Aman's fever recurred several times after that, but it quickly subsided after taking medicine and nursing care. Within a few days, the little guy was full of life again.
But Qin Manzhi still had lingering fears.
This disease was so dangerous that if Brother Ling hadn't run to the doctor in the middle of the night, she couldn't imagine what would happen to Man Bao later.
At dinner time, the family ate in the main room. There were three dishes and one soup on the table, among which a stewed chicken stood out.
"Brother Ling, thank you for being here this time." Qin Manzhi didn't say any words of thanks. He just reached out and broke off the chicken legs and put them into Shen Ling's bowl. "Eat more, you are too thin."
Zhuang Keqing saw Shen Ling staring blankly at the chicken legs in the bowl and not knowing what to do. He found it interesting and couldn't help laughing: "I picked the fattest one to stew. Look at these thighs. They are so thick." It’s strong and fragrant.”
"Eat it." Qin Manzhi saw that he didn't understand chopsticks and smiled again. "Don't you like chicken?"
"No, thank you mother."
Shen Ling lowered his head, silently picked up the chicken leg and brought it to his mouth, chewing it gently. As expected, it was oily, fragrant, chewy and delicious.
"Ke'er, I'll kill a chicken and stew it in the next month. I think both of you are very thin, so you need to make up for it."
Qin Manzhi paused, squinted his eyes again and joked, "After the mending is done, I will soon have a fat baby, just in time to keep Aman company."
Zhuang Keqing originally had the intention of reading Shen Ling's joke, but as soon as her mother said this, she unconsciously thought of the kiss like a dragonfly on the water that night, and her cheeks turned red.
"What's wrong with you?" Shen Ling noticed her discomfort and asked.
When Zhuang Keqing raised her head, she was suddenly struck by the deep, dark eyes full of concern, and her neck hung down in embarrassment. She faltered, showing a rare shyness of a little daughter.
Qin Manzhi saw it in his eyes, and became more and more satisfied with his son-in-law. "The weather is not too cold now, so I can still feed the chickens. I don't feel bad about eating this big chicken."
"Um."
Zhuang Keqing responded slowly, almost burying his head in his rice bowl.
Early the next morning, after starting work and finishing making tofu, Shen Ling was going to Wen Shu's stall when Zhuang Keqing stopped him.
"Aling, I want to make a fire bed. Can you draw a drawing for me?"
Because of Aman's sudden illness, Zhuang Keqing has been thinking hard about the problem of heating in winter for several days.
Erli Village is located in the eastern part of Dai State, with very short spring and autumn, hot and humid summers, and wet and cold winters. On weekdays, the villagers just collect more firewood before winter and burn a brazier to keep warm before going to bed at night. But because of this, there are still some Because people died while keeping warm.
Before she got married, she slept with her mother every year, and the mother and daughter cuddled tightly to keep each other warm, but that was obviously not possible this year.
Not to mention that she and A Ling were not at the level of hugging each other, but even A Man, with her mother holding her at night, might not be able to withstand the cold and dampness coming from the ground.
She considered several methods, from burning charcoal pots to making clay stoves, and finally felt that the earthen kang was the best. It was economical, affordable, and had a large heating space. However, she only knew the appearance and general principle of the earthen kang, and did not know the inside. The specific structure, so this time I had to turn to Aling for help.
He used to read a lot of books in Shen De's study, so he thought he should know more about engineering studies, right?
"Fire kang?"
Looking at Shen Ling's puzzled expression, Zhuang Keqing knew that this thing had obviously never appeared in Dai Guo, at least not in Nanzi County.
"Well, it's built with yellow mud inside the house, connected to the kitchen stove, and heated with firewood."
She gestured with her hands, trying to let Shen Ling know what she was talking about.
"Follow me."
Shen Ling didn't wait for Zhuang Keqing to continue explaining, took her hand and entered the house.
"Is this what you said?"
After licking the moistened rabbit hair pen with ink, Shen Ling took a piece of rough paper and drew lines on it.
"Yes, that's what it looks like. It just needs to be connected to the stove in the kitchen." Zhuang Keqing was shocked when he saw that his men had made some changes to the basic shape of the fire pit.
Shen Ling added a few more strokes and patched the flue. It only took two or three quarters to complete the drawing.
"Is this what you said?"
"yes……"
Zhuang Keqing was speechless. Is there really such a genius in the world? With just a few words and a few random gestures, she actually drew an exact replica of the fire kang commonly used in the north in later generations.
