In the afternoon, Li Weibo and his uncle and aunt went to the backyard to build a bathroom.
Mom said they were all grown up and would come back with families in the future, and it would be inconvenient to have no bathroom in the backyard.
If they sped up, it would be ready for his sister to use when she returned.
The backyard house was built entirely to the west. On the east side of the yard was a staircase leading down to the next level. To the north of this staircase was a small clearing.
Because it was blocked by the stairs to the south, no room was built there, as it was considered inconvenient for housing.
It was perfect for building a bathroom.
Li Min went home to accompany her eldest daughter-in-law and asked her eldest son to help at the courtyard.
Tian Jing hired Brother Niu and Lin Si to help.
The six men quickly finished the walls of the two bathrooms and installed the toilets and sinks inside.
After arranging the various sized drainage pipes on the ground, they began to plaster the cement floor.
The roof was made of precast slabs and was not yet installed, allowing sunlight to shine into the bathroom and accelerate the drying of the floor and walls.
Plastering the cement floor was a skilled job, so Chen Suozhu and Brother Niu were left to do it.
Li Liguo took Chen Fu, Lin Si, and the three of them downstairs to dig the septic tank.
By dark, the septic tank was also finished. Prefabricated slabs with outlet holes were placed in the dug dirt pit.
Then, cement mortar was poured into the gaps between the prefabricated slabs and the dirt pit, and a thin layer of cement mortar was also poured inside the prefabricated slabs.
Of course, wooden planks were used as formwork and fixed inside the prefabricated slabs for pouring.
Although it was a bit troublesome, it dried quickly inside.
The cement floor and mortar needed time to dry, so Li Weibo had time to spend with his wife.
After breakfast the next day, he put two empty baskets and a shoulder pole on the car, making it convenient to carry baskets when shopping at the market.
Yu Ziyu laughed heartily, "Do you think I'll buy two baskets of things back?"
Li Weibo shook his head, "I don't know how much you'll buy, but I know we need to buy cloth shoes. Mom said to bring some back for you."
Alright, buying cloth shoes was important.
After the young couple left, Tian Jing was about to go to the nursery when her phone rang.
She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number. Puzzled, she answered, and a gruff male voice came from the other end: "Tian Jing?"
"It's me."
"This is Mattew. I want to talk to you."
"Is Jingchu in your hands?" Although Tian Jing asked this as a question, her tone was affirmative.
Because not many people knew her phone number, and Zeng Jingchu was one of them.
The other party replied crisply, "Yes."
"Do you think you have the right to talk to me?"
"Don't you want to save someone?"
"Don't you want to save someone?"
Tian Jing's rhetorical question silenced the other party.
After a moment, the other party said, "I know you have a high rank, but what if we deploy dozens or hundreds of people?"
Tian Jing smirked, "Are you declaring war on my country?"
The other party immediately replied, "No, I just want an exchange."
"One for sixteen?"
"Yes."
"Heh." Tian Jing sneered, "May I ask, who started this incident?"
"Our side. The fault is on our side."
Tian Jing did not expect the other party to be much more polite than the first two groups:
"Since that's the case, do you think one for sixteen is possible?"
After a cacophony of sounds from the other end, Zeng Jingchu's voice came through the receiver:
"Tiantian, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."
Zeng Jingchu's voice was filled with dejection, frustration, and weariness. Tian Jing frowned, "Did they abuse you?"
"No," Zeng Jingchu sighed softly, "I want to go home."
"Wait a bit longer."
As soon as Tian Jing said this, Mattew's voice came through, "What are your conditions?"
Tian Jing wouldn't negotiate directly with him, "Mattew, talk to Zeng Jingrong. Sixteen people are in his hands."
"Damn it!" Mattew cursed, "Are you a member of the special team?"
"Yes." Tian Jing followed his lead, "Captain Zeng has been waiting for you for a long time."
The other party immediately hung up.
Tian Jing shrugged. She had thought the other party's attitude was quite polite just now, but unexpectedly, they treated her like a nobody and no longer showed the respect she deserved.
It didn't matter. In the end, Zeng Jingrong would still have to find her.
Putting down her phone, Tian Jing went to the nursery to participate in seed harvesting.
