Zheng Yuanfeng’s marriage preparations reminded He Yi of something. Now that Xue Ci had returned, it was time to finish furnishing the house so they could hold the formal new-home fire-entry ceremony.
After two days of rain, the skies finally cleared. As soon as the ground dried, He Yi and Xue Ci spread rice straw on the earth, laid out the cotton on top, and left it in the sun.
The damp cotton fibers had shrunk into dense, flattened clumps. As the sun drew out their moisture, they gradually sprang apart, becoming fluffy again.
After so many days of rain, water had collected in the vegetable garden. Early in the morning, He Yi dug drainage channels for the cotton fields, then returned to drain the garden as well.
He had already removed the rotten chilies and pruned away many disorderly branches. The pepper plants looked almost bare, but their upright stems still had a resilient air, as though promising to recover after a little time. He Yi retied their supporting stakes, diluted some yao dew, and watered the roots.
All that remained was to see whether they would produce fresh chilies.
He Yi also turned to building the perimeter wall. He had originally considered adobe bricks, which could be set with openings in the wall and were flexible for partitions and screening. But they still had various kinds of earth materials piled around. It would be better to use them up, and starting to make mud bricks from scratch would be troublesome.
In the end, he chose a rammed-earth boundary wall. To protect Xue Ci from having his true identity exposed, he made the outer wall particularly high.
Where light was necessary, such as along the north wall behind the vegetable garden, he set six decorative openwork windows into the wall. They would let sunlight reach the plants while making the wall more pleasing to the eye.
He Yi arranged the earth materials by color, tamping the layers together one at a time. The resulting texture was wild and the colors formed a gradient from gray to red, bold yet solemn, with a striking visual effect.
Xue Ci was responsible for swinging the rammer and compacting each layer. He watched He Yi add one small batch of earth after another, utterly baffled by the trouble. But when the finished wall emerged, he was genuinely astonished. He had never imagined that He Yi’s seemingly casual additions would create such orderly patterns and colors.
“…How did you do that?” Xue Ci asked blankly.
“Weren’t you just watching?” At first He Yi did not understand the question, but he soon realized what Xue Ci meant and explained, “It’s simple, really. Each batch of earth becomes a band of color when you compact it. You just need to control how much you add each time and which color you use.”
That sounded easy, but it demanded a keen sense of color. He Yi had later switched to a design-related field of work. Though he had never worked as a professional colorist, he knew a good deal about color, so the technique was well within his abilities.
Xue Ci understood enough to try making a short section himself, but it did not go well. There was no gradient at all. Perhaps he was unaccustomed to encountering something he could not master, because he looked slightly discouraged. He Yi did not dislike the uneven section. Instead he reversed the colors in the layers that followed, making Xue Ci’s work stand out like a single brilliant streak of light against the quieter colors above and below.
Xue Ci stared at that stretch of wall for a long, long time. When he finally looked at He Yi, his gaze had grown intensely warm, and his eyes shone as brightly as a galaxy scattered with stars.
He Yi had become exceptionally skilled at bamboo weaving. He was increasingly practiced and no longer had to ask others for guidance. Instead, he could adapt the techniques himself to create all kinds of new patterns.
Like most villagers, he would never buy something he could make himself: dustpans, bamboo drying trays, carrying baskets, and the like. Bamboo grew all over the mountains. With no need to pay for raw materials, making these items himself was the most economical choice.
He Yi no longer intended to build solid partition walls. Wooden and bamboo screens would make the rooms brighter and give them a more open feeling. Soundproofing was not a major worry because they lived in an out-of-the-way place. The bathing room and latrine were exceptions, of course, and would be enclosed more securely.
He also installed low railing panels beneath the covered walkways, fitting them between the veranda posts. They gave the winding corridors a tidier and more finished appearance.
He Yi was not particularly good at the delicate work of openwork carving, but this was their home, and he wanted every detail to be more beautiful. He spent days and nights cutting, carving, and sanding. Countless wooden splinters pierced his hands, but once he became absorbed in a task, he forgot about such minor injuries.
This was work he had barely mastered himself, so he could not teach Xue Ci. Sawing and planing were dangerous as well. Rather than letting Xue Ci crowd around, he sent him to read books.
