The soil was piled into ridges and the vegetable seedlings were planted one by one. Huo Duan used a wooden bucket to fetch some water and watered the areas thoroughly. He estimated that the areas would grow into a lush green in a few days.

As the sky gradually darkened, the chicks, ducklings and chicks huddled together in the corner, looking extremely pitiful.

"Alright, let's make a circle for the chickens and ducks." Gu Fengyan brushed off the dirt on his palms and sleeves. "It should be made sturdy for long-term use. We definitely won't be able to... I'll ask my father if there is a carpenter in the village and invite him tomorrow."

The two of them packed up their things. In the front yard, Father Huo was still awake. He was sitting under the eaves mending Huo Duan's clothes.

The lights were dim, and Father Huo could only squint his eyes. Gu Fengyan looked at it and felt a little sorry... In other families, it was the husband who did all these things, but it was a pity that he knew nothing about sewing except cooking edible meals.

"Dad, the light is not bright. Please keep your eyes open. Leave the clothes here for me to sew tomorrow." Gu Fengyan brought the light closer.

Father Huo bit off the last thread, shook his head and said with a smile: "How can you do this? Although I am useless, I can still do this little thing... Have you planted the seedlings?"

Gu Fengyan nodded, "I'm also thinking of building a pen for the chickens and ducks. Dad, do you know who in the village is good at woodworking?"

"It's done, take it inside." Father Huo folded the clothes neatly and handed them to Huo Duan, frowning as he thought, "As for carpentry, the second son of the Shen family on the other side of the river knows how to do it. I saw him make a very beautiful table for your aunt's family a few days ago. His husband, Rui Ge'er, is about the same age as you."

When Liu Laosan was beaten up on the mountain, Gu Fengyan met Rui Ge'er as Huo's father had mentioned... He was a clean and handsome man, and he rarely talked when walking among a group of villagers. He stood out very much.

He remembered it at a glance.

"I have met Rui Ge'er. I will go and invite him tomorrow." Gu Fengyan helped Father Huo into the main room.

Huo's father said, "It won't work tomorrow. Tell Erdan to go and give them a heads up before it gets dark, or else he might end up missing out tomorrow."

It's the busy farming season, so if you want to hire someone to do the work, you should give them a heads-up the day before, in case they have other plans the next day.

Gu Fengyan thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Father is right. It's getting late. Father, you should take a rest first. Brother Duan and I will be back soon."

…

The road was difficult to walk on at night, and there was a small forest on the way to Liu's house where you couldn't see your hand in front of you... Gu Fengyan was still worried and asked Huo Duan to go alone.

Huo Duan took out a hemp paper lantern from the house and lit it. "What are you going to do? I will be back soon. The road is not easy to walk at night."

"That's why I went there because it's hard to walk." Gu Fengyan went into the house and put on another layer of clothes, deliberately trying to scare Huo Duan. "Mr. Huo, don't you know that there are many people buried in the grove on the road? It's dark, and there are wild animals barking... I'm afraid you'll see something you shouldn't see."

"Tsk, what a coincidence! I am a staunch materialist and never believe in gods or ghosts!" Huo Duan said disdainfully, changing the subject, "Are you afraid of the dark and dare not sleep alone?!"

Gu Fengyan snorted and laughed twice, "If you say so, then I won't go."

He immediately made a gesture to go back to the house to sleep.

Huo Duan hurriedly stopped him and coaxed him, "I was just kidding, let's go, we can still talk."

He was busy making a living during the day and was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed at night. He finally had the opportunity to talk to Gu Fengyan alone... Huo Duan naturally wanted to seize it.

The Shen family had split up a long time ago, and Shen Zhuo and his husband Jiang Xuerui lived alone. They were still awake at this time, and through the window they could see two figures sitting at the table.

Huo Duan knocked on the door and asked, "Is Second Brother Shen asleep?"

The person who opened the door was Shen Zhuo, a young man in his twenties, handsome and wearing a coat.

"It's Erdan and Yan'er. We haven't gone to bed yet. Come in and sit down." Upon seeing the two of them, Shen Zhuo made way for them and greeted them with a smile.

"I won't go in. Dad sent me here to ask, second brother, are you able to build a chicken coop for my family tomorrow?"

