Chapter 23: Building a New House!

Chapter 23: Building a New House!

The Shen family is building a new house!

In fact, many people in the village have vaguely heard recently that the Shen family has been gathering materials to build a house. Even on the wasteland behind their house, building materials like stones and wood have gradually been piled up.

But building a house in the countryside is no easy task.

Labor isn’t an issue; with relatives and friends from the village community pitching in, a house can be built in about ten days with more hands, or twenty with fewer.

The difficulty lies in gathering materials: stones, wood, tiles, straw, yellow mud, sand, and various other essentials. To build a better house, one also needs to gather bricks and buy cement. In short, it’s impossible to gather all the materials without spending at least a year or two. Some families take seven or eight years just to gather materials for building a house.

Of course, this is not only because most families are poor and can’t save much money throughout the year, but also because materials are scarce. Even if you have money, you might not be able to buy what you need.

So, although people have heard about it, everyone thinks that if the Shen family can build the house within three years, it would already be quite impressive.

Who would have thought that in such a short time, they’ve actually started construction!

On the day of the groundbreaking, not only was the designated foundation site of the Shen family filled with people coming to help, but even the village road outside was crowded with onlookers.

Many people sighed and lamented that life can really throw you curveballs. Not long ago, Shen Laoqi and his daughter were worried about having no food at home. In such a short time, Shen Laoqi has started working as a laborer at the kiln factory and is even building a new house.

Especially after seeing the kiln factory’s tractor bringing in loads of bricks, this feeling deepened even more.

The fact that the Shen family could build a house so quickly is partly due to the sudden change in their temperament after being bullied severely, and they managed to get the money back from the first and second branches of the Shen family. But even with money, being able to get enough bricks so quickly must also be because Shen Laoqi is now working at the kiln factory. Otherwise, just queuing to buy bricks would take who knows how long.

As the old saying goes, “Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side.” But for the Shen family, it seems like they’ve changed dramatically in a very short time.

Since it was clearly stated in the agreement with the first and second branches when they signed the deed that the three hundred yuan was solely for the purchase of the house, and if Shen Shaoyuan’s family were to build a house, the first and second branches would have to contribute the necessary labor days. So today, several sons from the first and second branches are also present.

Labor days could be converted into money, but how much can a rural family realistically save in a year? Who would be willing to pay money instead of labor days?

These cousins of Shen Moer, in name, all have very dark faces, working very reluctantly, and can’t help but secretly blame their parents. When they signed the agreement, why didn’t they manage to exclude the labor days, causing them to have to work for free for their seventh uncle and also be laughed at by the villagers.

They don’t even think that, by rights, as Shen Laoqi’s legitimate nephews, they should have come to help when the Shen family is building a new house.

Other members of the first and second branches didn’t come; they were too embarrassed to show their faces.

However, Cao Mei, with her two grandsons, stood on the village road watching the excitement. Someone teased Cao Mei: “Hey, Cao Mei, since Laoqi’s family is building a new house, why didn’t your Jianhui come to help? And shouldn’t you, as the sister-in-law, also help prepare the meals?”

Cao Mei has thick skin; someone who can run to others’ homes to grab food must have thick skin. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring in the direction of Shen Laoqi’s house, and spat, “He didn’t bring anything to invite me, so why should I, or my Jianhui, be idle and help his family with work?”

Others: “...”

They were speechless.

She completely missed that others were mocking her!

She even complained that Shen Laoqi didn’t bring anything to invite her to help. It’s already good that Shen Laoqi didn’t go to smash her windows.

Indeed, this person is both bad and stupid.

Everyone instinctively took a few steps back. No one wants to be associated with such a person.

In fact, a series of recent events have given the villagers a new understanding of the first, second, and third branches of the Shen family.

Originally, they thought Shen Laoqi was shrewd, Shen Laoer was kind, and Shen Laosan was straightforward... Now it seems that the shrewd one might be too shrewd, the kind one might be pretending, and the straightforward one is simply foolish and misguided.

People don't just turn bad overnight; these three families have probably always been like this.

Many people, looking back, think it's no wonder Shen Laoqi's family, with just two members, has always struggled to make ends meet. It seems they must have been exploited by these families quite a bit before.

Shen Moer had no idea about any of this, as she was busy in the kitchen with Aunt Chen.

Because there were so many people to feed, Shen Shaoyuan had someone set up a temporary stove outside the kitchen and borrowed a cooking pot from Aunt Chen's family to ensure they wouldn't be overwhelmed with just one pot.

