Chapter 76: Cleaning
To build the Forest House, I went back to the stone masons and carpenters for more learning. But there aren’t many new constructions at the level of the house I want to build; instead, I ended up picking up renovation methods and knowledge I didn’t want to know.
The knowledge I gained: the reason for having a high entrance, so that rainwater doesn’t flow into the house on rainy days due to the filth on the road.
Please, clean up the horse manure and other mess! It could be used as fuel, right?! And also, eradicate the fleas and lice!
It’s not just a matter of wealth disparity; there’s a significant difference in cultural levels too. For example, beds. In the town houses, they lay down furs or wool felt, while the nobility uses feather bedding. The Dinoss Family has a bed made of straw covered with cloth, but other farmers just crawl into the straw in the barn to sleep.
With such a gap, I think there’s a limit to cross-class romance. There are many kind-hearted people, but their ways of thinking are different, leading to different actions. They’re just trying to survive day by day, making judgments based on immediate concerns. After all, they might not be alive next year.
It’s quite harsh out there, making it hard to get close. I’m not the type to stand up and do something about it.
I may not be able to become a public servant, but at the very least, I want to keep my friends and acquaintances clean.
“Stop it! What are you doing? Don’t peel me!”
Ah—!!! I suddenly thought of cleaning the Dinoss Family’s place.
They’re one of the cleaner farming families, but I had been helping out at other farms for learning purposes. However, I couldn’t stand the environment and ended up settling with the Dinoss Family.
“Could you change clothes since I’m going to do the laundry?”
I handed the wife a change of clothes and shoes for everyone.
“What the heck! What are you doing here so early in the morning, and why just me?!”
With the kids eagerly cooperating, I stripped Dinoss down to nothing. I learned that kids don’t know moderation.
“Oh, what nice clothes. The kids will be grazing livestock, and I’ll be in the field with this person. It’ll get dirty, but is that okay?”
I greeted the wife and explained today’s purpose, having already gotten her permission.
“I’ll give you these, so please wash Dinoss thoroughly first.”
“I’ll let him bathe at the well before dressing him.”
While Dinoss was being dragged to the well, shouting at me not to ignore him, I began the cleaning. The authority inside the house belongs to the wife, Dinoss.
How to Clean.
Seal the chimney and gaps, then burn herbs in the fireplace to fumigate the entire house.
Before fumigation, put everything that can be stored into [Storage]. While the house fills with smoke, I took the fabrics outside to wash and disposed of unnecessary items that had entered [Storage]—dust, dead insects, trash, and so on.
Using [Storage] again inside the house, I tossed out various dead things. At this point, I delivered lunch to the field and had a meal together. I was hugged by the kids, who asked about what we had planted and the weather this year, while Dinoss looked on with jealousy.
After finishing the meal, there was still a lingering smell of herbal smoke, so I wiped down the surfaces. The room was so empty that it didn’t take long.
Once I returned the furniture and prepared fresh straw for the bed, I was done. Now, I just had to wait for the laundry to dry.
While I was repairing the window shutters, Dinoss and the others returned.
“We’re back~”
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome home.”
Usually, the twins and Tina would rush to hug me, but maybe because I was holding tools, they just wandered around with smiles. It felt like some kind of mysterious ritual.
“Oh my. It’s really clean.”
“You… are a cleaning genius…?!”
The two adults were first surprised by the state of the house.
“I did my best.”
“Ah, at least let me handle the shutters tomorrow. Have some tea.”
Dinoss casually fitted the still unfinished shutters into the window and led me to a chair.
“Hey, go pluck some quail.”
“And get some eggs, please.”
“Okay!”
With that, Dinoss and his wife called out to the kids, who eagerly dashed off.
The wife brewed some tea, and Dinoss and I played a card game. It was a different pattern, but it was still playing cards.
While keeping an eye on the quail roasting in the fireplace, I felt a bit guilty that the kids were helping the wife.
The nicely roasted quail was retrieved, and it seemed it would be turned into a stew. The wife’s specialty was to use pot sake, a sweet sauce made from fermented sweet alcohol, and simmer it with green onions.
According to Dinoss, the quail is delicious, but the flavor-infused green onions are simply irresistible.
“It’s the end of the green onion season, huh…” Dinoss said with a sense of nostalgia.
The Dinoss Family is my ideal home. But realistically, considering my personality, it’s a bit impossible. I like to wander around and often want to be alone.
“By the way, Gene, do you like cleaning?”
“Not really?”
In fact, I dislike it.
“Then why again?”
“There are places I can’t stand being unsanitary, so I impulsively came to clean up a place.”
“Gene is a clean freak, after all. It’s done~! Carry it!”
I turned to see Dinoss’s puzzled face as the wife’s voice came from behind him, and the kids clattered in with plates.
I’ve added a recipe for quail and green onion pot sake stew to my collection from this world!