Starting from Mounta Chapter 205: Sudden News

??Chapter 205: Sudden News

After warming up inside for a bit, the two of them took the grain and bean dregs to feed the livestock.

Lin Heng fed the last bit of bean dregs to the female forest musk deer, then carried a bundle of half-dry twigs back into the house. Although the wood wasn’t completely dry, it was still good enough for burning.

The kitchen was stocked with lotus roots that Xiulan had cleaned. The lotus root starch he made yesterday had settled and just needed to be dried before it could be used for drinks.

Lotus root starch has a better texture than kudzu root starch, and its effects differ as well.

While Xiulan busied herself with cooking, Lin Heng glanced at the snowflakes still drifting outside. He went to the back mountain and brought back two sections of half-dry maple wood, each about thirty centiters in diater.

Seeing him return with wood, Xiulan, curious as she cooked, asked, “What are you planning to do?”

Lin Heng smiled slightly and said, “We probably can’t go out today, so I thought I’d take the ti to make a wooden horse for Xiao Xia.”

The project was simple, and he could make it easily without any blueprints.

Hearing this, Xiulan smiled gently, “You’re really spoiling her.”

Lin Heng placed the wood on the ‘horse legs’ and began by peeling off the bark with a knife, revealing the light yellow wood inside.

By the ti the bark was peeled off, Xiulan had almost finished cooking. Lin Heng went to wake Xiao Xia, helped her get dressed and washed up, and then the family of three sat down for breakfast.

Breakfast was a simple dish of sauerkraut knife-cut noodles, but it tasted good. After eating, they saw that the snow outside hadn’t stopped, so Lin Heng prepared to continue his work.

He went to borrow carpentry tools from his father and found his father and elder brother preparing to head up the mountain with a chainsaw and an axe. Curious, he asked, “Dad, Elder Brother, what are you planning to do?”

Lin Yue replied with a smile, “We’re going to make charcoal. Even if we don’t sell it, we can use it at ho.”

Father Lin nodded, “Yes, there’s not much else to do these days, and the old charcoal kiln is still intact, so we can use it directly.”

“You guys really can’t sit still, can you?”

Lin Heng noticed his mother was also preparing to go up the mountain to make charcoal.

In those days, every winter, the villagers would make charcoal, not only for their own use but also to sell for so inco.

Every morning, you could see thick white smoke rising from the mountain tops, which was the smoke from the charcoal kilns.

The Lin family was now well-off and didn’t need to make charcoal, but Father Lin and Elder Brother were clearly the kind of people who couldn’t stay idle.

“What are you here for?” Father Lin asked, knowing Lin Heng wasn’t there to join them on the mountain.

Lin Heng looked at his father and said, “Before you head up the mountain, could you help

cut so wooden planks and lend

the chisels and planes?”

Lin Heng explained his plan to make a wooden horse for Xiao Xia.

“Alright then.”

Father Lin didn’t refuse. He turned and fetched the tools for Lin Heng, then used the chainsaw to cut a few planks before heading up the mountain with his eldest son, Lin Yue, and his wife, Lu Hongi.

Lin Heng didn’t join them; he had no interest in venturing out in such heavy snow.

He set up a basin of charcoal fire, while Xiulan watched over Xiao Xia and knitted a sweater. Xiao Xia played with her toys alongside Xiong Ba and Jinbao.

Jinbao was now larger than the average tabby cat, with golden-red fur. It lounged around, about the sa size as Xiao Xia, giving off the impression of a mountain cat.

But it was too lazy. Apart from playing with Xiao Xia, it mostly napped, only showing enthusiasm when it was ti to eat.

Jinbao had a good temperant. Even though its claws weren’t trimd, it never extended them while playing with Xiao Xia. If it got too excited, it would gently hold her little hand in its mouth, never intending to bite down.

It remained aloof towards Lin Heng, only approaching him when he had food. However, it was quite obedient to Xiulan, sotis sleeping on her lap and letting her pet it. Occasionally, when in a good mood, it would catch a mouse to show off its skills.

Lin Heng focused on his carpentry work, occasionally chatting with Xiulan.

He used the plane to smooth the planks his father had cut, then crafted two curved rails and so crossbars. By the end of the morning, he had completed the curved base and legs of the wooden horse.

While he could have made a simple body from the planks, Lin Heng wanted to showcase his skills, so he decided to carve a realistic horse body and head from a piece of maple wood.

By noon, the snow had lessened, and in the afternoon, it fell intermittently, but the temperature had dropped significantly. Winters in this era were much colder than in later tis.

Before he knew it, it was past five o’clock, and dusk was approaching. Lin Heng looked at the wooden horse he had spent all day carving, which was just starting to take shape, and felt a bit embarrassed.

