Chapter 82: The Matter of Building the House Settled

Hearing that everything could be enclosed, Wen Yao was thrilled.
“How much can we enclose? I want to build something big.” Since they could build a house, she might as well do it all at once, to save trouble later on.

In the future, their family would be four people; her eldest brother and Da Tou would both marry eventually, so they’d need to reserve courtyards for them. Though her father had been over sixty in his previous life, in this one he was barely in his thirties. Just in case—she was only saying just in case—her father had a second spring and brought home a new wife for himself and her brother, they'd also need their own courtyards.

As for herself, marriage was not a concern for now. If possible, she wanted to spend her whole life sticking to her mother’s side. Getting married, raising children—she’d never experienced that in her previous life, nor did she have any interest in it this time around.

Within moments, Wen Yao had arranged everyone’s future clearly in her mind.

Old Man Wen, hearing her ask, replied, “How big do you want to enclose? How big do you want to build?”

Wen Yao pointed at the four of them. “At least one room per person, and one more for you and Grandma. Later, you can live with us, hehe.” She finished speaking and hooked her arm through the old lady’s, rubbing her shoulder affectionately.

Madam Luo was touched, raising her hand to tap Wen Yao’s head, chiding, “Who wants to live with you? The families have been split; just take care of your own lives.” After speaking, she turned to Old Man Wen: “Since Yao wants to build big, help her make arrangements.”

Old Man Wen tapped his tobacco pipe on the edge of the kang. “Alright. But do you want to build a rammed earth house like ours, or a blue-brick one? The rammed earth houses are like ours, blue-brick ones are like the village chief’s.”

Blue-brick tile houses—the dream of Old Man Wen’s life was to one day work hard enough to own a grand blue-brick house. He’d hoped to support his eldest son to success, and then they could live in a blue-brick courtyard, but plans never keep up with changes.

Luckily, the prodigal son had turned over a new leaf. Though relying on the eldest son to live in a blue-brick house was no longer an option, if he didn’t drag them down, they could still achieve it after a few more years of effort. The only question was whether they’d manage it before entering the grave.

Wen Yao naturally wanted to do it all at once.
“Blue bricks, big tiled house, even more beautiful than the village chief’s.” Wen Yao grinned.

Old Man Wen glared at her. “You’re not afraid to bite your tongue, are you? Still, fifty taels should be enough to build a two-courtyard blue-brick house. If you’re set on it, I’ll find someone to take a look and get the arrangements going. There’s a month till the New Year—won’t be finished before then, but we can lay the foundation first and move in after spring.”

Wen Yao was surprised to realize there was only a month until the New Year.

“Grandpa, can I design the layout myself?” Wen Yao asked.

Old Man Wen looked at her—when had he ever noticed his granddaughter was so full of ideas? Though he grumbled to himself, he still replied, “You can, but we’ll have to see what the foreman says. Whether it’s doable depends on them.”

That was good enough.
“Alright, I’ll draw it up for you. You can check it for me, Grandpa—you’ve traveled far and wide, your experience is valuable.” Wen Yao’s flattery left Old Man Wen feeling so dizzy he could barely tell east from west.

Madam Luo gave the two a disdainful glare, muttered a word about their behavior, pulled Wen Yao closer, and turned to Wen Jun: “Since you won’t be staying at home these days, Jun, go back and bring your father, brother, and sister’s things over. Yao’s foot can’t walk, so you’ll have to work a bit harder—take Wen Fa and Wen Jin with you and make a couple trips. Also, don’t forget to bring over the marinade pot from the kitchen.”

Before, they’d been afraid of the villagers’ jealousy, so hadn’t dared to do things here. Now Madam Luo wasn’t afraid anymore. Let them know—after all, the eldest son’s family was going to build a house. There’d be no hiding it; better to earn money openly and confidently.

If others were envious, so be it—they wouldn’t be able to earn this money anyway.

Wen Jun and Wen Xiuyi immediately turned to Wen Yao, both asking in unison, “What happened to Yao’s foot?”

Only then did they notice Wen Yao’s foot was wrapped in gauze, their expressions changing instantly.

“Yao, what happened to your foot?”

Wen Yao casually swung her bare foot. “It’s nothing, just a little scratch. Grandma already wrapped it for me—it’ll heal in a few days.” She didn’t explain how it happened; telling them would only add to their worry.

Wen Xiuyi still wanted Wen Yao to unwrap it so he could see how serious it was, maybe even call Dr. Jin back for a look.

There were no tetanus shots at this time—if the wound were to get infected, what would they do?

In the end, Madam Luo slapped Wen Xiuyi twice, finally making him behave.

She said, “She just got a few scratches from stones on the riverbank. When Da Tou fell in the water, she got anxious and ran out, lost her shoes. It’s nothing serious; I’ve cleaned it well. She shouldn’t go out these next few days—just stay on the kang with Da Tou.”

Wen Yao grew anxious hearing this. “That won’t do, Grandma. In two days, someone has invited me to cook for their wedding. That’s their lifelong event—I can’t delay it.”

Madam Luo glared at her. “You know you can’t delay it, and yet you’re so reckless. Fine, in two days, your second and third aunts will accompany you. Your second aunt is strong; let her carry you.”

Wen Yao blushed; today it was Li who had carried her home. How could she ask her second aunt to carry her again? But she really couldn’t miss the wedding feast.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Second Aunt,” Wen Yao said to Li.

Li had seen Wen Yao hand all the land deeds to the old lady, and she knew once they reached the old house, the eldest brother’s family would never take them back. Giving them to the old house was as good as giving them to her own family. At this point, not only was carrying Wen Yao to work no trouble—even carrying her on her shoulders would be fine.

“No trouble at all. With your second aunt here, nothing will be delayed.” Li beamed, her smile deep and genuine.

Now that the house-building was decided and the land deeds handed over, Madam Luo waved her hand for everyone to disperse and get back to their own business.

Only the four of them were left in the room.

Wen Xiuyi hurriedly said, “Yao, hurry up and let me see—how deep is the wound? Do you need a tetanus shot? Can you get one here? Should we ask Dr. Wen to give you an injection?”

Wen Jun frowned and nodded. “Yes, Yao, if the wound isn’t handled properly, there could be problems. Unwrap the gauze and let me take care of it.”

Wen Yao dodged their hands reaching for her leg. “Enough, enough—it’s just a scratch from a stone, with some sand. Grandma cleaned it for me, and while she was out changing water, I rinsed it myself with saline. Don’t worry, really.

Let’s check on Da Tou instead. Poor child—if he hadn’t run into that so-called flying person, we wouldn’t have seen him again.

Without Da Tou, what would we be striving for anyway?”