Chapter 206: Red Umbrella, White Pole, Eating and Lying Together

Ying walks very slowly; you can see he is struggling to get used to the new shoes on his feet, and seeing that he is willing to wear shoes for himself makes Nan Qinghuan very happy, because she knows his living environment has never required shoes.

It's all because of her.

"Ying, what's wrong?"

Ying was originally very resistant, but seeing Qinghuan happy, he also pretended to nod, "Hmm."

"Will it be tight?"

Ying doesn't know what it means, but he tacitly nods, "Hmm."

Nan Qinghuan: "……"

It seems he doesn't understand, so she has no choice but to squat in front of him, gently reaching to touch the top of his foot, "Does it hurt?"

Ying sees her squatting beneath him, shakes his head, "No pain."

"Take your time putting them on; you'll get used to them. From now on we'll all wear shoes."

"Qinghuan, is this a gift from you?"

Nan Qinghuan quickly stands up, "I guess so. In a few days we'll promote these shoes, and everyone will stop walking barefoot. Barefoot means stepping on all sorts of things and getting hurt, so from now on we'll wear sheepskin shoes."

"Sheepskin shoes?"

The shoes on Ying's feet are Aoyang Sheepskin Shoes.

"Qinghuan, with you here, the Tribe's people will be very happy."

Nan Qinghuan reaches out, wraps her arm around his neck, and plants a kiss on his face.

"Let's work together to create good days, okay?"

Ying's gaze shines with delight, gradually shifting to her smooth lower abdomen; he reaches out to gently caress her belly, "Alright, and we must keep trying to have babies."

"Babies…" Nan Qinghuan feels a bit helpless; they were very devoted and wild tonight, and she doesn't know if she's become pregnant.

The dawn light is faintly visible.

Outside, the heavy rain starts again, as if it will flood the entire rainforest.

"Ying"

From outside comes Ji Lei's voice; only then does Ying gently set Nan Qinghuan down, "I need to go out for a while; you rest first."

"Hey, what's happening?"

Ying seems to guess the matter, "The Ditch has been washed away; we need someone to rush for repairs, otherwise it will flood our apprentices. You stay home and rest; these are men's affairs."

Now he also refers to it as "men" when speaking with Nan Qinghuan.

Nan Qinghuan feels sorry for him, "I'll go with you to take a look."

"No need, stay at home. I'm leaving."

"Hey, Ying…"

Soon, she sees Ying and Ji Lei depart; the raging downpour and humid air flood the scene, and every household in the Tulou has a candle burning brightly.

But it's not a reunion.

The men all have to go out to work, while the women wait anxiously inside the Tulou. At this moment, she feels the insignificance of humanity; nature can devour everything, both in modern times and in antiquity, and the conditions are even harsher.

Competing with the heavens for time, the Tribe's people are very brave.

Since Ying hasn't returned, she naturally can't fall asleep; A Mu seems tired, and despite the great noise outside, there is no movement, and she sleeps soundly.

Nan Qinghuan watches the heavy rain gradually turn into a drizzle; she thinks of that mountain spirit, and Ying said it had been tamed by people. So who could be causing trouble here? Rongdi? Her first thought is that it must be Rongdi, but it's the Rainy Season now—why would he still come to cause trouble? She waits, and eventually the rain stops.

Outside, a pale white mist drifts, and the water in the dug pond overflows.

"Oh no, the fish escaped, quickly catch the fish!"

The women beneath the Tulou see the fish run away and all rush barefoot to catch them; in an instant, the area below the Tulou becomes lively.

"Qinghuan"

"A Mu, are you awake?"

A Mu slept well last night; seeing the commotion below, she watches them catching fish and chuckles, "How amusing, Qinghuan, this house is truly comfortable—no mosquito bites and no leaks, and my back no longer hurts."

A Mu has never lived in a house before; after spending a night here, she feels very comfortable and comes to tell Nan Qinghuan about it.

"A Mu, that's nothing. We still need to make furniture; we don't have a bed yet, and when we get one it'll be more comfortable. A Mu, could you go find A Yao's father to get two beds? We also need tables and stools; whatever he needs, we can give him items in exchange."

"Beds, stone beds?"

"No, wooden beds. We can't sleep on the ground; we need wooden beds."

A Mu doesn't know what a wooden bed is, but A Yao's father does.

"Alright, I understand. I'll go find A Yao's father. Qinghuan, where did Ying go?"

Actually, A Mu heard their voices last night, but she was happy; perhaps a baby will be on the way soon.

"He went out; there's a lot happening in this heavy rain."

