When they returned home, they found Ms. Song waiting under their roof. After the old illness in early spring, her body was even weaker.
"Aunt Song, why are you here?" Xiao Han quickly invited Ms. Song into the house. It was raining and the road was slippery, so be careful about falling.
"It's okay, I just went out for a walk." Mrs. Song said, feeling very happy. Then he said to Xiao Han who was making tea, "Brother Han, stop working. I'll sit down and leave in a while."
Xiao Han said in surprise, "Aunt Song, you can even see me."
"Yes, my eyes are getting better and better, and I don't need crutches anymore." Mrs. Song said happily.
"Really, that's great." I gave Mrs. Song space water for two months in a row, and she was finally fine. I was really happy for her.
"Yes, I have to feel you well." Mrs. Song took Xiao Ming's hand and said gratefully. He took out a cloth bag from his arms and opened it layer by layer. Inside, there were actually pieces of copper and silver mixed with two small pieces of broken silver.
"These are my savings for so many years. I heard that you bought the land and built a house. There will be a lot of money in the future. You can take these. Although it is not much, it is my heart." Mrs. Song said, stuffing the money into Xiao. Ming held it in her hand and thanked her sincerely. This was her coffin book. She thought she would remain blind until she died. Since having Xiao Ming, she has seen hope in life again. With her eyes healed, she can earn money by selling vegetables.
"Aunt Song, this is not allowed. You keep these for use." Xiao Ming refused. How could she accept Aunt Song's savings.
"No, you accept it. You are sending me food and vegetables. I can't finish it, and I don't need any money at all." Mrs. Song insisted that she accept it. She only found out that Xiao Ming and the others bought it when she went out to visit the grave today. She was preparing to repair the house, so she could only express her gratitude to Xiao Ming in this way.
After a delay, the Song family was resolute, and Xiao Ming finally had to accept the money.
The village chief had greeted the villagers in advance and asked those who were willing to help to register with him.
There was a lot of discussion in the village about the Xiao family's sudden purchase. They speculated where the money came from. They didn't believe the village's statement. You must know that the Xiao family had to sell their only two acres to cover the burial expenses. , how could Xiao Dalang still have money left?
Many people have different ideas. Mrs. Wang wants to get along well with Xiao Ming. The eldest Wang is really happy for Xiao Ming, while Aunt Li is muttering in her heart how much dowry the Xiao Ming family will bring in the future now that they have money. .
Despite this, everyone was very satisfied with Xiao Ming's payment and food management, and expressed their intention to come. Many people went to Xiao's house to ask when work would start.
During this period, Lao Li from Lijiacun came to see the auspicious date and negotiated the price. It was the 16th day of this month that the groundbreaking was supposed to happen, so we decided to build the house on that day.
Xiao Ming planned to build a courtyard with three entrances based on the layout of modern Suzhou gardens. She took Xiao Han and made adjustments after listening to his opinions. She had also thought about it. Since she decided to settle down here, she would be an ancient landowner and a rural tycoon. She would simply repair the house to ensure that she would be safe and comfortable.
They plan to build a new house next to the thatched hut. After the new house is repaired, they will surround the old house with a wall and use it as a firewood shed. Otherwise, they would have nothing to do now that the hut had been pushed down.
Xiao Han didn't know much about these things, so he mentioned a little bit about building a high wall to ensure the safety of his home. These days, Xiao Ming has left everything to Xiao Han to handle. With her little guidance from behind, Xiao Han has already made a lot of progress. Big progress.
Xiao Ming explained to Xiao Han the personnel safety, material allocation, employee management that should be paid attention to when repairing a house, and how to deal with accidents.
The village chief was very efficient and delivered the land deed within two days. Since there were no elders in the Xiao family, Xiao Han originally wanted to write the land in his sister’s name, but Xiao Ming was too young and she was a woman, so she had to write Xiao Han’s name. , Xiao Han felt a little guilty about this matter. After all, the money was earned by her sister.
