Chapter 67 - Building a House (2/2)

A bunch of Dahai’s old friends who had played with him since they were tots had also come over to form dirt bricks, build a wall with the bricks, and cut down lumber...and they all did so enthusiastically. Hunter Zhao, who was good friends with him, also punctually came over every day with his son, Zhao Han, to deliver game and help them after they finished hunting. In addition, their new neighbors on their left and right also come over every day without anyone to ask.

Generally speaking, when you had people over to help you with your house, you needed to be responsible for two meals. All of these people knew that Yu Hai had just split from the family and didn’t have much food in storage, so all of them brought their own food over every day and refused to eat even a mouthful of theirs. The whole family felt incredibly grateful and Xiaocao had finally experienced the simple and good-natured kindness of those who lived in the ancient times.

Many hands make light work. The work on the three-roomed house, courtyard, and wall had been finished in ten days. Madam Liu shed tears of joy when she saw the brand new house with its large and spacious courtyard. The three siblings chattered in the courtyard with bright smiles on their faces. They were incredibly happy—all of them finally had a home of their own...

The Liu brothers had chopped enough firewood to fill the whole storage area in the kitchen and also cleaned up the well before they left. After letting the house air out for two days, Yu Hai, whose leg has healed enough for him to walk on crutches, brought his family to move in.

During the past ten or so days, other than Old Yu and Dashan coming over every afternoon to help, not even the shadow of the other family members were seen. With the house finished, Yu Hai invited the villagers and neighbors over to celebrate. Only then did Madam Li bring her son over to visit.

Whenever anyone in the village constructed a new house or moved into one, it was necessary for them to celebrate with a party. The construction of this house was done entirely by the help of others. In addition, most of the materials used was from the local area. The muddy clay used for the bricks were dug from the side of the village levee. The beams and rafters came from lumber from felled trees in the mountains. Even the rice straw thatching came from the villagers gathering it up from all over the place.

Originally, Xiaocao wanted to buy some ceramic tiles for the roof to create a house that was similar to the current Yu Residence. However, when she remembered she only had ten taels on hand, she discarded that idea. Once again, she regretted investing all of her money in Third Young Master Zhou’s business venture. She looked on the bright side and consoled herself by thinking, ‘A sod house is also good, warm in the winter and cool in the summer…’

Argh! This Third Young Master Zhou was so busy. At the start of spring, he was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. Not only was he establishing the workshops but he was also planning on opening a Zhenxiu Restaurant in the capital. He travelled constantly between the capital and Tanggu Town, and no one ever knew exactly where he was. Xiaocao had actually wanted to ask him for help but she could never find him!

Luckily, the house had been restored and it didn’t take more than a few taels to do it. Yu Hai felt deep gratitude in his heart for the villagers who had helped them. Thus, when they were preparing for the party, he made sure to get some good food to thank them.

When Hunter Zhao heard that Yu Hai only received two taels after splitting from the family, he felt both angry and guilty at the same time. In order to save him, Yu Hai had almost died to the bear’s fangs. After killing the bear and selling it, he gave the Yu Family three hundred taels and said it was for Brother Yu Hai’s medical fees. However, he had never thought that Yu Hai’s callous father and ruthless stepmother would funnel the money Yu Hai had sacrificed life and limb for into their own pockets.

In a rage, Hunter Zhao wanted to find Old Yu and giving him a talking to, but Yu Hai stopped him. Yu Hai said the three hundred taels were considered repayment for all of the years Madam Zhang spent raising and nurturing him.Zhao Bufan felt deeply guilty towards his Brother Yu Hai and often gave them some game to strengthen Yu Hai’s body. In addition, he and his son enthusiastically worked on their new house. For the upcoming banquet, he also especially entered the mountain and caught more than ten pheasants and hares for them.

Yu Hai didn’t decline his gift and also bought fifty chicken eggs from their close neighbor, the Zhou Family. At the town market, he bought about ten catties of meat. At the end of winter and beginning of spring, there were not any green vegetables for sale. However, each and every family stored plenty of white radishes and cabbages in their cellars. Furthermore, most also had the dried vegetables from autumn. Families with a good relationship with them had also sent some, and Madam Liu also went to the market and bought some.

Madam Yao had heard that her daughter was giving a party for the villages and was afraid she had more work than she could deal with alone. Thus, on that day, she brought over her eldest daughter-in-law to help. Her daughter’s courtyard was large and spacious with tall, lofty walls surrounding it. The three-room residence spanned from north to south, and the inside of the rooms were sparsely decorated and seemed empty and desolate. However, for a family of six, the house did not seem overly crowded.

Little Shitou pulled on his grandmother’s hand and enthusiastically toured the house for her, such as: which room was his parents’ room, which room were for his sisters, and which room was for him and his oldest brother...He even brought her to the shed for firewood and kitchen. One by one, he dutifully showed them all for Madam Yao to see.

“Tonight Grandmother and Eldest Aunt will be living in this room, which is usually for older brother and me. I’ll be sleeping with mother and father!” Little Shitou’s eldest brother, Yu Hang, was still an apprentice at the carpentry shop and seldom came home. The owner of the carpentry shop was not a reasonable man. He had only let Yu Hang off for half a day when their father got injured, and he was only given a day to help with constructing their new house. At that time, it was obvious he had gotten much thinner.

His older brother wasn’t at home, so in order to save on firewood, Little Shitou slept on the same kang bed as Yu Hai and Madam Liu. However, to show off that he also had his own room, he deliberately said it like this.

On this day at dawn, Yu Xiaocao had followed Madam Liu in starting the work early. The previous two days, she had written the menu. The non-vegetarian dishes were: braised rabbit meat [1], sauteed spicy chicken pieces [2], Chinese cabbage stir-fried with meat [3], stewed white radish with pork [4], and scrambled eggs.

The vegetarian dishes were: pan-fried turnip cake [5], stir-fried daikon [6], deep fried radish balls [7], lightly pickled sweet and sour radish [8], spicy stir-fried Chinese cabbage [9], stewed tofu and cabbage [10], dry stir-fried Chinese cabbage [11], and sauteed assorted pickled vegetables [12].