Chapter 42: Planning the New House

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Yichen quietly placed Mochou on the bed. Sometime along the way back Mochou had fallen asleep and Yichen didn't want to wake him.

"Mochou's distrust runs a lot deeper than I imagined. I need to be more careful in the future." Yichen mused as he swept back some lose hair from Mochou's forehead. When he did Mochou's brow furrowed. The pale look and frown told Yichen that Mochou must be suffering even in his dreams.

"I can't change the past but I can make the future better. The first thing I should do to help him is figure out what we are going to do about our house. This hut is far from secure and with the walls around the yard so short they are useless for privacy and security."

Yichen grabbed some paper, brush and some his ink stone from the shelf and began making a plan for their new home.

"Mochou is still insecure about having babies but we can't ignore the possibility. With that in mind I think we should have four bedrooms. The brightest one will be ours, and I remember Mochou mentioning having two. One for the summer and the other for winter... Should we make it five rooms instead? No, four is plenty. It's unlikely a GER will ever give birth to more than one child. It's hard to imagine Mochou getting pregnant twice let alone three times. Two extra room will be more than we need." He concluded. He wouldn't push Mochou to get pregnant but he would be remiss if he didn't plan ahead for the possibility.

After deciding on the number of rooms Yichen thought about the extra places he and Mochou would need to make their house a home.

"Mochou seems serious about hunting and making his own bow. I don't know how good he is with woodworking yet but if it's something he enjoys he should have a proper place to do it." Yichen thought as he designed an extra little house for Mochou.

This smaller house or better yet hut would have a separate entrance in the direction of the forest and one leading into the yard so it would be easier for Mochou to go in and out with whatever he needed while hunting. He also wanted to include a place where Mochou could put any animals he might catch like rabbits or even the bigger roe deer.

"Maybe it would be better to connect the hut with the old yard and make it the point between the two? That way we can house any animals further away from the main house. Their smell can be off-putting and sometimes even noxious in the hot summer months." Yichen thought as he considered the situation.

"If we do it this way then our current home, this hut, could also be used by him to store anything he doesn't use regularly. Although we still have to raise the walls it's not safe right now. We'll raise the walls and move the gate to face the forest instead of it's current placement." Satisfied with his reasoning Yichen added it to his sketch.

"For myself... Mochou told me I should have a medicine room set up where I can mix or dry herbs and attend to any patients. Personally I don't think we need it but I can't refuse Mochou's kindness. I'll add it over here away from the main house so if I did have people visit Mochou won't be bothered by them." Yichen said while carelessly adding it to the corner of the yard.

While Mochou slept Yichen did his best to plan out and think about the future.
...

Mochou woke up feeling terrible. As he slept he was plagued by nightmares of the past and Zi Ruo's betrayal. The only upside was that at the end of his dream he swore he could hear Zi Ruo's screams as his best friend Quian Duo wished him well.

"I hope you also find someone who will love you and keep you safe in that hell." Mochou whispered as he rubbed away the tears from his eyes.

"Mochou, are you awake?" Yichen asked from next to him. He had noticed the moment Mochou woke up in tears by hadn't heard him whisper.

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