Li Qingyun was somewhat tempted. The house they lived in now was an old adobe house. Who knew it might collapse if there was a heavy snowstorm one day. It would be better to rebuild a sturdier house.
Gu Tingzhou hesitated. He wanted to take his wife and children with him to join the army. Who would live in the house after it was built? When conditions improved in the future, they would all stay in the city, and no one would live in the rural house.
However, when he saw his wife and his mother enthusiastically discussing building a house, he felt relieved. As long as his wife was happy, they could build it. It would also be better able to withstand blizzards in winter. After all, they would have to come back to live there in the future if something happened or during the New Year.
Gu's mother and Li Qingyun decided to build a house together, and told Gu's father when she got home.
Gu's father immediately found a piece of paper with great interest and started writing and drawing on it, thinking about choosing a suitable residential plot for his son. As the branch secretary, he had this special right.
After Gu's mother left, the young couple thought about it again and decided that they had to build the house. They just happened to catch up with their eldest brother's family and build it together. If they worked quickly, it could be finished before Gu Tingzhou left.
Li Qingyun handed the three hundred yuan in her hand to Gu Tingzhou: "Take this money and make arrangements to buy materials and so on. If it's not enough, come to me for more. I am quite satisfied with our current homestead. It is far away from the residential area and there is a well, so we don't have to carry water.
You and Dad should discuss how to build this house, whether to tear it down and rebuild it, or what else. If we are going to build it, let's build it well to avoid trouble later. For other matters, you can discuss it with Mom and Dad, and I will try my best to cooperate."
"Okay, then I'll go to the old house to take a look and decide on it as soon as possible so I can start construction. I'll feel more at ease if it's completed before I leave." After saying that, Gu Tingzhou took the money and went out to the old house.
"The autumn harvest is just over, and there's not much work to do in the fields. Everyone's idle at home, so let's hire a few more people to help. We should be able to build the house before the snow and freeze. I've picked out a few good locations for the homestead, so you can choose one and decide.
Second brother, do you want to choose a new piece of land to build on, or build a new one next to the original homestead?"
Father Gu handed the two brothers a simple sketch he had drawn. The approximate layout of the village was clearly visible on the paper. The circled areas were the available residential plots, which were all relatively good locations.
Brother Gu took it and selected it carefully.
"Dad, the location of our current house is pretty good, and there is a well. I don't particularly want to move." Gu Tingzhou had already made up his mind that they should use the current residential land.
"Your well is in front of the yard, some distance away from the house. Otherwise, you can demolish the current yard, build a new house next to it, and then enclose the well in the new yard.
The old house can be sold to someone in the village. After all, the roof has just been renovated, and it would not be cost-effective to tear it down directly. Many families in the village are getting married this year, and they are short of houses, so it should be able to be sold.
If you don't want to sell the house, you can just build a new house in front of the old one, enclose a bigger yard, and use the old houses in the back as storage rooms for things like firewood. It's just a bit of an eyesore, after all, everyone has a limited amount of land to live on."
Gu Tingzhou thought about going back and discussing with his wife before deciding how to build it. Both methods were good, but his wife didn't like living close to other families, so he should ask her before making a decision.
Brother Gu finally chose a residential plot close to the old house so that he could take care of the two elderly people as much as possible.
"Once you've made your decision, we'll measure the area and estimate the materials needed. We'll go to the village this afternoon to find people and start work tomorrow. We'll dig the foundation first. We'll still have time to go to Zhangjiadian to get the bricks and tiles back tomorrow.
When you two families are renovating your houses, you can have dinner together at the old house. We'll take care of it. Is that okay with you, Boss?"
"No, it's what I should do." Brother Gu said quickly. The second brother's family didn't get any benefits in the first place. It was only right for his parents to help prepare meals when building the house. If he didn't agree with this, it would be too much.
Seeing that his father was determined to help, Gu Tingzhou accepted it.
"Then it's settled. Second brother, go back and ask your wife for her opinion. We'll go and decide on your eldest brother's homestead first, and then we'll go to your place to measure the land."
Gu Tingzhou discussed with Li Qingyun and finally decided to build a new house next to it, enclose a new yard, and move the old well into the new yard.
If the old house can be sold, sell it; if not, use it as a temporary storage for miscellaneous items.
If the old house is to be sold, Li Qingyun also wants to find a suitable buyer. She doesn't want to be neighbors with someone she doesn't know well.
There is no other way around this. As the family of the village party secretary and a military family, they have to consider their work style. If they occupy too much land, people will talk about them and it may even affect their work.
In a few years, some people might say that this is the style of capitalists and criticize it, so it is better not to eat and take more than you deserve.
If there is a suitable buyer, I will sell it. If not, it can be left empty. It seems too extravagant to just tear it down. I just renovated the roof.
Father Gu and his two sons spent an afternoon measuring the building area, made a rough plan, and then went to each family to arrange to help build the house the next day.
There are two situations when repairing houses in the village. One is to help repay the work. For example, if someone has helped someone else repair their house in the past, you can now ask that person to help repair the house as well, which is considered as repaying the work.
Another way is to directly invite people to do the work and agree to provide them with food or money.
Brother Gu has been in his hometown all year round and has worked for many families. Many of them are still working, including five people who are still working, and he has found three more people to do the work.
Gu Tingzhou basically hired people to do the work. He agreed to provide them with a lunch and pay them 40 cents a day. He hired a total of ten young men.
There were a total of eighteen helpers from both sides, all having lunch at the old house. Mother Gu, along with Sister-in-law Gu and the two sisters Li Qingyun and Li Qinghuan, were in charge of the meal.
Although Gu's parents had agreed to provide food for the workers to cook, Li Qingyun still gave them twenty kilograms of cornmeal and twenty kilograms of black flour as a supplement.
Since the old house was not going to be demolished, they lived in it temporarily and would move in after the new house was built.
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