CHAPTER 613: EPISODE 326 MOVING_2

Moving house, no matter the era, was always a significant event. Meng’s mother went to an old Taoist priest outside the village to choose a date, and they settled on the sixth day of April to raise the main beam and move into the house. Hua Xiaomai was not much help, so she planned to buy some delicate and practical items in the city to nicely decorate the new home, making it a bit more comfortable to live in the future.

Since they also had a little one, Walnut, who couldn’t be left alone for long, she dared not delay too much. She only purchased essential items, hired a cart to take everything back to the village, and calculated that she needed to make a few more trips to the city before the beam raising ceremony to properly organize everything.

It was not until then that she truly had the time to properly inspect the new house.

The new house featured an inner and an outer courtyard with a row of kitchens against the wall on the left side of the front courtyard. According to Hua Xiaomai’s suggestion, it was built spacious and modeled after the Daoxiang Garden’s kitchen—convenient and well-ventilated with a wide stove and complete range of kitchenware. Anyone interested in cooking would feel at ease as soon as they stepped inside;

The front yard included the main hall, the kitchen, and a storeroom, while the back yard consisted of three master bedrooms and four wing rooms. All the furniture was carefully crafted by the craftsmen; simple and elegant in design, perhaps not extraordinarily delicate but made from quality materials, very sturdy and durable.

They had specifically spent money to transplant several trees into the courtyard, and besides the flowers and plants, a small vegetable patch was carved out in the northeast corner. Though it wasn’t very significant, it was a good choice for planting onions and garlic on a regular day.

It wasn’t the time for flowers to blossom profusely yet, but the lush greenery was dazzling. At dusk, the heavy sun cast golden hints on the white walls and black tiles. Standing in the courtyard for a moment, the air was filled with the refreshing scent of grass and the dry aroma of wood. Even the forest behind the house, usually deep and quiet, now seemed more lively.

In this era, new homes didn’t contain many toxic materials, but regardless, a newly repaired house was always somewhat damp. Hua Xiaomai, holding Walnut, stood in the yard for a while before stepping outside, pointing to a cluster of small flowers on the ground to show him.

"Those craftsmen are skilled, but the furniture they made is a bit ugly, right?"

She chattered happily in Walnut’s ear, fully aware that he couldn’t understand her yet, but she kept talking, "Your dad really has no sense of aesthetics; such ugly furniture, and he had no objections, just happily paid the craftsmen. Don’t you think that’s silly? But Walnut..."

As she spoke, she affectionately touched the baby’s soft, chubby cheeks, "Walnut, this will be our new home from now on!"

The little one looked up at her, seemingly annoyed by her fussiness, but soon chuckled.

Quickly, it would be the sixth of April.

That day, Daoxiang Garden was closed for business. Everyone from the shop went early in the morning to the new house in the east of the village. Wang Zhanrui and Master Tan, along with Zhou Yunyun, were busy preparing the feast in the kitchen; Chun Xi and La Mei were busily tending to the arrangements with Qing You and others, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Hua Xiaomai remembered, when Brother Li Shan invited her to a second-tier seat at his house-raising ceremony, quite a few villagers rushed to assist, and when it was finally their own house’s turn, the scene was even more bustling and chaotic. Many from the Lianshun Escort Agency had also hurried over to lend a hand. Although Elder Liu did not show up, the atmosphere was not affected in the least. It was noisy and uproarious, and it seemed like one could hear the clamor even from the official road.

Red cloths were hung all around the courtyard. Craftsmen hoisted a beam wrapped in red cloth onto the roof, and in moments, children who followed their parents to watch the fun had gathered around, giggling as they waited for the "beam throwing." Good-luck pouches stuffed to the brim descended from above, and the crowd surged forward to grab them, stretching their arms to snatch—no one was really in need of those few copper coins or handfuls of candies, their excitement stemmed merely from a desire to offer face to the host family while catching some of the joy for themselves.

Anyone who saw such a spectacle would feel joyful. Standing behind everyone, Meng Yuhuai looked up at this scene with a slight smile forming on his lips. He turned his head to look for Hua Xiaomai but did not see her anywhere.

"She’s in the backyard!"

Meng’s mother seemed to know whom he was looking for and nodded towards the back, frowning, "Knowing there are children at home, why didn’t they set off the fireworks farther away? Little Walnut got scared and started crying, Xiaomai took him to the backyard, probably comforting him right now!"

Meng immediately wanted to go find the mother and son but was unexpectedly caught by someone tugging at his sleeve and could not get away. He could only turn back to exchange pleasantries. By the time he finally managed to greet everyone and was about to head to the backyard, his timing coincided with the start of the feast, and thus, he was even more unable to leave.

Hua Xiaomai, busy with Little Walnut, only came out for a short while during the feast before staying in the back courtyard room for good. While everyone else in the front was in high spirits, she couldn’t join in and naturally felt a bit disappointed—but after all was said and done, what could matter more than the little one she held in her arms?

This flurry of excitement only calmed down in the late afternoon. After sending off neighbors who came to congratulate and help, the family still had to clean up the new house inside and out, and prepare dinner, keeping them busy until late in the evening.

During the night, a breeze arose, and outside the window of Meng Yuhuai and Hua Xiaomai’s room was a large grove of trees. The leaves and branches rustled in the wind, and that natural fragrance wafted through the slight gap in the window.

After Meng Yuhuai cleaned up in the bathhouse and returned to his room, he just happened to see Hua Xiaomai holding Little Walnut as she sat on the wide bed, humming softly to lull him to sleep, her neckline slightly open, revealing a lock of hair hanging by her ear, casting intricate shadows on her face.

He couldn’t help but smile, walking over to touch her head, "Are you tired?"

"It’s okay," Hua Xiaomai looked up at him and squinted, "I just need to take care of Little Walnut. You, on the other hand, have been busy all day..."

Meng Yuhuai didn’t have the patience to hear her finish, quickly taking Little Walnut from her.

"If you’re not tired, then tonight, let Little Walnut sleep with his mom." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)