Aunt Chen deftly handled the wild rabbit, grinning from ear to ear, and said, "I'm really coming out ahead here. I lend you a cooking pot, and in return, I bring my whole family to enjoy such a good meal. Moer, you're really losing out on this deal."

Shen Moer quickly sliced wild onions on the cutting board, smiling as she replied, "But isn't your whole family helping out here? Besides, if I borrowed your cooking pot, how would you cook? I can't let you all go hungry, and besides, there's no 'northwest wind' [a Chinese idiom for having nothing to eat] to drink this time of year."

Aunt Chen laughed, "You little rascal! It's fine, I'm thick-skinned and happy to take advantage."

As they worked and chatted, Sister Xinmei, Aunt Chen's daughter-in-law, came in from washing rice outside. She carried a porcelain jar of freshly washed rice and hesitated, looking troubled. "Moer, should we add some sweet potato strips to the rice? The ones we brought are quite sweet and would taste good steamed with the rice."

Shen Moer asked, confused, "Sister Xinmei, do you think there's not enough rice? I counted the number of people and added a bit extra. If it's not enough, I can measure out some more. I wanted everyone to eat their fill for the first meal, so I didn't plan to add anything else."

Sister Xinmei glanced at her mother-in-law and hesitated to speak. Aunt Chen understood her concern—she thought Shen Moer hadn't accounted for their younger children.

Having spent so much time with Shen Moer, Aunt Chen knew her temperament. If Shen Moer had invited their whole family to eat, she wouldn't engage in such petty calculations.

So Aunt Chen said, "What are you hesitating for? Moer is very generous. Either you miscounted earlier, or you can go count again. If it's not enough, Moer can measure out more rice."

Hearing this, Sister Xinmei sighed in relief and was about to recount the people as her mother-in-law suggested when Shen Moer suddenly slammed the cleaver down and said, "Ah, I know what's going on."

She said with a grin, "Sister Xinmei, you can recount the people, but don't include my uncles' sons. They're here to work off the labor hours they owe us, so it's not necessary to feed them."

Sister Xinmei gasped in surprise, and Aunt Chen paused while handling the rabbit, then laughed, "Moer has a point. If they're here to work off hours, it's reasonable not to feed them."

It's customary for the host to provide meals, but Aunt Chen, considering what the Shen family had done, felt that Shen Shaoyuan and Shen Moer had every right to be upset and not provide food.

Seeing her mother-in-law agree, Sister Xinmei, though feeling it was a bit harsh not to feed them, decided it wasn't her place to interfere. She said, "No need to recount. If we exclude them, there's more than enough rice."

Even if everyone ate their fill, it should be enough.

For a moment, Sister Xinmei couldn't decide if Shen Moer was being stingy or generous.

She had prepared such a good meal for the helpers, even covering the meals for her younger children, just because she borrowed a cooking pot.

Yet, she wouldn't spare a single meal for her cousins.

It seemed the Shen family's past actions had deeply hurt Shen Laoqi and his daughter.

Sister Xinmei sighed quietly and went back to work.

After her daughter-in-law left, Aunt Chen asked Shen Moer, "With so many people eating every day, do you have enough food? If not, we can share some from our home."

Shen Moer smiled and thanked her, "We have enough. Your family also brought some sweet potato strips and corn, so we'll mix in some coarse grains later. It should be enough. If we really run short, I'll definitely ask you—I won't stand on ceremony."

There were indeed many workers. Excluding the few from the Shen family's first and second branches, several strong laborers from families who had become close to Shen Moer had also come. Team leader Zhou ManCang had helped organize some manpower, and a few relatives with the surname Shen had volunteered to help. Oh, and Fu Mingze and Zheng Jiamin were also there.

They had prepared a fair amount of food in advance. Shen Shaoyuan had borrowed some grain from the team and some grain coupons from the kiln. He had also exchanged a plain gold ring from the treasury with Sister Qiao for some grain.

Truthfully, the hardest part wasn't borrowing or exchanging grain, but finding that plain, unremarkable gold ring among the countless treasures in the vast treasury.

Shen Moer had spent three full days organizing the treasury before she found it.

Fortunately, she found a whole set of them, so if they ever needed money in the future, they could exchange more.

Aunt Chen had skinned and cleaned all three rabbits, while Shen Moer had prepared the seasonings and side dishes. She took two of the rabbits and chopped them up with a few loud thuds, then used fire tongs to stuff a few pieces of firewood into the stove. Soon, the fire was blazing. She heated the oil, then added green onions, ginger, star anise, soy sauce, and cooking wine. After pushing the entire pile of meat from the chopping block into the pot, she gave it a quick stir with a spatula, and a mouthwatering aroma instantly filled the air.

