When the time came, they would mix some mud with grass, align the gaps between the stones, and build two walls, leaving an opening for a door and a window.
That way, they could enclose the space beneath the overhanging rock—much safer than putting up a simple shelter or building a mud-brick house in the open.
Judging by the number of Yue people who had come this time, it didn’t look like a mere plundering raid. It seemed more like an invasion to capture Qiyang Commandery, likely taking advantage of the disaster that had left the region short of food and supplies.
Forty years ago, Qiyang Commandery had been occupied. It was only when General Liu Gan, the Conqueror of the West, emerged that the Yue people were driven back beyond the pass.
Now, General Liu had long since turned to dust, and the imperial court had produced fewer and fewer capable successors.
There were hardly any generals left who could truly fight a war.
The few who remained were stationed at various borders and couldn’t come to support this region.
And Qiyang Commandery had only thirty thousand troops. If several Yue tribes united and launched a major offensive, the commandery simply wouldn’t hold.
So Fang Youwei felt they would be living here for quite some time.
After all, staying in the mountains was safer. Even if they returned to the village, they would have to rebuild their houses—but that depended on whether the Yue people gave them the time to do so.
They might go back only to be captured by Yue raiders. The village, having just been flooded, would be in shambles, with no way to resist.
…
Old Madam Yang sighed and frowned as she tidied things up.
Fang Zhiyuan came over to her side and asked, “Grandma, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
The old woman shook her head, patted her grandson’s head affectionately, and said, “Grandma is fine. Don’t worry.”
She couldn’t tell her grandson that she was worrying about her brother’s family. What good would it do? They could barely save themselves right now.
Her brother’s family was in the town. She didn’t know if they could survive this disaster.
If the Yue people attacked, they would surely head to the towns and county seats—places with dense populations and bustling commerce. They would plunder those places first before moving on to seize the commandery seat.
She hoped her brother would be alert enough to flee the town if he saw things turning bad. That might be his only chance of survival.
While Old Madam Yang was lost in anxious thoughts, Fang Youwei had already figured out how to build a house under that overhanging rock.
He returned and said to the family, “It looks like we’ll be staying here for a while. I didn’t find any caves nearby, but I did find an overhanging rock.”
“The rock wall beneath it forms a triangle. All we need to do is build two stone walls underneath. The remaining half-opening in the rock wall can serve as the door.”
Everyone perked up at this. Li Shi asked, “How big is the space under the rock? Is it big enough for us to live in?”
Fang Youwei replied, “It’s nearly fifteen feet square. We can build a large heated kang inside—big enough for all of us to sleep on.”
Jiayin heard a new term and asked curiously, “What’s a kang?”
Old Madam Yang pulled her into her arms and explained, “A kang is a bed made of mud bricks. You leave a flue underneath and lay kang panels on top. When you light a fire, the whole kang heats up, warming the room as well. It’s most comfortable to sleep on in winter…”
Seeing Jiayin’s half-comprehending look, Li Shi smiled and said, “When we start building the kang, you’ll understand just by watching.”
Starting the next day, except for Fang Youwei going outside the valley each morning to check the snares and bring back any game, everyone was busy making mud bricks and gathering stones.
Fang Youwei and Li Shi made the mud bricks. Old Madam Yang took Fang Zhiyuan and Jiayin to gather stones—they simply picked out stones of roughly the same size and set them aside.
Later, Fang Youwei would use the cart to haul them to the rock cliff.
They worked for ten days straight before finally having everything they needed.
Fortunately, it had been sunny all those days, so the mud bricks and kang panels had dried completely.
Fang Youwei dug a foundation along the alignment beneath the rock. The soil he dug up was perfect for mixing with grass and mud to mortar the stones.
Working alone, it took him two days just to dig the foundation.
Once it was ready, he used the irregularly shaped stones—matching them by size and form—and mortared them together with mud and grass, building two flat, solid walls.
Jiayin watched in awe. “Uncle, you’re so amazing! From the outside, you’d never know that those stones are all different shapes. The walls are so smooth and even!”
Fang Youwei felt very pleased with Jiayin’s admiring little gaze and picked up the pace of his stone-laying.
At the same time, he said to Jiayin, “Us village folk all build our own houses. Families with lots of people don’t even need to hire help—they can put up several rooms in just a few days…”