Li Feng listened and moved the woodblocks.
The house was large, not exactly convenient for living, but there was plenty of space to store things.
This set of woodblocks had cost five taels of silver, and with the ten pages bought previously, the total was six taels. He treasured them greatly and stored them in a room with his weapons.
After returning, Lu Liu felt much more comfortable. He told him, “Mother said to let Da Bo Niang help make the wool sleeping bags. You slept in one when you were little. If the children look like you, I’ll know what it was like when you slept in one as a child.”
Li Feng asked, “And then what?”
Lu Liu replied, “I’ll be happy!”
He added, “You’re not cute now—hard and stiff. Babies are soft and pliable. You must have been cute when you were little.”
Li Feng leaned closer, teasing him.
“Hard? Where is it hard? Tell me.”
Lu Liu giggled and pushed his broad chest.
“Your chest—hard! Not tasty!”
Li Feng pressed down his hands, letting him feel more closely, more carefully.
Lu Liu laughed for a long while, laughing until he exclaimed, “Ahh, ahh!”
Some child kicked him—or maybe the two were play-fighting.
Li Feng’s hands itched, so he rubbed his belly and said, “Remember the count. When they come out, I’ll get them back for you.”
Lu Liu arched his eyebrows and smiled. “You’d never do that. They say men like sons. When you see the children, your heart softens.”
Li Feng shook his head. “Seeing my sons won’t make my heart soft. I’ll stay firm. A weakling won’t make it in life.”
Lu Liu said nothing. He liked Li Feng’s strength and wanted his children to grow up upright and capable—a proper man.
Lunch was crowded. It was still drizzling outside. Li Feng brought him some food, and with Shun Ge’er and mother present, the three ate in the main hall. Li Feng went to the little shop to keep Jiu company.
Lu Liu was very interested in what Hu Langzhong taught, and over the meal he asked Shun Ge’er many questions.
Shun Ge’er grew up in the mountains, often picking mushrooms or digging wild vegetables when he was young. He recognized certain herbs and had even gone specifically to dig out some Polygonatum to sell.
He learned quickly. On sunny days, he would gather herbs and experiment with processing them, learning while doing. With Hu Langzhong present, he wanted to acquire as much skill as possible.
Lu Liu served him food: “Study well, and someday teach me too.”
Shun Ge’er smiled and nodded.
Li Feng wasn’t particularly diligent in learning processing. As long as someone at home knew it, it was enough. He needed to learn herbs since there were plenty of good herbs in the mountains to earn money. Processing could be left to Shun Ge’er to learn properly.
The next day, after the rain cleared, Li Feng went to Da Bo’s house and brought a young woman over to help with printing books. She was paid thirty wen a day.
The woodblocks stayed at home; they weren’t taken out. At home, she first went to the room, where Lu Liu taught her to cut paper and brush ink. He lined the paper correctly, brushed the ink evenly across it.
With so many woodblocks, to avoid confusion, Li Feng cleared a long counter in the little shop, laid out all the woodblocks, and made small wooden blocks to press the paper. He carried a net bag full of them.
There were sixty-seven woodblocks in total. One row was printed, then he waited for the next sheet to be ready. The previously printed illustrations were dry and could be stacked.
Li Feng planned to make thicker books. Other households made at most twenty pages; he would make thirty per volume.
The woodblocks looked enough for two volumes. Later, he planned to mix up the order, split fifteen pages into one volume, with seven flexible pages. He could make four books to sell.
Four books would suffice, and with many people at the dock, it was a practical approach.
They printed first, then stored them on the shelf under the counter to accumulate stock before sending them to the elderly for sewing.
With that settled, they went back up the mountain.
Lu Liu, seeing clear skies, went to visit Yao Fu’er.
Yao Fu’er was about to give birth, anxious and fearful. He had previously seen his sister-in-law give birth—blood all over her legs. When the midwife came out, her hands were red, and he nearly fainted.