At this point, Shen Moer finally had a moment to season the remaining rabbit with salt and spices. This one would be saved for tomorrow.

Aunt Chen exclaimed, "Oh my, your cooking skills are impressive! This smells so good, it's making my mouth water."

Shen Moer laughed, "With a whole pot of meat, how could it not be tempting?"

Aunt Chen chuckled, "You're right about that. But not everyone can make meat smell this good. Did your mother teach you this?"

Shen Moer's eyes flickered, and she nodded in agreement.

The original host's mother's family must have been quite well-off, as evidenced by the photos she left behind. In the pictures, the family was dressed in a very fashionable manner, and the background seemed to be a Western-style house with a garden. However, the original host's mother wasn't particularly skilled at cooking. Shen Moer guessed her family likely had servants, so she probably never lifted a finger.

Just like Shen Moer herself, if it weren't for the fact that she wanted to personally cook a few dishes and a bowl of longevity noodles for Shen Shaoyuan's birthday every year, how could a noblewoman like her ever learn to cook?

The original host did know a little about cooking, but Shen Moer suspected it wasn't very good, as her memories of the dishes she made were all bland and unappetizing.

Aunt Chen sighed, "It's a shame your mother wasn't close to the villagers when she was alive. If I had known she was so capable, I would have definitely had my daughters learn from her."

Shen Moer guiltily blinked her eyes and remained silent.

The father and daughter had been attributing all the skills that shouldn't have belonged to them to the original host's mother. Painting, calligraphy, cooking, sewing and embroidery—everything was supposedly taught by her. At this rate, the late woman was bound to become a legend in Yangliu Brigade.

While the kitchen was bustling with cooking, the work outside was also in full swing. Suddenly, everyone caught a whiff of an incredibly rich, mouthwatering aroma of meat, so tempting it nearly made their knees weak.

"Lao Qi, your family's lunch smells amazing! You're cooking meat, aren't you? It's so fragrant, I'm practically drooling," a relative from the Shen family said with a laugh.

"Uncle Seven, you're so generous! This smells so good, I already feel hungry," said Chen Zhuangzhuang, Aunt Chen's son.

"I asked Comrade Shen Moer this morning, and she said there's meat, plenty of vegetables, and unlimited white rice," Zheng Jiamin chimed in with a grin. "Brother Zhuangzhuang, hand me the winnowing basket. I need to work harder, or I'll feel too embarrassed to eat more later."

Zheng Jiamin was naturally sociable and had always gotten along well with the commune members. Today, working alongside them, he quickly became one of the group.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Chen Zhuangzhuang quipped, "You're as skinny as a chicken! If anything, Uncle Seven's family is at a disadvantage with you around!"

Zheng Jiamin chuckled, "It's the thought that counts."

Shen Shaoyuan, as the host, was overseeing the work. Standing outside, he watched Zheng Jiamin bantering back and forth with the commune members and thought to himself that this guy was quite talkative, but his looks were too ordinary. His daughter Moer would definitely not be interested in him.

Then he glanced at Fu Mingze, who was silently working without a word. Shen Shaoyuan inwardly clicked his tongue. Fu Mingze's looks were passable, but his work ethic was mediocre. He wasn't even half as strong as Chen Zhuangzhuang and couldn't compare to his own nephews. Average, very average.

He completely ignored the fact that Chen Zhuangzhuang was widely recognized as the strongest and most capable worker in the brigade, and his nephews were also known for their hard work.

While everyone else was chatting and laughing, the nephews from the Shen family remained silent.

However, as the aroma from the kitchen grew stronger, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva, secretly thinking that even though they were working for free, getting to eat such a good meal wasn't a bad deal. This one meal was worth more than a day's worth of work credits.

Even the few people lingering on the village road to watch the commotion caught a whiff of the delicious smell. They swallowed their saliva enviously, thinking, "If only I'd known the Shen family's meals were this good, I would've swallowed my pride and offered to help!"

Time slipped by quietly as everyone waited in eager anticipation, tinged with envy. At one point, Shen Moer's clear voice rang out from the kitchen, "Dad, it's time to eat—"

Almost simultaneously, everyone stopped what they were doing.

Shen Shaoyuan twitched his lips and took the opportunity to say, "Alright, let's eat!"

The group dropped their tools in an instant, rushed to the nearby well to scrub their muddy hands, and then stampeded toward the kitchen.