But since he had co this far, he had no choice but to continue. Xiulan went to prepare dinner while he continued working on the wooden horse.

After dinner, he went to his father’s place to borrow so more carpentry tools and asked about their day.

He learned that Father Lin and the others had cut down many oak trees, and if the snow wasn’t too heavy the next day, they planned to start making charcoal.

Father Lin remarked, “It’s really because of the chainsaw that I decided to make charcoal. This thing is so fast, it does ten days’ work in one.”

What used to take two to three minutes to cut down a tree now took only five seconds with the chainsaw, making the laborious task of making charcoal much easier and more efficient.

“Take your ti with it.”

Lin Heng smiled slightly, knowing his father couldn’t stay idle.

After chatting for a bit, he returned ho to continue working on the wooden horse, stopping only when it was ti for Xiao Xia to go to bed and tell her a story.

After getting into bed, Xiulan, as always, nestled close to him. The two of them shared a gentle mont of intimacy before gradually drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, though the snow had stopped, everything outside was blanketed in white. The snow had accumulated to over ten centiters, clearly having fallen throughout the night.

Snowy mornings are always so silent, even the usually noisy sparrows were nowhere to be seen. Exercising with Xiulan in such a snowy landscape felt like a dance, each move harmonizing with the other.

After their workout, Xiulan went to prepare breakfast as usual, while Lin Heng continued his work on the wooden horse sculpture.

After half a day’s effort yesterday, the basic outline was now visible. It wasn’t exactly beautiful, perhaps even a bit adorably ugly, but at least it resembled a horse.

It was Lin Heng’s first attempt, so expecting it to be on par with a master sculptor’s work was unrealistic.

“Daddy~”

While Lin Heng was engrossed in his carving, he saw Xiao Xia rubbing her eyes, running out of the bedroom in her pajamas.

“Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

Lin Heng quickly scooped her up and took her back inside, worried she might catch a cold.

“Daddy, I wet the bed!”

Xiao Xia said, a bit scared, as she nestled in Lin Heng’s arms.

Lin Heng touched her pants and found them wet, imdiately understanding why she had woken up.

Xiao Xia looked guilty, knowing that wetting the bed was not good.

Lin Heng didn’t scold her. Instead, he kissed her with a smile, “It’s okay. Just try not to wet the bed next ti. When Xiao Xia stops wetting the bed, she’ll be a big girl.”

He didn’t want to punish her for wetting the bed. He hoped that Xiao Xia would stop because she wanted to, not out of fear of punishnt.

While changing Xiao Xia’s clothes, Lin Heng told her about Xiulan’s hard work washing diapers and the benefits of not wetting the bed.

Once dressed, Xiao Xia walked to the kitchen, lowered her head, and apologized to Xiulan in her soft voice, “I’m sorry, Mommy. I won’t wet the bed next ti.”

Xiulan looked at her and gave a bright smile, “I believe in you.”

As Xiulan cooked, Xiao Xia stayed by her side. After breakfast, when Xiulan was washing clothes and bedding, Xiao Xia squatted nearby, wanting to help. Feeling how cold the water was in winter, she seed even more remorseful.

In the afternoon, Lin Heng finally finished the wooden horse. Although it was ugly, it was rideable. Lin Heng tested it himself and found no issues.

“Xiao Xia, I have sothing for you.”

Lin Heng called Xiao Xia over.

“What is it?”

Xiao Xia asked curiously, her eyes wide as she looked at the sowhat clumsy wooden horse.

“This is a horse I made for you. Once you ride it, you won’t wet the bed anymore.”

Lin Heng said with a smile, demonstrating how to ride it.

He then placed Xiao Xia on it. As she grabbed the wooden handle and rocked back and forth, she soon burst into a joyful, bell-like laughter.

Seeing Xiao Xia so happy, Lin Heng couldn’t help but smile too. He turned to Xiulan, “How is it? Not bad, right?”

“Other than being a bit ugly, it’s great. For a first attempt, it’s quite impressive,” Xiulan said with a genuine smile.

Her words made Lin Heng grin widely. He went over to the fire to warm up, watching Xiao Xia play with the wooden horse.

After resting for a while, Xiulan asked Lin Heng to help sweep the snow in the yard. She wanted to do this with him, so she hadn’t swept it earlier.

“Why don’t we build a snowman with the snow we sweep?”

Lin Heng suggested with a slight smile.

Xiulan blinked at him, “Up to you!”

“Then let’s do it.”

Lin Heng shoveled the snow and piled it against the wall. Xiulan swept the bluestone ground clear.

Once the snow was gathered, Lin Heng made three snown—two large and one small—using branches for arms and features.

