Bai Sheng exited the space and went with Lu Ye to the large sand pit to transport stones.
In less than the time it takes for a cup of tea to brew, more than half the stones in the large sand pit were moved into the space. Bai Sheng had originally wanted to take them all, but she feared it would be too strange for all the stones to disappear overnight, so she left some behind.
After the stones were brought back, Lu Ye told Bai Sheng to place them directly on the sand embankment, as he intended to build a house on it, the kind Bai Sheng liked.
Bai Sheng looked deeply at Lu Ye, truly not expecting him to completely follow her wishes. Was this considered a form of "pampering"?
If Bai Sheng hadn't known that she was currently dirty, ugly, and short, she would have almost thought Lu Ye liked her a little.
Bai Sheng raised her hand and patted her cheeks, trying to clear her head. Then she climbed onto the sand embankment, ready to release the stones.
Anyway, there weren't many people around here, so Bai Sheng simply released all the stones.
The next day, as soon as it was dawn, Bai Sheng was woken up by Lu Ye, and the three children were also called up.
"From today onwards, you will all follow me in martial arts training, so from now on, you must wake up at the hour of Mao!" Lu Ye stood tall and straight opposite the four of them, his voice clear and crisp like stones struck by a spring.
"Okay!" Bai Sheng clasped her fists like a warrior maiden.
"Yes, sir!" Lu Yun excitedly mimicked Bai Sheng's movements. He had long wanted to learn martial arts, but his elder brother used to stay at the martial arts academy, so he didn't have time to teach him specifically.
Lu Hua also wanted to become a bit stronger, so that no one would dare to bully her.
Only Lu Yu, with his mouth agape, let out a large, long yawn, "Big brother, why... why do we have to train in martial arts?"
Lu Ye directly ignored Lu Yu's question and loudly commanded, "Now, everyone follow me for a run, three laps around the mangrove slope! Those who don't run will have no breakfast in the morning!"
All eyes turned to Lu Yu.
Lu Yu's small chest instantly puffed out; he would run ten laps for breakfast!
Since everyone had been hungry and malnourished for a long time, their physical condition was very poor, and running was extremely strenuous.
On the third lap, except for Lu Ye, everyone completed it by walking.
The residents of the mangrove slope, waking up that morning from extreme hunger and thirst, witnessed a miraculous sight: five people, two adults and three children, ran in a single file, panting and circling lap after lap.
This newly arrived family was truly indulging themselves, having the energy to waste!
After the run, Lu Ye also taught them to practice horse stance.
As it was the first day, Lu Ye was merciful and only made them hold the stance for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
After the training, all four collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Lu Ye, however, seemed unfazed.
Bai Sheng watched Lu Ye without even a gasp for breath and secretly thought, this cheap husband has such good physique; if he gained another thirty pounds, his figure would definitely be sexier, and if he were in bed...
Slap!
Bai Sheng slapped herself. Shameless! They hadn't even secured enough food and warmth, and she was already thinking lustful thoughts?
Deserved!
Everyone turned to look at Bai Sheng following the sound of the "slap."
Bai Sheng chuckled awkwardly and said, "Mosquito, it was a mosquito."
Lu Ye and the three children scanned their surroundings. Where were the mosquitoes? They hadn't seen a mosquito in almost two years.
"Let's have breakfast!" Bai Sheng quickly changed the subject.
"Oh, it's time to eat!" Lu Yu quickly scrambled up from the ground, showing no signs of fatigue.
Lu Ye, Lu Hua, and Lu Yun then forgot about the mosquitoes.
Each person ate only one piece of flatbread for breakfast.
After eating, everyone climbed onto the sand embankment and began working.
Since the house was to be built on the high sand embankment, the first step was to pave the embankment with stones.
Lu Ye planned to lay at least three layers before building the walls.
Lu Ye and Lu Yun were responsible for laying the stones, Bai Sheng and Lu Hua were responsible for treading the laid stones to make them solid, and Lu Yu was responsible for small errands like fetching water.
As the family was working diligently on the sand embankment, Feng Pingyuan and Du Min walked up from below the embankment.
Good heavens! Where did all these stones come from?!
