Li Zhengguo had already made three wooden boxes. Hearing the question, he looked up and said, "No, I can make one."
"Then hurry up," Tian Jing urged. If she used her powers, separating the black and white sesame seeds would only take minutes.
"It's for sifting stones from the soil. It doesn't need to be too fine, just strong enough to hold the weight of a shovel-full of dirt. Or, use wood for the frame and just weave a bottom, then nail it to the frame."
Sifting stones? Li Zhengguo understood and instructed his sister, "Minmin, go chop two bamboo stalks."
"Okay." Li Min picked up the cleaver and went out, knowing she was being assigned another strenuous task.
By the time she returned with the bamboo, Sister-in-law Niu had already arrived and reached out to take the bamboo to process it.
She stripped off the branches, glanced at the frame Li Zhengguo was working on, estimated the length, and cut the bamboo. She split it, then shaved it, and the bamboo quickly turned into bamboo strips in her hands.
Tian Jing's eyes were dazzled. "Sister-in-law Niu, you're so skilled!"
"Hehe," Sister-in-law Niu smiled shyly. "In Kushan, bamboo and trees grow well, and every family knows these handicrafts. Brother Zhengguo does excellent woodworking. I'm just a little bit familiar with bamboo weaving."
"Then please help weave it, Sister-in-law Niu. I want to sift this soil quickly." Tian Jing didn't stand on ceremony anymore. Dusk was approaching, and the pumpkins hadn't been planted yet.
"Okay." Sister-in-law Niu squatted on the ground, fiddling with the bamboo strips. Since Tian Jing had said it didn't need to be fine, just good enough to sift soil, she didn't need to carefully measure the distance between each strip, just estimate it. The pace was naturally fast.
Soon, a bamboo mat with large holes appeared under her hands.
Tian Jing took it to Li Zhengguo, who nailed the bamboo mat to the wooden frame. Tian Jing helped hold it steady.
As soon as this was done, Sister-in-law Niu wove another bamboo mat with smaller holes.
"I see Zhengguo made two frames, are you going to sift twice?"
Tian Jing looked at Li Zhengguo, then at Sister-in-law Niu. These were all smart people. She couldn't underestimate them. They just lacked broader horizons; in their familiar domains, they were kings.
"Yes, we'll sift twice. Once coarse, then fine."
Sister-in-law Niu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had been mistaken.
Li Zhengguo's expression remained unchanged. He took the bamboo mat from Sister-in-law Niu and continued nailing.
Tian Jing and Sister-in-law Niu sifted the soil, while Li Zhengguo continued making things.
Tian Jing said without looking up, "One more wooden box will be enough. You make two basins for Li Min, or make her a big chest as dowry."
Sister-in-law Niu raised her eyelids slightly and said nothing. Li Min and Tian Jing were swapping brides. Many people knew this. If their timings were staggered, it was clearly an attempt to conceal it.
Now, with Tian Jing being so good to Li Min, people would believe that Li Min was genuinely getting married.
When brides were swapped, it was people who were swapped, with no betrothal gifts or dowries. With Tian Jing providing Li Min with a dowry, Li Min would have more confidence when she went to the Tian family. Tian Jing was kind-hearted, and she would help her more in the future.
Sister-in-law Niu looked at Li Min, who was stooping with her shoulders hunched, and gently comforted her, "If you behave well, it will be worthy of your sister-in-law's good intentions."
"Mmm," Li Min replied softly, a few drops of water falling onto the ground in front of her.
Li Zhengguo, working by the roadside, was also touched. Tian Tian said she wanted to buy some things for her sister as dowry, so he would make a wooden box for her.
The distance was over thirty li; a wooden box alone would be heavy.
Tian Jing also considered this. She brushed the dirt off her hands and ran to Li Zhengguo, whispering, "Can you buy cartwheels? Get her a wheelbarrow too. It will give her more confidence when she goes to the Tian family, and others will find it even harder to find evidence of the bride swap between us."
"I can make one. No need to buy it."
Li Zhengguo's eyes were fixed on Tian Jing. His Tian Tian was truly kind-hearted.
Even reborn, she remained kind. Those Chen family people were too shameless and malicious. He would help her deal with them.
Li Zhengguo, who had overly idealized Tian Jing, hadn't considered that after the bride swap was called off, Tian Jing had unknowingly set up her own family.
Kushan was so poor, yet they had provided a dowry. The Tian family in Zhangshan was not in poor condition, so why did Tian Jing have no dowry?
"That's great! Is there anything you can't do?" Tian Jing was surprised that Li Zhengguo could even make wooden wheels.
Li Zhengguo felt a little shy under her gaze, and lowered his eyes. "There are still many things I don't know how to do, but I will learn."
Tian Jing didn't care who he learned from. "Then you must learn diligently. In the future, you'll make wardrobes and tables, and we still lack many things at home."
"If you learn carpentry, when everyone becomes prosperous, you can earn money to support the family with this skill."
"Mmm." Li Zhengguo knew that carpentry wouldn't make him rich, but since Tian Tian wanted him to learn well, he would learn well and make whatever Tian Tian wanted for her in the future.
...
After the soil had been sifted twice, there were almost no stones to be seen. Sister-in-law Niu squeezed the soft, fine soil and sighed, "If the entire plot were sifted, I wonder if it would increase the yield?"
Li Min sniffled, lifted her head, and replied, "My sister-in-law said, if we have the strength to reclaim land, why not the strength to separate stones from soil? I think she'll take care of our own plot of land, right?"
"That's true," Sister-in-law Niu clapped her hands excitedly, pretending not to see Li Min's red eyes.
"I'll take care of our own plot of land first and try planting one season. If it works, we can just put in a bit more effort and reclaim an acre or two to sift. It's a shame to leave the land by our doorstep barren."
Sister-in-law Niu, though rough, was also thoughtful. She knew it was impossible for the production team to sift thousands of acres of soil. She would take care of her own small family first.
Li Min turned her head to look south of the road. Her father had also reclaimed that land before, and now it was a patch of barren, stony land again. If possible, would her sister-in-law take her elder brother to reclaim it?
Then she looked at her elder brother and sister-in-law standing by the roadside, talking. It was good that her elder brother had a companion, and she could finally rest assured leaving their mother in her sister-in-law's hands.
But, she suddenly didn't want to leave home anymore. What should she do? Her heart felt empty and scared.
Yet, she knew that if she didn't go to the Tian family, her sister-in-law wouldn't be able to stay.
Tian Jing turned her head and saw the confusion on Li Min's face.
She sighed. Everyone's path was their own choice. How they walked it depended entirely on whether the walker's heart was strong and determined enough.
Seeing Tian Jing return, Li Min mustered her spirits. "What should we do now?"
Tian Jing picked up a wooden box beside her. "Fill it with soil."
The sifted soil filled only one box. Li Min went behind the house to dig more soil.
Tian Jing went into the house and took out the pumpkin seeds she had harvested. She gave Sister-in-law Niu a pinch, only about ten-odd seeds.
"These are seeds I collected from the mountain. They've been dried. Take them back and try planting them."
Sister-in-law Niu looked at the glossy, plump seeds in her hand and smiled radiantly.
"Thank you. These seeds look very good. I'll plant them as soon as I get back and try."