Chapter 311: Chapter 310: The Ritual of Daily Life

The ox cart arrived at the doorway, and the new grains were first taken down and placed against the wall inside the entrance. Today, it wasn’t their turn to be dried, so they’ll be left for now; they will be spread out to dry once the sun comes out in the morning.

The partially dried grains on the sunning mat were gathered, and only when the last light of the sky disappeared did the day’s busy work come to an end.

Qin Yao felt sticky and itchy, longing for a good bath.

Ah Wang went to heat water, while Liu Ji, seeking a lazy escape, ran down to the foot of the mountain to call back the four children who had wandered off somewhere. On the way, he planned to bring back the money box from the water mill.

The water mill had been running non-stop these past few days, as every household eagerly wanted to try out the taste of a tank of freshly milled rice.

Seeing this situation, the village head went to consult with the clan leader, planning to fundraise within the village to build a large mill like the one in Lower River Village for everyone to use.

It’s hard to move from extravagance to frugality. The old manual mills have been left unused as no one wants to go there anymore, leaving only Qin Yao’s water mill, which is a bit too crowded to use.

Qin Yao didn’t really mind. The cost of their household water mill had already been recovered long ago, but having to repair it every three to five days was a bit troublesome. If the village switched to a large mill, she could keep the small one for personal use.

The night breeze cooled her down, and just then, Ah Wang had prepared warm water in the shower room.

Qin Yao remembered the soap that she and Ah Wang had made last month, which had been left to sit in the attic in the backyard; it should be ready to use now.

Thinking about the hardships of the autumn harvest over these days and now that the work was done, Qin Yao decided to reward herself with a bit of ceremony.

She quickly made her way to the backyard, climbed up to the attic, and took down the bamboo basket hanging from the beam. Before she even got close, she could already smell a sweet floral fragrance.

It was the scent of a blend of various flower nectars, not too strong, like a fleeting aroma left behind when someone walks by, vanishing swiftly yet refreshing the mind and body.

Qin Yao thought to herself that she hadn’t realized Ah Wang was a master perfumer, making her anticipate her bath even more.

“Mother!”

The excited shout of Si Niang came from the doorway.

Liu Ji, cursing, led the four children home, who had been rolling in the mud. Da Lang and Second Lang ran toward Qin Yao as soon as they entered, lifting their fish baskets to show her today’s bounty.

The blue crabs crammed in the small fish basket crawled around, their legs scraping against the bamboo strips and producing a sound that gave one goosebumps.

Da Lang happily said, “We dug them out from the mountain stream; they’re big and strong! Uncle Four said to bring them back and have Ah Wang pick out the big ones for steaming; they’ll taste so sweet!”

Qin Yao glanced over and with a wave of her hand, smiled and said, “Ah Wang, we’ve got an extra treat for dinner tonight!”

The Da Lang brothers immediately hugged their fish baskets and rushed into the kitchen, where their cheerful laughter soon filled the space.

Si Niang waved a large bouquet of wildflowers, “Mother! Look at me, look at me!”

Today, the little girl had followed her brothers into the mountains, returning with her hair full of grass seeds, giving her a messy hairstyle paired with an expectant look that was both amusing and adorable.

Qin Yao approached the little girl holding the soap, and Si Niang, standing on her tiptoes, handed over a large bunch of purple and white wildflowers, “Smell them; they’re so fragrant~”

Qin Yao took a sniff, indeed fragrant.

Looking at the soap in her hand, she glanced over towards the water jar, “Go fetch the chipped ceramic dish from yesterday.”

Liu Ji, having just washed his face with cold water and not wanting to move, caught Second Lang, who had come out to wash the mud off his feet, “Go, get that chipped ceramic dish for your mother.”

The lazy passed it on to the lazier. Second Lang dragged Sanlang out of the water basin, “You go.”

Sanlang let out an “Oh” and ran off, seemingly with endless energy.

“Mother, here you go.” Sanlang was quick, handing the dish to Qin Yao and immediately returning to the water jar to continue washing the mud off his legs.

Da Lang came out of the kitchen with the smaller crabs that Ah Wang had set aside, planning to keep them in water overnight and fry them up as snacks the next day.

Qin Yao asked him to help grind the edges of the ceramic dish with the grinding stone at her feet until smooth, then placed the soap inside, surrounded by a small bunch of purple and white flowers that Si Niang had picked.

The earthy-toned ceramic dish, with the pale yellow oval soap and the contrasting purple and white flowers, was vibrant and delicately beautiful, packed with a sense of ceremony!

Si Niang let out a “Wow” and immediately ran to her room to dig out clean clothes, sticking to Qin Yao’s side, wanting to bathe together.

Liu Ji mumbled, “Acting fancy~”

But his body was honest, and he went to the corner of the backyard to fetch some unused broken ceramic jars, smoothing out the cracks just like Qin Yao had done, and then placed the wildflowers Si Niang had left under the corridor into the jars.

He set one on the table in the main room, another on the low table by the mat in the yard, and the last one, like a thief, quietly placed it in Qin Yao’s room beside the weapon rack by the bed.

The dim candlelight in the yard filtered through the paper-covered windows, casting a faint warm glow in the room. The bouquet of purple flowers added a touch of dreamy and enchanting color to the soft warmth.

Liu Ji clapped his hands with satisfaction, closed the door, and tiptoed out.

As he entered the bathroom to wash up, Qin Yao came in to check if the money she had hidden from the beam had decreased.

Glancing up, she caught sight of that touch of dreamy purple, instantly relaxing her mood. She let her body fall onto the soft bed, looking at the warm glow emanating from the windows, smelling the aroma of home-cooked meals from the kitchen, a sense of gratitude arose unbidden.

Thankful for being alive again, hoping for favorable weather and peace in the land.

…

The heavens seemed to have heard people’s prayers; this year’s rain arrived just at the right time.

With the autumn harvest complete, and all the grains dried, Liu Family Village welcomed the first rain of autumn.

The laborers from the road repair team were finally able to take a break for a couple of days thanks to the rain.

Shrouded in the rain, the small village looked like an ink wash painting by a national artist, with the dim sky pressing all colors into gray and white.

In the distance, one could see the white smoke rising from the village factory, and the cowherd boy wearing a raincoat with a bamboo hat.

The rain muffled all sounds, with the world left to the sound of the pouring rain.

Unable to go to school due to the heavy rain, the four Da Lang siblings sat in a row by the main room door, resting their chins on their hands as they watched the flowing drainage channel in the yard, their eyes spinning with thoughts clearly wanting to go down and splash in the water.

Ah Wang, sitting under the eaves shelling peanuts, could tell in a glance how eager the children were.

He turned to glance at the small room next door, where Madam was checking the eldest master’s coursework for the past two months, not paying attention to this side.

So, he put down his work, got up to the main room, and retrieved the raincoats and bamboo hats hanging on the wall.

Without a word from him, the four siblings immediately took them and put them on, then lined up behind Ah Wang like thieves creeping into the backyard.

“Splash!” Si Niang was the first to jump into the rain, watching the high spray of water at her feet and covering her mouth, laughing with eyes bent in joy.

Some are happy, while others are miserable.

Liu Ji inside felt like a herb in the pot, undergoing torment, thrilled and desperate, as Qin Yao scrutinized him with one test after another.

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