Xue Ci did not go far. He moved a little stool beside the doorway and sat there. When he tired of reading, he secretly watched He Yi work with the wood.
Most partitions were wooden, some fully openwork and some partially open. In places that merely needed a visual screen, he used folding bamboo screens that could be put away conveniently.
This phase of the work was difficult and involved countless small tasks. He Yi spent seven or eight days finishing it. When he fitted the very last partition in place, he let out an enormous breath. Even the cuts on his hands stopped seeming painful. It had been worth it.
Meanwhile, Xue Ci helped build the kitchen stove out of adobe bricks. He had grown curious after hearing that mud bricks were another option. Nobody could withstand the clear, bright stare of Xue Ci’s glacier-blue eyes, and He Yi eventually took the trouble to teach him how to make them.
First they mixed clay and rice straw, then soaked the mixture in water and left it until the ingredients were evenly combined.
Next the material had to be churned until it was sticky and sufficiently tough. Normally this stage called for the strength of a farm ox. Hearing that, Xue Ci simply transformed into a snow leopard and began trampling the mud on an open patch of the courtyard.
The soft fur became matted with clumps and streaks of mud, but Xue Ci was having a marvelous time. He Yi stepped away for only a little while. When he returned, he found a large puddle of mud and, in the middle of it, a huge creature so filthy that it had turned almost black.
“…” He Yi thought his head might split open. He needed dozens of breaths to recover before going over and calling, “Xue Ci. Into the courtyard.”
Two round eyes blinked out of the black mass, staring at him. Then the creature bounded toward him.
Once they reached the inner courtyard, He Yi wanted to put on a stern face and scold the boy. But the instant he lifted the gourd dipper, the snow leopard lowered his head and meekly allowed He Yi to pour water over it. That obedient, trusting movement took every reprimand out of He Yi’s mouth.
He’s being so good. I’ll let it go this time, He Yi thought.
He Yi used one hand to break the stream of water before allowing it to fall over the snow leopard’s head. Then he worked his fingers through the fur, loosening the clumps of mud so they could wash away.
“Awoo, awoo.” Xue Ci had been quiet until now, but suddenly cried out twice. Thinking he had accidentally splashed water into Xue Ci’s eyes, He Yi immediately set down the dipper to check more carefully.
But Xue Ci changed back into human form, dropped onto He Yi’s lap, and stretched out his arms and legs for inspection. In a low voice, he said, “You don’t actually need to wash me. When I change back, I’m clean.”
He Yi closed his eyes, at a loss for words. Xue Ci was sitting there completely naked, apparently oblivious as he displayed his spotless skin to prove that it was free of mud.
He Yi reached around from behind, caught both Xue Ci’s wrists, and brought them together to stop him moving about. Then he rested his forehead on Xue Ci’s bare shoulder.
After a while, He Yi said softly, “Go back and put some clothes on. Be good.” He had Xue Ci stand up with him, then walked back to the open work area without looking behind.
The sight of that enormous puddle of mud gave him a headache all over again. Fortunately, the clay and straw had been mixed thoroughly, so pouring it into molds would be easy enough.
When Xue Ci returned dressed, He Yi refused his offer to help, afraid he would somehow get filthy all over again. Once He Yi finished molding the bricks, the only thing left was drying them. They would have to lose every trace of moisture before he could use them to build the stove. That would probably take six or seven days, so he would have to wait until then to finish it.
After the interior fittings were nearly complete, they harvested the cotton once more. Only then was the entire crop finally collected.
He Yi turned to the matter of paying the cotton tax.
The tax on cotton fields was heavy, and cotton itself was difficult to cultivate. Profits could be good, but most farmers trying to keep their risks low seldom chose to grow it. Cotton farming was much more common farther north in the drier regions.
In the end, each of He Yi’s two mu of cotton fields yielded about 170 jin. Seventy jin were deducted as tax, and he turned over the lower-quality cotton that had fallen to the ground.
He set aside some of the remainder to take to a cotton workshop for quilts: two thick quilts and two thin ones. A quilt for one person used less cotton, while a thick quilt for two could require as much as nine jin. He also selected another seven or eight jin for a wedding quilt to give Zheng Yuanfeng.
