TATLC Chapter 18 – Building a Kang

Chen Xiaocai cherished every bite of the tanghulu, “Da-ge, did you become rich or something?!”

He kept a fruit in his mouth, savoring the sweet taste repeatedly.

Tanghulu was somewhat expensive. His big brother only bought it when he earned good money, like that time when he’d hunted a tiger and bought some for him and his little brother.

Chen Xiaomi smiled and said, “I made a bit of money, yes.”

Chen Xiaocai asked excitedly, “Did prices of pork go up in town?”

Chen Xiaomi nodded, “Something like that.”

Chen Xiaomi was calculating in his mind. He spent ten taels to marry Lu Lin into the family, but he also saved three taels in taxes. The beads sold for six taels. This meant that, minus the one-tael difference, he had almost made back the ten taels he spent on Lu Lin.

Lu Lin was a capable adult who could work. Since he joined the family, their meals had improved considerably. All things considered, they’d almost broken even and should start making a profit soon.

Realizing there was money to be made, Chen Xiaomi couldn’t help feeling giddy.

Chen Xiaocai saw Chen Xiaomi’s smile and became happy too.

After their father died, Chen Xiaocai rarely saw Chen Xiaomi smile. The villagers said his big brother was rough and didn’t look like a proper Shuang’er, but Chen Xiaocai thought his big brother looked incredibly handsome.

“Da-ge, have some too.” The tanghulu stick had four fruits. Chen Xiaocai ate one and passed it to Chen Xiaomi, who didn’t refuse and took a bite. The brothers ate with complete satisfaction on their faces.

Lu Lin watched the delighted expressions of Chen Xiaomi and Chen Xiaocai and thought to himself, Resources are really scarce in ancient times if tanghulu is this popular. He remembered he had some candied dates and red dates in his convenience store.

With money in hand, Chen Xiaomi didn’t rush to go hunting again.

He bought some tiles and bricks to repair the house. If the house leaked in winter, that would cause serious trouble.

“Xiaomi, how about we build a kang?” Lu Lin asked.

Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin, and asked in confusion, “What’s a kang?”

Lu Lin thought for a moment and explained, “A kang is a bed built from earth or bricks. In winter, you burn firewood underneath, and it keeps you warm when you sleep on it. People don’t get sick as easily.”

Hearing that people wouldn’t get sick as easily, Chen Xiaomi became interested. Chen Xiaomai had poor health and easily caught cold in winter. Once someone got sick in winter, getting a doctor was troublesome. Autumn came early this year, and Chen Xiaomi suspected winter might be colder.

“How do you know about this?” Chen Xiaomi asked.

“I read about it in books. I sneaked a peek at my cousin’s books,” Lu Lin replied.

Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, “I see.”

In this era, scholars were highly respected. Although Lu Chengyu was only a Tongsheng scholar, he was still quite prestigious. Every household in the village liked to invite him when hosting celebrations because having a Tongsheng scholar present added face to the hosts.

“The Lu family doesn’t have a kang either,” Chen Xiaomi said, still confused.

Lu Lin smiled and said, “My cousin only thinks about passing the exams and becoming an official. He doesn’t care about other things.”

Chen Xiaomi thought about it and agreed. “So how do we build this kang? I’ll help.”

Hearing Chen Xiaomi agree, Lu Lin felt happy and started mentally calculating the costs.

Lu Lin quite liked Chen Xiaomi and was considering how to deepen their relationship. The bed at home was shabby and small, which had long bothered Lu Lin.

He planned to build the kang large and wide, spacious enough for four people. That way, he could join Chen Xiaomi in bed.

If he could get into bed with Chen Xiaomi, he’d push Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomai to the foot of the bed and hang a curtain in the middle.

While the Chen’s house was bustling with activity, things weren’t going well for the Lu family.

After Lu Lin refused to help the Lu family last time, Grandma Lu cursed him for a long while, calling him an ungrateful wretch who’d surely be eaten by wolves in the mountains.

Yet contrary to her wishes, not only had Lu Lin not been eaten by wolves, but the Chen household was now loudly renovating their home.

Earlier, Chen Xiaomi carried back a large basket of goods from town, which the villagers noticed.

The villagers guessed that Chen Xiaomi earned a lot of money from hunting again and envied him greatly.

Lu Lin’s First Aunt, Tang, knowing that Chen Xiaomi’s family was doing well, somewhat regretted not asking for more betrothal gifts.

It took Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi two days to build the kang. Since it was the first time for both of them, the workmanship was a bit rough, but lying on it was extremely comfortable.

The autumn nights were already getting cold. Chen Xiaomi tried heating the kang in the evening and found it wonderfully warm when he lay down. He could hardly believe such a good thing existed in the world.

Chen Xiaomi suddenly felt a sense of admiration for the man he married.

He thought Lu Lin seemed very clever and couldn’t understand why the Lu family would give such a smart man to him. Then again, Lu Lin didn’t seem particularly smart before, but after falling into water, he seemed to have become more intelligent.

After finishing the house repairs, Chen Xiaomi only had six taels of silver left, including his previous savings.

Six taels would be enough to buy food for winter, but if he wanted to add any comforts, it would be a stretch.

Chen Xiaomi felt he still needed to earn more, so that if someone got sick with a headache or fever and needed a doctor, it wouldn’t be too difficult to manage.