Chapter 45: The Three Little Ones Are So Capable

“Sister-in-law, you’re up. There’s red bean porridge and meat buns warming in the pot in the kitchen. Go have something to eat.” Leng Tian saw Wen Nuan Nuan come out and quickly stopped chopping wood with his axe, standing up straight to speak.

Wen Nuan Nuan looked puzzled at the messy courtyard and the three little ones bustling about busily.

Eldest Brother was chopping branches off thick trees, Little Brother was digging a pit beside the firewood shed, and Second Brother had a large bundle of dry reed leaves beside him? Were they reed leaves? They looked like it to her.

“What are you all doing?”

“Oh, building a stable!” Leng Yun, who was digging with his head down, looked up happily at Wen Nuan Nuan’s question.

Building a stable? Didn’t Eldest Brother just mention it yesterday evening?

So quickly?

The three little ones are truly people of action.

Their speed is impressive.

But, “Shouldn’t we make a plan first?”

“We’ve thought about it. We’ll build it along the wall next to the firewood shed, so we don’t need to worry about two walls—saves trouble. The other two sides of the stable will be made by stacking hay into walls, covered with tightly woven reed mats outside to block wind, rain, and snow.

We’ll leave an opening on the courtyard side for entry and exit, make a door out of wooden planks, and just add a thatched roof.” Leng Tian explained clearly and logically.

The more Wen Nuan Nuan listened, the more she reflected on herself. She wanted to build an oven and had to dredge up her memory as if reciting an entire text, struggling to recall the steps and precautions from that little fairy food blogger. She kept sketching with charcoal on paper, erasing, adding, and modifying, but still hadn’t reached a conclusion, afraid that what she made wouldn’t work.

Why did Eldest Brother and the others seem to have such clear steps and simple operations when doing things?

Wen Nuan Nuan hurriedly turned and went back into the room, bringing out her repeatedly revised blueprint. “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, take a look. Can you make this?”

Leng Chen took it and examined it. “What is Sister-in-law planning to use it for?”

“For things like crispy pancakes and baked flatbreads.”

Leng Yun answered first, “Oh, isn’t that just kang pancakes?”

Wen Nuan Nuan thought about it—they were of the same type. “Pretty much. Anyway, they’re all baked. Do any of you know how to make one?”

“Almost every hunter’s household has one,” Leng Tian said honestly.

“How is that possible?” Then why didn’t their family have one? Didn’t Leng Xiao often go hunting?

“It’s true. When hunters go into the mountains, kang pancakes are dry and don’t spoil easily. Eating them with some water is especially filling! I’ve seen them at other people’s houses. We originally wanted to make one too, but… but it uses up a lot of flour.” Leng Tian, afraid his sister-in-law wouldn’t believe him, explained urgently.

“Then what does your eldest brother eat when he goes into the mountains?”

“Coarse rice stir-fried until golden brown as dry rations. Eldest Brother doesn’t bring much food. He says there’s plenty to eat in the mountains, so there’s no need to bring much on purpose.”

Wen Nuan Nuan fell silent. He has to prepare his own food even when working.

Children from poor families grow up fast.

It’s just how things have to be.

“Sister-in-law, are you thinking of preparing dry rations for Eldest Brother because he’s going into the mountains? Sister-in-law is so good to Eldest Brother!” Leng Yun excitedly thought of this possibility.

Praising her right away.

Leng Tian and Leng Chen looked at Wen Nuan Nuan with grateful eyes.

Wen Nuan Nuan, stared at by three pairs of grateful and appreciative eyes, could only smile awkwardly.

Besides smiling awkwardly, she didn’t know what else to do.

Should she explain?

“No, that’s not it. I just wanted to make some crispy pancakes and baked flatbreads to satisfy my cravings. Won’t we get tired of eating buns, steamed buns, and dumplings over and over again, right?” Her real thought was also to change things up a bit.

“Sister-in-law, don’t be embarrassed. We understand!” With meat and eggs every day, and plenty of rice and fine flour to fill their stomachs, their bellies already have plenty of richness—where would there be any need to satisfy cravings?

Moreover, with savory meat-filled buns, wheat flour steamed buns, pumpkin steamed buns, and large shrimp dumplings to eat—things many families wouldn’t even dare to dream of, let alone what they could have imagined in their wildest dreams before—how could they possibly get tired of it?

The three little ones naturally didn’t believe it.

Not only did they not believe it, but even if they said it out loud, no one would believe it either.

Sister-in-law not only treated Eldest Brother well, but she also didn’t want him to bear a false reputation. She’d rather attribute it to herself, saying it was to satisfy her own cravings!

How could there be such a wonderful sister-in-law?

Wen Nuannuan was watched by three pairs of eyes filled with even more gratitude and appreciation.

Her lips moved a few times, but in the end, she decided not to explain.

