BDSMST -Chapter 20 Repairing the House, Building a “New Home”

Summer weather was like a child’s mood—changing without warning.

Just a few days ago, the sky had been clear and the heat unbearable. Then, in the middle of the night, a torrential downpour came crashing down without the slightest sign.

Raindrops as large as beans pounded against the thatched roof, sounding as if thousands of horses were galloping overhead. The wind howled, pouring in through the cracks of the broken windows, making the oil lamp’s flame sway wildly, almost going out.

“Madam! Madam! This is bad—the roof is leaking!”

Chunxing’s anxious voice rang out inside the house, mixed with a crash of thunder.

Jiang Suisui had already been awakened. She sat up and saw a stream of water pouring straight down from a hole in the center of the roof, forming a puddle on the ground.

Even worse—it was leaking above where Gu Xuan slept.

His pile of straw bedding was directly beneath a larger hole. Cold rainwater mercilessly drenched his head and face.

He jolted awake at first thinking it was a nightmare. Only when he wiped his face and felt the icy water in his palm did he let out a loud cry and leap from the straw heap.

“It’s raining! It’s leaking! My bed!” he shouted angrily, staring at his soaked “bed,” cold and furious.

“Quick! Move everything to the dry corner by the wall!” Jiang Suisui made a swift decision, directing Chunxing and Gu Xuan to transfer their few belongings to spots where the rain didn’t reach.

Outside, wind and rain raged with flashes of lightning and thunder. Inside, the three of them scrambled in chaos, drenched and disheveled.

After they finally settled down, Gu Xuan looked at his soaked clothes and bedding, his little face dark with displeasure.

“This broken house! How can anyone live here?” he fumed. “Tomorrow I’m going to ask Grandmother to send people to tear it down and rebuild it!”

“By the time your grandmother sends someone, it’ll be too late,” Jiang Suisui said calmly, wiping her hair with a dry cloth. “Better to rely on ourselves than on others. When the sky clears, we’ll fix it ourselves.”

“Fix it ourselves?” Gu Xuan’s voice shot up an octave. “How? We’re not craftsmen!”

“If you don’t know how, you can learn.” She shot him a glance. “Didn’t you say you wanted to build a cowshed and sheep pen? Take this as practice.”

The rain lasted a full day and night before finally stopping.

When the skies cleared, they were a brilliant blue, and the air carried the fresh scent of damp earth.

But the estate was in a mess.

The courtyard was littered with puddles and broken branches. The roofs of the dilapidated houses were in even worse shape—the thatch had been blown askew, exposing holes of various sizes, like a pockmarked face.

Jiang Suisui surveyed the yard and quickly formed a plan.

She first sent Li Si to the back mountain to cut sturdy timber and bamboo to serve as beams and supports.

Then she led Chunxing and Gu Xuan to an open patch of land behind the estate.

The soil there was sticky yellow clay—perfect for repairing roofs and walls.

“Today, our task is to mix mud,” Jiang Suisui said, rolling up her sleeves and addressing the bewildered Gu Xuan.

She dug up a large pile of yellow clay and had Gu Xuan cut a great amount of dry straw from the field ridges.

“Chop the straw into pieces, mix it with the clay, add water, then stomp it with your feet. The more evenly you stomp, the tougher it becomes. Only then will the mud bricks be strong.”

As she spoke, she demonstrated.

Removing her shoes and socks, she stepped barefoot into the cold, sticky clay.

The mud swallowed her ankles. The sensation was far from pleasant, yet there was not a trace of disgust on her face. She focused, stepping firmly and steadily.

Gu Xuan stared in shock.

He had never seen a lady of a Marquis’ household do such a thing.

“What are you standing there for? Get down here and help!” Jiang Suisui called when she saw him frozen in place.

Gu Xuan looked at the soft, yellowish mud heap, and everything inside him resisted.

This was even harder to accept than cleaning chicken droppings!

“I—I won’t! It’s disgusting!”

“Hurry up, or there’s no dinner today.” Jiang Suisui deployed her ultimate weapon.

His face immediately fell. That move again! This awful woman—did she know any threat besides withholding food?

Grumbling and dragging his feet, he reluctantly removed his shoes and socks. When his tender little feet first stepped into the icy, slippery mud, every hair on his body stood on end.

