Chapter 27: Building a House

One day after the beginning of winter, Shuxin found some time to talk to Grandpa Liu about the matter of building a house for the Liu family.

“This year is fine, but next year, before the New Year, we can start building when the team’s rations come in. You don’t need to worry about anything else; if you want to fix the house now, just go ahead, it won’t be a problem.”

Seeing Shuxin’s concern, Grandpa Liu comforted her softly and shared his private plans with her so that she wouldn’t worry about family matters.

“Then I’ll do it. I’m busy with work outside, so Grandpa, please help me coordinate. I plan to build a house with blue bricks and black tiles. Here’s a sum of money; if it’s not enough, just ask me for more. But you can’t secretly put in your own money!”

Shuxin took out a sum of money to give to Grandpa Liu. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give more, but she received nearly forty yuan each month, and after five months of work, as well as buying a wedding gift for her cousin, it was already a stretch to take out this amount now. The Liu family would only see her as someone who was frugal and saved diligently.

If she took out several pieces of money at once, her family would definitely guess that she was involved in speculation. She didn’t want the Liu family to know about this, fearing they would become anxious. So, she decided to take her time and gradually save money to fix the house.

With the responsibility of the house entrusted to her family, she could relax and focus on her work, knowing she only had to provide the funds. The other matters would be handled by the Liu family.

Now that she had no worries, she planned to go to the youth points to cultivate her relationship with Luo Yue and also to check on how the other main characters were doing.

The main female character was indeed different. Zhao Li was still as beautiful as ever, although her skin had became a bit darker and rougher than when she first arrived, but it didn’t diminish her beauty. In comparison, the ordinary villager, Wang Mei, had changed significantly; she now looked like a proper country girl, no longer the fresh and lively person she had been upon arrival.

It seemed that Zhao Li had some means; neither Zhao Peng nor Zhang Hongliang had let her do heavy work, which explained why she still looked so good. Compared to Wang Mei, the differences were quite noticeable.

When Luo Yue heard that Shuxin had come to find him, he immediately rushed out to take her into his house, guarding her against Zhao Li and her companions like he was protecting her from wolves.

Shuxin sat on a stool and asked Luo Yue, “What’s going on with them? How did Wang Mei and Zhao Li become so different? Zhao Li looks like she hasn’t done a day’s work in the fields!”

“Well, Zhao Li has her tricks. While at the youth point, she had Zhao Peng and Zhang Hongliang helping her with the work, and in the fields, there were other admirers from the village to assist her. Wang Mei, on the other hand, is honest and doesn’t have any schemes; she does everything by herself and doesn’t ask for help from others, which is why the comparison is so stark.”

Luo Yue, seeing Shuxin’s curiosity about them, quickly shared everything he knew and made clear Zhao Li’s admirers. It seemed Luo Yue had not wasted his time mixing with the village women.

Now that her brother was no longer around to help Zhao Li with work and supplies, she had to rely on others. It was uncertain how long she could enjoy her current situation; after all, the people of Liu Lindadui were not fools, and they weren’t as easily deceived as her brother. Those youngsters might be fooled for a time, but the family members wouldn’t be tricked for long. Eventually, they would notice, and things wouldn’t be so easy to handle.

Since her brother, Liu Jianguo, didn’t fancy Zhao Li, her past life didn’t bring her brother much loss, only a waste of a bit of money and energy. Therefore, she wouldn’t deliberately target Zhao Li and her friends. At most, she would enjoy watching their misfortune when she had a break. If the opportunity arose to kick them while they were down, she would not let it pass.

Ah, women—you’re named “double-dealing.” You claim not to target others, yet you’re ready to step on them the moment you can. But then again, what she did next would depend on the situation.

As for Liu Fu, who had ruined her cousin’s future in her past life, she certainly wouldn’t let him off easily. She’d aim to take one of his legs—nothing less. Just before her cousin got married, she would wait for the right opportunity to cripple Liu Fu. She wouldn’t leave him without any arms or legs; he could keep his legs intact but would limp in the future. Joining the army would surely be out of the question. Shuxin was curious to see how he’d fare in life afterward.

“I just talked to Grandpa about building the house. We should start working on it in the next few days. I’m going to work tomorrow and can’t oversee the house. This will be our home in the future, and you should check on it when you have the time. If you have any suggestions, let Grandpa know.”

“Really? We’re about to start renovations? Shuxin, don’t worry; I’ll keep an eye on it. I want to have a big bedroom and a yard to grow flowers and vegetables in the future.”

