As the first autumn rain began to fall, the small building belonging to Fu Xin Ci was officially completed.
She opened an oil-paper umbrella.
Looking at the bright and clean two-story building, it exuded a unique ancient charm amidst the drizzling autumn rain.
Paired with the misty mountain scenery in the light rain, a multitude of fitting poetic verses came to mind.
However, the more she pondered, the less decisive she became. The verses blurred in her mind, and she still hadn't chosen which one best matched the scene.
"Sister Fu?"
"Sister."
Fu Xin Ci turned around and saw Qi He and Yu Er, sharing an oil-paper umbrella, their heads peeking out from behind the house.
"Want to come take a look?"
"Okay."
The two spoke in unison.
Qi He had visited the construction site of the building numerous times.
But today, in the drizzling autumn rain, it still felt different.
The three children, two older and one younger, were perched on the windowsill of the building, gazing at the misty autumn scenery.
Qi He, being less educated, remained silent, fearing that anything he said might detract from the beauty of the scene.
Yu Er, however, was not shy. After climbing onto the windowsill with Qi He's help, he immediately opened his mouth and chattered.
"Sister, sister."
"What is it, Yu Er?"
"Sister, can Qi Ge and I move in with you?"
Before Fu Xin Ci could refuse, Qi He spoke first, "Yu Er, that won't do. Qi Ge cannot move in."
"Then what should we do?" The little one, pained, urged Qi Ge to think of a solution.
"You can move in with Sister Fu by yourself."
"Just you and Sister?"
"Yes, you and Sister Fu can live together." The tutor had once said that boys and girls over seven years old should not sit together.
Although Grandpa Meng had said not to be so pedantic, he wouldn't let Qi He and Yu Er move into the building, which was why he had spoken to Yu Er that way earlier.
"Let me think." Yu Er was conflicted, scratching his head incessantly.
He wanted to live in the building with his sister but didn't want to be separated from Qi Ge.
"Oh, this is too difficult."
The little one slid down from the windowsill himself and began pacing back and forth on the natural wood floor.
The natural wood floor was only coated with a layer of clear varnish. Once dry, it revealed the wood's natural grain, giving it an air of "simple and elegant" no matter how one looked at it.
This was Fu Xin Ci's insistence. She disliked the heavy reds common in that era, feeling they would be suffocating to be around all day.
"I have to say, Sister Fu's choice is beautiful."
Qi He, like Sister Fu, also favored this natural wood color, finding it clean and lovely. It was unlike the color recommended by Master Zhang, which seemed old and stuffy.
Seeing Qi Ge praising Sister again, Yu Er couldn't be left behind. "I like this color too, it's so pretty." After speaking, Yu Er habitually sat down on the floor.
"Hehe, it's much better here, not hard on the bottom." Yu Er said, propping himself up on his arms and looking backward with his little bottom in the air.
"Squeak, squeak."
For some reason, Xiao Bai seemed to enjoy Yu Er's pose and wanted to imitate humans by sticking its hindquarters up.
However, its four little paws lacked the support of human limbs, and it tumbled over without exception each time.
Fu Xin Ci felt tired for it and wanted it to rest, but Xiao Bai was addicted and wouldn't listen.
Fu Xin Ci had no choice but to tell Yu Er to stop. "Yu Er, you can't stay like this all the time, you'll get dizzy."
"Oh, Sister is right. I do feel a bit dizzy now."
The little one was very obedient. He secretly poked Xiao Bai's plump belly with his finger before sitting back down beside his sister in all seriousness.
"Squeak, squeak." Humans are so boring. It finally found something it liked, and no one would play with it.
It decided. It wanted to. Xiao Bai had originally thought of running away from home to make the humans search for it.
But then it considered how clumsy humans were and feared they might not be able to find it. So, it decided not to run away, but it would ignore the humans for a few days, as they wouldn't let that little cub play with it.
Seeing that it was getting late and the rain had stopped, Fu Xin Ci decided to take Yu Er and Qi He back to the main house for dinner.
She reached out and scooped up Xiao Bai, who was lying on the floor pretending to be dead, into her arms.
"Squeak, squeak." Now that's more like it.
As they exited the building, Fu Xin Ci turned back, picked up the bronze lock, and secured the door from the outside.
In that brief moment, Yu Er, who was standing behind his sister, couldn't help but shiver.
Qi He saw this and quickly picked him up. "Sister Fu, let's hurry back."
"Mm."
Grandpa Meng had been sitting on the kang in the east room, gazing at the autumn scenery through the glass window. He couldn't get enough of looking at their vegetable patches.
"Your fifth uncle came by yesterday and squatted by our vegetable patch, chattering with me for a long time."
"What was Fifth Uncle rambling about with you again?" Fu Yu particularly enjoyed listening to his old father recount the day's events, big and small, with a hint of pride.
"Your fifth uncle said: 'We planted the cabbages around the same time, so why are ours much bigger and more vibrant than theirs?'"
"Father, Fifth Uncle does have a good eye. Our cabbages are indeed a sight to behold."
When it came to their vegetable patch, Fu Yu felt a sense of shared pride. "When I passed by the river, I saw their cabbages already had yellow leaves. But ours are still lush green, not a single yellow leaf in sight."
"Exactly."
When Fu Xin Ci and the others entered, they heard their grandfather praising their cabbages.
Fu Xin Ci chuckled softly and said nothing.
Seeing the children return, Grandpa Meng urged them to get on the kang and asked with concern, "It just rained, it's cold outside. Why didn't you three wear more clothes?"
"Grandpa Meng, I'm not cold. Yu Er just shivered."
Upon hearing that his grandson was cold, Grandpa Meng immediately moved closer and pulled Yu Er into his embrace. He felt the little one's hands and they were not cold, so his earlier worry subsided.
He then instructed his son, "Yu Er, go get the new clothes the three children made."
"Yes, son is going right now." Fu Yu responded, turned, and went to the kang cabinet at the end of the kang. He opened it and took out a dark-colored bundle. Unfolding it, he revealed clothes for the entire family.
When Qi He saw that his clothes were also included, his face lit up with immense joy.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that his and Yu Er's clothes were identical, both sky-blue short tunics.
Yu Er also noticed and immediately urged to put them on.
Oh, he was so eager, he couldn't wait.
Grandpa Meng also wanted to see what the two children would look like wearing matching clothes, so he urged them to hurry and change.