The fifteenth day was the day when Xiao Ming had a consultation. At noon, Xiao Ming made an excuse to go out and go to the market to buy half pork and big bones. She came to pick them up in the afternoon. The butcher’s surname was Li, which happened to be Lijia Village. Xiao Ming was Doctor, the master her family hired to repair the house was from Lijia Village. He happened to know Xiao Ming, so Xiao Ming simply asked him to deliver half of the pork every ten days. To his delight, Butcher Li agreed repeatedly and even confiscated the deposit and returned the money. Guaranteed to deliver the best.
I went to the grain store again and ordered ten bags of flour and dozens of empty bags. Since I bought more, the waiter was happy and promised to help load the truck for free.
Min Fangqi knew that Xiao Ming's family had many things to do when building a house, so he asked the coachman to take Xiao Ming home early and asked the Guangjitang coachman to help transport it back. In the carriage, Xiao Ming put the flour into the space and put five bags Wheat and five bags of rice came out. All she had to do was take them back and ask the villagers to process them. Her previous purchase of flour was just an excuse to use the space.
On the morning of the 16th, Old Man Li and two people came here early. They greeted Liu Jisheng and came directly. People in the village who were willing to help came over with their own tools.
It takes almost the whole village to build a house in the countryside, and the master only needs to bring in knowledgeable people to direct the work.
Old man Li presided over the excavation ceremony, burned incense and purified his hands, solemnly bowed three times at the place to be excavated, and asked God to bless everything safely. He also asked Xiao Han, the head of the family, to dig a hoe on the ground first. After the ceremony was completed, it was official. The foundation digging has begun.
Old Man Li was surprised when he saw Xiao Ming's drawings. He didn't expect them to be able to do this. It looked complicated, but in fact it was just like a modern farmhouse with bricks. Xiao Ming didn't have high requirements, as long as it was strong, and he also specially designed the moon. The door separates the front and back yards.
Taking advantage of the time to dig the foundation, the village chief Liu Jisheng took the initiative and ordered his eldest son A Niu to take Xiao Han and a few others to the town to pull bricks and tiles, while he led a group of people up the mountain to cut down trees.
Xiao Ming greeted a few women she knew well in advance and asked them to help with cooking. They were also paid, ten cents a day. Everyone said that they didn't want to be paid and offered to help because they knew how many eggs ten cents cost. , it’s just a day of embroidery, but that’s it, but there are not many people in the village who can embroider.
Mrs. Wang and her daughter-in-law Mrs. Wang came here early in the morning. Knowing that Xiao Ming did not have cooking equipment, they specially brought a stove for making large pots of rice. Mrs. Wang even brought a steamer for steaming steamed buns at home.
The three of them, plus Mrs. Song, quickly set up the stove and got busy. Mrs. Song's eyes were just right, Xiao Ming wouldn't let her come, but she couldn't help but came anyway.
They were all quick and hard-working people. They first boiled a large pot of water to make tea. While boiling the water, they kneaded the noodles to make steamed buns. They quickly made a large pot of meat and vegetables, as well as a large pot of bone soup, and put the white rice into it. When it is steamed, people who are watching the work will drool. You must know that this treatment is only available during the Chinese New Year. Usually, my family eats all kinds of grains. Basically, it takes only half a month to have a meat meal.
When work ended at noon, a group of people automatically queued up to eat with the bowls they brought. This was because the village chief had greeted them in advance and asked them to bring their own bowls and chopsticks. Fortunately, they did, otherwise they would have to grab them with their hands.
Stir-fried vegetables, radish stew, bone soup, white rice, plus a white flour steamed bun for each person, the group of people ate deliciously, and they all praised the host's generosity. You must know that they often work hard, and they know that omnivores will not be full. There are families who don’t give food to the family, but this is the first time for the Xiao family to do this.
The owner was generous and the food was good. The group of people had enough to eat and drink, and they worked even harder. The foundation began to take shape in one day.
