Early the next morning, Shen Yunfang got up early, for she had agreed to go to the county with Dashuan's wife today, so she needed to finish all her chores ahead of time. She first went to the production team to feed the sheep, and then returned home to get busy.
She fed the chickens, watered the chives on the ground, and also kept the earthworms on the kang moist.
The chives in the western room had already been harvested once, and the first batch hadn't grown very robust. After cutting them, she tied them into four bundles, estimating that each bundle was about a pound.
Then she sprinkled some wood ash on the chives. The ones growing now looked much stronger. She hoped to increase the yield during the second harvest.
Among the clusters of chives, the lettuce she had sown was also sprouting, but it was still too early for them to have grown much.
After tidying up these things, Shen Yunfang pressed some firewood into the kang stove. She would be out until at least the afternoon, so she had to add some firewood midday to maintain the temperature in the room, otherwise, all the plants and animals inside would suffer. That's why she had asked Wang Dame to come over and stoke the fire for her at noon yesterday.
As for her chive cultivation and earthworm farming, the Wangs were bound to find out. However, after observing and interacting with them over the past few days, she felt that everyone in Wang Dame's family was pretty decent, none of them bad people. Besides, the stuff she was doing was nothing to make a fuss about; even if the Wangs turned out to be unreliable and spread the word, she could explain herself if necessary.
A young girl's trifling activities were unlikely to concern many people.
Moreover, she wanted to test the Wang family. Whatever she was doing, she needed help. She couldn't possibly stay in all winter, but her current situation really did require the presence of others. So if possible, she also wanted to find someone who could help her with the fire.
After getting her home in order, Shen Yunfang tightened her thin cotton-padded jacket around herself, took a deep breath, and stepped into the freezing wind.
Because of the recent snowfall, the entire Gaijiatun had been replaced by a blanket of white. Everywhere one looked, the landscape was draped in silver. But Shen Yunfang was in no mood to appreciate the scenery, pushing against the biting cold wind, she made her way to the Wangs' house step by step.
Dashuan's wife had long been ready and was waiting for Shen Yunfang. Seeing her braving the wind on her way from the window, she quickly picked up the cotton-padded coat next to her, said a word to her mother-in-law, and stepped outside.
"You're here, I'm almost due to meet Uncle Yougen. Here, put on this coat. It's going to be a long time till we get to the county," Dashuan's wife hurriedly draped the coat, still warm, over Shen Yunfang as she stepped out into the courtyard.
Shen Yunfang felt her body gradually warming up and, looking at Dashuan's wife with her own cotton-padded coat in hand, found herself at a loss for words.
"Oh, what are you looking at? Hurry up and put it on before it loses all its warmth. Just so we're clear, this isn't for keeping. It's my mother-in-law's, she was afraid you might freeze before we get to the county, so she's lending it to you for now." Dashuan's wife rubbed her ears, pulled a scarf from her bundle, and wrapped up so that only her eyes were visible in a matter of seconds.
Then she took out another scarf and, following suit, wrapped it around Shen Yunfang, "This one's also my mother-in-law's, hope you don't mind."
Mind? Shen Yunfang was touched, but she soon thought of an issue and hurriedly caught up with Dashuan's wife who had started walking ahead, "Sister-in-law, if I take Dame's clothes, how will she go out at noon?"
If because of her, Wang Dame was to catch a chill, she would feel terribly guilty.
"Don't worry, there is an old, worn cotton-padded coat at home. It's not very warm, but it'll do for walking the short distance," Dashuan's wife said as she pulled Shen Yunfang along, "Let's hurry, Uncle Yougen won't wait for us forever."
When the two women reached the brigade's gate, they saw a thin, small old man wearing an old, worn cotton-padded coat, holding a small whip in his hand. Behind him was a carriage with several fully-equipped women seated on it.
"Uncle Yougen, we're here," Dashuan's wife greeted the old man as she arrived, then quickly helped Shen Yunfang find a seat on the carriage.
Shen Yougen, the driver from Gaijiatun, saw that everyone had arrived, lifted his little whip in the air, giving it a crack, shouted "Giddy up," and the carriage began to move slowly.
"Dashuan's wife, what are you off to do?" The women seated in the carriage, having nothing better to do, began to chat eagerly.