I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 76: Stocking Ice
There was a brazier in the room with a blazing charcoal fire. As long as the doors and windows were closed, leaving a small gap for ventilation, it would be as warm as spring.

Xie Fei was copying the scriptures slowly while Fu Yu was grinding ink beside him.

"Girl, why do your handwriting look like the crawling of an earthworm?"

Xie Fei's handwriting was so ugly that Fu Yu couldn't bear to read it.

Xie Fei wrote with a light and heavy stroke, scrawling all over the paper, and said, "You don't understand this. My copying is so ugly, the old lady will definitely not let me copy again in the future. Otherwise, I will take it to the Buddhist temple and the monks will laugh at me."

But her handwriting was not very beautiful. The lady in the family did not allow her to read or write, and often said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. She had no chance to practice calligraphy regularly.

Not only was she unable to learn writing, she was also unable to learn arithmetic, painting, piano, and even housekeeping, which her sisters wanted to learn.

If she hadn't had the memory of her past life and knew that she had to have skills to rely on, otherwise, under the "teaching" of the lady, she would have become a complete illiterate who couldn't read a single word.

After copying a scroll of scriptures, Xie Fei's wrist hurt a lot, so he asked Fu Yu to get some ointment to apply on it.

Fu Yu said, "I don't need it urgently, why do you have to copy it so urgently?"

Xie Fei twisted his wrist and said, "Take advantage of the snow in the past two days to finish copying what needs to be copied. When the snow stops, there are still many things to do."

A pig, two sheep, and so many pheasants and rabbits. When the snow stops, some of them will be killed and the meat will be pickled, dried in the sun, and stored.

When Xie Fei thought of the taste of bacon and sausage, his saliva was about to drip onto the Buddhist scriptures.

Yuan San was still building an ice cellar in the backyard. The cellar was deep, so in addition to storing ice, other things could be put in it, such as cabbage, radishes, and Xie Fei's herbs.

He climbed up to the ground and blocked the cellar with stone slabs to prevent small animals from rushing in and making a mess.

When he returned to the front yard, he entered the house and saw Xie Fei still copying scriptures.

Under the light, Xie Fei's eyelashes were thick and long, and they kept trembling due to blinking. He looked very serious and focused, but the handwriting was horrible.

"Girl, it's late. Copy it tomorrow."

Even Fu Yu had gone back to her room to sleep, but Xie Fei was still writing furiously.

Without even raising her head, Xie Fei quickly copied down the complicated words one after another. The further she wrote, the uglier her handwriting became, and she herself could not recognize what she had written.

"No, I'll finish copying it tonight and I can do other things tomorrow."

Finished copying?

Yuan San frowned and went over to take a closer look.

As expected, Xie Fei was very fast and had already copied several volumes of scriptures, but they were all just scribbling talismans that he hoped would be pasted on the door to ward off evil spirits.

He shook his head in amusement and put together what he had already copied.

The wind and snow outside gradually stopped, and a crackling sound came from the bamboo forest. The bamboos were broken by the accumulated snow.

Late at night, the snow began to melt, and water gathered between the roof tiles, dripping down along the eaves.

When the candle burned out, Yuan San replaced it with another one.

Xie Fei's hands were shaking, his eyes were blurry, and his back and waist ached from copying so much.

"Why do these elderly people believe in ghosts and gods so much?" She rubbed her sore shoulders and complained, "The old lady looks pure and simple, and doesn't have any demands. What's the benefit of believing in Buddhism?"

Yuan San's eyes were dark, and he whispered, "Maybe I can get what I want in my next life."

"What?" Xie Fei didn't hear clearly.

Yuan San explained: "Since the old lady does not ask for a long life, good health, fame, or wealth, she probably just wants to fulfill her unfulfilled wishes in this life in the next life."

Xie Fei held his chin with one hand and stared at the candlelight, "Unfulfilled wish?"

If others could reach the old lady's status, they would have no regrets, right?
Her husband had died, but she had a son by her side, and she was also a noble lady, so she enjoyed endless wealth and glory in her life.

