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After waking up from a nap, Tang Xu was busy preparing fruitwood roasted chicken, while the three little ones were still unaware that they were about to be harshly separated into different rooms. They were happily playing.
The room next to the main house used to be where Wei Xi lived, but after moving to the east wing, that room was left vacant and locked up most of the time.
At the time, Tang Xu thought about keeping it for later use.
Although the courtyard had plenty of rooms, the ones they usually lived in were quite compact, with only a few left.
With a damp cloth, Xiao Bao wiped the wooden door twice and then ran off to Wang Cuicui, handing her the cloth.
Wang Cuicui, smiling, took the cloth, rinsed it in a basin of water, wrung it out, and handed it back.
Xiao Bao happily grabbed the cloth and ran back to wipe the door, repeating the process multiple times, enjoying it every time.
Er Bao, on the other hand, was holding a small broom made of bamboo sticks. He was dragging it like a little cart, pulling it forward. Fortunately, although the room hadn’t been lived in for a while, it was cleaned from time to time, so there wasn’t much dust.
Otherwise, his way of cleaning would have stirred up quite a dust storm.
The most reliable one was the chubby boy, who stood at the door with his hands on his hips, acting like a commander.
He waved his little hand and said, "Er Bao, sweep over there. Yes, yes, sweep slower! That’s not how you sweep, you’re holding it the wrong way! Xiao Bao, wipe a little longer before washing the cloth, make sure it’s clean!"
He kept barking out commands without moving a muscle, not even stepping outside.
Wang Cuicui couldn’t help but laugh at his instructions and turned to ask him, "Why aren’t you doing the work yourself, Da Bao?"
"Grandma, don’t call me 'Da Bao' anymore, call me Ah Song," the chubby boy turned his face and said seriously, "I’ve grown up now."
"You've grown up?" Wang Cuicui's eyes were filled with kind affection. "Even if you grow as big as your father, it’s still fine for Grandma to call you by your nickname."
The chubby boy puffed out his cheeks in frustration.
"What are you all doing?" Tang Xu came in from outside and saw the two little ones busy at work. He gave his eldest son a pat on the head. "Why aren’t you helping out?"
This room was empty and didn’t have much to do. Wang Cuicui had come over just to sweep away some dust.
"Er Bao and Xiao Bao are both working; you’re just standing here giving orders?" Tang Xu poked his son’s cheek. "Go on, you should help too."
The chubby boy pouted and stood still. "They’re almost done; I’ll help after my father gets back."
This meant he would help after the new bed was set up.
Tang Xu didn’t say anything more, leading all three of them back inside to wash up, then asking them to help fold the blankets.
"Fold your own little blankets neatly; once the new bed is set up, you’ll be moving over there to sleep," Tang Xu said, placing the prepared mattress aside and searching for appropriately sized sheets.
"Dad, I want this one," Xiao Bao pointed at a red embroidered sheet among the several that Tang Xu had spread out. "Good!"
It was rare to hear him say such a complete sentence, which pleasantly surprised Tang Xu.
He shook the sheet in front of Xiao Bao and smiled, asking, "You like this one?"
Xiao Bao kept nodding, his big eyes sparkling at the sight of the bright red embroidery.
"Alright, I’ll spread this for you later," Tang Xu said, bending down to pick him up and sitting him on his lap. He held Xiao Bao’s small hand and asked, "Are you going to be scared sleeping on your own?"
Xiao Bao tilted his head and thought for a moment before answering, "I have my brothers~"
He felt reassured being with his older brothers.
Although he said he wouldn’t be scared, there would probably be some reluctance when the time came.
Tang Xu considered that if the three of them were afraid to sleep alone, they could delay it for a while.
After all, the kids were still quite young.
But then…
Wei Dong and the carpenter installed the bunk bed in the room. Since the original design included a cabinet, Tang Xu had specifically gone to the carpenter’s shop to discuss the desired specifications.
The carpenter's eyes lit up when he heard Tang Xu's ideas; he praised the concept, noting that it would save a lot of space and that the children in the back rooms would surely love it.
He even asked Tang Xu if he could buy the idea from him, saying he would like to make similar bunk beds to sell in the future.
Tang Xu, nodding enthusiastically at the time, agreed but didn't charge him a fee for the idea. Instead, he split the cost of the bed, giving half as payment for the design.
After the installation was complete, the carpenter checked the movable ladder and cabinet, confirming everything was in good shape. With a cheerful expression, he accepted the payment and left.
Tang Xu was quite satisfied with the result. Concerned that the children on the bottom bunk might fall out, he had added a protective railing all around.
The stairs leading to the upper bunk were wide, and the railing on the second bed was higher, ensuring that no one would fall out during the night. However, the upper bunk was slightly narrower, about 1.3 meters wide.
The wood used was thick and sturdy, with a mortise and tenon structure for stability. Tang Xu asked Wei Dong to demonstrate by doing a couple of flips on the upper bunk. The bed held steady, only shaking slightly as it was designed to do, but there were no creaking sounds at all.
It was very secure.
Everyone gathered around to admire the unique double-decker wooden bed. When they saw that the bottom bunk could open up like a cabinet to store things, Wang Cuicui's eyes lit up. "This is great! It doesn’t take up much space, and it’s so practical to live with. Much better than those beds with curtains."
She reminisced about her childhood, when she and her siblings had to squeeze into one room due to a lack of space. They could only use curtains to separate their beds, making the room feel cramped and leaving little space to move around. Sleeping was uncomfortable and crowded.
A bed like this, with two levels, was perfect—no squeezing necessary.
"There’s still room here to put a table or store some extra things," Tang Xu pointed to the remaining space next to the bed.
"Once we clear the empty land nearby, we can build a few more rooms," Wei Dong chimed in. He was referring to the other side of the hillside. If they wanted to use that space to build more houses, they’d have to extend the back courtyard around the slope.
When Tang Xu bought this plot of land, he had asked Wei Dong about his plans. Wei Dong had mentioned building more houses, predicting that their family would grow and they might not have enough room in the future.
"I thought you wanted to dig through the mountain," Tang Xu joked.
Wei Dong shot him a glance, and Tang Xu smiled back mischievously.
That expression was filled with affection. Wei Dong pinched Tang Xu's cheek and asked, “What kind of courtyard do you want to build?”
Tang Xu thought for a moment and shook his head. “I’m not really sure. You can handle it.”
He could help with some sketches if needed, but he had no concrete ideas about building houses. “That area is quite large; we’ll need at least two houses eventually, especially when our eldest and second son get married and want to live over there.”
However, that was on the premise of whether his eldest and second sons wanted to stay in the village after growing up. If they decided to venture out and leave the village, the houses might end up empty.
But all that was speculative; once the houses were built, there would naturally be places to live.
The children were thrilled with the new bunk bed. After Tang Xu finished making the bed, the three of them took off their shoes and began jumping around on it. Er Bao was especially restless, climbing up and down non-stop.
“Where do you three want to sleep?” Tang Xu asked.
The three little ones ignored him entirely.
Sighing, he patted Wei Dong on the shoulder and reminded him, “Keep an eye on them so they don’t fall. I’m going to start cooking.”
Let them choose where they want to sleep!
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