Li Xiangyun was happy to hear that her third son wanted to build a new house.
The eldest daughter-in-law looked unwell.
She deliberately said, "You two are still too young to get married. Besides, your wife is from the city and is rich. You can build whatever you want, and your parents can't stop you."
She only said that her daughter-in-law was rich, but didn't say that she, as the mother, wouldn't contribute any money.
The eldest daughter-in-law's face was visibly less unpleasant than before, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She then winked at her third son, signaling him to stop talking.
Huo Junshan stopped talking and let his family know the news first. Then he would tell everyone that Yanyan paid for the house. What could his sister-in-law say?
Huo Jianguo remained silent. Wang Cuihong felt irritated. Their marital home consisted of only two mud-brick rooms, and some parts of them were already starting to crack. In addition, as their child grew older, the space would eventually become insufficient.
"Dad, Mom, Jian Dang's wedding is a good thing, but should we get the money from Mom to build the house, or should Jian Dang pay for it himself?"
Huo Jianguo glared at her. "Isn't that obvious? It's definitely their parents who will pay for it. How much money does Jian Dang have?"
Li Xiangyun knew she was going to cause trouble again. "Your father and I paid for it, and the house you got married in was also built by your father and me for the eldest son's wedding. What? Can't I build a room for the second son's wedding? Or do you want to divide the family property?"
Sister-in-law Huo was startled. She had never said she wanted to separate the family. Her mother-in-law had put such a big decision on her shoulders, and she couldn't bear the responsibility.
She waved her hands repeatedly, "Mom, I didn't mean that. Our house is an adobe house, and it's already cracked a bit. If you're building houses for the Party, could you repair my room? Our house is getting too small, and Xiaohuzi will grow up soon. He can't stay in the same room with us forever."
She originally wanted to say that the Party should build a new house, but she didn't want it to be a brick house. She wouldn't agree if it was a brick house, but she changed her mind before she could finish her sentence.
Huo Jianguo knew his wife was going to make a fuss again, so he scolded her, "Where is the lack of space? We'll talk about that when we need more. Right now we're talking about my second brother, so don't interfere."
Seeing that his eldest daughter-in-law had calmed down, Huo Changgen said, "It's settled then. We'll build two mud-brick houses for the Party to live in first. When we have money later, you can build whatever you want."
Huo Jiandang was the happiest of all. He thought his relationship with Hongying would have to wait until next year, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.
The matter was settled. The parents said they would go to the next village tomorrow to talk to Jian Dang's in-laws and see if they could bring his wife back this year. Then they would start building a house.
Huo Junshan went to the educated youth settlement and told Yun Ningyan what had happened. He didn't go back that night and slept at the settlement. Yun Ningyan was used to him being around and didn't care about him.
As dawn broke, the men of the Huo family were already up. They were going to make adobe bricks first, and then they could start building the house after the adobe bricks had dried for a few days.
Several brothers went to the riverbank and dug up several cartloads of clay. After returning home, they mixed it with water and shaped it into rectangular bricks. Working together, they were very fast and made quite a few bricks in a day.
Yun Ningyan was resting at the educated youth settlement. The rain earlier had been quite heavy, and the ground was still too wet to work in.
Lin Mengmeng asked her to go to her aunt's house to exchange for some vegetables, so Yun Ningyan had no choice but to change her clothes and go with her.
Just as they left the educated youth settlement, they ran into Ma Lao Er. Ma Lao Er was grinning at Yun Ningyan. He hadn't given up on Yun Ningyan yet. Yesterday, his mother went back to her parents' home, saying she wanted to borrow 50 yuan to give to Yun Ningyan as a betrothal gift. In a few days, Yun Ningyan would be his wife.
He greeted me with a grin, "Good morning, Yun Zhiqing."
After he finished speaking, he gave Yun Ningyan a meaningful look. Yun Ningyan was puzzled. What did Ma Lao Er mean by that look?
She turned her head and saw Song Pandi following behind her. She clearly saw the vicious look in Song Pandi's eyes that flashed by.
Is Song Pandi up to her old tricks again?
After the two left, Song Pandi asked Ma Lao Er, "If you don't hurry up, Yun Ningyan will marry Huo Junshan. Haven't you noticed that the Huo family is building a new house?"
When Ma Lao Er heard about the Huo family, his scalp tingled. But Yun Ningyan was just too beautiful, and he couldn't help but think about her every night.
He waved his hand and said, "Don't worry! She can't run away! I'll come to propose marriage tomorrow."
Song Pandi smiled, deciding to help Yun Ningyan tomorrow by drugging her and having Ma Lao Er take her right there at the educated youth settlement! Once Huo Junshan finds out she's lost her virginity, he definitely won't want her anymore.
She touched the medicine packet in her pocket, her eyes gleaming with determination.
A figure behind her overheard their secret plot clearly.
Song Pandi hummed a little tune as she returned to the educated youth settlement, extremely pleased with herself. Her patience during this period was about to pay off.
Yun Ningyan is about to be utterly ruined! That old woman Ma will surely drain Yun Ningyan dry!
After Yun Ningyan and Lin Mengmeng exchanged dishes, they heard that the Huo family was building a house, and many people went to see what was going on. Zhang Qiang, Liu Zhijun, and Hu Haiquan also went along. The two of them put the dishes back at the educated youth point and went to the Huo family with the crowd.
That's how rural people are; they're always curious about anything new happening in someone's family. Plus, these past few days they haven't had to work, so everyone's been chatting idly by the roadside, and everyone's happy to join in on the Huo family's affairs.
The Huo brothers were still mixing the clay. Since there were no machines, they had to rely entirely on manpower. To mix the clay and water more evenly, the men formed a circle with the water in the middle. They rolled up their trousers, jumped to the center, and stomped on the clay little by little with their feet.
The whole process is like a scene of mixing cement.
The last few people stomped around on the clay together, and luckily there were many of them, so it mixed up quickly.
Some onlookers asked Li Xiangyun, "Xiangyun, which son is this house being built for? Is it for the third son or the second son?"
"I remember the second son, Huo Jiandang, got engaged to the Zhang family's daughter from the next village, right?"
Seeing so many people coming to watch the excitement, Li Xiangyun invited them into the courtyard and said with a smile, "Isn't Jiandang getting married soon? The house isn't big enough for everyone, so we're building two rooms."
Yun Ningyan and Lin Mengmeng stood in the crowd. She nodded slightly to Li Xiangyun and smiled at her, but didn't say anything, and just kept watching Huo Junshan work.
Huo Junshan was the tallest among his brothers. Standing among them, he looked completely different from them, even though they were all people who toiled in the fields for a living. The difference was still noticeable.
Huo Junshan wore an old-fashioned vest, revealing his strong arms and shoulders. His bronze skin glowed slightly from the sweat. He used a shovel to work in the clay, his biceps bulging slightly – the source of his strength.
His long legs were covered only by shorts, and the not-so-thick leg hair on his calves was not very clear because it was covered in mud.
He saw Yun Ningyan standing in the crowd, turned his head slightly to look at her, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
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