Shen Shaoyuan leisurely trailed behind, addressing his distant nephews in a very natural tone, "Jianping, Jian'an, Jianlin, Jianye, Jianshe, it's too hot at noon. Go home, have your meal, rest a bit, and then come back. But don't be too late, after all, we're counting workdays. Even brothers keep clear accounts, and it's the same with nephews. A workday should last its full duration. You wouldn't want to have to make up the time later, would you?"

The nephews abruptly stopped in their tracks, exchanging looks of disbelief at what they had just heard.

Was he really making them work for free and not even offering them a meal?!

The eldest son of the main branch, Shen Jianping, couldn't help but say, "Uncle Seven, isn't that a bit too harsh?"

Shen Shaoyuan looked calmly at this nephew who was actually a few years older than himself and retorted, "Isn't it the norm not to feed people when they’re making up hours?"

After a pause, he continued earnestly, "Jianping, you're so grown up, you even look older than your uncle. How can you still say such immature things? If you had any sense, not only would you not want to stay for a meal, but you should have brought some grain to help out when you came in the morning. Ah, never mind, you’re not my own kid anyway. I don't want to say too much. Just remember to rest and come back early."

Shen Jianping, who was four years older than Shen Shaoyuan: "..."

The others: "..."

Are you even listening to yourself? No meals, and you want us to bring grain to help out? How can you think so beautifully? And, resting a bit and coming back early, isn't that a bit contradictory?

At this moment, the nephews empathized with the old ladies who had recently listened to Wang Jinbao's nonsense.

Too much to even complain about—it left them speechless.

After all, they were all about the same age as Shen Shaoyuan and couldn't act like children throwing a tantrum, insisting on staying for lunch. In the end, the nephews left with grim faces, seething with anger.

The others who were working together initially paused out of curiosity to listen, but were soon spurred on by Zheng Jiamin's shout of "Moer, I want meat!" and quickly rushed to grab some meat.

What did the Shen family's domestic affairs have to do with them? Was there anything more important than eating meat? Certainly not!

Besides, with fewer people, they could grab extra pieces of meat, hehe.

The meal was so good, everyone nearly ate their tongues. Aunt Chen's little rascals were especially thrilled, eating and shouting, wishing Sister Moer’s family would keep building forever, preferably for three years, which made all the adults laugh.

Actually, these little kids should have called Shen Moer 'aunt', given that Shen Shaoyuan was not very old but held a high seniority. However, Shen Moer didn't correct them; being called 'sister' made her feel younger, which was nice.

After the meal, everyone went home to rest for a while. It was hot, and working at noon could easily lead to heatstroke. After the hottest part of the noon had passed, everyone consciously returned one after another, including the nephews.

There was no choice. The current Shen Shaoyuan was not the same as before. If he said the work hours were insufficient and needed to be made up, he would definitely make them do so.

Don't want to make up the time? Threat of being strangled with a rope.

Actually, the people from the main and second branches of the Shen family thought Shen Shaoyuan might have gone mad.

After all, the current Shen Shaoyuan was completely different from before, and which normal person would talk about strangling others with a rope?

So they thought Shen Shaoyuan had been too severely stimulated and was somewhat half-crazy—

He seemed sane, but he was actually crazy.

How could they dare to provoke such a madman? What if he really went crazy and strangled them? Or strangled their children?

In the end, unable to provoke, they could only obediently do as told and work.

For dinner, Shen Moer didn't cook meat dishes, but she scrambled six eggs with a large plate of wild vegetables, and everyone was still very satisfied.

The first day of work passed peacefully like this.

Although they didn't do much heavy physical labor, it was still a busy day. After washing up at night, Shen Moer and Shen Shaoyuan each went to bed early.

After the last time the door was pried open by a thief, Shen Shaoyuan got a big lock from the commune and locked the door securely every night. Since then, the father and daughter stopped sleeping in the treasure room.

The purchased cotton had not yet been made into quilts, but as the weather was hot, using old quilt covers or clothes at night was enough.

Day after day... As time passed, the foundation gradually took shape, and the first layer of the wall was also constructed.

That night, Shen Moer, while sleeping, felt like she was having a nightmare and suddenly woke up.

After waking up, she lay there, dazed for a moment. When her mind became slightly clearer, she noticed something moving near the window.

Having been broken into before, Shen Moer felt a chill run through her and quickly got up, creeping quietly to the window.

Tap.

Something fell to the ground.

Tap.

Again.

In the moonlight, Shen Moer finally saw that it was small stones being tossed in from outside the window.

The window in her small room was added later, possibly for safety reasons, and was a bit higher than usual windows. Now, the paper covering the window was torn at one corner, and the small stones were being thrown in through this hole.

Shen Moer: "..."

In the dead of night, this was really scary.