As the night deepened, the frantic rhythm of the construction site finally slowed down. The workers completed the final groundwork of using heavy straw mats to cover the active trenches so it can set firm by tomorrow and cure into stone-like hardness in a few days. The same process as yesterday was followed as they workers received their wages.
It was especially a new experience for the new recruit who couldn't handle their excitement. The old workers were albeit steadier. As the final worker made his way home, they gathered in the in the camp. Bai Ling made a fire in the fire pit for warmth while heating a big pot of water for bathing. They enjoyed their meal while discussing how today's work happened.
They couldn't help flattering Su Xiao at her ingenious idea of making stone-and-mortar mixture to layer the ground. After explaining the use and techniques to them, she stood up to go bathe the kids. The children had also worked hard today as they new recruit made the demand of plates high. She carefully changed their clothes and applied cream to their hands to avoid frost bite.
They started packing to go home. Shi Dong and the brothers had started making a new batch of wooden plates for the new recruit and others that may come. Su Xiao stepped outside to look for Mu Wei. He was walking along the trenches and at times squatting to check on mats. Walking up to him she said,
"It's solid. The bedrock is locked so the frost won't touch it. You don't have to push yourself so hard"
Mu Wei stood up and took off his coat to cover her. He smiled at her words before responding,
"I love being busy. It gives me a sense of realness especially if the house being built is ours. I want to be a part of it in every way"
Su Xiao looked at him to find him staring down at her with determined eyes. She couldn't help but give in.
"Alright. But, if I see you overdoing it, I will have no choice but to step in"
"Deal. The merchant caravan should be crossing the ridge by dawn. Tomorrow, the real work begins"
"Yes. And many workers might also join in to. I have to go into the mountain to hunt for more meat"
"Leave that to me. I will do it for before day breaks tomorrow, you just have to handle it when you come"
"Alright. It's cold, lets go home"
He squeezed her their joined hands in agreement and went back with her. Together, they'll went back for a good rest after the day's work. As promised, the next morning, Mu Wei woke up early and entered the mountain to hunt. He luckily found a small boar and deer and took it to the camp house.
He expertly skinned and butchered the meat before placing it on the kitchen. The morning sun finally clears the peaks enough to turn breath into thick clouds and vapour. Down on the courtyard, the foundation trenches has cured beautifully overnight. The sticky-rice lime mortar had hardened into a dense, chalky white, cementing the river boulders into an immovable grid.
Just as the kitchen crew began stoking the morning fires, frantic rattling of iron chains and wooden wheels echoed from the Northern valley path. Su Xiao calmly wiped her hands before stepping outside. Mu Wei and some of the workers had gathered waiting for the merchant to get close. The merchant is pale and practically jumps off the driver's seat before the wheels even stop rolling. Without exchanging any polite greetings, he asks for the ledger to be signed.
His eyes darts towards the snowy mountain passes as he casts nervous glances at the bigger cargo wagon. Su Xiao and Mu Wei exchange glances and understood the meaning in each other's eyes. The merchant was behaving strangely. Not alarming him, she calmly hands over the ledger after signing it and he literally flees immediately.
Mu Wei called first checked the smaller cargo filled with hand tools. He immediately knew that the problem was in the large cargo. Without looking suspicious, he called the workers to distract them to the second cart.
"Everyone line up by the second! The hand tools and chisels are over there. Sort them by sizes and get them ready for the pillar foundations!"
With a roar of excitement, the workers swarmed the smaller carts completely entranced by the shiny new iron. Taking advantage of their distraction, Su Xiao stepped toward the large cargo and carefully pries the top layer with Mu Wei's help. The thick packing straw beneath wasn't just dirty, it was stained a deep, wet crimson.
Mu Wei's expression turned deadly serious. With a controlled, silent heave, he pushed the planks aside revealing a crumpled form of the stranger. A faint, barely audible groan drifted from him. He was coated from head to toe in thick charcoal grease blending perfectly, save for the deep, angry blade wound across his chest oozing blood.
Mu Wei signed Lu Dan who came over quickly. His expression changed seeing the situation. Without alerting the workers, the took a tarp and wrapped him tightly until he looked like nothing than a massive bulky shipment of raw metal. Hoisting him over their shoulders, they quietly made their way to the abandoned building. Su Xiao methodically cleared the room and made a bed for the patient.
Examining his pulse, she was glad he wasn't poisoned or it would have been complicated. Just a deep chest wound which need suturing and disinfecting. With no anesthesia available, she had to do it like that. She disinfected the scalpel before working on him. After that, he wound was meticulously disinfected and sutured. He had already passed out from the pain.
Within an hour, she had taken care of his wounds and fed him pain killers. Lu Dan had already gone back to avoid the workers noticing anything amiss. Mu Wei stood outside monitoring the situation while giving her privacy to work.