OBS Chapter 132 Building a New Home
Chapter 132 Building a New Home
Before dawn, Li Xiangyang arrived at the village entrance.
In the distance, I could see the town bus swaying and rattling as it approached, kicking up a trail of snow dust.
The car stopped, and Li Xiangyang got in.
The bus was so early, there weren't many passengers, just a few people, all rushing to work in town.
Li Xiangyang found a seat, took out the list again, and looked at it.
More than half an hour later, the bus arrived in town.
The streets of the town were still deserted, and Li Xiangyang braved the cold wind to head straight for the brick factory at the west end.
This is the only brick factory within a ten-mile radius. It's not large, but business has always been good.
"Who is it?" A rough shout came from the gatehouse of the brick factory.
"I'm looking for Factory Director Wang."
"The factory manager hasn't arrived yet, please wait a moment." The gatekeeper poked his head out, then withdrew it again.
Li Xiangyang was just about to wait when he suddenly heard footsteps.
"Young man, looking for me?"
The man who arrived was none other than Factory Director Wang, who was in his fifties, wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat, with a smile on his face.
“Yes,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “I need to build a house, so I’ve come to buy bricks.”
"Oh?" Factory Manager Wang's eyes lit up. "How many do you need?"
"Fifty thousand yuan."
Upon hearing this number, Factory Director Wang's smile deepened: "Come in, come in."
The doorman quickly opened the door, and Li Xiangyang followed Director Wang into the office.
"Old Zhao, pour the young man a cup of hot water," Director Wang instructed while taking off his overcoat.
After Old Zhao brought over the hot water, Factory Manager Wang finally began discussing business: "Fifty thousand bricks, that's quite a lot. Which village are you from?"
"Li Xiangyang from Xiaoliang Village."
"Oh, Li Xiangyang, I've heard of you, a skilled hunter."
Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "Just lucky."
"Alright, one brick for eight parts, that's the lowest I can go," said Factory Manager Wang. "If you think it's reasonable, that's the price."
Li Xiangyang considered it for a moment and found the price to be fair, then nodded immediately: "Okay. When can it be delivered?"
"I'll send it to you in the next couple of days. How about a deposit of one hundred?"
Li Xiangyang took out some money from his pocket, counted out one hundred, and handed it over.
"I'll write you a receipt." Factory Manager Wang wrote the receipt and handed it to Li Xiangyang. "I've picked out some good bricks for you."
After leaving the brick factory, Li Xiangyang headed straight for the building materials market in town.
The building materials market is not far from the brick factory, and the whole street is lined with shops selling building materials.
"Comrade, what would you like to order?" a boss in blue overalls greeted Li Xiangyang.
"timber."
"Come in and have a look." The shop owner warmly ushered Li Xiangyang into the store. "Our timber is all top-quality. Look at this..."
Li Xiangyang took a closer look and found it to be quite good, but the price was really not cheap.
After some haggling, Li Xiangyang finally ordered fifty sticks.
"Do you need some cement? Our cement is a good price," the shopkeeper asked again.
And so, Li Xiangyang spent the morning at the building materials market and ordered all the materials he needed.
Before leaving, the shop owners promised to deliver the goods within the next two days and even wrote down his address.
He caught the afternoon bus home, and when his mother saw him return, she quickly brought out a hot meal.
"Is it settled?"
"Hmm," Li Xiangyang took a sip of hot soup, "They said it would be delivered in the next couple of days. Mother, I need to find a few people to demolish that house across the street first, so we can lay the foundation."
"Okay, you handle it." Li's mother nodded. "But don't let them suffer financially; you have to pay people for their work."
After eating, he went out to find someone to help him.
The men in the village were all very enthusiastic, and as soon as they heard it was about building a new house, they all said they were willing to help.
When will construction begin?
"Tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll definitely be there."
……
The next morning, before dawn, the village was already bustling with activity.
