Shen Yulou’s face was deathly pale, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
Zhao Baozhu never imagined she could cause such a big accident.
She was terrified—so much so that she couldn’t even think to pick up the wild boar hide that had fallen to the ground.
Little Zhao Xiangxiang, who had been peeking in from the doorframe, stared with wide eyes, then turned on her little short legs and pattered off toward the eastern wing.
That was Zhao Silang’s room.
Zhao Silang had just returned from hunting and was changing clothes with his upper body bare.
Seeing his little niece run in, he smiled and greeted her.
“Little Xiangxiang’s here! Fourth Uncle caught a rabbit today—how about we stew some rabbit meat for Little Xiangxiang tonight?”
Four-year-old Zhao Xiangxiang swallowed her saliva and nodded eagerly, then shook her head just as hard, grabbing Zhao Silang’s big palm with her tiny hands and tugging with all her might.
“Little aunt… and little aunt-in-law… are fighting! Hurry, Little Uncle!”
Zhao Silang’s expression changed in an instant. Without even bothering to finish dressing, he scooped up Zhao Xiangxiang and rushed out.
In the storage room, Zhao Baozhu was both anxious and guilt-ridden. She was just bending down to help Shen Yulou up when Zhao Silang suddenly charged in with big strides.
He first looked at Shen Yulou sitting collapsed on the ground, then at her wrist, which was clearly in an abnormal position. The anger in Zhao Silang’s eyes flared up instantly, and he glared furiously at Zhao Baozhu.
“Zhao Baozhu!”
The man’s furious voice rang out.
Though Zhao Baozhu was a sharp-tongued little pepper, she had never feared her father or mother her whole life—only Zhao Silang, her fourth brother, terrified her.
As Mother Zhao often put it, everything has its match.
Zhao Baozhu shrank her neck in fear and dared not make a sound.
She hadn’t meant to do it—why did Fourth Brother have to yell at her so harshly?
With that thought, Zhao Baozhu felt wronged again and muttered, “Shen Yulou was stealing the wild boar hide. I wouldn’t let her, so I, I…”
…But she really was the one who had pushed her down.
Taking another look at Shen Yulou’s pale, pale little face, Zhao Baozhu couldn’t continue. She hung her head and kept picking at her fingers.
Mother Zhao had also heard the commotion and come running over.
Upon hearing the story, she said sternly to Zhao Baozhu, “Yulou wasn’t stealing anything. She told me about this long ago, and I agreed. That wild boar hide—she’s taking it to make rain boots for your fourth brother.”
“Rain boots?” Zhao Baozhu was astonished.
Zhao Silang also raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Mother Zhao glanced at the siblings, then fixed her gaze on Zhao Silang. “Yulou said that when you go to repair the dike, both your feet will be soaked in river mud. With the weather cold now, you need a pair of waterproof boots.”
Zhao Silang: …
Silence was being moved.
Being moved was the foundation of affection.
Mother Zhao was satisfied, then turned to poke Zhao Baozhu’s forehead. “You, you! You go making a fuss before you even understand what’s going on… You’re a grown girl now—it’s time to rein in that temper of yours!”
After scolding both her children, Mother Zhao turned to look at Shen Yulou. When she saw one of her hands hanging limply at an unnatural angle, she was greatly alarmed.
“Yulou, what happened to your hand?”
“…It’s probably dislocated.”
Even as he spoke, Zhao Silang had already grabbed Shen Yulou’s hand. With a shake and a push—”crack”—the hand was back to normal.
The bone-setting was done in the blink of an eye.
Shen Yulou had barely even felt any pain.
She looked at the man before her with amazement, sizing him up from head to toe. She never expected this rough, rugged man to possess such a skillful hand at bone-setting.
Zhao Silang felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze.
Especially since his chest was still half-bare at this very moment.
His ears flushed red with embarrassment as he hastily pulled his clothes together and said to Shen Yulou with feigned irritation, “Your hand—the bone’s been set back, but it might still ache for a few days… Don’t make the rain boots. I don’t want them.”
She had been holding a wooden board these past days, planing and chiseling, making all that clattering noise—so she had been making him rain boots all along.
That kind of work clearly took a toll on one’s hands.
Zhao Silang left after throwing out those words, his retreating figure so hasty it looked like a wild beast was nipping at his heels.
Shen Yulou pressed her lips into a smile and flexed her wrist. She thought to herself, How can I not make them? I don’t have a habit of quitting halfway.
But what Zhao Silang said was indeed true—her hand, though set back, seemed to move normally, yet it couldn’t exert much force. The moment she applied pressure, it hurt.
This slowed her down considerably. After a whole day of work, she had only managed to cut out the uppers for two boots.
She had no choice but to stay up late to catch up.
When she opened the door the next morning, Shen Yulou’s two eyes were as swollen as her wrist.
Mother Zhao chided her, “Child, why won’t you listen? Didn’t I tell you to rest a couple days before making them? What difference does a day or two make?”
