Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

"I suddenly had a bit of inspiration while writing a story." Liu Xingmo covered most of the text with his hand as he wrote.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to show me?" Su Mali's lips curled up slightly.

"Oh dear, writing articles is something I'm always shy about!" Liu Xingmo covered the words even more tightly.

"Your work is clearly meant for everyone to see..."

"The draft is different! It really can't be shown to anyone!"

"Okay, then I'll look forward to your next story."

Sumali sat back down in her seat, but instead of picking up a pen and paper, she propped her cheek up with her hand and stared intently at the man across the desk.

He had a high, straight nose and eyes that sparkled like stars under the lamplight. Half of his profile was shrouded in shadow, like a stone at the bottom of a river; the other half was bathed in warm yellow light, like a ripe fruit.

Liu Xingmo's handwriting slowed down: "What are you doing, Mary? Don't keep staring at me!"

"Speaking of which, this is the first time you've written a novel in front of me. Hehe, how novel." Su Mali had a faint smile on her lips.

"I used to write these at home too, have you forgotten?"

"You deliberately avoided me back then, didn't you?" Su Mali said, pouring a cup of hot tea and handing it to me. "Before, I wanted to watch you write by bringing you tea, and you would cover the draft paper, wait until I finished drinking the tea, watch me leave, and then start writing."

"Hey? Um, Mary. It's a completely different feeling to show your own writing to strangers than to show it to people you know! I'm really embarrassed for you to see these things."

"Oh? So that's why the protagonist of your story last year had four wives? I knew all along, men all like to have one on each side..."

"Alright, stop teasing me! If you keep going, all the inspiration I've worked so hard to come up with will disappear."

"What inspiration could you have? Shall we ask in advance?"

"The story of a girl whose entire body has been transformed into a machine, who embarks on a journey to find 'love'."

"You lied to me again..."

the next day.

Liu Xingmo and Su Mali got up early in the morning, got ready, rode Bao Hei, and set off for Zhongcheng.

The weather was beautiful after the snowfall, and the whole world was bright and clear.

The distant peaks are now just continuous outlines, gleaming silver in the morning light, like blank spaces in a traditional Chinese ink painting.

The birch avenue branched off into a pedestrian path and an ice track. Several field mice pulled sleds, darting across the frozen ice track and leaving two faint tracks.

Bao Hei wore a squirrel fur hat, and the two bright red pointed ears on the hat bounced gently with each step the earth shook.

As usual, Liu Xingmo and his wife wrapped themselves in old cotton quilts to ward off the biting, howling wind.

When they arrived at the end of the avenue, Guo Qikai was waiting by the roadside.

The man, dressed in the same worn-out clothes as yesterday, stood ramrod straight in the cold wind.

Liu Xingmo stretched out his hand downwards: "Come on up!"

Guo Qi climbed onto the turtle's back, but only sat sideways at the back. He even took off his shoes and held them in his arms, afraid of getting the deer fur dirty.

Liu Xingmo smiled warmly: "Don't be nervous. Where's your hometown? Give me directions, and we'll go there."

"Yes. We'll take the ice path to the upper reaches of the March River. My grandma's house is on the edge of town."

"San Yuehe? I understand."

Bao Hei, his legs encased in leather boots, walked on the frozen surface of ice. The river, which used to be an obstacle to travel, had now become a smooth road.

As for the riverbanks, there were thick snow walls reaching over ten meters high. Countless wooden houses were hidden in the snow, with only a small chimney rising and wisps of smoke.

Around noon, we left the city center.

The originally flat terrain gradually rises, and looking back, you can see the entire plain buried in snow.

Several of the crisscrossing ditches are the cleared riverbeds.

"Okay, see that huge rock? The tree stump next to it is my house." Guo Qikai pointed up the mountain.

Bao Hei quickly climbed up.

Liu Xingmo jumped off the turtle's back.

A large, pointed rock protruded from the deep snow. There was no other sign of human habitation nearby.

It looks like a warehouse storing mountain products, but it's somewhat abandoned.

Guo Qikai followed: "This is the place. There are a lot of insects in the summer; the cicadas in the treetops and the crickets in the grass are so noisy that it's hard to sleep. But the river water is very cool in March, and there are schools of fish and shrimp in it..."

"This is it! It's perfect." Liu Xingmo made the decision. "I plan to demolish this place and rebuild a big house."

Sumari looked left and right. Although there was a river nearby, the terrain was slightly higher, so there should be no risk of floods or mudslides. In addition, it was close to the mountains and forests, so she could also cultivate a medicinal herb field nearby.

She nodded in agreement: "Let's choose this place. It's more suitable as an alchemy workshop."

"Alright, from now on, you are the owners of this house." Guo Qi smiled with relief. "Let's go back and get a new land deed."

The transfer of the land deed was a bit complicated, but Guo Qikai, being an official, handled things very efficiently.

That evening, Liu Xingmo received a thick, stiff piece of rabbit-skin paper on which the land ownership certificate was solemnly written and stamped with a large red seal.

Liu Xingmo carefully put away the newly acquired land deed, knowing that he would have a lot of work to do next.

Building an alchemy workshop would require at least a large amount of concrete, while the bricks and stones would be readily available from the mountain. To ensure the building was sturdy enough, some steel reinforcement would also be added.

The production of concrete requires mining limestone, burning it into quicklime, mixing it with water to make slaked lime, and then adding fine sand and gravel...

The workers have stopped working, but the plan needs to be finalized.

Liu Xingmo meticulously calculated every penny of income and every expense, quickly compiling a large bill.

Fortunately, we have enough funds to cover the costs.

Construction can begin next spring.

……

Winter days flow by peacefully and steadily. The accumulated work is completed one by one according to plan.

Suddenly one day, the sound of firecrackers crackling and popping rang out in the streets and alleys.

For some reason, firecrackers are set off during the Lunar New Year in this world; perhaps it's a custom left behind by reincarnated beings from ancient times.

Liu Xingmo and Su Mali got up and, as soon as they opened the door, they smelled an even stronger sulfur odor in the air.

In the dimly lit mine, sparks of fire occasionally flashed, followed by plumes of smoke rising, and explosions accompanied by screams and shouts from adults and children.

Liu Xingmo brought out a basin of paste and pasted red paper with the character "福" (fortune) written on it onto the door.

"Xingmo, what are you doing?" Su Mali asked in confusion.

"May we have even greater fortune next year!" Liu Xingmo smiled.

The custom of pasting couplets and the character "福" (fortune) also exists in this world, but it's not popular in Heilongzhai, perhaps because there are too many illiterate people...

"Is it enough to just stick the paper on the door?" Sumali was unfamiliar with this culture.

"That's right, that's exactly it," Liu Xingmo replied affirmatively.

Just then, the neighbor's door opened.

Liu San Niang came out yawning: "What are you two doing?"