Chapter 20: Breaking Ground

Gu Wennuan thought that as long as she ordered the bricks and sand, she could build a house. Little did she know, the brick factory did not have nearly enough in stock.

"We don't have ten thousand bricks on hand. If you want them, I can have the workers work overtime to fire them, but you must pay a deposit."

Gu Wennuan had assumed the bricks were ready-made; she hadn't expected them to need firing from scratch.

"I'll take them. How long will it take? I'm in a hurry."

The factory owner looked at the young woman before him. He had initially thought she was a troublemaker, but it turned out she was a major client.

"Three days. I'll send two thousand tomorrow. They are three cents a brick. If you want them, pay a fifty-yuan deposit first. It’s to prevent you from changing your mind, which would leave me with unsold stock and a loss."

Gu Wennuan reached into her inner lining and pulled out five ten-yuan notes, handing them to him.

"Deliver them to Fengtian Brigade tomorrow. What about fifty bags of cement? If you don't have it, can you help me source some from elsewhere? I really need it urgently."

Seeing that Gu Wennuan was a straightforward person, the owner happily agreed, promising to deliver the goods to Fengtian Brigade with guaranteed quality and quantity.

Gu Wennuan left the brick factory, intending to buy supplies for the construction crew's meals and pick up the traditional Chinese medicine for Old Mrs. Qian.

After getting the medicine from the pharmacy, she delivered it to the Machinery Factory. Not going inside, she asked the gatekeeper to pass it to Old Mrs. Qian. She also poured a bottle of spiritual spring water for the old lady, telling him it was mountain spring water and that it must be used to brew the medicine.

After settling everything, Gu Wennuan left the Machinery Factory residential area, passing by Qian Jiadong, who was just returning.

Upon entering his home, Qian Jiadong saw his mother preparing to brew the medicine.

"Mother, did you go to the herbal clinic again?"

Old Mrs. Qian, who hadn't seen Gu Wennuan, was in a foul mood. Hearing her son, she turned back impatiently.

"A young girl prescribed it for me. She said it works and told me to drink it for half a month."

Qian Jiadong immediately felt something was off; he was certain his mother had been swindled.

"Mother, stop drinking this nonsense. Pour it out immediately."

Old Mrs. Qian pushed him away, telling him to leave and mind his own business. With no other choice, Qian Jiadong had to return to the factory for his night shift.

Gu Tiezhu had yet to recover from his shock after leaving the factory. His sister was actually capable of connecting with people in the Machinery Factory; it was truly impressive. He was simply happy for her and didn't expect to gain anything from it, so he asked about the house construction.

"Sister, have you found the workers?"

"Yes, Mother handled that."

Gu Tiezhu wanted to help out for a few days, but his wife was pregnant, and he couldn't easily step away.

Gu Wennuan bought some meat and prepared to head home when she bumped into Qin Fangfang, who was getting off work.

"Sister Wennuan, why are you in town at this hour?"

Gu Wennuan saw Qin Fangfang and decided to ask about her aunt.

"I'm here on business. Are you off work?"

Qin Fangfang pushed her bicycle and carefully took some eggs out of her cloth bag.

"My aunt asked me to give these to you the day she left. She said she definitely wants to collaborate in the future. I was going to bring them to your house, but since I ran into you here, I’ll give them to you now."

Gu Wennuan didn't take the eggs. In this era, eggs were precious; accepting them meant owing a favor, and she didn't want to be indebted.

"Fangfang, you just got married. You should take these home to eat."

Qin Fangfang placed the eggs into Gu Wennuan’s wicker basket anyway.

"My aunt gave them to you, don't be so polite. She is still thinking about sourcing more goods from you. After she returned to Shan Province, she put the whitening cream in the display cabinets of the department store, and so many people are buying it. Just wait to get rich!"

Qin Fangfang finished her errand and rode her bicycle home.

Gu Tiezhu hadn't known his sister was earning money on her own; he had assumed it was Zhou Sinian’s allowance. Now it seemed his sister had truly become capable.

"Brother, let's head home."

Gu Tiezhu shouldered the basket, and he and Gu Wennuan hurried back.

Hu Ailian was cooking at home; Zhou Qing had bought fish at noon and was braising it.

"You're back. Wash up and eat. Your brother Zhou Jun has finished setting up the shed."

A simple wooden shack stood in the corner of the eastern wall.