A dozen or so helpers, carrying shovels and hammers, arrived one after another at the old house across the street.
"Everyone be careful, save any usable bricks."
Wang Ergou helped Li Xiangyang shout out.
Alright!
Everyone responded and divided the work: some climbed onto the roof to remove the tiles, some dismantled doors and windows, and some demolished walls.
With a clang, the first tile was removed, followed by the second, the third...
Li Xiangyang and several strong young men were below, carefully catching the tiles and stacking them neatly.
Although the tiles are a bit old, most of them are still usable, saving a lot of money.
This busy work lasted half a day, and around noon, Li's mother brought over some hot tea: "Everyone, take a break and have some tea to warm up."
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Everyone put down their work and gathered around to drink tea.
"If Xiangyang's father were alive, he would be so happy to see his son so successful," Uncle Wang said with emotion.
Li's mother's eyes reddened, and she quickly turned away to wipe her tears.
"Thank you all for your hard work," Li Xiangyang said. "Let's have some tea and rest for a bit, then we'll talk again this afternoon."
Li's mother had prepared the meal in advance: a large pot of stewed pork, cabbage, and vermicelli, along with steamed cornbread.
It's simple, but it's hot and comforting.
"Sister-in-law, your cooking is absolutely superb."
As everyone ate, they all praised Li's mother's cooking skills.
Mother Li said with a smile, "I'm glad everyone doesn't mind, please eat more."
After lunch, everyone got busy again.
The old house was basically demolished this morning. This time, we're cleaning up the foundation and clearing away the broken bricks and tiles.
Just then, Li Xiaoyun came over from the educated youth settlement.
"Why are you here?" Li Xiangyang asked, putting down his shovel as soon as he saw her.
"I heard you started work today," Li Xiaoyun said with a smile, "so I came to check it out."
Li Xiangyang said somewhat embarrassedly, "It's dirty here, don't stand here, you'll get your clothes dirty."
"It's alright, I can do whatever I can."
"Xiaoyun's here?" Li's mother came over as well. "Have you eaten?"
"I've eaten, please don't bother," Li Xiaoyun quickly waved her hand. "I just came to check if there's anything I can help with."
Just then, a commotion arose at the village entrance.
"Li Xiangyang! The bricks are here!"
A tractor drove into the village, its truck loaded with neatly stacked red bricks.
"Perfect timing!" Li Xiangyang called out to everyone. "Let's unload the bricks and pile them up in the yard."
The crowd lined up and passed bricks down from the vehicle.
"One, two, three, go!"
"coming!"
Red bricks were passed down from the car one by one.
Li Xiaoyun wanted to help, but Li Xiangyang stopped her: "Go inside and rest. This work is too heavy."
"Then I'll go help Auntie boil water." Li Xiaoyun turned and went into the house.
As the sun gradually set in the west, the bricks were finally unloaded.
Everyone was exhausted.
"That's enough for today," Li Xiangyang said. "We'll continue tomorrow."
Alright!
Everyone packed up their tools and went home.
Li Xiangyang paid everyone their wages, but they all declined. In the end, he insisted on giving them to them.
In the days that followed, Xiaoliang Village was bustling with activity.
Even if Li Xiangyang didn't personally invite someone, they would still come to help if they happened to be there, without even eating.
After the foundation was dug, Zhang Jingui, the village's old bricklayer, was invited to come.
This old bricklayer was famous for miles around; he was skilled and did a solid job.
"The foundation must be solid," Zhang Jingui said while directing the work. "A house is like a person; its foundation must be stable."
Following his instructions, the group mixed the lime, sand, and water evenly and compacted them layer by layer.
It took three whole days of work to finally compact the foundation.
On the day the timber arrived, Zhang Jingui carefully inspected each piece, even tapping them with his hand: "This material is excellent; it'll definitely be sturdy enough for the main beam."
As the weather gradually warms up, the project is progressing rapidly.
With everyone's combined efforts, the wall gradually rose.