It made a huge difference.
Not to mention the possibility of frostbite forming on Zhao Silang’s feet.
And what if Zhao Silang slipped and fell into the river…
Shen Yulou quickly stamped out those terrifying thoughts and said to Mother Zhao with a smile, “Resting after finishing—that works just the same.”
Just then, Zhao Silang opened his door and came out.
Mother Zhao glanced at him, then gently nudged Shen Yulou. “Go on, take the rain boots to your Brother Zhao and have him try them on.”
Then she said to Zhao Silang, “Silang, hurry and try on the new boots Yulou made for you… She stayed up all night making them for you—look how swollen her eyes have become.”
Shen Yulou hadn’t thought much of it at first, but Mother Zhao’s words made her feel a bit embarrassed.
Handcrafted rain boots were indeed hard work to make.
Yet her effort was nothing compared to what Zhao Silang had done for her.
Seeing that Zhao Silang wasn’t looking at anything else, but was frowning at her red, swollen wrist with a somewhat angry expression, she quickly handed the rain boots over: “Brother Zhao, try them on and see if they fit… Brother Zhao?”
Only then did Zhao Silang shift his gaze from her wrist and take the boots.
The sole of the rain boots was a solid wooden board as thick as a palm, with the heel and ball of the foot slightly raised, and horizontal ridges carved across the surface.
Zhao Silang looked at these ridges with confusion.
Shen Yulou explained: “These ridges on the sole are to increase friction between the sole and the ground—they prevent slipping.”
Just then, there happened to be a patch of frozen ground in the southwest corner of the courtyard.
Shen Yulou pointed at it and said to Zhao Silang: “Brother Zhao, that spot is frozen. Put on the boots and walk over there to try them out.”
Zhao Silang put on the rain boots.
Not only was there a soft inner lining inside the boots, but a thick layer of cotton padding had also been placed at the bottom, so he couldn’t feel the hardness of the wooden sole—instead, the sensation under his feet was quite soft.
Not to mention the boot shaft that rose almost to the back of his knee, wrapping his entire calf inside, not letting a single wisp of cold wind through.
Before long, Zhao Silang felt warmth spreading through the soles of his feet and up his calves.
He looked at Shen Yulou in astonishment.
Shen Yulou’s eyes sparkled as she urged him: “Brother Zhao, hurry and walk on the ice to test it out.”
Zhao Silang did as she said, walking normally, lifting his toes, testing on one foot… No matter how he tried, there was no sign of his feet slipping.
This was frozen ground—the most slippery surface of all.
A light shone in Zhao Silang’s eyes.
The Zhao family members also gathered around, staring curiously at the boots on his feet.
Shen Yulou, meanwhile, ran off to the kitchen to fetch water.
Zhao Silang spotted her with his sharp eyes and quickly strode over to the kitchen on his long legs.
“What are you fetching water for?”
“I’m going to do a waterproof test for you.”
Two full buckets of water were poured into the wooden basin used for washing clothes. Shen Yulou said to Zhao Silang: “Brother Zhao, step in and stomp around a couple of times.”
Zhao Silang: …
Such fine new boots—what a shame to get them wet.
Zhao Silang was reluctant, thinking Shen Yulou was too wasteful with things—a spendthrift wife.
Shen Yulou could see his reluctance and smiled with her lips pressed together: “These are rain boots. Rain boots are meant for stepping in water.”
Zhao Silang stared at her face, confirming she wasn’t joking, before lifting his foot and stepping in.
The wooden basin was deep, and the water was filled high enough to submerge most of his calf.
Zhao Silang turned around twice in it and stomped a few times as Shen Yulou had instructed, then came out and took off the boots to check.
There wasn’t a single water stain on the white socks.
The inside of the rain boots was also completely dry.
The Zhao family was amazed, unable to understand how boots could go into water without getting the feet wet.
Shen Yulou explained: “Wild boar hide is naturally waterproof, and I also brushed several layers of tung oil onto the leather.”
Tung oil is also waterproof.
The oil-paper umbrellas of ancient times were coated with tung oil.
Mother Zhao’s face bloomed with a smile as she grabbed Shen Yulou’s hand and showered her with praise: “This is wonderful! Your Brother Zhao will never have to worry about frozen feet or slipping again. Yulou, you’re the cleverest one!”
Shen Yulou felt a pang of guilt, thinking to herself, I’m just benefiting from the wisdom of my ancestors—I’m not really that clever.
She stole a glance at Zhao Silang, and he happened to be looking at her at the same time.
Their eyes met. Shen Yulou didn’t think much of it, but Zhao Silang was the first to feel uncomfortable.
The tall and mighty man blushed like a bashful bride, and said to Shen Yulou in a hoarse voice: “Um… you rest well at home. I’m off.”
With that, he turned and fled as if escaping, but stopped at the courtyard gate and shot a sharp look at Zhao Baozhu.
—Behave yourself. If you dare bully her again, just wait until I come back and deal with you.