Chapter 71: A Loving Mother and Filial Son

On the 26th day of the 4th lunar month, early in the morning, Lin Heng woke from his sleep.

Turning his head, he found his wife, Xiulan, had just woken up as well. Since there was no electricity or modern entertainment in this place, Lin Heng, having been reborn, had completely adjusted his lifestyle.

They went to bed at eight in the evening and woke up around five the next morning.

“It sounds like the rain hasn’t stopped yet,” Lin Heng said, reaching over to place his hand on his wife’s waist.

Xiulan nodded. “Yes, but it seems like light rain, nothing serious.”

Lin Heng smiled. “Then let’s lie down a bit longer before getting up.”

Xiulan looked at Lin Heng’s wandering hand and, before she could say anything, she was pulled into his arms.

Pressing her hands against Lin Heng’s chest, Xiulan blinked shyly and said, “You just did this last night. Aren’t you worried you won’t be able to walk later?”

“What kind of joke is that? You’re underestimating me. I need to teach you a lesson so you’ll know how strong I am!”

Without another word, Lin Heng pounced like a hungry tiger, determined to demonstrate his “legendary” prowess.

Though Xiulan worried about him, her teasing had certainly provoked him. Recently, he’d been eating venison, and his energy was overflowing.

“Ah, the old saying is true: even heroes fall to beauty’s charms,” Lin Heng remarked half an hour later, as he looked at his wife resting her face on his chest, feeling a slight ache in his back.

Xiulan simply blinked and said nothing, as though listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

After resting for a while, Xiulan got up first, followed by Lin Heng.

Outside, the drizzle continued, with fog covering the distant mountains. The trees appeared much more vibrant in the rain.

With little else to do, they busied themselves with indoor tasks.

After washing up, Lin Heng’s father and others woke up late because of the rainy weather.

“Let’s go clean up the new house,” Xiulan suggested, looking at Lin Heng.

Lin Heng smiled. “Alright!”

He was content following his wife around and hadn’t harbored grand ambitions to change the world after being reborn.

Xiulan grabbed the keys and told Caiyun to call Xiaoxia if she woke up.

With Lin Heng holding the umbrella, he pulled Xiulan close, and the two of them walked to the new house.

The courtyard walls, made of packed yellow earth, stood 2.25 meters high and were topped with red clay tiles. Above the gate, a wooden archway had been crafted from iron pear wood and coated with tung oil to protect against moisture and rot.

Xiulan unlocked the cypress-wood gate.

Creak!

A sharp but not jarring sound echoed as the wooden gate rubbed against its stone pivots. Instead of using metal hinges, the gate relied on wooden bearings that fit into circular grooves, allowing it to open and close. This design often produced the familiar creaking sound.

Inside the gate, two meters in, stood a large wooden screen, blocking the courtyard view from outsiders. Superstitiously, this was said to “trap fortune” and prevent it from escaping.

Behind the screen was a nearly 30-meter-long corridor connecting the house’s main entrance. The corridor was two meters wide, allowing two to three people to walk side by side. Its floor was paved with blue stone quarried from the mountains.

Currently, only the wooden framework for the corridor had been set up. Due to the rain, the rafters and clay tiles hadn’t been installed yet.

The courtyard, totaling about 200 square meters, had been mostly planted with vegetables. Near the gate, a few roses Lin Heng had planted were blooming. On the eastern side, chopped firewood stood neatly stacked, and rows of beans, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants were sprouting.

Quickly glancing around, Lin Heng pulled Xiulan under the eaves. The earthen walls here were smoothed with a mix of yellow soil and gypsum, giving them a polished and clean finish.

The main door led to the central hall—an 18-square-meter space used as both a dining area and living room. The wooden stairs to the second floor were positioned against the wall in this room.

To the left of the central hall was a 14-square-meter bedroom, while to the right was a similarly sized kitchen. Behind the kitchen, in the southwest corner, was another 14-square-meter bedroom. A corridor from this bedroom led to the backyard and a small 6-square-meter storage room adjoining the central hall.

The southeast corner housed Lin Heng and Xiulan’s master bedroom, the largest room at 20 square meters.

The toilet was set up outside the southeastern backyard wall to avoid odors, with only squat pits visible inside the courtyard.

“I’ll clean the floors in the rooms,” Xiulan said after entering.

The central hall was filled with wooden planks and tools left by the carpenter, Liang. Xiulan focused on tidying the other rooms.

“Alright,” Lin Heng replied, noticing Liang had already crafted the swing chair, which only needed installation.

While Xiulan cleaned, Lin Heng checked the backyard, tossing some bran into the fish pond. Thousands of small fish swarmed over to eat. The calamus and ferns he had planted were thriving, while some moss on the rocks had died, except near the water’s edge.

A small wooden bridge, about one meter wide, spanned the fish pond. Standing on it, Lin Heng admired the changing view.

