Chapter 39 : Human Relationships

Han Zhenyu took five yuan out of his pocket and handed it to Han Lei, saying, “This is your wages. Give it to the four of them. The rest is for you and Dashu.”

Han Lei waved his hands and said, “Brother Zhenyu, you don’t need to give us so much. We only worked for half a day. Just give them 60 cents each. Dashu and I don’t want anything.”

Sun Dashu also said, “Yes, Brother Zhenyu, we’re all brothers. How can you ask for money for helping us? It feels like a slap in our face.”

The two were very firm in their refusal. Brother Zhenyu had been so good to them before, but now they felt awkward accepting money for helping.

“Take it all, don’t push it away.”

Han Zhenyu stuffed the money into their pockets and told them, “I’m leaving tomorrow night, so you two should take care of the house construction. My grandpa and uncle aren’t from this village, so they won’t be able to do things as conveniently as you. And as for your sister-in-law, ask your wife to visit her more often.”

Seeing they couldn’t refuse, the two reluctantly accepted the money. “Brother Zhenyu, don’t worry about your family. Dashu and I will take care of it.”

Han Zhenyu patted both men on the shoulders and said, “Good brothers.”

“By the way, Brother Zhenyu, at lunch, I had my dad ask a few reliable bricklayers from the village. When they heard the pay was 80 cents a day, they were all willing to come. My dad found seven people, plus me and Dashu, a total of nine people.” Han Lei told him about the bricklayers.

Han Zhenyu smiled and nodded, then said to Sun Dashu, “The fields aren’t too busy right now. If Uncle Sun has time, ask him to come help me. And Leizi, isn’t your eldest brother at home? Ask him to help too.”

Han Lei and Sun Dashu understood that Brother Zhenyu’s request for their help was just a polite way to let them earn more money.

In fact, everyone knew that 80 cents a day was a good amount, and many people were eager for the work.

Without the friendship with Brother Zhenyu, it would be impossible for them to send two people from their family to help.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Han Lei asked, “Brother Zhenyu, do you need that many people?”

Han Zhenyu smiled and said, “It’s not convenient for your sister-in-law and me to stay at the brigade headquarters. We want to move here as soon as possible, so I plan to find a few more people. I’ll talk to Sun Dahan later and ask him to come help.”

“Brother Zhenyu, we’ll work hard and build your house as soon as possible.”

“Okay, you guys go back and rest first.” Han Zhenyu whispered to Han Lei, “I’ll stay here today, just send the food here in the evening.”

“Got it.”

After Han Zhenyu sent them off, he took out the lock he bought earlier, locked the door, and went to Sun Dahan’s house.

Initially, they had planned to build a mud house, so they asked Sun Dahan to help make some brick blanks. But now they were using red bricks, so they didn’t need many brick blanks.

He hadn’t had time to inform Sun Dahan yet, so he decided to go and let him know to avoid any misunderstanding.

“Is Brother Sun home?”

Wang Fengqin smiled and opened the door. “It’s Brother Zhenyu. Dahan hasn’t come back from work yet. Come in and sit down.”

When Han Zhenyu heard that Sun Dahan wasn’t at home, he stayed at the door and didn’t enter.

He smiled and explained, “Sister-in-law, I just wanted to let you know that my grandfather and uncle heard I wanted to build a house, so they had someone buy red bricks for me. We don’t need to make the brick blanks anymore.”

“Oh, I see. Your wife told me this morning that it’s too late to make the bricks now.”

Wang Fengqin said indignantly, “Your stepmother is really something. She kicked you out so quickly. It’s a real sin. She’s not afraid of retribution.”

Han Zhenyu paused. He wasn’t sure what Su Xieqiu had told Wang Fengqin, so he didn’t know how to respond.

Besides, it didn’t seem appropriate for a grown man like him to discuss his stepmother with an older woman.

He smiled and changed the subject, “Sister-in-law, I’ll start building the house tomorrow. If Brother Sun is free, please ask him to help me for a few days.”

“When he’s free, he’ll come. We’ll be neighbors from now on, so even if you don’t call him, he’ll come to help.” Wang Fengqin agreed readily.

Han Zhenyu smiled and said, “Then I would like to thank Brother Sun and sister-in-law first. Since I have to go on a business trip tomorrow, my wife can’t manage things alone at home, so I won’t be able to take care of the meals. I’ll pay you 80 cents a day.”

“Oh, it’s just a few days of help, why should I ask for money?” Although Wang Fengqin said this, she knew well that helping with building a house required compensation.

However, when she heard him say he would pay her 80 cents a day, she felt pleased, and the smile on her face grew wider.

“Sister-in-law, you have to pay outsiders, and you can’t treat your own brothers unfairly.”

Han Zhenyu exchanged a few words with her and then left in a hurry.

He wasn’t used to dealing with these older women, they were all so talkative.

Instead of going home directly, Han Zhenyu went to the carpenter’s house in the village, intending to see if he had any ready-made tables, chairs, or other furniture.

The room at the brigade headquarters only had one bed, and everything else was piled on the floor, making it feel messy and unhygienic.

Even he, a man, couldn’t bear to see it, let alone Su Xieqiu.

Carpenter Han wasn’t home, but his eldest son, Han Shengwen, was scraping wood shavings in the yard. When he heard the knock on the door, he said without looking up, “The door is unlocked. Just push it.”

Han Zhenyu smiled and asked, “Shengwen, are you busy?”

“Zhenyu, what brings you here?” When Han Shengwen saw it was him, he immediately put down the plane in his hand and invited him inside. “What’s going on? I haven’t seen you for half a year.”

“I’m working at the machinery factory now.” Han Zhenyu didn’t hide it. It wasn’t a secret anyway, and the villagers would eventually find out.

He and Han Shengwen had been classmates in elementary school and used to have a pretty good relationship.

However, since Han Zhenyu had not been home much in recent years, they hadn’t seen each other as often.

Han Shengwen was surprised. “You’re doing well! You even got into the machinery factory. If those gossipy women in the village found out, they’d probably be shocked.”

“I was just lucky,” Han Zhenyu said, not going into much detail about his work.

“Shengwen, do you have any ready-made tables, stools, cabinets, or anything like that?”

Han Shengwen nodded. “Yes, I just finished making and polishing some. They’re in the east room. I’ll show you.”

Han Zhenyu followed him to the east room, where there was a table, four stools, two kang tables, and a kang cabinet.

“I want this table and the four stools. I’m building a house. Please get me some good wood to help make doors, windows, and furniture.”

He took out 30 yuan from his pocket and handed it to Han Shengwen. “You can deduct the money for the table and stools, and the rest is a deposit.”

Han Shengwen pushed the money back to him and said, “Why do we need a deposit? We’ll settle everything when it’s done.”

Han Zhenyu insisted, “Here, you need money to buy materials, right?”

Han Shengwen thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I’ll prepare more materials. What else do you want to make?”

“I’ll go back and discuss it with my wife. There’s no rush, the house isn’t built yet.” Han Zhenyu smiled and waved his hand.

Han Shengwen asked, “Should I leave the table and stools here, or should I send them to you?”

“I want to take them now. Can you lend me your cart?”

“Okay, wait, I’ll bring it over for you.”