Chapter 26

Back when Shen Shaoyuan had taken back the 300 yuan—even though the written agreement stated that workdays were to be compensated—Shen Mo’er had outright said on the spot that they planned to lay a foundation and build a new house. Even when Zhou Mancang later helped them complete the formalities, Shen Shengli still hadn’t believed that Shen Shaoyuan and his daughter could actually manage to get the house built.

Building a house wasn’t something that could be done just by having money. Materials were hard to collect, not to mention the need for people willing to help with labor.

In fact, when Shen Shaoyuan had his grandson pass on the message about the construction start date, Shen Shengli had secretly adopted a wait-and-see attitude, expecting to be entertained by their struggle. Even if the first and second branches of the Shen family contributed their workdays, what about the remaining labor? Was Shen Laoqi (Old Seventh Shen) supposed to handle everything alone?

Who would’ve thought he’d actually pull it off?

After construction started, Shen Shengli heard that the Chen, Cai, and Yang families had all gone over to help. Even some of the Shen clan relatives pitched in. Deep down, he felt that these people were just busybodies meddling in other people’s business. Especially when he heard that Shen Shaoyuan’s family was serving good food to those helping out, but didn’t provide anything for the first and second branches of the Shen family, he got so angry he smashed a bowl at home.

It was only at this point that Shen Shengli began to realize—his seventh brother truly had changed.

But so what if he now had some money and got along with a few families in the village? His birth mother had married out from a remote and poor mountain area, his wife was a refugee from outside who had fled famine, and neither her natal nor maternal family could offer support. For something as major as building a house, were they really going to rely solely on outsiders?

Not to mention, without the five people from their two households, the construction schedule would be delayed by who knows how many days.

And that was assuming good weather. If it rained for a few days straight, it was questionable whether the house could even be finished before the autumn harvest.

Shen Shengli figured that if their side refused to help, even if Shen Shaoyuan could still get the house built, it definitely wouldn’t go as smoothly. He’d at least experience some frustration.

But unexpectedly, Shen Shaoyuan didn’t react with anger or agitation like he had imagined. Instead, he chuckled and asked, “What about the workdays you two owe my family—how are you going to make up for that?”

Shen Shengli wanted to shout, “Make up your damn workdays! You sent my grandson to the police station—why the hell should I give you any work in return?!”

But Shen Shaoyuan didn’t seem interested in hearing any answer. He paused briefly, then continued on his own: “It’s not difficult. Your families have plenty of laborers and earn more work points. My daughter and I earn fewer work points and get less grain.”

He turned to Zhou Mancang. “Captain, how about this—let the production team convert those owed workdays directly into work points or grain. I borrowed some grain from the team earlier anyway, so just use that to offset some of the debt. If it’s more than we’re owed, give us the surplus next time grain is distributed. If it’s less, deduct it then.”

Zhou Mancang was completely speechless at the Shen family’s first and second branches.

These were blood brothers and nephews, and yet so much had already happened: snatching food, introducing shady marriage prospects in hopes of wiping out his daughter’s future, and even stealing bricks in the middle of the night. They weren’t just causing trouble for the team—they were dragging its reputation through the mud.

The Yangliu production team used to have a great reputation, but lately, it had dropped like a rock.

Just a few days ago, when Zhou Mancang attended a meeting at the commune, the captain of the Songshu team even thanked him, saying that thanks to all the drama from the Yangliu team, they’d helped divert some negative attention. Otherwise, with someone like Liu Yinshuang causing a ruckus over in their team, Songshu would still be ranked number one on the “Shameful Teams” list.

Zhou Mancang didn’t think that was gratitude at all—it was a jab straight to the heart.

After all, even though Liu Yinshuang caused scenes, she hadn’t actually done anything immoral—just some eccentric stuff. Their team, on the other hand, was trying to steal food from a widower and his orphaned daughter and even conspired with in-laws to wipe out a niece’s future. None of that sounded good.

Recalling all these unpleasant episodes, Zhou Mancang immediately nodded at Shen Shaoyuan’s suggestion. “That works. Using work points to offset owed labor is perfectly reasonable. I’ll speak with the team accountant.”

Seeing that things weren’t developing as he had hoped, Shen Shengli panicked. “No way! Why should we use our work points to pay him back? He sent his grandnephew to the police—why should we owe him anything?!”

Shen Yongjun also chimed in, “We let our sons help out of familial goodwill. Sure, Xiao Hong and the others made a mistake, but as their elder, he shouldn’t have been so heartless. Since he’s being so ruthless, he shouldn’t expect our help anymore.”