Xie Fei put himself in the old lady's shoes and thought that if he were the old lady, he would wake up laughing in his dreams.

If I really ask for it, I would only ask for it to be maintained in the next life.

In the second half of the night, Xie Fei could no longer hold on and fell asleep on the table.

Yuan San carried her back to the room, then went to the desk, carefully read the scriptures copied by Xie Fei, and imitated the handwriting.

Afterwards, he followed Xie Fei's traces and drew characters at a faster speed.

Early in the morning, Xie Fei woke up with a start. "Oh no, where is the sutra I copied?"

Fu Yu was cleaning the windowsill. Hearing this, he turned around and said, "Third Brother Yuan has finished copying. You can go back to sleep without worry."

Xie Fei was stunned when he heard this, and when he turned his head, he saw the scriptures neatly stacked on the bench.

"Big Head's handwriting may not be the same as mine. What if the old lady finds out... Eh?"

She looked through the volumes copied by Yuan San, and found that they were almost the same as her own.

If she hadn't compared them carefully, even she herself wouldn't have been able to see the slightest mistake.

This guy's imitation skills are really first-rate.

Xie Fei put the scriptures into the closet and waited for someone from Pei Mansion to come and take them back.

The snow outside has stopped and I can vaguely hear the cheers of children playing in the snow.

Fu Yu was only twelve years old, and was spoiled by Xie Fei like an innocent child. She felt itchy at the moment.

She threw away the rag and said to Xie Fei, "Girl, I'm going to play in the snow with them too. The porridge is in the pot, you can eat it yourself."

After saying that, she opened the door and ran away.

Xie Fei slowly got up, washed, and went to the kitchen.

In the pot was the preserved egg and lean meat porridge made by Fu Yu.

The preserved eggs were sent by Liu’s mother. They were wrapped with homemade eggs and are now edible.

The lean meat is bought in town and combined with the green leaves grown in the home field, it makes a pot of delicious and fragrant porridge.

Xie Fei ate a bowl of porridge before Yuan San got up.

It was a rare occasion for him to sleep in, as he stayed up until midnight with Xie Fei last night. After Xie Fei fell asleep, he continued copying until dawn.

Xie Fei served him a bowl of porridge with two eggs and three steamed buns, but he was not sure if he was full.

Finally, he went to wash the pots and dishes, his movements very skillful.

"The river is frozen, you can ask the villagers to help you move the ice."

Yuan San said that the ice cellar has been built. After storing ice in a large ice room, it is enough for the entire village to spend the summer.

Xie Fei had the same idea, so he went to look for someone after breakfast.

She said she needed work, and all the men who had free time came and said they didn't want any wages.

Women brought their children to watch the fun, sometimes lending a hand or passing on tools or something.

The ice was cut from the river. The surface of the river was so thick that it didn't move at all after one blow from the axe.

The ice must be cut into small, neat pieces, each piece being about the size of an iron pot and extremely heavy.

The men carried the ice blocks onto the straw and transported them to the village on a cart.

The road in the backyard is narrow and slippery, and the carts can easily overturn, so they have to rely on manual labor to carry the goods to the ice cellar.

There were people guarding the ice cellar, waiting for the ice to arrive and stacking it neatly in the cellar.

Everyone was busy and excited. At the beginning, they were so cold that their bodies turned red and their teeth were chattering.

When the sun came out, it was a little warmer because of their work. The men were afraid of getting their cotton-padded clothes dirty, so they only wore short shirts and ran back and forth between the river and the backyard, their bodies soaking wet.

The ice was slippery and some people accidentally fell, their bodies covered in red and purple, but they refused to take a break. They just got up to catch their breath and continued moving.

Xie Fei saw it and felt that it was very heartless not to pay the workers.

She found the men's families and wanted to give them some copper coins, but they refused to accept any.

It was said that Xiaoniang Xie helped rescue Chen Zhuangtou and Shui Niangzi, and also got work for the women. In addition, Xiaoniang also contributed during the incident with Ma Xiong.

No matter what, there is no reason to ask her for wages.

(End of this chapter)