Shen Zhuo's family was not wealthy, and they only lived in a three-room house. Apart from the kitchen, the living room was only the size of a palm and next to the bedroom. There was no door, so one could see everything at a glance. Rui Ge'er was still inside, and it was not good for Huo Duan to go in alone in the middle of the night.

After listening to him, Shen Zhuo nodded and said, "Okay, I have finished plowing the acres of land. Go back and tell Father Huo that I will come early tomorrow morning."

Huo Duan smiled and said, "Please trouble you, second brother. You and Rui Ge'er should go to bed early. We will be back soon."

"Be careful on the road." Shen Zhuo walked the two of them to the edge of the yard and lit the way.

Gu Fengyan remembered something and turned around to shout, "Second Brother Shen, bring Rui Ge'er with you tomorrow so he doesn't have to work on the stove alone. I also want to learn needlework from him and chat with him while we're at it."

Jiang Xuerui married from the next village. She is shy and doesn't like to chat with the brothers and sisters-in-law in the village. Shen Zhuo is away from home all day and she is worried that he will be bored.

Gu Fengyan brought it up on his own initiative, and Shen Zhuo remembered that they were of similar age, and maybe they could actually have a conversation together.

From now on, when he goes to the fields or to work, his husband will not be bored.

"Okay, I'll go back and talk to him." Shen Zhuo said loudly.

After they walked away, Huo Duan asked Gu Fengyan, "Do you know Jiang Xuerui?"

Gu Fengyan looked at the road carefully. "I don't really know him. I saw him once in the mountains last time, but we never talked..."

"So do you really want to learn needlework? Wouldn't it be the same to learn from father?" Huo Duan raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Do you think I look like someone who can learn embroidery?" Gu Fengyan pointed at himself. "Xinglinyuan has a huge demand for medicinal herbs, but is short of staff. I thought Rui Ge'er might be free, so I wanted to ask him to join me in collecting herbs. I can pay him a salary... Rui Ge'er looks like a very nice person, very handsome." He even laughed a few times as he spoke.

Huo Duan gritted his teeth, "I think anyone is good."

"Trust my judgment, Mr. Huo." Gu Fengyan hooked Huo Duan's shoulder with a playful smile.

Huo Duan snorted disdainfully, but did not dodge.

The next morning, Shen Zhuo arrived, followed timidly by Jiang Xuerui.

Gu Fengyan and Huo's father had just prepared breakfast. Knowing that Shen Zhuo was going to bring Jiang Ruixue with him, Gu Fengyan took some time to mix some herbs that were good for the body into the white rice porridge, and also spent a lot of money on oil, salt and seasonings to stir-fry a few dishes.

After breakfast, Huo Duan and Shen Zhuo gathered around the chicken coop at the back of the house while Huo's father was weaving baskets under the peach tree.

Gu Fengyan pretended to hold a piece of cloth and followed Jiang Xuerui to learn embroidery stitches.

"You are so good, can you teach me?" Gu Fengyan couldn't help but admire Jiang Xuerui as she embroidered a lifelike mandarin duck with her needle and fingers.

It's really amazing, these guys seem to be proficient in all kinds of skills, which makes him, Master Gu, look like a useless guy who can't take care of himself.

Jiang Xuerui felt embarrassed by the praise, and nodded with red ears, "This is what my little dad taught me. You follow me and watch it first, then try it yourself..."

However, Gu Fengyan was confused. He only saw the needle flying but could not find any pattern. But he did not have the intention to learn embroidery.

"What pattern do you want to embroider? I have some here, please pick one." Seeing that he seemed to be distracted, Jiang Ruixue took out some pattern papers from the sewing basket and asked him to choose.

Birds, orchids, peonies, green bamboos... all painted vividly. Gu Fengyan picked a picture of green bamboo and said, "You can also draw patterns, that's amazing."

Jiang Xuerui lowered her eyes, her face flushed, and she smiled sweetly, "How can I do this? It was all done by Azhuo. He is very skillful, and he was afraid that I would feel bored staying at home alone, so he drew some patterns for me to embroider for fun."