This time, Shen Shaoyuan didn’t even need to speak. Zhou Mancang directly shot back at the two shameless men, “You signed an agreement—black and white, clear as day. You signed and stamped it yourselves. Since the team witnessed it, you can’t back out. Either compensate with work points, or deduct the money when the accounts are settled at year-end. Those are your only two choices!”

There was no way he’d let these two deadbeats off the hook. With the brick theft incident out in the open, the team’s reputation was bound to suffer further. Zhou Mancang wouldn’t let things get any worse than they already were.

Shen Shengli and Shen Yongjun hadn’t expected the team captain to side so firmly with Shen Shaoyuan. Their faces turned dark with embarrassment.

Shen Shengli sneered, “Fine. Since you don’t care about losing five laborers, we don’t care about giving up a few work points either.”

He had always been calculating. Knowing that they couldn’t renege with the team captain involved, he stopped quibbling and instead put on an indifferent front.

Shen Shaoyuan ignored his two opportunistic older brothers. Instead, he turned to the villagers gathered along the road and said, “I’m short five workers. If anyone’s available, I’d appreciate the help. We’ll provide two meals—not fancy, but enough to fill your stomachs. And in the future, if anyone needs help with weddings or building homes, my daughter and I will definitely return the favor. I may not be much help with labor, but I can run errands or help shop for materials.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several strong men stepped out from the crowd.

“Building a house, huh? We may not be good at other things, but we country folk can handle hard labor.”

“I’m good with two full meals. Uncle Shen, I’ll be honest, with the fields idle right now, I’ve barely had enough to eat at home. Hahaha—just don’t mind how much I eat.”

“The foundation’s already done, and part of the wall is up. The hardest work’s already out of the way. We’re just taking advantage now!”

“I’ve laid earthen bricks before. Been wanting to try my hand at blue bricks—finally got my chance!”

“Me, me, me! Count me in. I’m faster than any of them!”

In the blink of an eye, five people had volunteered. A few others who hesitated for just a moment regretted it instantly—they’d lost their chance.

In truth, it was only the Shen family themselves who were short-sighted and failed to see the situation clearly. Because the other villagers hadn’t had much previous interaction with Shen Shaoyuan and his daughter, they were more open to accepting the fact that the pair had changed. Naturally, it was easier for them to understand that things were looking up for them—and it wouldn’t hurt to maintain a good relationship.

Why did Shen Shaoyuan say he wasn’t much help with labor but could run errands and buy things?

Because he was now a worker at the tile factory—and supposedly well-regarded by the management too. So, if someone needed tiles for building a house, wasn’t it convenient to go through him?

He had experience at the commune and probably knew some capable people. Who knew? Maybe in the future, he could help out in other ways too.

So even though Shen Shaoyuan had phrased things tactfully, anyone who truly understood what was going on would catch his meaning immediately.

Of course, some people calculated all this in their hearts, while others purely came for two decent meals. They had all heard that the food at his house was quite good—there was occasionally even meat, and even without meat, they’d at least fry some eggs or something. They never skimped.

Originally planning to watch Shen Shaoyuan make a fool of himself, Shen Shengli’s face was now far beyond just looking unpleasant.

He shot a fierce glare at the five men who had stepped forward, then turned and walked off.

Having lived more than half his life, this was the first time he had been so thoroughly humiliated. If he didn’t leave now, he was afraid he’d vomit blood from the anger.

The rest of the Shen family’s main household quickly followed after him. They’d already lost two people this time and needed to hurry home to discuss whether there was a way to get them out.

Shen Yongjun glanced at Shen Shengli’s slightly hunched back and said, “Forget it, let’s go back too.”

He had originally thought that with the eldest brother’s shrewdness, he’d at least be able to squeeze some profit out of the seventh brother. Then, all he would have to do was ride the coattails and enjoy the benefits. Who would’ve thought that in the end, the eldest brother would get his face slapped so hard?

Tian Fang’s eyes were red as she cried, “What’s going to happen to my eldest grandson? How could he be so unlucky, being born into your Shen family, only to run into such a cold-hearted great-uncle…”

Shen Yongjun frowned irritably and repeated coldly, “Let’s go home first!”

It would’ve been better if she hadn’t brought it up. Now that she did, Shen Yongjun almost wanted to slap Tian Fang.

If it hadn’t been for her egging on Cao Mei to snatch the grain, none of this would’ve happened.

And even if you took a step back, if it hadn’t been for her encouraging Wang Jinbao to pursue Shen Mo’er, how could their relationship with the Wang family have soured? If they hadn’t fallen out, at the very least, they could’ve asked Wang Jinbao’s brother-in-law, who worked at the commune, to help Minbing pull some strings and put in a good word.

