Chapter 87 - Ancient Oven Part 3

Xiaoguo first took out the remaining half bag of lime. She wanted to pour it into the courtyard, but there were still some grains drying in the courtyard. She was afraid that the lime would contaminate them.

Xiaoguo had no choice but to put away the grains. After so many days in the sun, the corn and wheat had mostly dried up. She was not afraid that they would spoil.

Zhuang Zhuang helped to hold up the sacks. Xiaoguo shoveled the dried grains into the bags, tied the ropes, and moved them to one side of the kitchen. She stacked up the bags one by one. Fortunately, Xiaoguo did not fill the sacks completely, otherwise, she would not have been able to lift the bags at all.

Zhuang Zhuang had no strength to move the bags, so he could only follow beside Xiaoguo worriedly. He went back and forth with her. Although he couldn’t move it, he still tried to provide some support from behind.

Xiaoguo didn’t allow Zhuang Zhuang to exert much strength. Although he wasn’t of much help, Xiaoguo pretended otherwise and put on a relaxed expression so that Zhuang Zhuang’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

After putting away the dried grains, there was still some wheat and corn left behind on the ground.

Xiaoguo spread them out so that the sunlight could reach every grain.

She brought the lime over again and poured it on the ground, at a spot away from the grains. Using a shovel, she created a hole in the pile of lime and poured water into it. She slowly stirred it evenly until she had a cement mixture.

While Xiaoguo was mixing the lime, Zhuang Zhuang had already gone to move the bricks by himself. As the bricks were very heavy, Zhuang Zhuang had to move them one by one.

“Zhuang Zhuang, take a break.”

Xiaoguo filled a basin with the cement and turned to look at Zhuang Zhuang who was working tirelessly. She was a little worried. Looking at him, he seemed to be getting more and more energetic.

“It’s fine, Mother. If I’m tired, I’ll rest.”

Zhuang Zhuang did not even turn his head as he answered Xiaoguo. His feet and hands did not stop moving.

Xiaoguo carried the lime mixture to the spot where the oven was going to be constructed. She was going to build the oven against the wall next to the kitchen. Xiaoguo put down the cement and picked up a piece of clay. She squatted on the ground and drew out the shape of the oven’s base. This time, Xiaoguo was going to make a larger squarish structure. Only three walls will be constructed, with the front left open. The open side would be used for adding firewood.

After drawing the lines, she first laid a layer of lime mixture on the ground along the drawn out shape. Then, she laid the bricks neatly above the lime mixture. She was going to arrange a layer of bricks to form a square shape first.

Then, she continued layering the cement and bricks, checking every now and then for any deviations. If there were, she quickly made adjustments.

After creating about ten layers, Xiaoguo placed one of the iron plates she had bought onto the brick structure.

The size was just right. Xiaoguo sealed all sides of the iron plate with lime and placed the remaining three iron plates on the left, right, and top part of the structure.

She then sealed all surfaces with lime and added an additional layer of bricks. The empty spots and crevices were then filled with lime and bricks.

After that was done, another two layers of lime and brick were added again to the existing structure.

Xiaoguo checked all corners to ensure that every part of the oven had been sealed, with the exception of the smoke vent that was specially created for airflow. The oven was finally complete.

Seeing that there was still a little lime left at the bottom of the basin, Xiaoguo used a small shovel to scoop out everything. She smeared it on the oven and tried to make sure that the lime did not go to waste.

“Mother, can we bake mooncakes now?”

Zhuang Zhuang squatted down curiously and looked at Xiaoguo.

“Not yet, because we still have to wait for the oven to dry.”

Xiaoguo spoke slowly, her hands still spreading out the lime.

It was done! Xiaoguo exhaled and looked at the oven with a smile. It was finally done! Though it looked simple, it was really tedious to make!

She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Zhuang Zhuang had already gone to fetch water for Xiaoguo. Then she heard Zhuang Zhuang calling out to her to wash her hands.

Xiaoguo replied, “Right away!”

With that, she turned around and began to pack up the remaining bricks and cement basin.

Zhuang Zhuang was calling out to Xiaoguo again to wash her hands. Xiaoguo felt extremely helpless.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang was obviously imitating Xiaoguo’s actions—the way she used to remind him about washing his hands. He was mimicking her to a tee.

Xiaoguo placed the basin down and smiled helplessly. There was really nothing she could do about him!

“Mother, mother, mother… Hurry up and wash your hands… Are you done? Hurry up…”

“Shut up!”

Since there was no lethality in her tone, Zhuang Zhuang was not afraid at all. However, he still knew when to stop. He bared his white teeth and giggled.

Xiaoguo rapped him on the head, though not with much force.

But Zhuang Zhuang still pretended to cry out in pain. Xiaoguo calmly washed her hands as he wailed.

It was obvious that Zhuang Zhuang had tried this trick several times. Xiaoguo got fooled by him initially, but now, she was able to face it calmly.

When Xiaoguo’s patience was reaching its limit, Zhuang Zhuang could sense it. He stopped wailing and pretended that nothing had happened. He obediently handed Xiaoguo a towel, wiped her hands, and poured away the water.

Xiaoguo was so angry that she laughed. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Zhuang Zhuang’s smiling face. “Jiang Qingwen.”

“Mother!”

Zhuang Zhuang’s body trembled. His eyes were instantly filled with tears. He pursed his lips and looked like he would cry if she scolded him.

Xiaoguo felt helpless. She had no idea what was going through his head.

This time, she wasn’t going to let Zhuang Zhuang muddle through. Even though her heart had softened, she didn’t show it on her face. She looked at Zhuang Zhuang solemnly.

Seeing that his usual tactics were useless, Zhuang Zhuang spoke softly in the face of Xiaoguo’s 200,000-volt attack.

“Mother, I miss Uncle…”

Zhuang Zhuang had not seen his uncle for some time. He felt terrible. He had a lot to tell his uncle.

Xiaoguo froze. No wonder…

That was true. She had promised Zhuang Zhuang that she would bring him to see Qin Anming when she had nothing to do, but she had actually forgotten about it…

This really shouldn’t have happened. Xiaoguo snapped back to reality and looked at Zhuang Zhuang. “Shall we go visit Uncle tomorrow?”

Zhuang Zhuang’s dejection was swept away. The joy on his face was almost blinding her—but in that moment she felt a tinge of jealousy. Is she inferior to his uncle…?

Xiaoguo knew Zhuang Zhuang’s feelings for Qin Anming. She wasn’t too hung up about it and didn’t wish to harp over such a small matter.

Instead, it was more important to bring Zhuang Zhuang to see his uncle tomorrow!

She wondered if Qin Anming had finished the popcorn or whether he liked it. Maybe she should make more and bring them tomorrow.

Xiaoguo patted her head. “Sigh! I’ll just bring the corn kernels with me. I’ll make the popcorn when I get there!”

At night, Zhuang Zhuang knew that he would be seeing his uncle tomorrow. Before he went to bed, he was still deciding on what to wear.

Xiaoguo lay on the bed and looked at Zhuang Zhuang. She teased him, “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that you were going to see a young lady.”

Although Zhuang Zhuang was young, he knew that Xiaoguo was teasing him. He put down his clothes and threw himself on the bed shyly, burrowing into Xiaoguo’s arms.

“Mother…”

Seeing that he was going to pounce on her, Xiaoguo took the opportunity to lift the blanket so that he would fall into it. She then wrapped him up as he landed into the blanket.

Zhuang Zhuang laughed as he rolled around under the blanket. Xiaoguo was laughing so hard that she almost couldn’t breathe.