(Wishing all readers a happy and joyous New Year, a cheerful Spring Festival, and a delightful celebration of the Lunar New Year's Eve. Your happiness brings me joy, and your well-being fills me with sweetness. May the Year of the Dragon bring you vigor and prosperity, along with happiness and good fortune.)
Old Gu Six learned the theoretical knowledge of building a kang bed-stove. He didn't start right away but practiced a bit outside first.
Then he began renovating the new house they had only lived in for a short while.
After finishing the kang, Old Gu Six started going into the mountains to cut trees. He planned to build a boat so he could go fishing in the sea when he had free time.
Chang'an went to the beach every day with a bucket, finding it extremely interesting. She felt that the seafood she collected herself tasted even better.
When not at the beach, she would go into the mountains. She seemed busy every day, though it wasn't clear what exactly kept her occupied.
Sometimes she would help Old Gu Six build the boat, but her craftsmanship wasn't great. Her help was more like causing trouble, so it was better for her to just watch from the side.
She thought the land they had cleared was still a bit small, so she started clearing more land on the hillside to plant sweet potatoes and regular potatoes.
Then she remembered that cotton was particularly scarce in this world.
"Hey, you there, are you around?" she called out.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"Old man, are you still there?"
"If you can hear me, please respond and bring me some cotton seeds."
...
There was no response. Perhaps her signal hadn't been received.
It wasn't until after dinner that evening that Chang'an finally got a reply.
However, it was brief and hurried.
[I've placed them in your space.]
After saying this, the presence disappeared. Chang'an entered her space and found a paper package on the dining table, which must have been the cotton seeds.
Chang'an picked it up and looked at it. It seemed to be about a pound, enough to plant about an acre of land.
She needed to continue clearing more land. Old Gu Six had made a new curved-beam plow with an iron plowshare.
Tomorrow they would bring out the mule to work. Chang'an thought about all the things they needed to plant in spring next year.
Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, wheat, vegetables, and cotton.
The next day, the mule started working again, grumbling as usual, but this time it clearly felt much easier.
Could it be that its strength had increased?
Chang'an wondered: Could it be because of the new plow?
By the time it started snowing, Chang'an had finished clearing her land, but Old Gu Six's boat was not even half done.
The boat he was building was too large; it probably wouldn't be finished for at least a year.
On snowy days, there was nothing to do but stay indoors for the winter. With the kang bed-stove and the regular stove, it wasn't too cold, but they couldn't go outside because of the strong sea wind.
Next spring, they definitely needed to plant some fruit trees around the house to block the wind.
In the depths of winter, the silver wolf that had originally guided them, along with its mate, found their way to the house. Chang'an thought they were just visiting.
She fed them a meal of meat, and then they settled down in the outdoor kitchen of her house.
Their intention was clear; they had come to stay temporarily.
"This won't do. Where am I supposed to get enough meat to feed you in the dead of winter? Why don't you go back to your own home and come visit again in ten days or half a month?" Chang'an suggested.
The silver wolf ignored her and cuddled up with its mate, sleeping soundly.
Their thick skin was truly impressive; they had actually made themselves at home!
Everyone come and see! There's a thick-skinned wolf here, trying to force a villager to adopt it and its mate.
Is this a perversion of wolf nature, or a moral decline?
Chang'an decided to let the wolf couple experience the harshness of society.
Living with Chang'an meant three days of hunger out of every ten.
For the first few days, the wolf couple could eat until they were about 70% full. Later, they could only eat until half full. After that, Chang'an started behaving in a way that seemed inhuman.
She was being more beastly than the wolves themselves. How could she make carnivores eat vegetables? Was this something a person would do?
In truth, this wasn't entirely Chang'an's fault. The wild game stored in her space's freezer had all been eaten by the wolf couple.
They ate so much in one sitting, and the freezer couldn't replenish fast enough.
So she had no choice but to feed them vegetables. She and Old Gu Six didn't even have meat to eat themselves, only crabs and shrimp.
Chang'an saw disdain in the eyes of the wolf couple, and then watched as the silver wolf raised its front paw and kicked a piece of broccoli far away.
