1702 Building a Pigsty

Qiao Mei was beautiful and always dressed well, so everyone always forgot that Qiao Mei was actually a girl from the countryside. The thing was that when it came to building a pigsty, even women like them, who came from the countryside and were familiar with farm work, might not necessarily be able to do it.

Building a pigsty was a tedious job. It involved the laying of sewer pipes, the construction of the pig trough and the reconnection of the water pipes. These were not things that just anyone could do, even among the men.

Everyone thought that Qiao Mei was joking. They did not expect to really see Qiao Mei rolling up her sleeves and working in the backyard in the afternoon.

"Oh my goodness… Qiao Mei is too capable…" Liu Yun sighed.

"It's really rare to see such a good wife. That Xia kid is so lucky," Wang Nuo said.

"At first, I thought that Qiao Mei married well, but now it seems that it's that kid who has a good eye! Such a capable woman will do well no matter which family she marries into!" Zhang Cai said solemnly.

Everyone had an even better impression of Qiao Mei by now. They now firmly believed that Qiao Mei was from the countryside and was one of them!

It did not take long for Qiao Mei to finish building the pigsty. The only thing missing was the roof. It was better to let Xia Zhe deal with the roof. Qiao Mei still had to play safe because of the baby she was carrying. What if she stepped on a stool and then fell off?

After resting for a while, Qiao Mei went to put up the fence to mark out an area for the chickens, ducks and geese. The fence was not as easy to build as the pigsty. To construct a proper fence, one needed to tie the fencing slowly and tightly to bamboo stakes. There was also a need to dig holes in the ground to set up the stakes properly! It was a job that could not be rushed. The more anxious one was, the harder it was to do it well.

Xia Zhe slept until the afternoon. He lay comfortably on the brick bed and stretched. As he moved slightly, he felt like there was something pressing down on him. When he turned around, he saw Xia Fan and Xia Xing sleeping soundly while crouched over him.

"These two fellows…" Xia Zhe smiled dotingly. Then, he carried the two children and placed them back into their blankets to have a good sleep.

Xia Zhe sat next to the brick bed and observed the two children carefully. Although he had only been gone for a few days, the two children seemed to have grown up a lot. Xia Xing was getting prettier and Xia Fan was getting rounder. He remembered hearing from Xu Lan that he was very chubby when he was young. He guessed that Xia Fan would turn out like him.

Xia Zhe walked out of the house and looked around, but he did not see Qiao Mei anywhere. Liu Yun was washing clothes in her courtyard. When she saw Xia Zhe, she immediately said, "Qiao Mei's husband! Your wife is in the backyard!"

"Thank you, Sister-in-law." Xia Zhe nodded slightly and thanked Liu Yun before running towards the backyard.

At this moment, Qiao Mei was struggling with a bamboo stake. No matter how she placed it, it could not be placed parallel to the other bamboo stakes. Qiao Mei felt very uncomfortable looking at it. She must straighten out this bamboo stake today!

"You must have been busy here all morning. Why don't you take a good rest at home and let me do all the work here. Have you forgotten that you're pregnant?" Xia Zhe said with a slight frown.

"Can't it be that I have nothing to do? Besides, these chores aren't too dangerous. Since you're here, help me build the roof for the pigsty. I dare not climb up for fear of falling down," Qiao Mei said.

Xia Zhe reached out and poked Qiao Mei's forehead as he said disdainfully, "So you know how dangerous it is! I thought you don't know anything and only know how to act recklessly!"

"Of course I know it's dangerous~ I also know that my husband can help me settle such things!" Qiao Mei held Xia Zhe's hand and said coquettishly.

Xia Zhe was defenseless whenever Qiao Mei acted this way. As long as Qiao Mei gave him this look, he would forget all about his principles. Even if she wanted someone's life, perhaps he would only hesitate for a moment before thinking of a way to fulfill her wish.

Then again, Qiao Mei was not a vixen who harmed others. She still had morals.

Xia Zhe rolled up his sleeves and started to build the roof. As soon as he climbed up, he came back down again. He looked at Qiao Mei hesitantly and said, "Why don't I do this after a few days? Aren't I still 'injured' at the moment?"

"Oh my! How can I have forgotten about this! Then don't worry about it. Go back into the house!" Qiao Mei made a big show of helping Xia Zhe back into the house.

Liu Yun looked at the couple curiously. Xia Zhe was fine just now, so why did he start limping in the blink of an eye?

"Qiao Mei! Is your husband alright! I have medicine for bruises and injuries at home! Do you need it!" Liu Yun shouted towards Qiao Mei's courtyard.