Chapter 9 You are not married yet

Gu Yezhou lay down for a while, feeling truly bored

Gu Yezhou felt a sense of unease in his heart, which clearly indicated the extent of the water shortage in the village

Having said that, Mori hurriedly followed the two villagers down the stairs

Gu Yezhou closed the window, slowly returned to the bedding, and lay down. He quietly listened to the tinkling sound outside the window

Is this the food supply for oneself for the coming year

He leaned against the window, peering out to look down, and saw Ning Sanmei standing below the window on something resembling a seesaw. At the other end was a stone mortar carved from rock, containing some rice grains. On this end of the seesaw was a large, heavy pestle, which, with Ning Sanmei's movements, was pounding the rice grains in the mortar, one strike after another.

Ning Sanmei agreed and then went into the granary next door to sleep

At dawn the next day, Ning Sanmei got up, tiptoeing into the kitchen like a little kitten, and began to light the fire to prepare breakfast

Ning Sanmei brought him hot water to wash his face, but there was very little water, just enough to moisten the face cloth. Gu Yezhou was already aware of the preciousness of water at this time, so he did not ask for more.

There are too many people waiting to draw water from the well at the village entrance, and going down to the river in the county town is too far. Therefore, they said they could not wait any longer, claiming that if they did not fetch water soon, the children and the elderly at home would die of thirst. So they went up the mountain.

He stepped inside, opened the rice jar, and inside was a bag of rice. There were also small bags of already milled white rice.

By the time dawn arrived, her breakfast was already prepared. She squatted by the edge of the ancient leaf boat, gazing at the already sleeping ancient leaf boat, hesitating whether to wake him up

Another important reason for his insomnia is that the mattress and quilt are very thin, and they rub against his skin like sandpaper, causing pain. The material inside does not seem to be cotton. Historical knowledge tells Gu Yezhou that cotton only appeared after the Song Dynasty; before that, there was only silk made from the threads of silkworms, which was expensive and unaffordable for the average person. Those with a little money could only buy some wild cotton from the mountains to fill their bedding. This wild cotton cannot be compared to real cotton; it is only slightly better than a single layer of fabric. For Gu Yezhou, who is accustomed to the delicacies and luxurious silks of modern society, this is quite uncomfortable. Fortunately, there is a fire in the stove, and although it is a bit cool at night, he does not feel cold.

There is a rock crevice in the back mountain that is just over two people wide, and it is very deep, approximately several tens of feet. Below, there is a pool of water; however, it is impossible to directly lower a bucket to retrieve it, as the path twists several times. A person must go down to fetch the water. Yet, the descent is extremely steep and perilous. Mori had long advised everyone not to go there to fetch water. As a result, some did not heed his warning, and three people have already fallen to their deaths, two of whom could not be retrieved because they were wedged tightly between the rocks. Nevertheless, some individuals, unwilling to wait in line for water, still choose to go there to fetch it.

No need, I am fine, I will just sit downstairs and keep you company

Gu Yezhou said: "You..., you are not married yet, are you?"

He stood on the stairs, and Ning Sanmei saw him and hurried over to support him, saying: "Sir, how did you come down the stairs? You need to lie down and rest to recover from your injuries"

"It is just above Uncle Mo's house," Ning Sanmei pointed to a large stilt house with a bamboo fence yard not far away, which had three stories.

At that moment, Gu Yezhou opened his eyes and saw her radiant face, as bright as the morning glow. Hearing her gentle voice, she said: "Sir, breakfast is ready. Would you like to get up?"

He was carefully observing the village head, Uncle Mo, when suddenly he saw two villagers running over from a distance, panting heavily. Upon reaching the foot of the village head's house, they pulled open the bamboo fence and hurried upstairs, shouting as they ran: "Uncle Mo! Uncle Mo!"

The faint smell of excrement wafted up from downstairs. He turned his head to the side and saw that beneath the stilted building was a shelter for livestock such as cattle and sheep. However, there was only a small pig in one of the pens, while the others were all empty

Gu Yezhou, however, felt no drowsiness at all; experiencing such an event happening to himself, he estimated that he was destined to be sleepless that night

Gu Yezhou had never seen such a device, but he immediately guessed that it was used for pounding rice. The sound he had just heard, the tinkling noise, was indeed the sound made by Ning Sanmei as she pounded the rice

Ning Sanmei smiled gently and said, "I need to go back and tell my parents that I will be following the teacher from now on. They will surely be very happy to hear this. You should sleep now; I will go to the next room to sleep by myself when I return." After saying this, she felt her way out of the kitchen door in the dark

Soon, Ning Sanmei returned, and without entering the kitchen, she said through the door: "Sir, I have returned. My parents and elder brother are very pleased to hear that you have agreed to let me stay and eat here, and they have instructed me to serve you well"

Is this the home of the village head in Gong'e Zhai? Just look at that house, it is several times larger than my own. It has the grandeur befitting a village head

Hi! Mori slammed the railing hard, "Go! Hurry up and call someone to find them and bring them up. Ah! I'm afraid it might be too late. That crevice is so deep; if they fall down, where will there be any life left? It would be good enough to retrieve the bodies. Let's go quickly!"

