Chapter 113: He wants to replace this thatched roof, and he’ll do it right away…
He Guixiang was stunned when she heard Lin Shu's words. "Huh?"
Lin Shu blinked and said, "Aren't mother and Xiao Pu telling me this because they think Old Man Liao is lonely and helpless and can't even eat well? We already cook a lot for two meals a day, so making one more meal won't be a problem. I just wonder if Old Man Liao will find it troublesome."
Old Man Liao's house and theirs are at the head and tail of the village respectively. Although Tianshui Village is not big, it still takes a long way to walk from the head to the tail of the village.
He Guixiang hesitated and said, "I do think it's inconvenient for Old Man Liao to live alone, especially when it comes to eating. But when he doesn't want to cook, he always goes to the neighbor's house to eat. He's already made an appointment with someone. If we invite Old Man Liao to our house to eat, isn't that a bad idea?"
What He Guixiang didn't mention was that Old Man Liao had undoubtedly given a favor to the neighbor when he dined there. She didn't know whether Old Man Liao had given the neighbor rice or money, but she certainly hadn't asked for a single cent of money or food when he helped bring things to town.
If they invite Old Man Liao to their home for dinner, and Old Man Liao no longer goes to the neighbor's house for dinner in the future, do you think Old Man Liao will still need to provide convenience to that family in the future?
"Ah Shu, whenever the weather is nice, Old Man Liao always drives his ox cart to town. He eats breakfast there, and the main thing is dinner after he comes back. People in our village eat simple dinners, so it's normal for Xiao Pu to see Old Man Liao eating porridge and pickles. It's just that this neighbor is so careless. How could they let Old Man Liao eat cold rice? At least he should have warmed it up a little before eating."
He Guixiang frowned. She didn't think Old Man Liao was eating poorly at the neighbor's house; she felt the neighbor didn't care about him. A few days ago, it was hot, so eating something cold was fine. But now it had just rained, and the weather was a bit chilly. Eating cold food wouldn't be good.
Lin Shu said, "Mother, you're just worrying too much. You can't stand seeing Old Man Liao eating cold rice, so why bother with the neighbors? Between wanting Old Man Liao to have a hot meal and being gossiped about by his neighbors, which do you think is more important?"
Lin Xiaopu, who loves her sister, nodded repeatedly. "Mother, I think my sister is right. If we want to be good to Old Man Liao, we don't need to care about what others say."
He Guixiang was used to being kind to others and had never done anything that offended anyone, so she still felt it was inappropriate. "You asked me to think about it again."
Lin Shu changed the subject and asked, "Mother, do you know what Old Man Liao and Ping'er eat for breakfast when they go to town?"
He Guixiang shook her head. "How would I know that? Ping'er and I don't go to town. The few times we rode in Old Man Liao's ox cart, we parted ways as soon as we arrived in town."
"I've seen it a few times." Zhou Ye said at this time.
Zhou Ye usually didn't interrupt when He Guixiang's mother and her third son were talking, just listening quietly. But when he heard this, he couldn't help but interrupt, "The few times I saw him, Old Man Liao usually ate the cheapest steamed buns, three at a meal, which only cost six cents. Only once or twice would he buy the slightly more expensive Hu bing and ci ba."
He Guixiang was slightly surprised. "He could earn quite a bit of money just by driving the ox cart and transporting people. How could he only eat steamed buns?"
"Mother, food is expensive in town. Only steamed buns and flatbreads are cheap. Old Man Liao is reluctant to spend that kind of money. Besides, Old Man Liao's ox cart can't always carry people. If he just helps the villagers carry some daily groceries, he won't earn a few coppers at all."
He Guixiang stopped worrying when she heard this and said, "Okay, wait until your father comes back, I'll ask him to ask Old Man Liao what he thinks. If he agrees, we'll cook for one more person in the future!"
Lin Shu immediately said, "Mother, why do we have to wait for Father to come back? Isn't Aye here? Aye can go ask Father Liao right now."
He Guixiang: ...
Seeing that her mother had nodded reluctantly, Lin Shu asked with a smile, "Are you trying to get Father Liao's approval, or are you trying to get Father Liao's approval? Who knows, maybe Father Liao is afraid of trouble and won't even consider it. Wouldn't it be a waste of Mother's worry then?"
"You're still teasing my mother. Of course I want him to agree. Old Man Liao is a good man. Let's not do anything else but make sure he can have a hot meal."
He Guixiang didn't feel sorry for Old Man Liao. He was the only one in the village who had an ox cart and didn't need anyone's pity. She just felt a little uncomfortable when she heard Xiao Pu say that he ate cold porridge and there was not much rice in that bowl of porridge.
Lin Shu said, "Let's wait until Mother discusses this with Father. Father is the head of the family, and this matter needs his approval. We can't make the decision on our own, or Father will be angry."
He Guixiang feigned anger and said, "So you really were teasing my mother just now, Ah Shu, you are becoming more and more disrespectful."
Lin Shu hugged her and smiled, "It's all because of my mother's pampering."
At noon, Zhou Ye went to the field to call Lin Dashan back, and the whole family took a break together.
Lin Shu and Lin Xiaopu's mattresses have all been replaced. He Guixiang only found out when she checked the mattresses this morning that the roof was leaking last night and water dripped onto Lin Shu's pillow, making it wet. Lin Shu didn't notice it and rested her head on the wet pillow, which caused her to develop a high fever in the middle of the night.
When Lin Shu got up from her break, Zhou Ye had brought back several large bundles of straw from somewhere. The straw almost took up half of the yard. He was sitting on a small bamboo stool, concentrating on weaving the straw.
"Aye, what are you doing?"
Zhou Ye was busy with his work, looking at her distractedly for a moment before replying, "It's time to replace the roof of our house. After this heavy rain, it will be sunny for a few days, so now is a good time to replace the roof."
The lower classes were too poor to buy tiles, so they could only replace the thatch on their roofs from time to time. Last time it rained, they replaced the thatch, but it seemed that this time, replacing just the outermost layer of thatch wasn't enough.
Every household's thatched hut is built the same way: the first layer is woven thatch coated with wet clay, which is then dried and laid on the roof. Then, several wide layers of tree bark are laid on top, and finally, several layers of thatch are added. These layers, combined with the slope of the thatched hut, make the roof virtually leak-proof.
But this is when it was just built.
Over time, insects and ants would eat away at the thatch and bark, and with the added erosion from rain, the roof would gradually begin to leak. Every three or four years, the thatch would need to be replaced.
Lin Dashan's thatched house was repaired exactly three years ago. Most houses in the village take four to five years to replace. Lin Dashan planned to keep it for another one or two years. After all, replacing a roof is really troublesome. It takes several days just to weave the thatch and paste the clay, and then to dry the thatch. Then the second layer of bark needs to be collected laboriously, and finally laying the roof is also a physical job. Many families have to ask villagers for help when they want to replace their roofs.
So whenever there was a leak on Ping'er's roof, Lin Dashan would just add a layer of thatch on the outside.
Although Lin Dashan is an honest man, he also has his own shortcomings. Sometimes he relies on himself as the head of the family and makes decisions on his own without discussing with other family members. He also thinks his ideas are very good.
In the past, Zhou Ye felt that he was under someone else’s roof and didn’t bother to care about many things, so he simply listened to Lin Dashan. But this time, Ah Shu fell ill because of a leaking roof, and he regretted being lazy before.
He wanted to replace the roof, and he could do it right away. He could do it all by himself without bothering anyone else.
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