Repairing the stove

  One night without words, the next morning, Yang Genjian and Lu Xiuer carried a bucket out of the door. They wanted to go to a mountain pond several miles outside the village that was almost dry to fetch water back to irrigate the fields. Su Hang had the intention to go with them, but after weighing his own body, he knew it was just a beautiful wish, and it would take a long way to put it into practice. Poor him, a 17-year-old big boy, not as strong as Lu Xiuer, carrying a bucket of water, let alone walking several miles, even from the village entrance back home, he would have to spill more than half of it.

  The farm work couldn't be done, so Su Hao started thinking about the stove at home. The techniques for making a fuel-efficient stove were all in his mind, and the agricultural department had designed this kind of stove to promote it to rural areas, so the technology wasn't complicated, as long as he grasped a few key points, he could make one.

  Su Hao first arrived at the drilling site, he saw several piles of burnt fire marks beside the wellhead, and knew that the craftsmen were fighting against the lamp, working through the night. He came to the front of Xie Changfa and asked: "Master Xie, what's the situation down the well?"

  Xie Changfa's face was full of fatigue, but his mood was extremely high. Seeing Su Hao, he hastily made a bow and replied: "Xiucai Lang, the well location you pointed out is really accurate. Now we have dug 30 feet and have seen wet soil. In my experience, this well will definitely be successful."

  "Haha, that's good." Su Hao felt relieved. Geological exploration was a matter of various variables, and it was possible for anything to happen, especially since he didn't have any instruments on hand and could only rely on experience and visual inspection, which still carried some risk. Now that Xie Changfa said they had seen the wet mud, his heart felt at ease. If water didn't come out of this location, then the geology textbook would need to be rewritten.

  "Excuse me, Master, may I borrow a few tools from you?" Su Hao asked.

  "Whatever the young master wants, just take it." Xie Changfa replied. He had always been very admiring of people with skills. Su Hao's move yesterday was really impressive. As a well-digger, he might need to borrow Su Hao's expertise again sometime, so borrowing some tools was no big deal for him.

  "Is Master Xiucai going to do some manual labor? Do you want me to call a few workers to help you?" asked Xie Changfa.

  "It's all right, thank you, Master," Su Hao said.

  Su Hao borrowed a chisel, trowel and other tools from Xie Changfa, and also borrowed an earth basket. Then he went to a small mound near the village to fetch soil. This mound was where he had walked by yesterday, and he remembered that there was very good clay there, just suitable for renovating the stove.

  "Xiucai, what are you doing?"

  Passersby villagers found Su Hao digging the soil and greeted him with a smile. When the villagers started working early, they all went to the well site to take a look around, so they already knew about the discovery of wet soil under the well. As soon as this news spread, everyone's impression of Su Hao changed greatly.

  "Fourth Uncle, I'll dig some soil back and fix the stove." Su Hao called out to him based on his past memories.

  "Huh, the scholar is calling someone?" The villager known as Fourth Uncle whispered excitedly to his companion. It's worth noting that Su Hao had read so many sacred books over the years that he rarely greeted the villagers anymore. Occasionally when he did say something, it was rare for him to address them with terms like "uncle" or "aunt".

  "Xiucai, I heard that the well you pointed out yesterday already has water. You are indeed quite knowledgeable." Another villager said.

  Su Hao smiled slightly: "Wangcai brother is joking with me, I can't shoulder or lift, if I find a well spot and can't even do such things, then I'll become useless."

  "Haha, Brother Xiucai is telling a joke. With your great learning, you will become an official in the government in the future. How can you do manual labor with us common people?" The other person was called "Wang Cai Ge" and was immediately flattering Su Hang.

  Su Hao dug up half a basket of clay and carried it home with both hands. He couldn't walk for more than a few steps before he had to stop and rest, thinking about his healthy physique in his previous life. Su Hao was so frustrated that he wanted to cry. There was no way out, the next step must be to start exercising, without a good body, nothing could be done.