"Mother, the red bricks and cement are ordered. In a few days, I'll go to the mountains to cut some trees for the rafters."

"That's fine. I'll have people start laying the foundation tomorrow."

At noon, Uncle Zhou had come by to say the workers were found—all diligent young men from the village—and they aimed to finish within ten days.

Zhou Zuo hadn't had the nerve to come over because of the incident with Wang Chunhua. Wang Chunhua, seeing the money she had expected to get slip away, had a massive argument with Zhou Zuo at home and was sent back to her maternal family by him.

Gu Wennuan didn't care about that; she was focused on the house blueprints.

Sitting in the wooden shack with a pencil, she sketched out the layout: a main house and a side wing. The main house would have three rooms plus a kitchen, while the side wing would have two rooms and a storage room for grain.

When the design was unveiled, everyone was shocked by the unconventional layout. They had never seen a house built that way before.

When Gu Tiezhu left, he took Yaya and Yubao with him. Gu Wennuan insisted that he take rations for the two children. After some back-and-forth, Gu Tiezhu finally shouldered thirty catties of rice.

Thirty catties of rice were not a problem for Gu Wennuan, but in these times, it was extremely precious.

Zhou Xi and Zhou Siyue were staying at Widow Wang’s house, while Gu Wennuan and the others stayed in the wooden shack.

Early the next morning, Gu Wennuan got up to cook. She took out the meat she had cured the day before and dug out the potatoes she had hidden. The yard had been flooded, and the vegetables were ruined, so they had to rely on potatoes.

"Xiaoxi, go cut the potatoes into chunks. I'll braise them in a while."

Zhou Xi had grown increasingly fond of Gu Wennuan; in her eyes, her sister-in-law was an invincible hero.

After breakfast, the workers began digging the foundation. Without excavators, they had to rely on manual labor. To speed things up, neighbors from the village came over to help.

Gu Wennuan took out all the cured meat in the house and sent Zhou Siyue to town to buy more vegetables.

"Siyue, the supply and marketing cooperative requires ration coupons. Go to the black market, but be extremely careful. Don't get caught."

The flood had only submerged a few villages near the river. Gu Wennuan had expected officials to come for an inspection, but she hadn't seen a single person; they were completely inactive.

Fifteen-year-old Zhou Siyue, looking like a mere lad, took the money and boarded Old Man Liu’s ox cart to set off.

Seeing Zhou Siyue, Gu Wennuan thought of Zhou Sinian and wondered what he was doing now.

Far away in the military hospital in Shan Province, Zhou Sinian had been lying in a coma for several days. Gu Shaobai visited the hospital every day, terrified that something might happen to him.

Zhou Sinian’s eyes were tightly shut, but he felt as though his soul had left his body and was drifting toward his hometown in Hei Province. He watched the flood consume his home and screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one responded. He saw a woman carrying a child, holding his sister’s hand, and running toward the mountains. He saw that woman protecting his family, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see her face clearly.

Just as the woman turned around, a force pulled Zhou Sinian back into his body, yet he still could not wake up.

Gu Wennuan, unaware of Zhou Sinian's condition, was busy cooking.

"Xiaoxi, go steam the cornmeal buns. I'll finish stewing the vegetables, and then we can eat."

By the end of the morning, the deep trenches for the foundation were dug, and they were set to begin laying the foundation in the afternoon.

The brick factory owner had sent the driver to deliver the red bricks and cement in the morning. A truckload of red bricks made the villagers green with envy. Some jealous people made sour remarks, but they were eventually chased away by Hu Ailian.

The old Wang family next door was among them. Ever since the two families fought, they had ceased all interaction.

Watching Gu Wennuan’s family build the house, they stood at the gate making snide comments until even the honest Zhou Qing couldn't take it and scolded them.

"Bah! Just a pile of bricks, who cares?"

After Old Mrs. Wang left, Gu Wennuan prepared to serve the meal. For lunch, there was braised pork with potatoes and cornmeal buns.

The glistening, reddish-brown braised pork made everyone’s mouth water.

"Work hard, everyone! There will be meat again tonight."

The promise of meat kept everyone motivated, and by the afternoon, half the foundation was laid.

Gu Wennuan waited for Zhou Siyue to return with the vegetables. She waited all afternoon until Old Man Liu arrived in a panic, and only then did she find out that Zhou Siyue had been beaten.