodded enthusiastically, “This is exactly what I wanted, even better than I imagined. You all are incredibly talented!”

Chen Youtian’s smile deepened, with wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, showing his complete satisfaction.

Shen Lie’s face was also full of joy, his grin almost permanent. “As long as you like it,” he said.

He turned to Chen Youtian and Chen Dashan, “Let’s bring in the old bed and set it up as well.”

The wooden bed they previously made for Sang Luo and Shen Ning would fit perfectly on the platform. Sang Luo suggested cutting the four bedposts shorter, lowering the bed frame to make the lower space feel less cramped.

Shen Lie agreed, noting that the bed frame in Sang Luo’s drawings was indeed lower than the one they currently had.

While the men went out to cut the bedposts, Sang Luo invited the onlookers to take a closer look if they wanted, promising to clean it again after.

This made everyone laugh. Mrs. Chen took charge of maintaining order, “Two or three at a time, don’t all crowd on it. And if your shoes are muddy, just look from here.”

Shi Erniu took off his shoes, “Mrs. Chen, I’ll go up in my socks. I want to walk on those steps.”

Everyone laughed again.

The first layer of the bed was also set up amidst the commotion. The platform held a 1.8-meter-wide bed on the first level and a 1.5-meter-wide bed with a guardrail on the second level.

Shen An and Shen Ning were so happy they didn’t want to come down.

The siblings took over the job of cleaning the beds, cabinets, and platform, not letting Sang Luo lift a finger. Xu Wenyin, Xu Wenbo, Chen Xiaoya, and Shi Qiaoer were also eager to help and couldn’t be dragged away. They fetched clean cloths from home to help wipe down the furniture, walls, ceiling, and floor, treating the place with great care and fascination.

While the children were fascinated, the adults were impressed by the functionality. With the children cleaning inside, the adults stood back and admired the setup.

The bed and cabinets offered plenty of storage. The large cabinet on the left could hold a lot, making it unnecessary to pile up unused bedding and clothes haphazardly. The steps on the right had seven cabinets and six drawers of varying heights, providing ample storage space.

Everyone envied the setup. All the mountain caves were cluttered like refugee shelters, and having so many cabinets was a luxury everyone desired.

Shen Lie and the others brought back the tables and chairs that had been moved out. Seeing the children who were reluctant to leave the platform and bed, and Mrs. Chen and others who kept touching the cabinets and steps, they couldn’t help but smile.

He glanced at the cave floor and said to Sang Luo, “Tomorrow, I’ll go out and get some shale. Once everything is cleaned, we’ll lay a layer over the areas of the cave floor without the platform. This should make it much cleaner and brighter. After cooking dinner tonight, I’ll build the stove. As for the door, let’s finish making beds for the other families first, then we can make it?”

For now, they were still using the simple door they made initially. Although the yellow clay had been brought back a while ago, they hadn’t had the time to build the stove and were still using the makeshift one Sang Luo had originally set up.

Sang Luo had no objections. “The door and stove aren’t urgent. We can still use what we have. Don’t overwork yourself. Take a few days to rest before doing more.”

Shen Lie wasn’t one to take it easy. To meet deadlines, he often worked late into the night, with barely more than three and a half hours of sleep each night. Sang Luo seldom saw him taking a break.

She didn’t realize how much her gentle words affected Shen Lie, making his heart tremble with a soft warmth.

Unaware of the impact of her words, Sang Luo recalled another task. She tugged Shen Lie’s sleeve and led him to the right stone wall beside the platform. “Our original lampstand is blocked by the wall panel. I took out the oil lamp and the fire striker. Do you think this spot is good for a new lampstand? It’s close to the platform, making it convenient to light and extinguish the lamp.”

Shen Lie’s gaze lingered on her hand holding his sleeve, his fingers curling slightly from the tension. When she released him, he felt both relieved and disappointed.

He could hear Sang Luo’s words but was also distracted by the sound of his own pounding heart, almost drowning out her voice.

Suppressing the strange flutter in his chest, he nodded. “This spot is good. I’ll carve it out.”