Luo Yue excitedly began making plans. Having grown up as a spoiled young master, coming to this world, he had been struggling with inadequate food and shelter, even living in mud houses. Now that there was a chance to improve their living conditions, he was definitely eager.

Before, the savings left to him by his grandparents had mostly been spent, and during the time in the countryside, the money given by his adoptive parents was also nearly gone.

Fortunately, his keen eye had allowed him to find a long-term source of income upon arriving at Liu Lindadui; otherwise, given his extravagant spending habits, he might have ended up with nothing but the wind to drink by now.

Now that winter had set in, the villagers were idle at home, and when they heard that Shuxin wanted to build a house not far from the Liu family, and a large one at that, it stirred up the entire village. Groups of people began to flock to the Liu family to see what was happening.

Grandpa Liu had already obtained permission from the team leader for the foundation and called for people to start leveling the land. Although Shuxin’s household was now registered in the city, Luo Yue’s registration remained in the village, which allowed them to still secure a plot of land for construction.

Next to the Liu family was a piece of gravel land, perfect for building a house. Luo Yue even gave candies to the village children to collect beautiful stones, planning to use them to pave a stone path in the yard.

A few hundred meters to the right and behind Shuxin’s house was a stream that curved at Shuxin’s place, flowing into a small river used by villagers for washing clothes. This would make it very convenient for Shuxin’s family to fetch water and wash clothes in the future.

This location was carefully chosen by Shuxin; it was nestled against the mountains, alongside water, offering beautiful scenery, quiet surroundings, and proximity to the Liu family.

Shuxin had already arranged for the materials, such as blue bricks and tiles, well in advance, and they were now being delivered to the village one after another. Grandpa Liu had hired ten workers at a daily rate of three yuan, covering their food and accommodation, and it took a month to complete the house.

During this time, Shuxin would visit to oversee the progress, noticing that the construction was going well. They found a skilled carpenter from the village to begin preparing the furniture. They planned to craft the bed, fix the kang (a traditional heated bed) in the main room, and search for second-hand furniture and beds for the secondary bedroom at the recycling station. The furniture for the master bedroom was being custom-made.

When they raised the beams of the house, Shuxin wasn’t present, so the Liu family and Luo Yue oversaw the process. By the time Shuxin returned for the third time, the house was finished, just waiting for the furniture to be put in.

They built a stone wall around the large yard, and the three big rooms constructed from blue bricks with black tiles included a master bedroom on the left; two rooms divided in the middle with a living room in front and a storage room in back; and two secondary bedrooms on the right. To the left of the three big rooms was a bathing room and toilet made from yellow mud, and to the right were the kitchen and firewood storage.

Both Shuxin and Luo Yue were pleased with the result, especially Luo Yue, who was finally escaping the torment of using a latrine. Every time he had to go to the toilet, he would hold his breath and mentally prepare himself.

Although their toilet still had yellow mud walls, Luo Yue made sure the builders followed Shuxin’s design, resulting in a clean, odor-free space, and he felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to suffer any longer.

Shuxin felt that after building the blue brick house, she already stood out in the village, so she informed the villagers that they wouldn’t hold a warming party for the house and would instead combine it with her wedding next year. The villagers understood, knowing that building such a nice house would incur significant costs, so combining it with the wedding would save some expenses.

With more than two months until the New Year and at least four months until the wedding, they still had time to finish the furniture and let the house air out.

Once Shuxin and Luo Yue decorated their master bedroom, the Liu family saw a room that felt fairly luxurious to them.

Upon entering, they were greeted by the kang, with a large wardrobe made to a height that Shuxin specifically measured against the height of the room—four meters long and three meters high. She even had a ceiling made from wooden boards; with the abundance of wood available from the mountains, the boards were quite thick and could even serve as a loft.

Underneath the kang was a footstool, and beside it was a dressing table. A bamboo wall was crafted in the middle to create privacy, with a desk and shoe cabinet outside, leaving some space for a sewing machine. The rest were just odds and ends.

“Oh my goodness! Even though it’s all the same stuff, why does it look so nice when you guys arrange it? It surely surpasses city houses! And this wardrobe… it’s really beautiful and practical!”

Liu Jianguo and Liu Jianjun, the two brothers, exclaimed as they looked around, and the others in the Liu family also admired it and planned to arrange their homes similarly in the future.

Shuxin exchanged a smile with Luo Yue, as if envisioning their future lives in this home.

May the rest of our lives be spent together, never apart, with love that knows no doubts.