Our renovation project was delayed until the spring of the second year of Jinghe.
By then, Deng Ying’s health had improved significantly, and his digestion had strengthened enough that he could join me in eating slightly spicy foods. However, the old injury to his ankle still flared up occasionally. When severe, even walking became difficult.
After spring began that year, there was excessive rain, forcing construction work to halt.
Though Deng Ying’s leg was uncomfortable, he still tried to work intermittently when possible.
Fortunately, Yi Lang had sent some excellent medicinal patches from the palace.
On a sunny day, I had Deng Ying sit on the porch while I crouched below to apply the medicine.
Deng Ying looked down at me with a smile and said: “Afraid I won’t be able to walk tomorrow?”
I looked up and said: “Why don’t you skip work tomorrow, and just rest in bed after applying the medicine? It’s just tamping down the foundation for a pavilion. I…” I pointed back at myself, “I can handle it.”
Deng Ying reached out to pat my head.
For some reason, ever since he lifted me from the bathtub that time, he particularly enjoyed patting my head.
“It’s not as simple as you think.”
I crouched on the ground like someone giving up on treatment, letting his fingers caress my scalp.
Seeing me not moving, he became even more unstoppable in his head patting.
That spring day was bright and sunny, with many birds landing in the courtyard’s clearing to hunt for insects. I picked up a twig to play with the birds while Deng Ying tirelessly “ruffled” my head. With fresh wind and fragrant flowers, time idly passed, and we naturally forgot about the actual work.
We somehow ended up playing in the courtyard until dusk.
Deng Ying placed his hands on his knees and honestly said: “Wan-wan, I didn’t do any work again today.”
I was still focused on teasing the green-feathered bird in front of me and casually replied: “Then skip dinner tonight.”
Unexpectedly, he responded with an “Alright.”
I withdrew my hand and looked up at him.
“Then what about me?”
Deng Ying said, “I’ll cook for you, and then I’ll skip my meal.”
You see, this is the person who lives with me – always listening to what I say, never letting me go hungry.
I smiled, about to speak, when suddenly someone at the courtyard gate asked: “Excuse me, does Master Deng live here?”
“Yes.”
I turned around to see several craftsmen-like figures standing at the door, bowing to Deng Ying when they saw him.
“Finally found you. This is…”
The speaker glanced at me, then quickly averted his gaze, “This must be Miss Yang. Pardon our intrusion. We’re craftsmen who worked with Master Deng on building the Taihe Hall. We just finished that project recently and heard that you and the master were looking for people to renovate your house, so we thought we’d come by to see if we could help.”
I gestured for Deng Ying to stay seated and walked to the gate, opening it wide, “His leg injury isn’t good, and I really can’t do this work. We were just worrying about this. Please come in, I’ll get some chairs, and everyone can sit down for tea.”
“Ah, good. Thank you, Miss.”
They entered somewhat awkwardly, helping me move the chairs to sit in the courtyard.
Because of my presence, they were initially uncomfortable. I simply went to wash my hands and brew tea in the kitchen. When I came out, they had begun reminiscing with Deng Ying.
“Even when we were building the hall, Master’s leg injury was quite severe. After all these years, it still hasn’t healed?”
Deng Ying tidied his clothes and said evenly: “I’m still treating it, but after so many years, it’s not easy to heal.”
“Ah.”
The speaker looked at the half-tamped soil in the courtyard and asked: “Master, did you tamp this foundation yourself?”
Deng Ying replied: “No, I just helped fill some. Most of it was done by hired craftsmen, but with all the rain these past days, work was temporarily stopped. Yang Wan and I had nothing to do, so we occasionally filled a few baskets.”
The man said: “You shouldn’t have to do this yourself.”
Deng Ying smiled, “I have to follow the rules.”
The craftsmen were confused and asked in unison: “What rules?”
Deng Ying didn’t answer, just looked up at me with a quiet smile.
I set the tea on the porch, serving them while smiling: “The rule in our house is no work, no food.”
“This…”
The craftsmen held their tea cups, wanting to say something in front of me but not daring to.
The one who had been speaking gathered his courage and asked me: “Miss Yang, let us do the work for Master.”
He looked around and continued, “We’re all on break, and we’ll take care of Master Deng’s work.”
I held back my laughter and said to Deng Ying: “Looks like we can’t starve you tonight.”
Deng Ying sat on the porch, smiling and nodding.
While rolling up my sleeves, I said: “You all keep Master company and chat. I’ll wash the vegetables first, then go get Yunqing to help make dinner.”
“Wan-wan.”
Deng Ying called out to stop me.