Feeling his throat tighten, he turned quickly, using the excuse of fetching tools to hide his nervousness.

While he carved the lampstand into the wall, Mrs. Chen and the others saw Sang Luo beginning to tidy up the cave. They didn’t stay long, agreeing to have Shen Lie help at Mrs. Chen’s house the next day, and then the group of women left.

Despite taking their time, the platform was finally spotless, gleaming with cleanliness.

The children reluctantly left the platform, put on their shoes, and stayed to watch Sang Luo arrange the cave.

The bedding and pillows for the two beds were ready, and Sang Luo just had to spread them out. She then brought out some fabric she had previously bought and hung a curtain around the second-tier bed.

The wolf skin rug that Shen Lie had used for sleeping on the floor was now unnecessary. Sang Luo selected one and placed it on the built-in seating area, making it soft and cozy to sit on.

With the seating now comfortable, Sang Luo didn’t skimp. Before they fled to the mountains, she had bought a lot of fabric. She now took a piece, cut it simply, and made two cushions.

For filling, she used finely dried, soft hay, which she further softened by rubbing.

As soon as the first cushion was done, the children took turns sitting on it, bouncing their bottoms and leaning back, looking utterly content. Sang Luo couldn’t help but laugh as she made the second cushion.

Xu Wenyin touched the wolf skin and the cushion, looking enviously at Sang Luo. “Sister Luo, how did you come up with such a beautiful and comfortable seat? Can you draw one like this for our home too?”

It was as if Sang Luo’s drawings had the power to bring their desires to life.

Sang Luo smiled and agreed, while Chen Xiaoya sat on another chair, leaning her chin on her hands and playfully saying, “Sister Luo, you’re going to draw for my family too. We also have wolf skins… blah blah blah…”

Meanwhile, Shen Lie, who was occasionally chiseling the stone wall, glanced over at Sang Luo from time to time but quickly looked away before she noticed.

…

In the evening, they treated Chen Youtian and his son to a hearty meal, inviting Chen’s elderly father as well to thank the Chen family for their help over the past few days.

Yes, meat, vegetables, soup, and rice—having all these in their secluded valley was considered very abundant.

At night, as they prepared for sleep, Shen Lie and Shen An finally didn’t have to sleep on the floor anymore. After consulting with Sang Luo, Shen Lie and Shen An slept on the lower bunk, while Sang Luo and Shen Ning slept on the upper tier.

Shen An looked eagerly, feeling envious. Though he couldn’t climb the steps, the lower bunk was enough to make him burst with happiness.

Sang Luo and Shen Ning now had their own little world, made cozy by drawing the curtains.

As Shen Lie lay in bed, looking at the ceiling above, he felt a sweetness and warmth in his heart knowing that this was a home he and Sang Luo had created together.

Fleeing from hardship, they had escaped a life the three siblings could never have imagined before.

The four members of the Shen family had pleasant dreams that night.

…

The next day, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan went on a long trip, bringing back two baskets of shale. Shen Lie went to work as a carpenter at Chen’s house, while Sang Luo, accompanied by Shen An, Shen Ning, Xu Wenbo, and Wang Yunzheng’s children, laid down the shale themselves. The Shen family’s cave now looked like a model house in the valley, visited several times by families from all around.

Everyone in the valley harbored aspirations and hopes. The designs for the Chen and Xu families’ furniture had been finalized; Sang Luo was now discussing with the Xu family, ensuring each design catered to their needs. The styles were unique to each family, dazzling in their own ways.

The Shi, Lu, and Zhou families no longer needed Sang Luo’s drawings; they could refer to the designs from the three families. Shale was obtainable, albeit with some risk, thanks to Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s efforts on their long journey. However, for platforms, walls, and ceilings, except for the well-provisioned Xu family and the skilled Chen and Shen families, the Zhou, Shi, and Lu families dared not dream.

