country bumpkin

Chapter 38 Planning to Build a House

That evening, Sun Zitao put his arm around Kong Xiujuan and talked about his plans.

"Xiujuan, I plan to build a new house on our vegetable garden," Sun Zitao said.

Kong Xiujuan thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. The children are all growing up, and we can't fit them all in this house anymore."

He continued, "Also, Yunya is 5 years old now and can start school next year. We need to bring her back to school. That would make it even more difficult to find room for her."

Sun Zitao said, "Okay, I'll ask about the price of cement and sand tomorrow. Stones don't need to cost anything. There's a big mountain in a village near the south of the city. I'll go to the foot of the mountain to haul stones when I have time. There's an urban village near the city's train station. Some wealthy families in the urban village are rebuilding their houses and replacing all the old bricks with new ones. I'll pick up the old bricks and use them just the same."

Kong Xiujuan nodded: "Okay, find a few of your friends to go haul bricks together, that way it'll be faster. Otherwise, someone else will snatch them up and we won't get any. When we get back, we'll treat them to a meal or pay them for their work."

Sun Zitao said, "Okay, I'll tell them tomorrow. It's getting late, let's go to sleep!"

The two fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day, after having breakfast early, Sun Zitao went to find his friends. He told them about his plan to build a house and asked them to help him haul bricks.

Since they all used donkey carts, it was very convenient. The group agreed to go to the urban village together.

When they arrived at the urban village, they indeed saw two houses being demolished, with piles of bricks at their entrances.

So everyone quickly got to work, moving the bricks onto the truck. Although the work was hard, everyone was full of energy at the thought of their future new house.

However, just as they were getting into the swing of things, they suddenly heard someone shout, "What are you doing? Who gave you permission to move our bricks?"

Everyone looked and saw that it was the homeowner who had come out. Sun Zitao quickly explained, "Brother, we heard that you didn't want these bricks anymore, so we came to pick them up. We need to build a house and we're short of bricks."

The homeowner glared at them and said, "Who said I didn't want it anymore? I'm just leaving it here temporarily. Put it down right now!"

Sun Zitao and the others were stunned; they hadn't expected to encounter this situation. For a moment, they didn't know what to do.

The homeowner was a short, mustachioed old man. With small eyes, a small mouth, and small ears, he looked exactly like a rat come to life.

Sun Zitao said, "Brother, these old bricks you don't want are useless to you. After you demolish them, you'll have to pay someone to clean up, which is too much trouble. How about we brothers help you clean up, we won't charge you a penny, could you give us the old bricks?"

The old man with the mustache thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, but it's agreed that there's no money for cleaning, so don't accuse me of reneging on the debt later."

Sun Zitao nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, we'll definitely clean it up perfectly for you."

It would take some time to find someone to clean up these old bricks, and the workers would have to be paid. So, handing it over to Sun Zitao would save a lot of money and time in finding someone to clean up, which is why Xiao Huzi agreed.

The other homeowner didn't come, and the old bricks that were removed were taken away by the demolition workers.

Sun Zitao and his two burly men were very strong and worked quickly, loading all the old bricks onto the donkey cart in just one hour.

Then the three of them started cleaning. They piled all the cement debris and residue together, put them into woven bags, tied them up, and stacked them aside. These would all be used later to fill in the floor.

After they finished packing, they said goodbye and drove the donkey cart to the vegetable garden.

When we arrived at the vegetable garden and unloaded all the old bricks, it was lunchtime.

Sun Zitao invited the two brothers to his home for dinner, and they accepted and went to Sun Zitao's house together.

When they got home, Kong Xiujuan had already prepared a meal: six dishes and a soup. There were four meat dishes: meatballs stewed with wood ear mushrooms, steamed slices of cured pork, chicken stewed with potatoes, and stir-fried dried green beans with shredded pork. There were two vegetable dishes: stir-fried mung bean sprouts, boiled tea eggs, and an egg drop soup.

There weren't many fresh vegetables at home; they were all dried vegetables that her mother brought over. The eggs were from their own chickens, which they had saved up. They only bought a little meat.

Luckily, she had secretly saved some money; otherwise, what could she do with only 5 yuan from the family division?

After finishing their meal, Sun Zitao handed the two men their wages, 5 yuan each. This was their market rate for working, 5 yuan a day.

They refused to accept the money, saying that treating them to a meal would suffice and they didn't need any wages.

Zhou Haoran said, "Zitao, you're being too formal. We're brothers. If you ask for money for a small favor, how can we get along in the future?"

Wang Yufeng chimed in, "That's right, Brother Tao, it's only right for us brothers to help each other."

