Axiang spoke in her usual quiet and gentle voice, "I've always been the one to chop wood for our family."
"I was just thinking, since your family doesn't have a boy, you go sit under that tree, and I'll chop for you. After I'm done, I'll carry it down for you," Dabao offered.
"Dabao, don't you have wood to chop for your own family?" Axiang couldn't help but ask.
"What wood do I have to chop? The wood for my house is always chopped by my dad," said Zhao Datu. After finishing, he added, "My second uncle chops too, and we often burn kudzu vine, so I don't really need to exert myself too much."
"Oh," Axiang went to the shaded area under the big tree to sit, watching Zhao Datu busily at work.
Chopping wood alone naturally wasn't efficient, and it wasn't until near noon that Zhao Datu had chopped a good amount, and he was actually intentionally chopping slowly.