Country folk valued camaraderie. They assisted each other without pay, but a good meal was a must. With their large families and spacious caves, it was impractical for the Zhou, Shi, and Lu families to follow the same standards. Hence, they opted for simpler plans, focusing only on beds and cabinets. One set of cabinets inevitably included a stairway cabinet, satisfying the children’s desires.

As for platforms, walls, and ceilings, they could do without.

…

The work continued at the Chen family’s. The rice they had sown earlier was now ready for transplanting.

Of course, the Chen and Shen families didn’t have to do this work alone. Those who weren’t skilled in carpentry and had free time in the valley volunteered to help in the fields, including Wei Qinghe and the intellectuals.

In the blink of an eye, mid-April arrived. Shen Lie and the others were still helping the Zhou family, and Zhou Village was the last family on their list.

By now, there were plenty of vegetables growing in the valley, and families no longer needed to venture out to forage. The frequency of leaving the valley had dropped to a minimum. Apart from the adventurous Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, and occasionally Lu Erlang who liked to go out hunting, other families rarely went out. They had adapted to life within the valley.

During this period, Shen Lie took advantage of nights when he didn’t have to work on furniture for other families to build his own stove and chimney. Consulting with Sang Luo, he constructed two sets of shelves at the stove, capable of holding numerous jars and containers. He also built a narrow and long kitchen around the stove.

The shelves had sliding boards behind them, which could be opened when not cooking to allow air circulation, preventing the storage area from becoming too stuffy. When cooking, the boards could be closed, enclosing the kitchen on three sides. With a top cover, separating it from the cave entrance, when the cave door was shut during cooking, smoke was effectively kept out.

Though they mainly used clay pots for steaming, boiling, stewing, and frying, keeping smoke out of the cave was ideal.

By this time, besides the space occupied by the kitchen, there was still a width of about two and a half meters at the cave entrance. To maintain as much light and transparency as possible, besides the separation between the kitchen and the cave, the door remained the same simple style. During the day, the door panel was removed, not taking up space, and completely unaffected by light and ventilation.

Their home was well organized and managed, without the need to go outside. Sang Luo’s days gradually became more leisurely.

When Shen Lie and Chen Dashan went out hunting, Shen An and a group of children read under the big tree in the valley. Seeing these children, Sang Luo couldn’t help but think of Shen Lie’s keen desire for them to learn to read.

Shen Lie was busy, but he never let this matter slide. Most of the time, even if he was busy until late, he would have Shen An and Shen Ning recite passages from the Thousand Word Classic. He silently remembered along with them. Since Shen An often took the book outside, during the day when Shen Lie was busy, and sometimes at night when Shen An was asleep, he would take out the bamboo slips and go through each Word.

As for the brush Sang Luo made and the stone pieces Shen Lie polished during his spare time, Shen An and Shen Ning had always used them. Sometimes, Sang Luo would practice calligraphy herself to pass the time. Shen Lie, who actually made these items, had yet to have a chance to use them.

Since Shen Lie returned, it seemed there was always endless work to be done, mostly for this household, or rather, to ensure they lived better and more comfortably. Watching the group of children under the trees in the distance, Sang Luo’s face revealed a pensive expression.

Once Shen Lie finished with the Zhou family, would he finally have some free time?

With ink and brush at hand, could she make a book for Shen Lie too?

Thinking of this, she stopped everything else, borrowed a saw from Chen Youtian while Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were still out, and using a knife from home, she began crafting bamboo tubes outside their cave. Drawing on her memories of working with Chen Youtian to make bamboo slips before, she prepared to make a set of reading materials for Shen Lie.

Within the Yun Valley, everything was idyllic, as if they had entered the mythical Peach Blossom Spring.

Outside the Yun Valley, it had been two and a half months since the last forced requisition of grains.

For these two and a half months, enduring meager rations, the inherently good people remained virtuous. However, those with a fundamentally flawed character had been pushed to the brink of collapse. Hidden beneath the facade of peaceful times, the dark side of human nature stirred restlessly, gathering momentum unbeknownst to themselves.

At this moment, only a catalyst was lacking, and they would burst forth from their constraints.