Shen Yongjun had always thought he’d married a smart wife. Over the years, she had handled everything inside and outside the home so well. But recently, he had suddenly realized—when smart people act foolish, it’s truly fatal.

The second branch of the Shen family also left.

Shen Shaoyuan, however, paid no more attention to them. In this sweltering summer weather, morning hours were extremely precious. They had already wasted enough time on these two shameless families, so he quickly began assigning work to everyone.

Seeing that everyone was busy, Shen Mo’er also picked up the enamel washbasin and went to the well to wash vegetables.

Although it was hot, the water drawn from the well was refreshingly cool. Shen Mo’er washed the vegetables while lost in thought, and without realizing it, she took quite a bit of time.

Suddenly, a voice spoke beside her, “If you keep washing like this, the vegetables will be cooked.”

The clear, mellow voice carried a hint of teasing.

Snapping back to her senses, Shen Mo’er looked up and saw it was Fu Mingze. She laughed and teased, “Comrade Fu, are you slacking off right in front of the host family now?”

Fu Mingze picked up the iron bucket beside him and gently lowered it into the well. The bucket bobbed up and down on the shimmering surface. With a flick of his wrist, the bucket finally sank, and with a gurgle, it quickly filled with water.

“I was just going to get some water. The thermos was empty, and the water vat was nearly dry,” Fu Mingze explained as he exerted slight force to lift the bucket back up from the well.

Shen Mo’er glanced sideways at him and saw his pale, lean arm tensing slightly with effort. A string of glistening sweat beads clung to the well-defined side of his face. She couldn’t help asking, “Building a house must be exhausting, right? Can you manage it?”

He clearly looked like someone from a poor background, and logically speaking, he should be from a struggling family. But for some reason, he didn’t look like someone who had ever truly suffered hardship.

Shen Mo’er thought it over and finally concluded that it was because of the scholarly aura he gave off.

He must’ve read too many books, and it had rubbed off on him, giving him that refined scholarly air. On top of that, he wasn’t very sociable, which made him seem aloof. Naturally, it reminded people of those refined young gentlemen who spent their days immersed in poetry and books. That’s probably why it gave the illusion that he hadn’t suffered much.

Yes, that made sense.

Fu Mingze gently placed the bucket on the ground and said, “Want to rinse them again? Go ahead and dump the water.”

After Shen Mo’er poured out the water in the enamel basin, he refilled it with fresh water and threw the bucket back into the well. Only then did he respond to her question: “It’s alright. Uncle Shen and the others haven’t made me or Jiamin do anything too strenuous.”

Otherwise, not to mention himself, Zheng Jiamin would’ve been the first to collapse.

As he hoisted up another bucket of water, Fu Mingze glanced at the vegetables Shen Mo’er was washing. They looked clean enough—no need for more fresh water.

By all logic, he should’ve immediately picked up the bucket, poured the water into the Shen family’s vat, boiled a pot of water, and hurried back to the new house to continue working. Otherwise, it would look like he had come out just to slack off.

But his feet felt like they were nailed to the ground, unable to move.

He had probably been standing there too long, because Shen Mo’er looked up at him in surprise. Fu Mingze’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could say anything, he quickly asked, “How did you two catch up with them last night?”

The question came out of nowhere, but Shen Mo’er instantly understood what he meant. It had been just her and her father, going after three able-bodied men. Even if it was within the village, it was still quite dangerous to charge in like that.

She couldn’t very well say she was good at fighting—even if she couldn’t beat them, she was at least confident she could run away.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “You already know that we’re not well off. We had no savings at all. My father had to threaten them with his life just to get back 300 yuan from my uncles. So, the money for building the new house is really tight. All those bricks are worth quite a bit.”

Strictly speaking, she wasn’t lying to Fu Mingze. Setting aside the treasure vault, her family originally had only fifty cents. After getting the 300 yuan, it seemed like a lot, but once the house was built and they bought a few necessary things, not much would be left. Those bricks really were a significant asset to them.

Fu Mingze fell silent for a moment. He had already guessed as much. After coming to the countryside, he’d learned just how scarce resources were. He knew that some commune members would fight to the death not just for six baskets of bricks, but even for a single cabbage.

“I actually…”

He wanted to say that if they were short on money or ration coupons, he could lend them some. But the words swirled around on the tip of his tongue and ultimately never left his mouth.

He couldn’t expose himself.

Not to anyone.

That was something his elders had warned him about over and over again before he came to the countryside.

Looking into Shen Mo’er’s clear, dewy, black-and-white eyes, a trace of inexplicable guilt welled up in Fu Mingze’s heart. Forcing himself to hold his composure, he said stiffly, “Financially, I’m also quite tight, so I understand how you and Uncle Shen feel… But no matter what, your safety comes first.”