"Is that so... Then come to me whenever you feel bored at home. I won't have anything to do at home once Brother Duan leaves anyway." Gu Fengyan continued with a smile.

Jiang Ruixue came here from far away to marry, and there was no one in the village with whom she could talk. Gu Fengyan's outgoing manner made him feel particularly close to him.

"In the future, if you want to embroider something, just come to me and I will help you," he said.

Then she took the bamboo embroidery by Gu Fengyan that looked like a tangled and wriggling caterpillar, and patiently took it apart and modified it.

He finally realized that Yan Ge'er was not born to do this.

Gu Fengyan smiled shyly, "Thank you then. By the way, I have something else I want to tell you..."

"Well, you go ahead." Jiang Ruixue stopped what she was doing.

Gu Fengyan continued, "It's not a big deal. I just saw a lot of medicinal herbs on the mountain a few days ago, so I picked some and prepared them, thinking of selling them to supplement my family income. I didn't expect that I signed a contract with the county's Xinglinyuan, but I was a little short of manpower..."

"I just wanted to ask if you would like to help me collect herbs. I'll pay you for your work." After saying that, he glanced at Jiang Xuerui's expression and added, "If you're too busy at home and don't have the time, that's fine. I'll find someone else."

Jiang Xuerui had heard before that Gu Fengyan's parents ran a pharmacy in the neighboring county. He did not doubt the truth of this, but... they were from the same village, and he had nothing to do, so how could he have the nerve to take other people's wages?

"Azhuo has to go to the county to work on weekdays. The Shen family split up a long time ago. I'm very bored at home alone. Next time you need help, just call me..." Jiang Xuerui smiled shyly, "Just forget about the wages."

"Okay, I'll call you next time." Gu Fengyan said. He certainly couldn't take advantage of others for nothing, and there was no point in pushing it back and forth at this time, so he just had to wait and pay Jiang Xuerui later.

The two talked for a while, and when they thought the chicken coop was almost ready, Gu Fengyan went into the house to prepare the food.

He cooked a pot of soup with the angelica and pheasant he had dug up a few days ago, and fried a plate of wild onions and eggs, and mixed some cold prickly ash sprouts... Shen Zhuo and the others were sweating as they circled together, so Gu Fengyan cooked a pot of basil drink and cooled it with well water.

The meal was cooked together with Rui Ge'er, whom Gu Fengyan had already made his friend.

"Okay, go wash your hands too. I'll go call Erdan and Second Brother Shen to come back for dinner." Gu Fengyan wiped his hands, untied his apron and put it on the pile of firewood.

Shen Zhuo's carpentry is truly the best in Heqing Village. The chicken coop is neatly and beautifully built, and a small door is made with mortise and tenon technology, which is easy to open and close. Even the small vegetable garden next to it is surrounded by a fence.

Huo Duan and Shen Zhuo are doing the final touches.

"Second Brother Shen, the meal is ready. Come and wash your hands after you finish cleaning up. Rui Ge'er and I also made basil drink," Gu Fengyan walked over and joked, "I heard from Rui Ge'er that Second Brother Shen loves him. I sent Rui Ge'er this time, so Second Brother Shen, please don't be angry."

Shen Zhuo blushed, and was too dumb to argue, so he could only drag Huo Dan down with him. "Erdan, listen to this, your husband is so good at talking."

But Huo Duan also follows her husband. When she saw Gu Fengyan, her eyes were full of smiles. "I can't control this. Brother Yan is right. Everyone in Heqing Village knows that you, Second Brother Shen, love your husband the most."

"If we men don't love our husbands, who else should we love?" Shen Zhuo muttered one sentence with a red face for a long time.

"I'll go set the table first, you guys come back soon." Gu Fengyan stopped and said with a smile.

There were five of us having dinner at home today. The stone table under the peach tree was a little small, so we cleaned up the rotten wooden table in the house and used it as a makeshift table.

After dinner, just as the sun was setting, a few people sat on the edge of the yard drinking basil drinks to enjoy the cool air.

The sun sets in the west, the mountains and forests in the distance are rustling, and the sky is rosy and cloudless. You can tell it's a good day at a glance.

We can start going up the mountain to collect herbs tomorrow...Gu Fengyan thought.