"Ghosts? Aren't ghosts something that only appear in superstition? Brother, you can go and report this, and report Zhang Fangcao along with him. She's spreading superstition."
"Tian Jing!" Zhang Fangcao shouted, "You're nitpicking."
"Does this need nitpicking? So many fellow members heard and saw what this brother brought with him."
"Why would he bring it only when my house is having its ridgepole raising? And why did Zhang Fangcao tell me to wait and see? Hmm, these two questions don't need investigation; everyone can guess if they think about it."
Tian Jing planted a seed of doubt in everyone's minds and then shifted her target.
"Brother, I wish you a good journey. Take advantage of the good weather and hurry to the commune. I'll be waiting. I generally don't like to leave things unresolved overnight. Let's wait and see together."
Li Zhengguo grabbed the man by his collar and threw him onto the village road at the entrance. "Get lost."
The man cursed and left.
The members who had snatched the steamed buns were still staring at Zhang Fangcao and Fang Qiuhong.
It wasn't appropriate for the two of them to stand there. As they tried to lift their legs again, this time, their legs were placed firmly on the ground.
"Yo~ Zhang Fangcao, why can you suddenly walk?"
Tian Jing was 'surprised.' "Could it be that what you said is true? You'd better be careful of knocking at your door in the middle of the night."
Zhang Fangcao took off running. She wouldn't talk to this fearless Tian Jing anymore.
Fang Qiuhong also ran off right behind her.
Tian Jing chuckled twice. She'd play with these two women later when she was done with her own tasks.
Brother Wang felt very guilty. "It was my poor judgment of character."
There were also considerations for who lifted the ridgepole. He never expected this person...
Li Zhengguo didn't mind. "You can't read people's minds. Brother Wang, don't worry about it. Hurry and arrange for people to continue working."
After the secondary ridgepole was installed, it was time to nail the rafters.
Bamboo mats were laid on the rafters, then plastered with cement mortar, and finally, tiles were laid.
Secretary Yang's three sons and Captain Ou's two sons also came to help, and the work progressed very quickly.
Mother Li, along with Sister-in-law Wang and Wang's two daughters-in-law, were busy in the west side room.
Since morning, Mother Li's smile had been continuous. Reflecting on the time when her husband was alive, the household had never experienced such a joyous occasion. She was happy.
Sister-in-law Wang joked, "Auntie, you're too enviable and jealous. I was already envious, and you're still smiling to yourself."
"Hahaha." Mother Li laughed outright. "I'm happy! It's been nearly thirty years, and my home has never been this festive. I'm happy."
Sister-in-law Wang was a bit surprised that this auntie wasn't expressing her emotions with tears. However, on such a joyous day, she dared not ask.
Li Min dared to ask, "Mom, why aren't you weeping with joy?"
"You child, on such a joyous day, even if I wanted to, I couldn't. My emotions are not something I can control."
"Mom's talking nonsense. You're trained by my eldest sister-in-law. The moment you dare to shed a tear, she'll scold you."
"Go away, go away. A dog can't spit out ivory. My eldest sister-in-law is looking out for me."
Li Min hurried off to chop chicken and rabbit meat. If she provoked her further, her mother might get angry instead of shedding tears.
Sister-in-law Wang chuckled. "Hehe, Auntie's health is good, and her character has become stronger. Previously, our encouragement wasn't enough. It still requires a capable daughter-in-law to take care of things."
"That's right. My Tian Tian handles everything inside and outside the house. I can't drag her down."
Around noon, the food was ready.
Li Zhengguo called the workers down to eat. Half the tiles had been laid, and the rest would be finished after the meal.
The workers, who had already smelled the aroma of meat, immediately climbed down from the wall upon hearing that it was time to eat.
Spicy rabbit meat, chicken cubes with sweet potato, chicken frames stewed with vermicelli, stir-fried fern with preserved meat, stir-fried toon sprouts with eggs, cold-dressed amaranth, and shepherd's purse and egg soup.
Six dishes and one soup, with large bowls of dishes and a big basin of soup.