  Finally back home, Su Hao carried the clay into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves and started renovating the stove. He enlarged the furnace, redesigned the opening position of the flue, thickened the furnace wall, and reduced the size of the stove mouth. After finishing the work in the house, he went to the yard, found a broken wooden ladder that was about to collapse, climbed up to the roof at the risk of falling and breaking his bones, and raised the chimney by one section.

  After finishing this chore, Su Hua was so exhausted that he saw stars in his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and then went to scoop water to rinse the rice, wash vegetables and cook dinner. Seeing four or five eggs stored in the clay pot, he had an idea, took out two of them, cracked them into a bowl, added some water, stirred well, and put it into the pot where the vegetable porridge was being cooked, steaming an egg custard.

  When Yang Genjuan and Lu Xiuer returned from the fields, exhausted, a table of food had already been prepared. The two women's mouths were wide open, unsure of what to say.

  "Hao'er, is it your aunt who has come?" Yang Genjian's first reaction was not that Su Hao had made this table of dishes, but rather that her younger sister, who had married into a neighboring village, had returned to help out.

  "No, I did it." Su Hao said with a pleased expression.

  People who have been working outdoors for many years, if they don't know how to cook, are simply abusing themselves. Su Hao was a decent chef in his previous life, and with the limited ingredients available in this household, he could whip up a big meal for his mother and sister.

  "When did my son learn how to cook?" Yang Genjian exclaimed.

  Lu Xiuer didn't even have time to wash her hands, she rushed to the table, picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the green vegetables, chewing with surprise, saying: "Mom, my brother's cooking is actually quite delicious."

  "How dare you doubt my skills!" Su Hao was very disdainful of Lu Xiuer's actions, "Hurry up and wash your hands. I know you've been working hard, so I specially steamed some tofu eggs for you, eat them while they're hot."

  Yang Genjian and Lu Xiuer washed their hands and sat down at the table. Su Hao knew that with Yang Genjian's usual style, she would absolutely not touch the bowl of egg custard he had specially steamed, and would leave it all for him to eat alone. He took the initiative, using yesterday's method, directly dividing the egg custard into thirds and putting them into Yang Genjian and Lu Xiuer's bowls, only then placing the remaining portion in front of himself.

  "Hao'er..." Yang Genjian was moved, no mother would be unmoved by such a filial act from her son. However, she still said: "There are only these few eggs left at home, I was keeping them for you to nourish your body, Xiaoyu and I don't need to eat such good things."

  "Mom, what are you talking about?" Su Hao said displeased. "You're getting older, this is the age when you need to supplement your nutrition. Xiu Er is still young and growing up, how can she not eat well? Don't worry, there will be eggs, there will be bread, everything will be fine."

  "What is bread?" Lu Xiuer blinked her beautiful big eyes and asked. Savoring the delicious egg custard, she felt a warmth in her heart that she had long been missing. This was the kind of brother she wanted, and after a few years, he would still be her husband. If he could always be so considerate, it would be great.

  "Bread... is really delicious, I'll make some for you to eat in a few days." Su Hao made the promise. In his eyes, 15-year-old Lu Xiuer was just a little loli, but if she were placed in modern times, she should be a young lady who spends her days hanging out with classmates at McDonald's, skillfully ordering new dishes and things like Mexican chicken rolls. Unfortunately, she was born at the wrong time and had to start doing physically demanding work at a young age.

  "Also, I declare that Xiuer will no longer have to pick firewood from now on." Su Hao continued, "I've already modified our stove, and after personally testing it, it saves at least 60% of firewood."

  "What, you really dismantled the stove?" Yang Genjian's current feeling is more terrifying than surprising. Her son can cook, she doesn't believe it, but whether he cooks well or badly, at most they just have to eat it with a stiff upper lip. This repairing of the stove is no joke, if the stove is damaged, they'll have to invite a mason to rebuild one, which will cost at least one or two silver coins, this is a huge expense!

  Lu Xiuer's idea was quite similar to Yang Genjuan's, and the two women threw down their bowls and rushed into the kitchen together. Su Hang shook his head helplessly and followed them into the kitchen.