Yan Runzhi anxiously looked up at Jiang Lin from below, moving back and forth nervously, arms outstretched, afraid Jiang Lin might slip.

Jiang Lin inspected the roof, saying, “The tiles up here are mostly fine, just need to reposition some.

But the ridge tiles are cracked and need to be replaced with new ones.”

Their house was an old one, made of large blue bricks and well-fired grey tiles, much better in quality compared to other houses in the village.

The ridge tiles were crucial, covering the junctions where leaks could occur.

If not properly covered, rainwater would soak through, softening the mud below and rotting the thatch tied to the rafters, which needed to be sun-dried.

She looked up at the sky.

The thick clouds had cleared, leaving a clear blue wash that was dazzling.

In the east, the sky was gradually breaking into hues of red, orange, yellow, and purple, as beautiful as spilled oil paints.

She thought to herself, “Looks like it might be good weather!”

She said, “It shouldn’t rain anymore. Let’s dry the ridge so the thatch underneath doesn’t rot.”

Yan Runzhi shouted from below, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

What if it rains again?”

Jiang Lin replied, “If it rains, we’ll cover it up quickly. No big deal.”

She checked the leaky spots, lifted and sun-dried the thatch, and patched them back up with mud.

Standing on the roof, Jiang Lin could see many households bustling about: shouting about leaks, draining water puddles, and calling for roof repairs.

They were all busy but seemed cheerful about it.

Not far away, Cheng Ruhai’s house was even livelier.

Several chickens looked drenched, the yard had turned into pools from rainwater, and inside the house, there were leaks.

The whole family was busy drying quilts and clothes.

Liu Honghua’s situation was even more amusing.

As soon as it rained, she put on an elderly woman’s mannerisms and even grabbed a walking stick! Seeing her hopping around with that stick, Jiang Lin couldn’t help but laugh openly.

Jiang Lin teased, “Hmph, she’s not even married off her son yet, and she’s already acting like a mother-in-law?”

She swiftly arranged the tiles, quickly reorganizing them, then went down to mix mud and carried it up to patch the thatch.

At that moment, someone finally saw her on the roof, and exclamations of surprise rose one after another as people from all around rushed over to see.

“Wow, Jiang Zhiqing, you’re a hidden talent! Fixing roofs too!”

“Jiang Zhiqing, you can do this? When did you learn this skill?”

Many knew Jiang Lin from before: she used to be aloof and looked down on others.

Now, seeing her up so high, climbing roofs—what’s next, flying to the sky?

Jiang Lin shouted loudly, “Learn? Just climb up and arrange the tiles. Even a three-year-old can do it. Of course, you need tiles to arrange.”

Heh heh, forget about Cheng Ruhai’s thatched roof.

The feeling of happiness truly showed. Wasn’t living in a shanty miserable?

Now in a brick and tile house, while Cheng Ruhai and Liu Honghua went to live in adobe houses, Jiang Lin felt incredibly happy.

If only news came that Bian Haitao had died from the sky, that would be perfect.

Hahaha.

Some people didn’t like her smug demeanor and teased her, “Jiang Zhiqing, you’re so capable, why not fix ours too?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Sure, I’ll assess the situation and charge accordingly, materials provided.”

She was a businesswoman through and through, and would never hesitate to ask for payment like some people who were too familiar with their neighbors and ended up offending them by doing things for free and leaving matters unsettled.

Some people were unhappy. “Jiang Zhiqing, why are you so fixated on money? We’re all part of the same brigade, we should help each other out. When people in the village build houses, they don’t charge each other, just a couple of meals is enough. You’re asking for money to fix a roof?”

Jiang Lin retorted loudly, “Well then, how about this? If I keep fixing roofs for others without payment, how will I sustain myself?”

Someone chuckled, “That’s right, makes sense. Work deserves payment.”

Just then, the women’s director Cheng Yulian came over and called out, “Jiang Zhiqing, if you can, come help me fix something up. Depending on the situation, I can pay you in eggs or grains.”

Jiang Lin replied, “Alright, Director, just give me a moment.”

Naturally, some people didn’t believe it.

A female educated youth fixing roofs? They thought it was a joke.

In the village, there were indeed skilled workers in mud and tiles, and almost every household’s men knew a bit of the trade because they had to build their own walls.

However, the quality of their craftsmanship varied greatly; some were quite shoddy.

Some people worked on walls every day, only for them to collapse before they were even finished.

Some worked on roofs daily, yet they still leaked when it rained, and no one knew why.

Even when they hired specialized tile workers or master builders, the leaks persisted!

It was truly baffling.

Cheng Yulian’s house was just like this.

Her husband, though strong, was not very skilled—she’d often call him clumsy.

Their roof leaked, starting with one spot, but after he tried to fix it, it ended up with three leaks.

It was beyond frustrating! When they hired someone else, they’d just do a little work and charge a whole meal’s worth, but the repairs were never thorough.

After two rains, sure enough, it would leak again.

Darn it, isn’t that annoying?

Jiang Lin inspected her own roof, got an idea, and came down.

In her previous life, she did renovations and handled all sorts of business, including projects for wealthy folks going back to nature—though this one was way more upscale.

So, fixing a small roof? Piece of cake! As long as you were brave and not afraid of heights, it was simple.

Yan Runzhi patted her chest, “Bao’er, don’t scare me. We’re just women, let’s not get into these dangerous businesses.”