After feeding the fish once more, Lin Heng went back inside to help his wife.

“Brush tung oil on the wooden beds and floors; I’ll handle the rest,” Xiulan instructed.

“Right, I almost forgot about that,” Lin Heng replied, frowning at the stone floor in their room. He made a mental note to replace it with wooden planks eventually.

Upstairs, he began brushing the wooden boards with tung oil, its pungent smell filling the air. Though unpleasant, it was the best anti-corrosion material available.

When he finished the upstairs boards, Liang arrived with the swing chair.

“Take a look—what do you think?” Liang grinned, presenting the chair.

The chair, 1.5 meters long, combined yellow willow for the main structure and pine for smaller components. Its curved back resembled traditional Chinese craftsmanship, elegant yet simple.

“It’s perfect—just as I imagined! Add some chains, and it’ll be ideal,” Lin Heng praised.

“Already drilled the holes. Once the weather clears, you can install it,” Liang said cheerfully.

After finishing the tung oil work, Lin Heng found Xiulan examining the soap he had made days earlier.

“Simple test—try using one,” Lin Heng suggested, knocking the soap blocks free from the mold.

Xiulan took a piece to the backyard, wetted it in the water basin, and rubbed it. White suds immediately formed.

“You did it!” she exclaimed joyfully, holding up her soapy hands.

“Of course. Give it a try,” Lin Heng replied confidently.

Xiulan washed her hands and smiled in amazement. “It works better than soap pods—so clean!”

“That’s the magic of soap,” Lin Heng said proudly.

“The older this soap gets, the better it works. It’s not at its best yet,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

“Then I’ll just put it away.”

“No need. Take it over for Mom and the others to use. Later, I’ll teach you the technique, and you can make it yourself,” Lin Heng said.

“Is it hard? Can I learn it?” Xiulan held the soap and examined it carefully, amazed by it.

“Of course, you can. It’s not hard at all.”

As they chatted, the two of them walked toward the old house. The rain had stopped around eight, and now the sun had come out.

“The soap you made looks decent enough. I just wonder how well it works,” Lin’s mother said, her usual stubborn self. She deliberately smeared some oil from the cloth onto her hands before washing them.

After rubbing a little soap and scrubbing twice, she noticed the greasy feeling on her hands had disappeared.

When she rinsed with water, her hands felt clean and refreshed, all the grease gone, with a faint floral fragrance left behind.

“Mom, now you have nothing to say, right?” Lin Heng asked with a smile.

Lin’s mother pursed her lips and replied flatly, “It’s so-so, at least it didn’t waste my lard.”

“Ah, a duck may be dead, but its mouth stays stiff,” Lin Heng sighed, shaking his head.

The next moment, Lin’s mother slapped at him. “You think your mom’s too old to hit you anymore?”

Lin Heng had already darted to the side, picking up his daughter, whom Xiongba had been amusing.

Xiaoxia had woken up, and Lin’s mother had been looking after her.

Sister-in-law Liu Juan watched Lin Heng, hesitating to speak. She also wanted a bar of soap and to learn how to make it.

The effect of that soap had amazed her. Whether for personal use or for selling, it would be very useful.

But she felt too embarrassed to ask for such a profitable technique, especially with the family soon to split up.

This made her increasingly feel that splitting the family wouldn’t benefit her at all.

Lin Heng didn’t notice this. The soap for his mother was just for testing.

By around ten, Lin’s mother started cooking brunch. Since they hadn’t had breakfast, lunch was a little earlier today.

The meal was a mix of corn, rice, and potatoes. The dish was stir-fried badger pork with shredded radish—a perfect dish to go with rice.

The tangy and savory flavor, along with the grease and meat aroma, made it irresistible. Lin Heng ate two big bowls of rice before stopping, satisfied.

“Give me my daughter. You eat,” Lin Heng said, taking his daughter to feed her.

After the meal, the summer sun had dried up the morning dew. Lin Heng walked over to Caiyun, who was dozing by the door. “Caiyun, help look after Xiaoxia for a bit. I’ll give you a bar of soap in a few days.”

Caiyun smiled. “Actually, Second Brother, you could’ve just asked. I’d help you anyway. But if you’re giving me soap, then thank you.”

“I know you too well. If I just asked, you’d say you’re busy. In the end, I’d still have to bribe you with soap.”

Lin Heng rolled his eyes; he knew his sister’s personality.

“Second Brother, I’m not like that,” Caiyun protested, blinking her big eyes.

“Alright, Xiaoxia is yours now.” Lin Heng handed over his daughter. The soap had been intended for her anyway—this was just sibling teasing.

“Go on, go on,” Caiyun said, waving him off. Alone at home, she could read freely, which was a rare treat.