“How does it look? Pretty good, right?” Lin Heng asked with a smile.

Xiulan blinked and smiled, “It’s so ugly.”

She went over to adjust them herself, but they still looked quite ugly. Yet she insisted, “It looks much better now.”

Lin Heng laughed heartily, finding it amusing.

After admiring the snown for a bit, they headed back inside. After dinner, Xiao Xia was still eager to play with the wooden horse, loving her new toy so much that she ignored her other toys.

The next day, the sun ca out, and the lting ice and snow made it particularly cold. After lunch, Lin Heng went up the mountain to help with charcoal production.

Making charcoal was simple. The wood was cut into short sections and placed upright in a clay kiln. Once lit, it burned for a day and a night, releasing thick white smoke.

When the smoke gradually dissipated, it indicated the wood had turned into charcoal.

There were two thods to make charcoal. One was to seal all the smoke outlets of the kiln, cutting off oxygen, and let the charcoal cool naturally.

However, they usually didn’t use this thod. Instead, they would dig out the glowing red charcoal and bury it in moist soil, extinguishing it completely within an hour or two.

Because the charcoal absorbed moisture, it was harder to reignite, reducing the risk of fire.

Father Lin looked at Lin Heng and said, “Lin Heng, you can take this basket of charcoal ho for your own use.”

“Alright!”

Lin Heng generally didn’t use charcoal, but he didn’t refuse. It was great for barbecuing.

Back at ho, Lin Heng checked the calendar. Tomorrow was January 10th, the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Lin Heng recalled what Old Man Gao had ntioned and inford Xiulan that he would be getting up early to go to Huangtan Town the next morning.

Xiulan had no objections to this.

Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and his daughter, smiling as he said, “I’ll take you both to the street on the ninth. It should be lively with the New Year approaching.”

“Alright.”

Xiulan readily agreed; it had been a while since she last went out.

In the evening, they had a simple al of cabbage with vermicelli and braised at before the three of them went to rest.

“Knock, knock, knock! Open the door!”

Early the next morning, around six o’clock, before dawn, there was a loud knocking at the door.

“What’s going on?”

“From the sound of it, it seems to be Liu Changgen. Let’s go check it out!”

Xiulan and Lin Heng were both startled awake, feeling a bit annoyed. They had no choice but to get dressed and see what was happening.

Opening the courtyard door, they saw Liu Changgen standing at the entrance, wearing mourning clothes. Both of them were taken aback.

Before they could say anything, Liu Changgen knelt down and kowtowed three tis. “Lin Heng, Chen Xiulan, my grandfather has passed away. I ask for your help!”

Liu Changgen was Liu Lan’s husband, and his grandfather was Old Master Liu, who often smoked under the village’s Ginkgo Tree.

“Old Master Liu has passed?”

Lin Heng was stunned, finding it hard to believe. Just a few days ago, the old man seed so robust. How could he be gone so suddenly?

Liu Changgen looked weary. “In the middle of the night, he suddenly started vomiting. By around five, he finally stopped. He said he wanted so sweet wine. We got him a bowl, and after just one sip, he passed away.”

Liu Changgen had not treated his grandfather well before, and now that the old man was gone, he felt a sense of loss.

Understanding the situation, Lin Heng nodded. “I’ll co over later to help.”

In the village, it’s customary not to refuse help for funerals, even if not formally invited.

“Thank you,” Liu Changgen said, then turned to invite others.

“Life is truly unpredictable.”

After Liu Changgen left, Lin Heng sighed, feeling the insignificance of life.

Xiulan held Lin Heng’s hand, asking, “Should both of us go to help?”

“One person is enough. There are plenty of people in the village. How about this: I’ll go help, and you can bring Xiao Xia to offer condolences later.”

Lin Heng suggested.

At this point, they were just gathering people. The main event would likely be tomorrow or the day after, so there was no rush, and it wouldn’t interfere with his trip to town.

“Alright,” Xiulan agreed.

After discussing, Lin Heng went to inform his parents and Elder Brother, who were also invited.

They decided that Lin Heng and his Elder Brother would help serve drinks, Father Lin would help boil water, and Mother Lin would help with washing vegetables.

Father Lin added, “For the offering, Lin Heng, you and your Elder Brother can handle it. We won’t go.”

Even though they had split into three households, in the future, there would only be two.

“Alright,” Lin Heng was indifferent to this. In those days, rural offerings were usually grains or sugar, and it wasn’t until the 1990s that people started giving money.

A little grain was not a big deal for the Lin family now.

After sorting everything out, Lin Heng rode to Huangtan Town. He initially wanted to bring Caiyun along, but she said it was too early and preferred to go by herself, so Lin Heng didn’t insist.

(End of Chapter)