It’d be so much better to embroider flowers or cook a meal.

At the very least, you could relax, eat sunflower seeds, or take a nap.

Jiang Lin said, “No worries, don’t you know many of those tall chimneys were built by women? Men are useless if they’re afraid of heights.” She heard it from the masters, not sure if it was true.

Yan Runzhi sighed, “…My daughter-in-law needs to be sensible, not meddling in everything.”

Cheng Dabao and Cheng Xiaobao woke up at this point.

Cheng Xiaobao looked at the pots and pans on the kang bed and the puddles on the ground, then shouted excitedly, “Haha, we’re boating!”

Cheng Dabao furrowed his attractive brows, glanced at the water on the floor and the roof, then jumped down barefoot into the courtyard, just in time to see Jiang Lin coming down from the roof.

Cheng Dabao exclaimed, “……!!!”

Jiang Lin clapped the mud off her hands and smiled, “Actually, the roof is tiled, so as long as you go barefoot to avoid slipping, there’s no danger at all.”

Yan Runzhi scooped water with a ladle to rinse Jiang Lin’s hands, not wanting to say anything more.

Cheng Xiaobao also ran out, delighted, “My Linlin is amazing! Just like Dongsheng!”

Yan Runzhi asked Jiang Lin with a more sincere tone, “Bao’er Mother, what would you like for breakfast?”

Jiang Lin hesitated…

If she said “anything,” would Yan Runzhi know what to cook?

Locals typically prepared dried food the night before, hurriedly boiled water in the morning to eat with pickled vegetables, cooked salty dishes at noon, and made porridge or stewed dishes in the evening, preparing the main food for the next day.

Most families were not particular; having food to eat was good enough, and they never cared about making it tastier or trying new things.

If they wanted variety, they’d wait for holidays like eating dumplings on New Year’s Eve, yuanxiao on the 15th of the first lunar month, or special dishes on various festival days.

This was for those who could afford it.

For those who couldn’t, just not going hungry was enough; dreaming of improving their diet on holidays? Go dream!

Yet Jiang Lin found Yan Runzhi really tried to offer variety.

Even without meat or fish, she managed to prepare many different dishes.

If they had fried pancakes enough, they’d steam them; after steamed buns, they’d make noodles; after noodle soup, they’d have noodle sauce or cold mixed noodles, not to mention various porridges, congee, coarse grains…

Jiang Lin was filled with joy and touched.

Looking at Yan Runzhi’s eyes with special fondness, she sometimes felt like calling her “mother,” but held back.

After all, she’d always called her “mom.” If she tried calling her that now, she’d feel a bit awkward, so she stuck to the usual way.

She saw Yan Runzhi smiling gently at her, waiting for instructions, and smiled back.

Nowadays, she laughed unreservedly every day, wondering if she’d get wrinkles early.

She said, “Let’s cook millet porridge and boil some eggs. We had staple food last night, so we can use that.”

Cheng Xiaobao chimed in, “Steamed buns rolled with eggs! Linlin loves them!”

Cheng Xiaobao was a foodie himself.

Whatever he wanted to eat, he’d say Linlin loved it, because Grandma loved asking Linlin what she liked.

Yan Runzhi said, “Okay, I’ll roll a few more pancakes, and we’ll eat them with rolled eggs.”

Jiang Lin replied, “Then I’ll go visit the women’s director’s house.”

Cheng Dabao originally wanted to help with starting the fire, but now he let Xiaobao handle it and followed along.

Jiang Lin went to Cheng Yulian’s house to inspect the roof.

She noticed some tiles were unevenly placed with stones underneath, causing leaks.

From Cheng Yulian’s tone, Jiang Lin could tell someone had done it intentionally.

It was a trick played by dishonest craftsmen who could come to eat a few meals in the summer and return the next year.

Early in the morning, Jiang Lin fixed the two leaking spots on Cheng Yulian’s roof.

“As long as the tiles are properly laid, they won’t leak again. If they do, I’ll take responsibility and repair them for free.”

Cheng Yulian handed Jiang Lin six eggs in a crooked gourd ladle, “Jiang Zhiqing, don’t mind the small amount.”

In rural areas, chicken eggs were like currency, universally accepted and valued.

Jiang Lin smiled, “Director, eggs are great.”

Cheng Dabao originally wanted to go up, but Jiang Lin insisted he stay down, so he had to wait with his head tilted back.

His young face remained tense until Jiang Lin came down, then he breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He was truly admiring; Mom was really capable of anything.

Jiang Lin held the eggs and smiled at Cheng Dabao, “We have more eggs to eat now.”

Cheng Dabao smiled back at her, “Mom, you’re so amazing! Just like Dad!”

Jiang Lin led him back home.

People came to Cheng Yulian’s house with curiosity, asking, “Can a woman like her repair roofs better than Cheng Ruhai or Cheng Decai?”

Cheng Decai was Cheng Fuwan’s eldest son, slightly lame, who had studied as a tile worker.

Cheng Ruhai used to work alongside him, helping to build houses for others.

Later, Cheng Ruhai became the production team leader of the Sanpai Production Team in Shuihuai Village and stopped doing this kind of work.

Now, many roofs in the village were under Cheng Decai’s responsibility.

However, relying on his uncle Cheng Fugui being the commune secretary and his father being the second team leader,

Cheng Decai increasingly started to slack off in his work and even looked down on others.

Many people were dissatisfied with him.