Changing the subject, she asked, “How do we make a kang stove?”

“A kang stove can be made with either yellow or red clay. You build a mold with small wooden boards, plaster it with mixed yellow or red clay, let it air-dry for a day to set, and then remove the small wooden boards,” Leng Chen explained, having already figured out how to do it while looking at the drawing on the rice paper.

“That simple?”

“Yes, but we also need to leave a chimney for ventilation. Sister-in-law, what are these two circles you drew here?” Leng Chen pointed to the circles on the rice paper and asked.

Wen Nuannuan felt a bit embarrassed. Although she had previously thought it impractical, she couldn’t help but let her girlish heart run wild. Indeed, aesthetics were everything. “Those are the bear’s ears, to be used as chimneys for ventilation. Don’t you think round things are cute? But if it’s too hard to make, we don’t have to. It’s fine.”

The three little ones exchanged glances, seeing the same confusion in each other’s eyes. What was so cute about round things?

Bears were dark and ugly—how could they be cute?

But if Sister-in-law liked it, they’d make it according to her drawing.

The three of them immediately understood.

They tacitly avoided mentioning it.

“Red clay makes it clean, smooth, and bright. How about using red clay?” Leng Chen asked for her opinion.

Wen Nuannuan naturally had no objections!

She replied cheerfully, “You guys decide! I don’t know much about this, so I’ll listen to you.”

“Then I’ll dig the pit and go to the back mountain to dig red clay. I know where to find it,” Leng Yun spoke up, taking on the task of digging the clay.

“I’ll make it. Second Brother is in charge of building the stable. We should be able to finish it this afternoon and use it the day after tomorrow,” Leng Chen added.

Next, they chopped wood, built the stable, dug clay, and made the kang stove…

Clean, fast, simple, and efficient—that described the three little ones perfectly.

It turned out that capable people excelled at everything!

Whether it was using their brains or their hands.

Wen Nuannuan deeply realized how comfortable it was to work with capable people!

Especially since the three little ones cooperated seamlessly, with clear divisions of labor. She didn’t need to intervene at all—just occasionally share her thoughts.

Unable to contribute much, Wen Nuannuan could only focus on logistics, ensuring they were well-fed and had plenty of energy.

Every day after breakfast, she brewed a large pot of tea and simmered a big clay pot of reed root and pear water—cooling, lung-moistening, and delicious, perfect for autumn.

Speaking of which, it was still autumn, right? It was only the ninth day of the ninth month, so why was it so cold that she wanted to wear a padded jacket?

The ninth day of the ninth month—tomorrow, Leng Xiao would go into the mountains.

Over the past few days, the three little ones said they had seen many groups of people entering the mountains to gather ginseng, and that was just on their route up the mountain.

The mountain range stretched endlessly, vast and boundless, and who knew how many more groups of people were on other paths.

The date Leng Xiao had chosen naturally came from his experience.

Wen Nuannuan packed a set of dried hemp outer garments and cotton inner clothes that Leng Xiao and Leng Yun had washed and sun-dried, folding them neatly. Along with clean coarse cloth shoes, she wrapped everything tightly in waterproof oiled paper and placed it at the very bottom of the bamboo backpack.

Eldest Brother had mentioned that entering the mountains could take as little as seven or eight days, or as long as half a month to twenty days, depending on how smoothly things went.

Given the low temperatures and the presence of venomous snakes and insects in the deep mountains, they wouldn’t be bathing or changing clothes there. The clothes and shoes Wen Nuannuan prepared weren’t for regular changes but were meant for emergencies—in case of rain or accidentally getting soaked in spring water, they would have a dry set to change into.

She had once read in the news that sudden temperature drops in the wild were most dangerous due to the risk of hypothermia, so it was best to carry a warm blanket during short outdoor activities.

For Leng Xiao and Eldest Brother’s extended stay in the mountains, carrying a blanket wasn’t practical. Clean clothes were more useful—they could wear them if the temperature dropped suddenly or change into them if they got wet.

After packing the clothes, Wen Nuannuan took out small oiled paper packages of food.

That morning, she had made crispy pancakes with four types of fillings: spicy, savory pastry, sesame, and osmanthus sugar. The savory pastry and sesame fillings were salty, while the osmanthus sugar filling was made simply and conveniently using osmanthus paste she kept in the refrigerator.

Wen Nuannuan prepared fifteen days’ worth of food for the two of them. It was better to have extra than to risk going hungry in the dangerous depths of the mountains.

She packed twenty each of the spicy, savory pastry, and sesame-filled crispy pancakes. For the osmanthus sugar filling, she initially worried they might not like sweet food, but considering they might tire of salty and spicy flavors in the mountains, she still packed ten.

The braised beef was sliced and divided into one-jin portions for easy access, totaling around ten jin.

She also packed over a dozen portions of soda crackers in oiled paper.

These were all foods that stored well.