Sun Zitao was deeply moved; these friends were even better than his own younger brother. They would help him in his time of need and were friends he could trust for life.

He said without any further politeness, "Alright, we're all brothers, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. If you ever need my help, just let me know."

Zhou Haoran added, "When you're building the house, don't forget to tell us, and we'll definitely come to help."

Wang Yufeng also nodded, indicating that he would help build the house.

They chatted for a while longer before leaving together.

Because they had drunk some alcohol during lunch, the two of them went home to sleep in the afternoon and didn't go looking for work again.

Sun Zitao, however, did not rest. After finishing his meal and resting for an hour, he went to the foot of the mountain in the south of the city to haul stones.

When they ate lunch, Kong Xiujuan had already fed the donkey. Her donkey had also rested for an hour. Now it's full of energy and will surely have plenty of strength to pull the cart.

Kong Xiujuan carried her son Sun Guoqiang, followed by Sun Limei, as they went to the vegetable garden to tidy up the ground.

When Gao Qinglian's mother, Wu Guilan, heard that her grandson, Sun Zitao, had separated from the family and that her daughter had only given her 5 yuan, she was furious.

Her daughter is a fool; she treats her two sons like they're her own and an adopted one.

She knew perfectly well that both children were her own. It's just that the older one wasn't as bright as the younger one, who was more eloquent and knew how to please their parents.

She asked a neighbor to pass on a message to Sun Zitao, asking him to come to her house when he had some free time, saying she needed to talk to him about something.

The next day, Sun Zitao received her notification. He brought a piece of cured meat and half a bag of rice and went to his grandmother's house.

"Grandma, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"It's alright, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me. Come on over, you've been through a lot too, don't bring anything here," Wu Guilan said.

"It's alright, Grandma, we have all of these at home, they didn't cost any money," said Sun Zitao.

He put down his things and continued, "Grandma, once my new house is built and there's enough room, you can move in with us."

Wu Guilan waved her hand and said, "I don't even know how much longer this old woman will live, so I won't ruin the new house."

Sun Zitao felt sad upon hearing this, and said, "Grandma, you will live to be a hundred years old."

Wu Guilan took a handkerchief out of her bosom and handed it to Sun Zitao.

“Zitao, your maternal grandmother doesn’t have much money. This is what she has saved up over the years. And the money your mother and your second aunt gave you during the holidays, it’s all for you. I know you’re having a hard time right now, raising children and building a house, there are so many places where you need money.”

Sun Zitao's eyes reddened, and he forced back his tears, stuffing the money back into his grandmother's hand: "Grandma, I have money, I don't need your money. I built the house using bricks and stones I picked up, so it didn't cost me any money. Also, Xiujuan's mother gave us some money, enough to build the house."

Wu Guilan understood perfectly well that her mother-in-law also had several sons, and it was a time when money was being spent; there was no spare money for her grandson Tao. Her grandson was simply trying to put her mind at ease.

Wu Guilan said, "Your mother is just a fool. Don't be jealous of her. She has many children and she's not targeting you on purpose. When she gets old and needs help, I hope you won't abandon her for the sake of your maternal grandmother."

Sun Zitao wiped away his tears and nodded. "Grandma, don't worry. No matter how she treats me, she's still my mother. I can't just abandon her."

Wu Guilan added, "That's good. Also, your second aunt, Gao Qingzhi, is having a hard time in her husband's family. If she ever has any difficulties, I hope you can help her."

Sun Zitao nodded and assured her, "Grandma, don't worry. My second aunt loved me very much when I was little. If she has any difficulties, I will definitely help her."

Sun Zitao's tears flowed uncontrollably, like beads from a broken string, one after another.

He was worried, worried about his grandmother. He felt as if she was giving her last words.

Wu Guilan still insisted on giving the money to Sun Zitao. She said, "Don't refuse anymore. Just consider it as this money I'm saving for you to help your second aunt, okay?"

Sun Zitao couldn't refuse, so he had to accept the money. However, after returning home, he didn't use the money and kept it for his second aunt.

It was already dark when I returned, like an old man withered bones, weeping in the darkness, recounting the sorrows of the past.

Sun Zitao walked along with a heavy heart, clutching the money his grandmother had given him tightly in his hand. He understood that this money was not just monetary; it represented his grandmother's trust and expectations of him.

He decided to keep the money safe for when his aunt needed help in the future. Although it was dark, a glimmer of light and hope appeared in Sun Zitao's heart.

He believes that as long as he works hard, the future will be better. His grandmother's words of advice will also become his motivation to move forward.