Chapter 13: Zhang the Mute

Little Xu, who had been scolded for no apparent reason by his father, normally a staunch advocate of "knowledge is enough," was feeling quite upset.

But someone was even more distressed than him.

That person was Wang Feng.

Originally, Wang Feng was overjoyed at moving into her new home. The whole forest farm had been talking about how she and Li Qing had been quarreling over the house for the past half month. This was already an embarrassment; if the argument dragged on with no resolution, it would be even more humiliating.

Fortunately, despite everything, she was now living in two large rooms with a big courtyard.

However, the joy of this new living situation didn't last even half a morning before she learned from neighbors returning from the west end that Li You was looking for bricklayers to build a new house!

At that moment, she was furious.

The two new rooms that had previously seemed so delightful now appeared increasingly frustrating.

Angry, she began to pack up her belongings with force. Thinking of the neighbors' smirking faces when they mentioned Li Xian's new house, she felt more and more frustrated.

The tasks she was handling quickly escalated from shoving and tossing to outright throwing things.

Next to the stove, there was a loud crashing sound.

"Li Qing, what are your parents thinking?" Wang Feng, having smashed several plates into pieces, threw her apron aside and stormed over to Li Qing, who was tidying up the courtyard.

"Yesterday, they said they had no money, and today they're building a new house. What's the meaning of sending me to the old house?"

Li Qing, uninterested in arguing, continued his work and responded sullenly, "Didn't the neighbors say? That money was earned by Er, not by our parents."

"I don't believe it! Li Xian has been silent for over ten days and suddenly earned enough to build a house? He must be fooling me!" Wang Feng kicked the pile of debris Li Qing had just swept up, scattering it everywhere.

Breathing heavily, she pointed toward the west with her slender hand and shouted, "You go and tell your parents that I, Wang Feng, didn't marry into your family just to be trampled and bullied like this!"

Originally, Li Qing had already felt quite disgruntled about having been pushed out of the old house into a cramped space. After hearing that Li Xian had earned a sum of money recently for two new houses, he had been feeling somewhat better.

He had hoped that with Wang Feng living in the big house and having a large courtyard, things would improve in two months when the new house was ready.

But now, seeing Wang Feng's relentless complaints, Li Qing felt as though his life was overshadowed by gloom.

He threw the large broom to the ground. "Wang Feng, what the hell do you want?! The old house was what you wanted, and now it's yours. What more do you want? If you're not happy, I'll sort out the paperwork right now! So what if I stay single for the rest of my life? I don't care!"

Seeing Li Qing standing rigidly with a furious expression, Wang Feng collapsed onto the ground and burst into tears.

In reality, she knew deep down that the situation had escalated because of her own short-sightedness. But she couldn't swallow her frustration.

Amidst her cries, she noticed the coffin of Li Daoyun in the courtyard and felt as if all the misfortune in the world had fallen upon her.

As Li Qing picked up the broom and turned away from her, she suddenly sprang up, grabbed a large axe, and threw it at the coffin.

"Get this thing out of here, get it out!"

**Bang!**

With her words, the axe hit the coffin squarely, leaving a large dent on the smooth red lacquered surface.

Seeing this, Li Qing's eyes widened in shock.

...

The forest farm had a relatively small population, and getting a plot of land was not difficult. Li You had managed to get things sorted out fairly quickly.

The bricklayers and carpenters he had contacted that morning had also arrived. Over twenty people were gathered around the plot of land, measuring and calculating, creating quite a scene.

Li Xian had never seen the process of building a brick house before, so he was merely watching from the sidelines.

Due to word of mouth among the neighbors, everyone now knew that the money for the new house had been earned by Li Xian. For the entire morning, Li Xian had somewhat overshadowed Li You, seeming like the head of the household.

Seeing him craning his neck to watch the bricklayers marking lines, Zhang the Mute approached to offer his assistance. He pointed at the plot of land, grinned, and gave Li Xian a thumbs up.

"Abba Abba," Zhang the Mute said.

"Ah," Li Xian understood that he was being praised.

Li Xian knew Zhang the Mute, who had become mute due to a serious illness in his childhood but was not deaf. Unlike most deaf-mutes, Zhang could hear but couldn't speak.

Although he couldn't talk, Zhang the Mute was extremely skilled with his hands. He was resourceful and loved to learn. He had learned carpentry in his youth and could handle almost any kind of work. In the forest farm, whenever someone needed furniture or anything added, Zhang the Mute was the first person they thought of.

The coffin of Li Daoyun had been crafted by him. Li Xian had studied it and saw that it was made from two red cedar logs split in the middle and assembled without a single nail, completely riveted together with no gaps. The lacquered surface was as smooth as modern car bodies; if not for its purpose as a coffin, it could be considered a piece of folk art.

Seeing this once hunchbacked old man now young, Li Xian laughed heartily and gave him a thumbs up in return.

At that moment, a burst of angry shouting came from the courtyard nearby: "Damn it! My coffin!"

Hearing Li Daoyun's voice, Li Xian quickly left the excitement and ran over.

He saw Li Daoyun had thrown his walking stick aside and was fuming, hopping three feet in the air while cursing toward the east.

"You bastard! What the hell are you taking your anger out on my coffin for!"

Li Xian took a closer look and saw a large dent, four inches long and one inch wide, prominently visible on the coffin's red lacquer surface, ruining its overall beauty.

Li Daoyun, who was over seventy years old, had been calculating his lifespan daily, feeling that his time was running out. The old man had prepared his coffin early, waiting for the day he would depart for the afterlife. While he wasn't particular about where he lived, he was very particular about his coffin.

Seeing his well-maintained coffin damaged after just one day, Li Daoyun was truly enraged.

His furious shouting attracted the attention of everyone working nearby.

Zhang the Mute, seeing the damage on the coffin and the old man's agitation, approached.

"Abba Abba," he tugged at Li Daoyun's sleeve, gestured toward the dent on the coffin, and then pointed at himself.

Li Daoyun, catching his breath and observing Zhang the Mute's gestures, understood: "You can fix it?"

Zhang the Mute grinned and nodded in agreement.