Font Size:
Lu Xinghe put down his bowls and chopsticks, looking at Yun Cuihe: “Mother, I want to repair the house.”
Yun Cuihe was slightly stunned, looking at him for a long time without speaking, then looked up at the house.
“It’s time for repairs. The roof is moldy and not sturdy, the walls are always dusty, and the wind and rain of the past eight years have thinned the walls considerably. When it gets cold, we’ll probably suffer like we did in previous years.”
Hearing about repairing the house, a glimmer of longing appeared in Lu Xingping and Lu Xing’an’s eyes.
“Mother, Big Brother, where will we live temporarily while the house is being repaired? Grandfather and Grandmother’s old house?”
Yun Cuihe shook her head and looked up at their house again.
“This thatched hut may not even be worth repairing. Tomorrow, let’s call your uncles to take a look. If it’s beyond repair, then we’ll find a more convenient place to start building a new house.”
Lu Xinghe looked at Yun Cuihe.
“Mother, have you already chosen a location?”
The others also looked towards Yun Cuihe, waiting for her to speak.
Yun Cuihe looked at her children, a loving smile on her face.
“The hillside your grandparents allotted to us. It’s close to the village road leading out of the village, and not far from your grandparents’ house. There’s a large pond not far ahead, and beyond the pond is our field. Don’t you think it’s very convenient?”
Lu Xinghe’s eyes lit up: “Mother, the place you’re thinking of is the same place I had in mind.”
Yun Cuihe quickly laughed: “I asked your grandparents to give us a small piece of that mountain to build a house on long ago. However, your uncles disagreed, worried that we’d take over the whole mountain, so we ended up building here. Who would have thought that mountain would still be ours in the end?”
Lu Xingping’s face was full of excitement.
“Mother, doesn’t this mean we’ll have a new house soon?”
Yun Cuihe reached out and touched his head, her eyes slightly moist.
“Following me, you brothers have suffered.”
Lu Xingping quickly shook his head.
“We haven’t suffered. As long as Mother is here, even if I eat only coarse rice and vegetables every day, life is still sweet.”
The sadness Yun Cuihe had just built up was dispelled by Lu Xingping’s words, leaving her feeling both amused and touched.
“You little rascal…”
Lu Xing’an also nodded: “Mother, although Xingping is often unreliable, what he said today is true. As long as our family is together, life won’t be hard.”
Lu Xingping glared at him.
“What do you mean ‘often unreliable’? Lu Xing’an, explain yourself!”
Lu Xing’an quickly got up and ran outside.
“You’re just unreliable, I have nothing to say.”
Seeing this, Lu Xingping got up and chased after him: “If you’re so capable, don’t run away! Why am I unreliable? I’ve helped out the family a lot, okay…?”
Yun Cuihe watched her two sons playing outside, shaking her head helplessly.
“Be careful, you two. Don’t bump into anything, or you’ll get hurt.”
At this moment, the remaining sadness in her heart finally disappeared completely.
Chu Yue smiled, watching the two brothers playing outside. She got up to gather the bowls and chopsticks, about to take them out to wash, but Lu Xinghe held her hand.
“Let me do it.”
But Chu Yue didn’t let go.
“You pushed a cart all day, you must be tired. Rest for a while. A few bowls, I’ll be done washing them quickly.”
Lu Xinghe, seeing Chu Yue’s insistence, didn’t push it.
Yun Cuihe glanced at Chu Yue working outside, then turned to Lu Xinghe.
“Didn’t I tell you before? I said Yueyue is a good child, didn’t I?”
Lu Xinghe glanced in Chu Yue’s direction, and hummed in response, his voice though cold, but if you looked closely, you’d see his exposed ears had turned pink.
Yun Cuihe didn’t say anything more, smiling as she went back to her room.
…
The next morning, after breakfast, Lu Xinghe invited his uncles, Lu Laifu and Lu Laicai, along with his fourth uncle, Lu Shoucheng.
As soon as the three men entered the yard, Chu Yue brought them tea.
After the three men finished their tea, she collected the cups, washed them by the water tank, and brought them into the kitchen. She spoke little, but she worked efficiently.
Lu Laifu and Lu Laicai’s impressions of her improved somewhat.
The three men circled the houses and returned to the courtyard to sit down. Lu Laifu shook his head and said, “This thatched hut wasn’t very sturdy when it was built eight years ago. Although the roof was replaced once, it’s completely unusable now, and the walls are badly deteriorated. In my opinion, it’s easier to rebuild than repair.”
Lu Laicai had a different opinion.
“Don’t just blurt that out! Rebuilding is expensive and time-consuming. Xinghe doesn’t earn much money; he can’t afford such a thing.”
Lu Shoucheng looked at Lu Xinghe and Yun Cuihe.
“What are your thoughts, Third Sister-in-law and Xinghe?”
Since the elders were speaking, Lu Xinghe naturally gave the right to speak to his mother.
Yun Cuihe, seeing everyone looking at her, said softly, “Xinghe and I discussed this yesterday. If it really can’t be helped, we’ll rebuild the house. Our mud walls are so thin, repairing them is time-consuming, laborious, and doesn’t look good. The main thing is, a repaired house won’t last a year or two before needing repairs again. It’s better to just rebuild.”
Lu Laifu, Lu Laicai, and Lu Shoucheng were somewhat surprised.
“Third Sister-in-law, do you have enough money?”
“It should be enough for now.”
Thinking of his wife’s formidable nature, and to avoid her giving him a hard time, Lu Laicai decided to speak plainly first: “Little sister-in-law, you must consider this carefully. We all just split the family, we don’t have extra money to lend you. If you are going to rebuild, you need to have the money on hand. It’s not something you can just decide on a whim.”
Lu Laifu quickly nodded: “Yes, although I also hope you can rebuild, you must act within your means.”
Lu Shoucheng, on the other hand, said indifferently: “A mud-brick house doesn’t cost much money, but it’s labor-intensive. If you don’t have enough, sister-in-law, you can ask Xiuqin for some, but I have many children, so I can’t lend you much, maybe one or two taels at most.”
In those days, being willing to lend one or two taels of silver to a family was a great kindness.
Yun Cuihe smiled.
“Thank you, elder brothers, for your reminders, and thank you, fourth brother, for your generosity. Xinghe and I have already planned this matter of building a house, and we’ve considered the money. You don’t need to worry about the money, brothers. It’s just that when the time comes to build the house…”
Hearing this, the three brothers relaxed, and patted their chests, saying, “Third sister-in-law, don’t worry about building the house. Your elder brothers will take care of it.”
However, they were also a little surprised. Third sister-in-law’s family actually had some spare money to build a house. Could it be that they sold the mountain their parents gave them?
But they hadn’t heard anything about it in the village.
Yun Cuihe was beaming.
“Then, thank you, elder brothers.”
Lu Laifu and Lu Laicai quickly waved their hands: “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”