“Let’s go. Today, only Caiyun stays home. The rest of us are heading to the hills. After this rain, the porcini mushrooms will be everywhere, and the honeysuckle will look amazing too,” Lin’s father said with a smile.

“Dad, are we going to the ‘Shibadang’ valley?” Lin Heng asked.

“Of course! That valley has the most honeysuckle. We’re definitely going there,” Lin’s father replied.

Everyone got ready. Lin Heng and the others carried large baskets that could hold fifty to sixty catties of goods, while Lin’s father carried an even larger one capable of holding a hundred catties.

Each person also carried a few extra woven bags, making them look like traders heading out for supplies.

“Let’s go, Xiongba!”

Lin Heng untied Xiongba’s rope and led the way.

The Shibadang valley was east of the river, a tributary of the Slate River. On both sides of the valley, honeysuckle grew in clusters, attracting many people every year to harvest it.

Dried honeysuckle sold for three yuan per catty, but it took three catties of fresh flowers to dry into one catty. While not very expensive, the sheer abundance in the mountains made it worthwhile.

The road was filled with people carrying large baskets, all heading out to pick mushrooms and honeysuckle.

“Looks like today will be another flower-picking battle,” Lin Heng said, recognizing the familiar scene. It happened a few times every year.

“Let’s hurry. A lot of people are already on their way up,” Lin’s mother said, quickening her pace.

Lin’s parents were veterans in the flower-picking battles. The older brother and sister-in-law were not to be outdone and also moved quickly into the hills.

“Let’s speed up too,” Xiulan said.

“Alright,” Lin Heng nodded, and the two of them took a different path to avoid their parents and elder brother.

“This is crazy. Some people must’ve come out in the rain this morning,” Xiulan said.

When they entered the valley, Lin Heng noticed honeysuckle vines that had already been cut. Picking flower by flower was far too slow—everyone simply cut the vines and brought them home.

The vines wouldn’t die anyway; in a couple of days, new shoots would grow again.

“We’re late. We should’ve come in the rain this morning,” Xiulan said regretfully.

“Let’s go up and have a look. If there’s nothing left, we’ll pick porcini mushrooms instead,” Lin Heng said helplessly. The villagers’ zeal for earning money was unmatched.

The valley was misty after the rain, giving it a fairyland-like atmosphere. The air was filled with the fragrance of honeysuckle, refreshing both body and mind.

“Lin Heng, you’re just getting here? Try another spot. There’s nothing left up there,” Liu Lan called as she came down, carrying a basket full of honeysuckle vines and smiling broadly.

“Looks like we’ll be picking mushrooms instead,” Xiulan said, somewhat disappointed.

The two climbed further up and only managed to collect a few vines, mostly from overlooked corners. The main patches had all been cut.

When they finally reached the top of the hill, Lin Heng spotted two untouched clusters.

“Smells so good,” Lin Heng said as he cut them.

“Woof, woof!”

Xiongba tried chewing on the flowers, but after a bite or two, he spat them out in distaste and started playing in the vines.

“Go on, get out of here,” Lin Heng said, shooing him away while quickly cutting the vines and placing them into the basket.

He considered digging up a plant to replant in his courtyard since honeysuckle could make a nice bonsai, but unfortunately, these plants were growing out of cracks in the rocks, making them impossible to dig out.

“Looks like we’ll have to focus on picking mushrooms now. Let’s see what’s on the other side of the hill,” Xiulan said, a bit frustrated after finishing her cluster.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Lin Heng nodded. Before they even entered the forest, he spotted a beautiful porcini mushroom.

“There are so many mushrooms.”

Lin Heng looked up again and saw four or five more in the distance.

Porcini mushrooms could grow as large as a plate, with caps reaching up to twenty centimeters in diameter and weighing two to three catties each.

At this time of year, the forest was full of them, though Lin Heng preferred smaller ones about ten centimeters across, as larger ones didn’t taste as good.

“Look, I think I found a lantern stinkhorn!” Xiulan suddenly turned around, holding a pale red mushroom. Its cap and stem were both light red, and where Xiulan had damaged it, the wound turned blue-green—hence its nickname, lantern stinkhorn.

“This is good stuff. Keep looking and separate them,” Lin Heng said, recognizing it as a particularly tasty variety.

Lin Heng quickly finished picking his porcini mushrooms and helped her search.

“There don’t seem to be many—only four in total, about a catty’s worth,” Xiulan said regretfully.

“No problem. There aren’t many of these here anyway,” Lin Heng replied. These mushrooms were far more common in Yunnan than in the Qinling mountains.

“Let’s keep picking porcini mushrooms. I don’t think our baskets will even hold them all today,” Lin Heng said cheerfully.

The forest was filled with porcini mushrooms and red mushrooms, so common that every step risked crushing them.

“Woof, woof!”

After a short while, Xiongba barked again to get their attention.

(End of chapter)