Digging a Cellar

Liu Su'e looked at him and knew he was upset again. She comforted him, "Dear, haven't we broken away from them now? Things will get better and better, little by little."

Zhou Fusheng looked at the children and said:

"Actually, I didn't want my children to stay with them either. If we'd stayed with the Zhou family, we could only have been slaves for the rest of our lives.

"Now we have something to look forward to."

Just then, Lin Shouyi came in with Lin Fugui. Lin Fugui smiled and said, "Fusheng, having a meal?"

Zhou Fusheng hurriedly stood up. "Village chief, yes, we're eating! Have you eaten? Would you like to have something at our place?"

Lin Fugui quickly waved a hand. "I came today to help you pick a spot to dig a cellar. How are you planning to dig it?"

Zhou Wanwan stood up and said:

"Village chief, we're planning to dig a bigger cellar, right beside those trees. Could you help us dig it at night?

"It'd attract too much attention during the day. Our family can hire you for 100 wen a day."

Lin Fugui thought for a moment. "What kind of cellar do you want? A shallow one or a deeper one?"

Zhou Wanwan immediately replied:

"We want a shallow one, just for storing things. Two or three meters deep will do. It doesn't need to be too deep.

"As for the shape, a round one is fine. Whatever's easiest."

Lin Fugui nodded after hearing that, then asked, "Anything else you want?"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and added:

"The soil at the bottom needs to be packed down tight. First lay down a layer of dry grass, then sprinkle a layer of lime over it. I heard that keeps the damp out so things don't spoil as easily.

"And the top needs to be sturdy too, so rain doesn't leak in or anything."

Lin Fugui grinned and said:

"All right, I know how to do that! Don't worry, I'll come help your family dig it.

"A cellar might look simple, but there's a lot to it! Most people really wouldn't know how to do it properly.

"You have to get things like damp-proofing and ventilation just right, or you'll have dug it for nothing."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "My parents can help too."

There was never any harm in learning more. Zhou Wanwan didn't know how to make a cellar, but these people had experience!

Lin Fugui took a look around and went home. Zhou Fusheng found a few sturdy, thick wooden poles for a frame, then gathered some flexible twigs and dry rice straw and built a rabbit hutch in the corner of the yard.

The hutch wasn't very big, about half a person's height. Its base was laid flat and even, and the sides were woven tightly from twigs, with just a little round opening for the rabbits to go in and out. The top was covered with dry grass, weighted down with two stones to keep it from blowing away.

Once the hutch was finished, Zhou Fusheng carried all the round, plump rabbits inside.

The little creatures weren't shy around strangers. As soon as they entered the hutch, they hopped about and poked their heads out.

In just over half a day, they had nibbled it all clean. Some rabbits squatted by the edge of the basket, chewing in great mouthfuls, while others clutched blades of grass in their mouths and huddled in a corner of the hutch to nibble. Only tiny scraps of grass remained at the bottom of the bamboo basket.

Zhou Wanwan watched them for a long while before returning to her room to sleep.

Liu Su'e, Zhou Fusheng, Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen all stood by the door. Liu Su'e whispered, "Is she really asleep?"

Zhou Fusheng nodded. "That girl really is bold. Pockmarked Liu is an absolute beast."

Liu Su'e looked at him. "Don't mention that wretched thing. Our whole family needs to stick to the same story: we never saw him. Understand?"

"Got it..." the children said in unison.

They watched for a long while, and only walked away reassured when Zhou Wanwan showed no sign of anything wrong.

Zhou Wanwan was already sleeping like the dead. Communicating with plants did take a lot of mental power and made her feel especially tired, so she fell straight into a deep sleep and slept until evening.

When she woke up, Liu Su'e looked at her and said:

"Wanwan, you must be hungry. I warmed up that soup and added some mushrooms. Hurry and have some.

"Your Uncle Shouyi and the others are here. They've already started digging."

The members of the Lin family were all quite willing to help, and Zhou Fusheng was digging alongside them. Zhou Wanwan was curious about how a cellar was dug, so she watched from the side.

Lin Fugui was an old hand in the village and knew his way around digging cellars.

He led the others in clearing the chosen spot, then picked up a hoe and was the first to dig. Each stroke was steady and deep, and the clods of earth looked neat and even.

The others followed his rhythm, and every now and then he called out reminders: "Bring the cellar walls in a little! Narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, so it won't collapse!"

"Pack the earth under your feet down tight! Don't loosen the soil at the bottom!"

Zhou Wanwan looked at the cellar, two or three meters deep, and couldn't have been happier.

She had thought it would take several days to dig, but to her surprise, everyone worked with such vigor that they nearly finished in a single night. The walls were straight, and the bottom was level.

In the latter half of the night, Lin Fugui called everyone together to prepare the finishing touches. First, they carefully stamped down the cellar floor again until it was rock hard, then spread a thick layer of dry plant ash over it.

Where the cellar walls were uneven, they smoothed them over with clay mixed with chopped rice straw, making them slick and smooth.

Zhou Wanwan lent a hand too, passing over plant ash and holding the tools steady. She didn't mind the mud on her face; her eyes were full of anticipation.

They kept busy like that as the moon slowly sank in the west and a faint fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

Only when the first rooster crowed at the village entrance, its clear call cutting through the morning mist, did everyone straighten up and dust off their clothes.

Lin Fugui walked around the cellar, nodded, and said, "Done. Tomorrow we'll put a roof on the cellar, build a shelter to keep the rain off, and apply a coat of lime to keep out the damp. Then this cellar will be all set!"

Zhou Wanwan looked at the cellar entrance and said, "Grandpa village chief, could you make our cellar entrance so no one can tell it's there?"

Lin Fugui looked at her. "You mean hide the entrance so no one can see it?"

"Yes, yes, exactly..." Zhou Wanwan thought Lin Fugui understood her quite well. Lin Fugui thought for a moment and said:

"That's easy enough. First, we'll find a thick bluestone slab just big enough to cover the opening, then set it into the soil so it's level with the ground.

"Isn't there a bluestone slab over there? Oh! It's just the right size."

"What do we put on top of the slab?" Zhou Fusheng asked.

"Lay down some of the dry grass and dead leaves we usually dry in the sun, then sprinkle a thin layer of loose soil over them, with a few bits of gravel mixed in. It'll look no different from the ground around it."

As Lin Fugui spoke, he added, "Oh, and transplant a few clumps of wild grass around the edge. Once the roots take hold, wind and rain won't leave any traces."

Everyone followed Lin Fugui's method. The bluestone slab fit snugly into place, and they covered it with dry grass and loose soil.

Sure enough, the cellar entrance blended into the surrounding wasteland. Unless someone scraped around carefully, they wouldn't even be able to find the edge of the slab.

Zhou Wanwan was quite satisfied. Only after the others had left did she say, "Dad, later on we need to find another place and dig a cellar like this one. We'll find a fairly hidden spot in the mountains."

Zhou Fusheng was stunned. "Why do we need to dig so many cellars? Our family already has two."