After getting up early in the morning to clear the snow, they had to help the villagers repair the roofs of their houses during the day. Such a large amount of work was very tiring even for Yang and Su Guangfu, so it was no surprise that they both overslept the next day.
Fortunately, it didn’t snow again the next day, so everyone didn’t have to continue clearing the snow.
Unexpectedly, the continuous snowfall was far from over. It would occasionally clear up for one day, but the next day it would snow heavily again.
This went on intermittently for half a month.
During this half month, Su Guangfu initially brought Yang and several familiar craftsmen to help repair the house, but later they were too busy to handle it, so they mobilized other able-bodied laborers who could be of use to help.
However, during such heavy snow, it was too dangerous to work. If a house was damaged after the snowfall, it would take several people three or four days to repair it, and make sure it was solid.
Su Qingluan thought that it was a good thing that many of the houses in the village had been renovated and reinforced in the name of "welfare" before, otherwise, with the heavy snowfall one after another, who knows how many troubles would have caused.
But the same thing goes, everyone's houses are old houses, and even if they are renovated, they will definitely be very different from newly built houses.
What's more, the materials needed to build new houses are also different, and those that are strong, durable, and warm enough are expensive.
To put it bluntly, a house of that standard would cost a fortune to live in. Not only could the other villagers in Huaxi Village not afford it, but even the Su family, who had a small savings, could not afford the exorbitant price tag.
What's more, as the saying goes, "a little bit of rice is a favor, a peck of rice is resentful." Even if Su Qingluan gives benefits to the "employees" who help her out under various names, it cannot be far more than what they earn from their labor.
She believed in the bright side of human nature, but also understood that the darkness of human nature was unfathomable. So she watched other families pay cloth or exchange food according to the amount of labor, and did not stop them - that was the income from her father's labor.
Because of the continuous snowfall this time, the mountain was completely blocked by heavy snow, so not only was it forbidden to go to the nearest Lefeng Town, but even going near the winding mountain road was strictly prohibited.
In fact, in the beginning, in order to make more money, there are always those who are not afraid of evil and dare not take risks and go out to try their luck.
However, heavy snow has been piling up on the hillside for days. Although the hillside is not comparable to some famous mountain with "thousand-foot cliffs", the amount of snow accumulated on the steep slope with a height of at least ten feet is also very astonishing.
The elders in the village tried every means to persuade the young people not to go out at this time. Even Sun Guixiang advised Li Sanlang that although he still needed two doses of medicine, she should take good care of herself and drink more food that can replenish qi and blood. Su Qingluan had brought a lot of dates, longans and wolfberries to the Li family when she went to the town once before.
Li Sanlang listened to the advice, but not everyone did. There were always some who refused to believe it, or who just wanted to exchange more food for their families. Even though the villagers tried every means to dissuade them, there were still some who gritted their teeth and took their finished handicrafts or skinned animal fur to the town to exchange for some food.
However, out of five young men who went, only two returned. The other three encountered an avalanche while crossing the mountain road and were instantly buried under the vast snow. They did not even have time to escape.
Of the three people who passed away, two were from the same family, and the other was the only son. This was a truly devastating time for both families. The harsh winter was already very difficult, and the deaths from the snowstorm only made matters worse.
This time, the avalanche caused three people to be buried alive in Huaxi Village, a peaceful mountain village that had not suffered any major disasters. It was considered a big event. Some people sighed and lamented, some wailed in grief, and some people who had less close contact with the village reacted calmly.
But no matter how everyone reacts, one thing is certain - until the snow on the mountain melts completely the following year, no one will dare to go to the town again and risk being buried alive.
This also made Su Qingluan understand very clearly why Huaxi Village did not have any difficult or dangerous sections of the road, but the mountain was often closed when it snowed in winter - a very important reason was that avalanches could occur on the slopes at any time, burying pedestrians in the ice and snow.
The roads to the town were blocked, so buying good wood was out of the question. So, repairing the house could only be done with scraps from the warehouse.
However, how strong can this material be? In addition, it takes a lot of time and effort to repair a room, and it is too easy to destroy a house on a heavy snowy day - in the face of nature, what people can do is always too small and too little.
All the able-bodied laborers in the village, even boys as young as thirteen or fifteen years old, were brought in to help, but they still could not keep up with the speed at which the houses were destroyed.
In the end, what they feared came true. The continuous strong winds and heavy snow finally made the house unable to withstand it. Half of it was blown down, and the kang for heating in the house was also damaged.
The neighbor next door was also damaged. Although the damage was not serious, a corner of the house was blown off, and a cold wind blew into the house.
So although the damage to the second house was not particularly serious, it was obviously uninhabitable.
Everyone lives next to each other. When this situation first happened, the people around were able to squeeze in with their families, leaving one or two beds for the temporarily homeless neighbors to stay for a few nights - it was only temporary anyway.
The guests will also try their best to help the host with more housework as a "loan fee".
However, people still underestimated the destructive power of the wind and snow. As the snowfall continued to increase and the cold wind remained biting, the houses, which originally had poor quality materials, began to have some quality problems.
It is easy to destroy a house, but difficult to build one.
However, later, someone unexpected to Su Qingluan solved the problem of "severe shortage of building materials".
"Song Bo, what do you mean?" The village head looked at Song Bo who was smiling across from him.
"This is not my idea, but the boss's idea - instead of letting the bamboos in that yard be blown down in the cold wind, it is better to use them to build beams of the house." Bamboo has a tough texture and grows very fast. After processing, it is a very good simple building material.
Although it is certainly not as good as some thick solid wood, at this critical juncture, it is much better than filling the damaged areas with weeds.
So everyone was planning to rush over to thank Mr. Mu, but Song Bo smiled very restrainedly and politely: "The boss has always been in poor health, especially in this cold weather. I'm afraid the cold will pass away. I will pass on your gratitude, but there is no need for you to go and express your gratitude specifically."
After saying that, he turned around and left without even glancing towards the Su family. He also didn't show the occasional disconnection that he did when Mu Xingzhi was the only one around. He behaved more calmly than Su Qingluan had imagined, reminding her of the first time they met.
As the saying goes, "A good cook cannot cook without rice." With the right building materials at hand, the work of repairing the house, especially the beams, can naturally continue.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