While she was busy, the gatekeeper came looking for Tian Jing with her phone, saying her mother-in-law had sent it.
As soon as she got the phone, it rang.
It was Zeng Jingrong calling, "Tiantian, the other side wants to negotiate. Are you coming?"
"When? Where?"
"Three days from now, in the external conference room of the county government."
Three days from now would be the 30th. Tian Jing still had time, "I'll go."
Zeng Jingrong replied, "If you come, I'll feel relieved."
Tian Jing raised an eyebrow, "So timid?"
"No," Zeng Jingrong said solemnly, "That Mattew was already at the peak of level three metal element abilities a few years ago."
"If you guessed correctly, he should be at my level, I just don't know if he's higher or lower than me."
Metal element abilities were far superior in combat power to water element abilities.
Tian Jing stopped teasing Zeng Jingrong, "I just want to know how they upgraded."
"I was originally waiting for a level four ability user to come so I could ask them about this, but I didn't expect them to directly deploy a level five ability user."
After hanging up, Tian Jing continued to collect seeds.
It seemed that planting next month would have to be postponed until after the 3rd.
When she got home from work at noon, Tian Jing learned that her second son and his wife had indeed bought two baskets of things.
Seeing Yu Ziyu admiring the woven items in the basket, Tian Jing asked,
"These things aren't exquisite. Don't they have these things in Kyoto and the Northern Province?"
"They do, but they're rare," Yu Ziyu held the rattan basket in her hand and sat next to Tian Jing, "Look, how small and delicate this little basket is? The north usually has large, practical items."
"Later, when plastic products appeared, everything became plastic. These handmade items with traditional colors are almost unseen."
"These items that can hold small objects and serve as decorations are very eye-catching and can be displayed in villas."
Tian Jing felt sorry for Aunt Cai. With so many small items, dusting them would be a formidable task.
"Put the practical ones outside and the impractical ones in glass cabinets for appreciation only."
"Mm-hmm," Yu Ziyu nodded, "That's what I thought."
Then she paused, looked at Tian Jing, and asked sheepishly, "Mom, do you think I bought some impractical things?"
"No," Tian Jing shook her head, "If you like something and it's cheap, just buy it. Don't overthink it."
"Hehe," Yu Ziyu giggled, "I just saw that these items were miniature versions of the household items I used when I was a child, and they were so cute that I couldn't stop myself."
The purpose of the market was to make shoppers unable to control themselves.
And what Yu Ziyu bought were all items that villagers had repeatedly modified to be irresistible, based on the purchasing volume of tourists.
"As long as you like them," Tian Jing wouldn't nag them about these inexpensive trinkets, "Xiao Bo, go to the front yard and find a box to pack them. In the evening, you take Ziyu to the village to pre-order local specialties."
"Your mother-in-law will be attending Lili's wedding, so bring local specialties back with her."
Li Weibo and Ziyu's faces lit up at this news, and they said they would go to each house to pre-order.
When Li Zhengguo came home from work, Tian Jing did not tell him about the team's affairs. Her husband was not part of the special team, and knowing would only make him worry.
Before going to work, Li Zhengguo said he needed Tian Jing's help.
Tian Jing chuckled, "Do we need to 'ask' between us?"
"It's not between us," Li Zhengguo shook his head, "It's a public matter."
The Tian family's 70,000 yuan debt, after being transferred from Zhonghe Village to the town, had never been repaid by the Tian family.
No one in the town was willing to go to the Tian family to collect it, and the matter was pushed around until it landed on Li Zhengguo.
Li Zhengguo was unwilling to go to the Tian family alone. Not to mention Tian Ping's covetous gaze made him feel disgusted, but dealing with the others in the Tian family alone would also be difficult.
Tian Jing waved her hand, "You don't have to go. I'll go myself."
Li Zhengguo whispered in Tian Jing's ear, "Thank you, wife. My public duty has troubled you. Tonight, I'll make it up to you."
Tian Jing pushed away her husband's approaching face, "Get out of here, you old pervert."
Li Zhengguo put on a heartbroken expression, "You think your husband is old?"
"Drama queen," Tian Jing glared at her husband, "You'll be late for work."
Li Zhengguo said with a serious expression, "I'm waiting for you. I'll take you to Zhangshan Village."