The two of them looked at the piles of stones on the sand embankment, somewhat stunned. There clearly weren't any yesterday.
This newly arrived family was truly – incredible!
However, as the saying goes, "too much talk leads to mistakes," so if they didn't volunteer the information, she wouldn't ask.
Du Min and Feng Pingyuan tacitly chose to ignore the suddenly appearing stones.
"Little Sheng, what are you all doing?" Du Min called up from below the embankment.
Seeing the two below the embankment, Bai Sheng's expression paused for a moment, then she smiled, "Sister Du is here! We want to build a house on this sand embankment, so we are first laying a few layers of stones on the ground to separate it from the sand!
Fortunately, my husband is incredibly strong and can move stones very quickly. Last night, our family didn't sleep at all, and we finally prepared most of the stones."
Lu Ye understood Bai Sheng's intention and moved the stones as if he were grasping feathers.
"Building a house? We'll help! Your Brother Feng is very skilled at building houses!" Du Min said, and she and Feng Pingyuan began to climb the sand embankment.
Bai Sheng wanted to refuse. After all, they looked so frail and didn't have enough food or drink; it was truly unbearable for Bai Sheng to have them come and do hard labor for free.
But seeing their enthusiastic demeanor, Bai Sheng couldn't bring herself to refuse.
She looked at Lu Ye. Lu Ye smiled, "It's fine."
Lu Ye had a good impression of the couple; his intuition told him that they were different from the people in Huangsha Village.
After Feng Pingyuan led Du Min up the sand embankment, his face was pale, and he was panting heavily. Once he steadied himself, he clasped his hands towards Lu Ye and said, "Thank you, Little Brother Lu, for last night's generosity. Feng is deeply grateful. Feng has built many houses before and is quite familiar with this area. I sincerely hope to help you, Little Brother Lu."
Lu Ye also clasped his hands and smiled, "Brother Feng, you don't need to be so polite. From now on, just call me Xiao Ye. With Brother Feng's help, our house will surely be built with twice the result with half the effort. It's just that Brother Feng's health... can he still endure it?"
Feng Pingyuan smiled sheepishly, "It's fine. To be honest, my wife and I are here today not only to sincerely help but also because Feng has a request."
Lu Ye said, "Brother Feng, please speak your mind."
Feng Pingyuan and Du Min exchanged a glance, and then they suddenly knelt together facing Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, "My wife and I wish to sell ourselves into servitude and recognize Little Brother Lu and Little Wife Bai as our masters!"
Ah, this...
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng were utterly astonished. They quickly bent down to help them up.
But the two refused to get up.
Du Min smiled apologetically, "To be honest, we feel very embarrassed ourselves for clinging to you like this. After all, in this world, it's not easy for anyone to survive. But this might be the only chance for us to live, so we can only shamelessly beg you two."
"Sister Du..." Bai Sheng didn't know what to say.
Feng Pingyuan said, "My wife and I have avenged ourselves and originally intended to leave this place, but because you... are very good people, we discussed it and decided to stay and live with you!"
Lu Ye smiled, "Brother Feng, we've only just met, how can you be so sure we are good people?"
Feng Pingyuan's voice couldn't hide his admiration, "My wife and I have been refugees for many years, and you are the only ones who were willing to share the most precious food and water when we were at our most difficult times."
Bai Sheng was speechless, so this "calamity" was caused by her.
Du Min kowtowed, "We do not ask for much, only that we may live. We beg our two masters to take us in!"
Lu Ye glanced at Bai Sheng and said apologetically, "Brother Feng, Sister Du, our family is actually penniless, and we cannot afford servants at all. How about this, from now on, you can help our family with chores, and we will help you as much as we can with what we have. What do you think?"
"No, we must sell ourselves into servitude!" Du Min's attitude was resolute. "Our masters don't need to give us anything; just a little life-saving food and water would be enough to make us grateful.
We will definitely provide the indenture later! In this vast world, hearts are unpredictable. If you two helped us during our most difficult times, selling ourselves into servitude is our most loyal repayment.
If one day, my wife and I do something that betrays our two masters, you can punish us with family law and beat us to death!"
This was truly the most resolute act of submission.