Afraid the Zheng family would spend money buying a wedding quilt themselves, He Yi told them about the gift ahead of time. Auntie Liu chased him down and gave him a scolding for spending so extravagantly on a present.
He Yi merely said, “If you buy one from someone else, won’t that seller make money on the difference? Better to take one from me. It isn’t about who owes whom a favor, but whether it makes financial sense. I couldn’t bear to see you lose out, Auntie!”
Auntie Liu could not argue with him. She gave a fond huff and finally let him have his way. She had little choice anyway. He Yi had already commissioned the quilt.
Zheng Yuanfeng was so astonished that he stood there in a daze. Even after He Yi left, he could barely form a coherent sentence. Zheng Yuanshi could not bear to watch his younger brother flounder and thanked He Yi on his behalf.
He Yi stored away a small portion of the remaining cotton and sold most of it. With autumn and winter approaching, he had caught a good price, and the quality was respectable. He sold it at 310 wen per jin, earning a total of fifty-two taels of silver.
The villagers knew He Yi had harvested cotton and had been paying close attention. Quite a few had asked about the market price. Once word spread of what he had earned, they began wondering whether they should switch some of their land to cotton the following year. In more than one household, the question sparked heated arguments.
He Yi himself was astonished. When had he ever made so much money all at once? The sudden windfall left him slightly lightheaded. Even after paying for the commissioned quilts, the total had hardly diminished. At last, their household had a solid financial cushion!
He Yi also remembered to set aside two jin of cotton for Qianli.
He had seldom seen Qianli so openly delighted. She kept nodding happily and said she would make He Yi a hat. He Yi told her she ought to make something for herself instead.
“Then… then Qianli will secretly make a padded jacket! In winter I won’t be cold. I’ll wear it underneath, and Mother won’t see it.” That way her younger brothers and sisters would not take it from her.
He Yi’s heart ached at the words. He frowned. “Make sure you keep it for yourself. If you need more, tell me.”
Qianli pressed her lips together, her eyes reddening, and nodded emphatically.
The house was still rather sparsely furnished. In such a large building, the handful of furniture made the rooms seem terribly empty, almost like a humble, impoverished dwelling.
After giving it more thought, He Yi decided to hold the new-home fire-entry ceremony within the next few days. He had meant to do it as soon as Xue Ci came back, partly to welcome him home. The missing furniture did not matter. They could buy more later. Besides, the Zheng family’s wedding banquet was approaching, and it would be awkward to have the two celebrations too close together.
Since they were going to perform a fire-entry ceremony, they would follow the local customs.
In Chongzi Village, people held the ceremony in the hours before dawn. They carried a bucket filled with rice, with three pieces of fruit hidden inside it. He Yi had no idea what the symbolism was.
Xue Ci carried the thick incense sticks and yellow ritual paper. Together with He Yi, he set out from the Zheng household and walked toward their new home.
The road was difficult to navigate at night, and they were forbidden to carry a lamp. The only light came from a burning fire basin in front of their own gate. Fortunately, Xue Ci could see in the dark. He Yi carried the bucket of rice in one hand and held Xue Ci’s hand with the other. He did not fear stumbling, and the two reached their gate without trouble.
The outer gate had two wooden doors fitted with bronze handles. He Yi grasped one, pressed it down, and pushed open the gate, which in fact had not been locked.
At the same time he turned and warned Xue Ci, “Mind the fire.” Smiling, He Yi kept hold of his hand and stepped first over the blazing fire basin before the threshold. Xue Ci tightened his fingers around He Yi’s and followed, stepping across as the loose ribbons at his waist swept above the flames.
Zheng Yuanshi and Zheng Yuanfeng, who had been waiting in the main hall, came forward together, clasped their hands in greeting, and offered their congratulations. “Congratulations on moving the fire into your new home! Congratulations!”
“May we all share the good fortune!” He Yi replied with smiling eyes.
“May we all share it!” Xue Ci echoed him.
Only cool moonlight fell into the open courtyard, yet the main hall was filled with a warmth that seemed to embrace everyone inside.