“Ah! It’s so gross!” he shrieked, trying to pull his foot free.

But the mud seemed to have suction, gripping him tightly.

He stumbled about in the mud like a duckling learning to walk—clumsy and ridiculous.

Jiang Suisui suppressed her laughter and said sternly, “Don’t flail around! Focus! Mix the mud and straw evenly!”

Gu Xuan glared at her indignantly, but he had no choice.

Gritting his teeth, he began to imitate her, stepping down hard, one foot after the other.

At first, he found it disgusting and uncomfortable. But gradually, once he got used to the sensation, he realized… it was actually kind of fun.

The three of them—Gu Xuan, Chunxing, and Jiang Suisui—stood in a row in the mud, moving their feet as if performing some strange dance.

Suddenly, Gu Xuan slipped and fell face-first into the mud.

“Pfft!”

He sprawled flat on the ground, his face and clothes splattered with yellow clay.

Chunxing gasped and hurried over to help him up.

But Jiang Suisui burst out laughing. Her clear, bright laughter echoed across the open courtyard.

Gu Xuan lifted his muddy face and saw her laughing so hard she was nearly doubled over. His irritation flared instantly.

He grabbed a handful of mud and, while Jiang Suisui wasn’t paying attention, hurled it at her face!

Smack!

The clump of yellow mud landed squarely on her face.

Her laughter stopped abruptly.

The courtyard fell silent.

Chunxing turned pale in fright. The young heir had actually thrown mud at Madam!

Gu Xuan froze as well. He had acted on impulse, never expecting to actually hit her. Seeing her face now smeared with mud, he felt a flicker of panic. He braced himself for scolding, punishment—perhaps even no dinner tonight.

But to his surprise, Jiang Suisui didn’t get angry.

She slowly wiped the mud from her face and fixed him with a dangerously calm look.

The next second, she scooped up a handful of mud and fired back at him!

“Ah! That’s cheating!”

“If you dare throw mud at me, you’d better be ready for retaliation!”

And just like that, an intense mud fight erupted without warning.

Mud splattered everywhere. Laughter and shrieks filled the courtyard.

Chunxing was soon dragged into the battle as well, and before long all three of them were covered head to toe in mud.

The hearty play chased away the exhaustion of days of hard work and, without them even realizing it, drew the three of them much closer together.

Once they had had their fun, they finally returned to work.

The mixed mud was pressed into wooden molds, forming evenly sized bricks, which were then laid out in the sun to dry.

The wood and bamboo Li Si had cut were also processed, under Jiang Suisui’s direction, into materials for repairing the roof.

Over the next few days, the entire estate turned into a bustling construction site.

Jiang Suisui climbed onto the roof to oversee everything. Though she was a woman, she was bold yet careful, and far more agile than anyone would have expected.

Gu Xuan became her “chief ground assistant.”

“Gu Xuan, pass up a bundle of thatch!”

“Gu Xuan, those mud bricks are dry—bring them over!”

“Gu Xuan, water!”

He darted around the courtyard like a spinning top—handing up tools one moment, carrying materials the next.

Though sweat drenched him and he was utterly exhausted, he didn’t complain. On the contrary, he worked with great enthusiasm.

As he watched the dilapidated house gradually become sturdy and whole under their hands, an indescribable sense of pride welled up in his chest.

This was no longer that leaking “broken house.” It was a “home” he and that bad woman had repaired together with their own hands.

When the last mud brick was set in place and the final bundle of thatch laid on the roof, Jiang Suisui climbed down. It was already evening.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground.

They were both completely worn out, their bodies aching and scraped, but as they looked at the newly restored house before them, satisfied smiles spread across their faces.

“Look—our new home,” Jiang Suisui said, patting Gu Xuan on the shoulder.

Gu Xuan gazed at the neatly repaired roof and tightly plastered walls and nodded solemnly.

“Mm. It’s much better than before. But…” His tone shifted as he pointed to an empty patch of land nearby, his eyes shining brightly. “Once we sell the vegetables and make money, we’ll build a house here ten times bigger than this! With blue bricks and green tiles—warm in winter, cool in summer!”

His voice was filled with longing for the future.

Jiang Suisui looked at his serious little-adult expression and smiled.

She knew that the once-spoiled young heir, who only knew how to cry and cause trouble, had now learned how to build, how to create a “home” of his own.