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Afterward, there was nothing else to do, and the villagers who had gathered around left with smiles on their faces.
They needed to hurry back and share this good news with their families.
Earning twenty coins a day, the laborers in town only made fifteen coins for a day’s work.
They hadn’t asked how many workers they needed earlier, so they must go early tomorrow to sign up for this new opportunity; otherwise, someone else might snatch away this good fortune.
Shen Yu’an and the others also made their way back to the house they were currently renting.
Shen Rong wanted to escort Li Zheng back, but Li Zheng waved his hand and declined, then he hummed an unknown tune as he left.
By the time Shen Yu’an and the others returned, Bai Yi had already finished eating and left.
The people remaining in the yard pulled out all the weeds and swept away the dust inside the house.
As soon as Grandma Shen saw Shen Yu’an return, she hurriedly pulled her over and asked anxiously, “An’an, why did someone come asking about hiring workers just now?”
It turned out that before Shen Yu’an and the others returned, those who had received the news had come to inquire about it.
In appreciation for the friendship they had just established while chatting outside Zhu Li’s gate, Grandma Shen decided to reserve two positions for their family.
However, Grandma Shen and the others were unaware of this matter, so they could only mumble and let it pass.
Now that they saw Shen Yu’an and the others return, they immediately grabbed them and asked.
Shen Yu’an then explained the need for hiring people to build a house.
Grandma Shen felt a pang of distress over the cost. Twenty coins a day for each person, how much money would it take to build a house!
Shen Ming also approached and said, “Little An’an, we can build the house ourselves. We have many family members, so it won’t take long.”
Shen Yun, after seeing off Xiao Zhang Shi into the house, casually added, “Your second uncle is right. Let’s just build the house ourselves. Our own family members can handle it. There’s no need to hire anyone.”
“Let’s first build the house for Uncle’s family, and then we can all work together on our own.”
“Our previous house was also built by ourselves, without much trouble.”
Everyone agreed with the proposal made by the two brothers.
Shen Yu’an saw that their suggestions were reasonable, but she didn’t immediately agree to it.
Since she had bought two additional properties, those houses must be quite sizable as well.
Although their family had many members, the majority were elderly, women, and children. There were only a few who could truly contribute physically.
If they were to wait for them to build the house, who knows when they would actually be able to move in.
She spoke up, saying, “It will be the end of the year in less than two months. If we build it ourselves, we might not be able to finish in time.”
Upon hearing Shen Yu’an’s words, everyone hesitated once again.
When Li Zheng left, he mentioned that this family would come back and stay for a while during the Chinese New Year, so they couldn’t continue renting a house.
Grandpa Shen remained silent for a while and finally made the decision, saying, “An’an is right. This will be our first New Year here, and the house we build will be our first ‘roots.’ We can’t celebrate the New Year without a house.”
“An’an has also bought two plots of land next to that property. When combined, it’s much larger than our previous house. Let’s discuss how to build this house and start preparing.”
Since the decision was made, they no longer dwelled on the matter.
There are only six rooms in total, and just now everyone decided to let Shen Yun and Xiao Zhang Shi stay in the smallest one.
The remaining five rooms would still be a tight fit for everyone.
After a busy day’s work and without having eaten, the Song Shi and the others quickly went into the kitchen to prepare a meal.
The rest of the people gathered around Shen Yu’an to discuss the house-building matter.
Shen Yu’an took out a blueprint of the new house. She had been preparing it for the past few days, and now it came in handy.
Grandpa Shen and Shen Ming both came over to take a look.
Shen Ming looked at the blueprint in astonishment and asked, “An’an, did you draw this house blueprint yourself?”
Shen Yu’an nodded and replied, “Yes, I drew it during our rest time on the road in the past two days. Is there any problem?”
Shen Ming scratched his head and chuckled, “No problem at all. It’s just that I find your drawing quite fascinating. What did you use to draw it?”
Shen Yu’an was taken aback by the question and suddenly remembered that people here were accustomed to using brushes for painting, while she had drawn the blueprint with bamboo charcoal on a whim.
“I used the firewood and bamboo charcoal we burned along the way.”
Shen Rong took the blueprint in his hands and admired it, saying, “Well done. Looking at it this way, it appears more three-dimensional than a brush-drawn image.”
Shen Yu’an modestly smiled. She couldn’t exactly say that she used bamboo charcoal because she wasn’t accustomed to using brushes!
She changed the topic and said, “Let’s take a look at this blueprint and see if there’s anything that needs to be changed.”
Everyone gathered together again and discussed for a while, finalizing the general structure of the house. They planned to start working on it once they purchased bricks and tiles.
For the Zhang family, with only the four of them, they didn’t need many rooms. After a brief discussion, they settled on the layout.
Next, they needed to go to town to buy bricks and tiles.
Shen Yu’an noticed that the local villagers here used mud and straw as the poorest construction materials for houses. Slightly better options included wood, as well as green bricks and ceramic tiles.
They could gather some wood by going up the mountain, but bricks and tiles had to be purchased.
They also needed to buy materials such as glutinous rice mortar and rammed earth in town.
When Song Shi and the other family members brought the cooked food inside, they happened to overhear the discussion about what materials to buy in town.
She was about to suggest casually digging up some soil from the mountain for house construction. However, as she looked at the brightly lit house with its green bricks and large tiles, she immediately closed her mouth.
An’an and her husband were both financially prepared for this decision. Since they agreed to buy the materials, it meant they had enough money. Song Shi decided not to interfere.
She held two bowls of noodles in her hands and shouted to Shen Yu’an and the others gathered together, “Make space on the table, the food is ready.”
Shen Yu’an and the others quickly dispersed, making space on the table.
Shen Rong also hurriedly took a bowl and placed it on the table.
They had prepared fried egg pouches simmered with noodles for lunch, a dish that Song Shi had made according to Shen Yu’an’s instructions a few days ago.
Shen Yu’an knew she wasn’t good at cooking, so she only shared the ideas for dishes she had in her mind with her mother, grandma Shen and the others.
Each person’s bowl had a golden fried egg resting on top, and the noodles looked steaming hot, emitting a tempting aroma. It looked incredibly delicious.
Everyone went to the kitchen to fetch their own meals and gathered in the main hall, either sitting or standing, chatting and eating at the same time.