Shen Lingchen took the drawing and held it in his hand, keeping his eyes on the ink on it. He pondered for a few breaths, as if thinking of something, he added a few more lines with a pen and said: "The firepower is so hot that it may not be comfortable to sleep on it. I'm here A line has been added here, and it will be appropriate to separate it with clay slabs."
Zhuang Keqing wished she could hold her chin with her hand.
She took the rough paper and looked at it carefully, then looked at Shen Ling with admiration and admiration. "You are so awesome! I didn't even know what I was talking about just now."
"No, you said it very clearly. I understood it as soon as I heard it."
Shen Ling has grown taller, and is now a head taller than the girl in front of him. At this time, he looked at the girl's happy and excited smile, softened his eyes, and couldn't help but reach out and stroke the girl's soft hair. top.
Zhuang Keqing was planning in his mind when to go to the mason to buy bricks. He didn't notice Shen Ling's actions. He just thanked him for his help with a smile, turned around and ran out of the house.
His hand was suddenly empty. Shen Ling lowered his head and looked at the less obvious scar on his palm, feeling some inappropriate regrets in his heart.
Zhuang Keqing on the other side got the blueprint and couldn't wait any longer.
She turned around and went out, put Dahei in the car, and went to the mason's house in the next village.
I dragged a lot of bricks back during this trip. When I returned to the village, I was seen by others and was surrounded by people asking questions.
"Girl, what are you doing here dragging those bricks back?"
The villagers have learned to be smart now, and the girl from the banker's house must be good at it. In the past, whether she was making tofu or running a sweet potato workshop, it was not a profitable business.
But, what do you mean by the bricks in this car?
Could it be possible to make some fresh food with these bricks?
"Uncle, I plan to make a fire bed at home so that the house won't be cold when winter comes."
"What about a heated kang? I've never heard of it."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. When they heard that it was not a money-making business, some people lost their curiosity and dispersed in twos and threes.
Only the elder man of the Liu family stayed. He followed Zhuang Keqing's car and inquired carefully.
His wife just gave birth to a fat boy the day before yesterday. The baby is too young and weak, so it will be difficult to take care of him in the cold weather.
He also heard that a few days ago, Yatou's family had invited a doctor in the middle of the night, saying that the child had caught a cold and was seriously ill. For these reasons, he was really worried about the heating problem in his home in winter. At this time, he saw someone buying bricks to make a hot bed. He also said that it was used for greenhouses, so he wanted to learn a lesson.
"Girl, is this fire kang troublesome to make? If you want to help, just call me." He said enthusiastically.
"Uncle Liu, my Arling made the drawings. It shouldn't be difficult to do. If you are willing to help, I can't thank you enough."
Zhuang Keqing smiled and replied, she was worried about how many people in her family were too busy. If Uncle Liu could come, she would be relieved.
When Liu Da saw that she had agreed, he also smiled and showed his white teeth. He hurriedly stepped forward to help hold Dahei, as if he meant that work would start today.
In the next few days, Liu Da Riri went to the banker early in the morning. The villagers were confused and came to take a look out of curiosity. Only then did they find out what kind of thing they were tinkering with called a fire kang.
"Light the fire and take a look."
After working hard for a few days, he finally built the fire pits for the two rooms. Because the side room was a bit far from the kitchen, Zhuang Keqing specially set up a small stove, planning to stew soup and make tea here.
, and more convenient.
Qin Manzhi threw some dried bean pods into the stove to start a fire, then added firewood. When the fire burned vigorously, he went into the room and waited.
She sat on the kang, and soon she felt the warmth under her buttocks, and gradually the whole room became warm.
“It really works!”
Qin Manzhi originally heard that making a Tukang would not allow the use of a bed, and she felt a little uncomfortable with it, but now that she is sitting on it, she feels better.
Before the weather got cold, the stove only burned for a while, but the room became extremely hot. Several people standing inside, including Liu Da, all had beads of sweat on their foreheads.
"Girl from the banker, you are really good at lighting the fire bed! Can I have one at home?"
Liu Da didn't go to the ground for several days, so he started working on this job in order to learn the craft so that he could do it for his family when he went back.
Now it seems that his decision was indeed the right one, and it was really good to get on the fire bed!
"Uncle Liu, you can do whatever you want."
Zhuang Keqing smiled and said, "If other villagers want to do it, you can teach them."
"However, I suggest that you find some familiar people to work with. Once there are more fire pits in the village and the trays are ready, form a construction team and go to the surrounding villages to help people with work before the end of the year. You can also make extra money.