“Truly a brush with death.”
Lu Liu held his hand to calm him.
“Your sister-in-law is fine now. A child has to come out of the body; it’s like cutting a finger—blood will flow. Now, Hu Langzhong is here. Da Qiang has already told him. When your time comes, Hu Langzhong will assist. He even brought some medicine from the county to give you, so you’ll have the strength to deliver. Deliver early, rest early. Everything will be fine.”
Yao Fu’er still worried, “I don’t know if it will be a son or a little brother. I didn’t conceive for two years. Now that I’m pregnant, I’m overjoyed. Look at how I make Da Qiang run around. If it’s a little brother, I’m afraid he’ll scold me. You know how sharp his tongue is. Two words from him, and I feel like I can’t survive.”
Lu Liu thought Da Qiang wouldn’t do that. Recently, he had been quiet, busy with work—either gathering honey, picking mushrooms, cutting wood, or hunting.
Recently, he had been active in learning about herbs. He heard Li Feng dug ginseng and even let Li Feng check his hunting grounds for ginseng to sell.
The household kept rabbits, previously cared for by Yao Fu’er. Now, with his body heavy, he couldn’t manage, so Da Qiang took over, tending to them carefully like he would a pet.
Lu Liu said, “It’s the same. Look at how good Da Qiang is to Hua Niu. How could he not care for a little brother?”
Yao Fu’er felt reassured. “What does your Da Feng say?”
Lu Liu shook his head. “Haven’t heard him yet. I don’t care what I give birth to.”
Yao Fu’er thought for a moment. “I don’t think Da Qiang insisted on a son either.”
He handed Lu Liu some honey. “I’ve eaten it for a while; it’s getting cloying.”
Lu Liu didn’t eat. Since becoming pregnant, his appetite was constant, indulging all his cravings.
Now, with a large belly, he ate less at a time, but got hungry again soon, often carrying a small bag of snacks.
The two families lived close, and today he didn’t bring a bag.
With his growing months, his mother wouldn’t let him go far. If hungry, he could return home to eat.
Yao Fu’er asked, “How’s Jiu Ge’er? That pregnancy stable?”
Lu Liu said it was. “The whole family is attending to him. He occasionally went out before, but now Hu Langzhong is here. Wang Meng had Hu Langzhong check him. Hu Langzhong said he must rest in bed. Recently, Jiu Ge’er hasn’t gone out. The day before yesterday, Shun Ge’er visited him. He’s fine, his complexion looks good.”
Yao Fu’er said, “He should rest. I’ve heard when a pregnancy is unstable, there can be spotting. He’s brave. If I were unstable, I couldn’t even leave the bed. How hard it is to have a child!”
Lu Liu was disgusted. “Why are you saying that? If that were you, you’d just live in the outhouse!”
Yao Fu’er laughed heartily. “Just talking. Hey, I heard you hired someone to print books again?”
Lu Liu said, “Da Feng hired them. Once the child is born, you’ll also be doing great things.”
Yao Fu’er felt warmhearted. “We just can’t catch the right timing. When we didn’t have a child, the village was quiet. Now with a child, every family is thriving. It drives one crazy.”
Lu Liu, comforted by his mother earlier, replied to reassure him.
“When we have children, the household grows. Waiting an extra year just means another person. That’s a good thing.”
His words were sweet—even without honey, they tasted sweet.
Yao Fu’er remembered something, took an embroidery basket from the cupboard, and found two red baby bellybands.
“I made these for your children. I only have one child myself, so it won’t take long. My hands were idle anyway. You can have them wear these later. I made them a bit big—you can fatten the child before putting them on.”
He unfolded the red bellybands to show Lu Liu.
They were made of red cotton cloth, without embroidery patterns. The material was soft from being handled, not stiff like new cloth. The straps were flat, with neatly finished edges. The child would lie on them comfortably without being poked.