Ning Sanmei could not refuse, so she had no choice but to help him sit on the stairs first. Then she ran upstairs, brought down a stool, placed it on the ground, assisted him to sit down, and continued cutting pig fodder.

The village head, Uncle Mo, appeared in the corridor on the second floor, holding a bun and eating it: "What is the matter?"

Thinking of the sad moments, the corners of Gu Ye's eyes became moist.

Ning Sanmei's pretty face flushed slightly, and she cast him a somewhat resentful glance: "In a poor family like ours, who would ever take a liking to us?"

You may go, do not worry about me

Gu Yezhou smiled and said: "Lying down is quite boring, I tried to get up and walk around, and I don't feel too dizzy, so I came down to take a look"

Gu Yezhou was willing to go down to help, but after just a few steps, he already felt dizzy. Given his current condition, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to make it downstairs. It would be better not to cause her any trouble.

Gu Ye Zhou immediately sensed her warmth; it seemed that this woman had feelings for the scholar whose body she had borrowed. However, judging by the current situation, this scholar did not seem to have any intention of marrying her, perhaps he was solely focused on studying the teachings of the sages.

After approximately one hour, Ning Sanmei returned to the kitchen, her hair slightly damp, clearly indicating that the task of pounding rice was not an easy one. This was especially strenuous for a girl of only fourteen or fifteen years of age.

He groped along the wall, walked to the back window, gently pushed it open, and saw the rice field outside the window, where sparse rice plants were growing beyond the fence.

Gu Yezhou responded with a sound: "Go to bed early!"

Gu Yezhou quickly withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly, then Ning Sanmei helped him put on his clothes. Due to the bandage wrapped around his head, he was unable to comb his hair, so he had to settle for this arrangement

Mori stomped his foot and said, "Did I not mention that the rock crevice is too dangerous? I told you not to go there to fetch water!"

"What is there to see? I will help you upstairs to lie down"

Logically speaking, it should be impossible for him to get out of bed with such severe injuries in such a short time. However, he does not know why his wounds are healing very quickly, and he is already able to get up.

The fire in the stove has gradually diminished, and Gu Yezhou's thoughts have flown back to the modern era. In this lifetime, it is uncertain whether he can return. In modern society, he encountered a car accident and may have already died. His parents, relatives, and friends do not know how heartbroken they are.

He slowly got up, leaning against the wall, and walked to the side of the fire pit. With great effort, he descended from the fire pit and slowly made his way to the center of the hall. He looked around and saw a door on each side. He then slowly walked to the door on the left, pushed it open, and found a storeroom inside. There was a large rice jar with a wooden lid on top. One corner of the rice jar was missing a small opening, and there was also a spinning wheel and some farming tools and miscellaneous items. Additionally, there was a large wooden box that had faded to the point where its original color could no longer be discerned. In the inner part of the room, there was a small bed with a thin quilt. This should have been the place where Ning Sanmei slept last night

Gu Yezhou forced a smile, turned around and exited the room, slowly feeling his way along the wall until he reached the door on the other side. Pushing the door open, he peered inside. It was a simple study, with an old wooden desk in front of the window, the original color of its paint long gone. On the desk were the four treasures of the study and a stack of books. Opposite the wall was a similarly simple bookshelf, which held only a few book boxes. Inside, there was a wooden bed, devoid of bedding, just an empty bed frame. The floor was covered with a straw mat. A brick was placed at the head of the bed, presumably used as a pillow.

It is late at night

Gu Yezhou is unable to lie on his back due to an injury to the back of his head, and can only lie on his side or face down. This position becomes very uncomfortable after a long time, forcing him to turn over with great difficulty and caution

Gu Yezhou was somewhat curious and did not know what the sound was. He tried to get up, slowly supporting himself against the wall to stand up.

Gu Yezhou lowered his head, avoiding her fiery gaze, and asked: "Where is the private school where I teach?"

Ning Sanmei had only one body exposed downstairs, making it impossible to see her entire movement, while the sound of ding-dong continued incessantly

"This is bad! Luo Jiacai, Li Dongzi, and a few others went to the rock crevice on the mountain to fetch water, and the rope broke. They all fell into the crevice!"

For breakfast, there was thin porridge and pickles. After eating, Gu Yezhou still felt some pain in his head, so he took a golden needle and performed acupuncture on himself for a while, which quickly alleviated the pain. Ning Sanmei served him medicine once again. She helped him lie down, and then she went out, though he did not know what she was doing. However, not long after, he heard a faint rhythmic sound coming from downstairs, "Ding dong! Ding dong!"

The entire night, Gu Yezhou spent in such moments of sadness, sorrow, and anxiety

Gu Yezhou stared blankly at their receding figures and asked Ning Sanmei, "What is the matter with that rock crevice?"

He assessed his physical strength and felt that he could manage to move around a bit more, so he slowly left the study, made his way to the corridor, leaned against the railing, and walked to the staircase, gradually descending the stilted building

Ning Sanmei gazed at him gently, nodded slightly, and then took the hoe and rake before walking out.

Ning Sanmei wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, approached Gu Yezhou, and said softly: "Sir, I am going downstairs to cut pig feed for the pigs. You just rest here."