And a large basin of mixed grain rice.
Li Zhengguo raised his bowl. "Since we still need to lay tiles in the afternoon, we won't be drinking alcohol. We'll drink sweetened water. I toast everyone to thank you for your help."
Everyone raised their bowls. The sweetened water was not much different from alcoholic beverages in terms of preciousness.
After swallowing the intensely sweet water, everyone felt a sweetness from their stomachs to their limbs. Having lived half their lives, no one had ever tasted such sweet water; it would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
After toasting everyone with water instead of wine, Li Zhengguo invited them to eat.
Naturally, everyone went for the meat dishes first. As for wild vegetables, they ate them every day from winter to spring. What's more, amaranth could be picked anywhere by the roadside?
However, with the first bite, they couldn't stop their chopsticks.
Mother Li came out to add half a basin of rice and a basin of soup. In the end, the bowls of dishes, rice, and soup were all clean.
Secretary Yang and Captain Ou couldn't help but laugh and curse, "A pack of hungry wolves descending the mountain."
Yang Lei, who had eaten Li's food, snatched the wild vegetables the most fiercely. "The wild vegetables from the deep mountains taste different."
Li Zhengguo smiled. "That's right. Otherwise, why would wild beasts be willing to stay in the deep mountains?"
The speed of laying tiles in the afternoon was very fast. By three o'clock, it was all done.
Li Zhengguo saw off the people from the Yang and Ou families and the Niu family, leaving the Wang family to help build the courtyard wall and cut glass for the windows.
The courtyard wall was entirely made of stone, as Tian Jing liked it, finding stones to be simple and unadorned.
Three fen of land, thirteen point five meters wide from east to west, which was the width of three main rooms, and fourteen point eight meters long from north to south. The main rooms were seven meters deep, and each of the east and west side rooms was three point five meters. The remaining eighty centimeters became two small alleys.
A roof was added to the small alleys and tiled, and old doors were installed, one serving as a storage room and the other as a bathroom.
Even this small amount of work took until the afternoon of the next day to finish. Brother Wang looked with envy. "It's so good. Stone, red bricks, blue tiles, plus bright glass windows. There's nothing like it in Kucun."
Tian Jing pointed to the tiles outside. "Brother Wang, there are nearly nine hundred tiles left, enough for the half-tiled roofs of three main rooms. I'll give them to you."
Brother Wang immediately turned to look at Li Zhengguo. Did he know his wife was being so extravagant?
Li Zhengguo nodded. "Tian Tian knows that Brother Wang has always taken good care of me. These tiles are too conspicuous to keep. It's more appropriate to give them to Brother Wang than to anyone else."
"Then I won't be polite?"
"Don't be polite, hurry and take them away."
Brother Wang, with his two sons, happily carried the tiles to his home.
Li Zhengguo, with Chen Suozhu, began to build the wall on the southern barren land. The plastic sheds needed to be set up.
Extending south from the width of Li's three main rooms for forty meters would be one plastic shed, connecting two plastic sheds, using three walls in total.
All three walls had door openings, as there was still over an acre of barren land further south, which Li Zhengguo planned to reclaim.
The walls were half stone and half red brick. The remaining pile of red bricks was moved into the courtyard by Li Zhengguo and Chen Suozhu.
Most of the stones were used up, and the remaining small pieces were shoveled into the main room for paving.
Afterward, Li Zhengguo and Chen Suozhu busied themselves with sieving the soil. The small stones that were sieved out were also sent into the main room for paving.
Tian Jing was busy with seedling cultivation. Four wooden boxes and four tiered wooden frame boxes were not enough, so Li Zhengguo hastily made two more.
The Wang family also wanted to cultivate seedlings together. The wooden boxes and seeds for cultivation had already been prepared and were moved to Li's house.
Once the seedlings were ready, Tian Jing took on the task of digging soil from the mountain, due to her speed.
Not only the two mu of barren land, but the three of them worked for three days. After finishing, they went to work on the six mu of land they had adopted.
These six mu of land were behind Li's house, and the production team had indeed provided them with great convenience.