"Drink this; it's good for you."

A Mu mysteriously serves her a bowl of strange liquid, handing it over with a smiling face, "Drink it, it'll be good."

She furrows her brow slightly, reaches out and takes it, "A Mu, what is this?"

"Drink it."

Nan Qinghuan doesn't refuse and takes it; the bowl of water is somewhat murky, and she brings it to her nose to sniff.

It's lime water, huh? "A Mu, this can't be drunk; I'm not sick."

"You must drink it; drinking it will let you become pregnant. When I was carrying Ying's child, I drank this, drink…"

Nan Qinghuan is speechless; this lime water really can't be drunk casually, "A Mu, I…"

"Qinghuan, are you feeling better? We're going to pick wild vegetables now."

Axi arrives with a basket and several women to find her; seeing them, she is overjoyed.

A savior has arrived.

"I'm here, A Mu, I won't drink this anymore, I'm going to work."

"Hey, Qinghuan, Qinghuan."

Nan Qinghuan grabbed a basket and sprinted out with Axi and the others; A Mu looked at the bowl's contents with a hint of regret and said, "Why aren't you listening?"

"A Mu, what are you giving Oumu to drink?"

The speaker was Xiaohua from the tribe; she walked over with a mischievous grin and said, "A Mu, this Oumu doesn't seem to obey you. Look, she's been here so long and her belly still has no Bone Blood; is that not right?"

A Mu, a little angry, glanced at Xiaohua and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? Qinghuan is fine, why would she be not?"

Xiaohua, a bit embarrassed, said, "Don't be angry, I'm just speaking casually. A Mu, tell Ying that we're being given a house; my family is too many to fit."

"A Hua, each family gets one house; how could you split into two?"

"My family is large, A Mu, could you speak for me…"

On this side A Mu was being swamped, while over there Nan Qinghuan led Axi and the others into the Forest; the rain‑soaked Forest was damp everywhere, but the air was pleasant.

Nan Qinghuan brought a basket, a Fruit Knife, and a simple hoe they had made. She went to a hilltop and addressed the women, "Listen up, when it rains mushrooms abound; we can pick them for soup or dishes, but you must remember the chant—some are poisonous and must not be taken, understand?"

"A chant, Qinghuan? There's a chant for picking mushrooms?"

"Of course. Remember: red umbrella umbrella white pole pole, after eating we all lie flat flat, lie flat, sleep coffin coffin, then together bury mountain mountain."

"The red umbrella caps and white stems are the poisonous mushrooms you must not eat; ingest them and you'll be poisoned, got it?"

"Red umbrella umbrella…"

The women of the tribe looked at each other bewildered; that Oumu learned it somewhere quite amusingly.

Aning thought for a moment, then nodded quickly, "I get it. Oumu means red mushrooms must not be taken; eating them kills, death leads to burial, Oumu, right?"

Aning used to follow A Yue; after A Yue died she stopped causing trouble. Though Nan Qinghuan didn't like her, she didn't reproach her much; that time, if not for her, she would have fallen into the snake's nest.

"You're right, that's it. Everyone remember this chant and go pick. To be safe, after you gather show me once; I can recognize and help you distinguish. Once ready we'll go pick wild greens. This Rainy Season we can't farm, we survive on these things. Everyone, keep it up."

"Oumu, you mean we can bring home whatever we pick, no sharing?"

"No sharing. Whatever you pick, take it home. When the Rainy Season ends, everyone can have their own land and be self‑sufficient. After that, Ying won't make people share food; everyone will farm their own."

"Great, then I'll pick more."

"Me too."

I have to admit this method is right; in the past the tribe worked together, so lazy people would slack off but the food was still divided equally. Now it's different: the diligent like this approach, the lazy resist.

She feels trouble will soon arise, but it must be done this way.

"Everyone be careful."

"Let's go, we're going to pick mushrooms."

Everyone dispersed; Nan Qinghuan and Axi kept walking along the ridge. The Forest vegetation was damp, and Axi's feet were soaked through from the ground. Because it's been like this for years, Axi's feet have developed athlete's foot—itchy and painful.

Seeing this, she silently resolved to find a way to fix the Shoes problem.

I have to say, the Tribe lacks many daily necessities; moving them out of the Cave is only the start of a long, arduous road toward a good life for everyone.

However, she and Ying will work hard.

Sure enough, the rain‑soaked ground sprouted many mushrooms, thriving on the green moss.

Axi saw a plump mushroom, reached out to pick it, and said, "Qinghuan, this mushroom…"

"Don't move, red umbrella umbrella white pole pole, poisonous."