After kicking away the broccoli, the silver wolf led its mate back into the mountains.
Chang'an rubbed her nose, went out to pick up the broccoli, and returned to the house.
"Daughter, it's so cold, shall we have hot pot?" Old Gu Six suggested.
"Sure," Chang'an agreed, taking out the pot and hot pot seasoning. She also stewed a pot of pork rib soup, and when the hot pot seasoning in the pot started boiling, she added the rib soup to it.
Tripe, lamb, beef, and various vegetables filled the entire table.
While the father and daughter were leisurely enjoying their hot pot at home, the wolf couple was out hunting in the mountains.
Then, for some unknown reason, the wolves had a conflict, and the silver wolf was pinned down and beaten by its mate.
The winter evening grew dark early. Chang'an and Old Gu Six waited for a long time but didn't see the wolf couple return. They assumed the wolves had gone back to the mountains and wouldn't come back.
In the middle of the night, they heard wolf howls outside the yard, and the sound of claws scratching at the door, making their teeth ache.
Old Gu Six put on his clothes and went out to open the door for them.
When he opened the door, Old Gu Six was shocked. The silver wolf couple had brought back another wolf couple, and beside them lay two dead wild boars.
The silver wolf raised its paw and patted the wild boar, letting out a low howl.
Old Gu Six strangely understood its meaning: they had brought their own food and wanted to continue staying in the same room as before.
He stepped aside, and the wolves worked together to drag the wild boars into the yard.
Then the silver wolf howled twice more, wanting Old Gu Six to help them butcher the pigs.
"It's too late tonight, it would disturb my daughter's sleep. I'll help you process them tomorrow," Old Gu Six said.
The silver wolf raised its proud head, only to be swatted down by its mate. The two couples then retreated to the outdoor kitchen.
Old Gu Six brought in a bundle of dry grass and followed them, making another bed for the new wolf couple.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the silver wolf started howling under Old Gu Six's window, calling him to come and butcher the pigs.
Old Gu Six looked at the sky outside; it was barely light. He scratched his head in frustration.
"Stop howling, don't you know what time it is? Don't wake up my daughter, or I'll chase you all out," he grumbled.
Hearing Old Gu Six's impatient voice, the silver wolf returned to the outdoor kitchen somewhat dejectedly, waiting eagerly for daybreak.
They had to wait until Chang'an woke up, and then wait for them to finish breakfast.
During the time when it had been Chang'an's mount, the wolf had eaten processed meat. After returning to the mountains, it had gone back to eating prey with fur, which it now found somewhat unappetizing.
This was a bit unsanitary, so after enduring for a while, it brought its mate to find Chang'an.
Yesterday, it had also brought its brother-in-law and his mate. Now that they were living under someone else's roof and had brought their family along, they had to be patient.
After breakfast, Old Gu Six helped the silver wolf clean the wild boars. He kept about three jin of pork belly to fry some crispy pork for his daughter.
"We humans believe in reciprocity. I help you butcher the pigs, you give me a piece of meat, and that's how our friendship can last," he explained.
The silver wolf looked confused, but the piece of meat wasn't much. It tilted its head and patted a pig leg with its paw, indicating it could give him a whole leg as well.
"No need, this is enough," Old Gu Six declined. Four wolves and two wild boars weren't really enough to eat, so it was better to leave more for them.
Old Gu Six helped them divide the wild boar meat into pieces and put it in the outdoor kitchen for them to eat slowly.
Two humans and four wolves living under the same roof turned out to be surprisingly harmonious.
When the wolves finished their prey, they would go out to hunt on their own, never asking Chang'an to feed them again.
Every time they went out, they would bring something back for Chang'an. Once, when they came back and saw Chang'an cutting Chinese cabbage, the silver wolf came forward, swatted the cabbage away with its paw, and threw a wild chicken to her instead.
Chang'an thought she saw pity in its eyes.
This time, the wolves had been out hunting for over ten days and hadn't returned, which made Chang'an a bit worried.
Usually, they would come back after seven or eight days. She wondered if they had encountered some danger.
