They set off from the county town at 2 p.m. and returned to the village after 4 p.m. An Moxue delivered the food she had bought back to the educated youth settlement, and then immediately went to the livestock shed to find Old Matou. After Old Matou fed the mules water and filled their fodder, they walked together toward the empty house.
One household was on the east side of the village, near the river, with three mud houses and a square courtyard. Another household was on the west side, also with three houses, very close to the educated youth compound. To the west of the house was a large area of dry farmland, and it was still some distance from the mountains and forests. Old Ma preferred this house, as it could be moved into with just a roof replacement and a repaired kang (heated brick bed), since it was the only house that had been uninhabited for the shortest time, a little over a year. The last house was at the foot of the back mountain, only twenty or thirty meters from the woods. It was a two-room stone house, now just a frame, surrounded by walls on three sides. Outside the walls were thick bushes of wild roses, now with ripe fruit. The walls were all crooked, but there was a cellar in the backyard and a well in the front yard, which still provided drinking water without needing to be cleaned. Old Ma said this house was too close to the forest. Although the stone walls were the sturdiest, the nearest houses were several hundred meters away. There were only a few scattered houses in this area, all quite far apart, making it difficult to call for help in case of any trouble.
After thinking it over, An Moxue still felt that this room was more suitable for her. She felt that in her current state, the greatest danger was not the animals in the mountains and forests, but people.
The woods have plenty of cover, and the most dangerous place is actually the safest, with the greatest chance of escape. Once inside the woods, who knows who will kill whom? Besides, she has a watch, so it won't delay her work.
So she decided on this house and asked Uncle Ma how to repair it. Uncle Ma said that if she went to the village chief to complete the formalities, he would help her find someone to repair it. With more people, it could be repaired in two days. The kang (heated brick bed) would dry in two days, and she could move in and live there in about three days.
With a place to live, An Moxue happily returned to the educated youth settlement. Today it was her turn to cook. She counted everyone's lunchboxes, put them all in the pot to steam, and also made a cucumber salad and a pickled green bean dish.
The meal was ready, and the educated youth returned from work.
At the dinner table, An Moxue divided the dishes equally among everyone and then took out her own spicy tofu, distributing some to everyone. "This is what I bought today, everyone share some," she said, but not to Wang Zhaodi.
Seeing that everyone else had received their share and there was nothing left for her, Wang Zhaodi angrily said, "An Moxue, what do you mean? You're trying to create division."
An Moxue: "Wang Zhaodi, you overestimate yourself. I've said it before, you can't touch a single thing that belongs to me. Stop trying to take advantage of me. You're always trying to cheat me."
An Moxue took her lunchbox into the female educated youth's room, placed the food on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and took out the crispy pork belly to eat by herself. The more she ate, the more delicious it tasted. The meat was really fragrant now. Don't be fooled by the fact that the crispy pork belly was made of fatty meat, it was really delicious. She would save half of it for tomorrow morning.
At seven o'clock in the evening, when everyone should have finished dinner, An Moxue took out two packs of cigarettes she had bought before going to the countryside from her space, put them in her pocket, and left the educated youth settlement to go to the village chief's house.
Reaching the door, he asked, "Uncle Guo, are you home?"
An Moxue heard a woman say, "Come in! Yes." Feeling that what she was carrying was inappropriate, she took half a pound of brown sugar from her spatial storage and put it in another pocket before entering the house.
"Uncle Guo, Auntie is home. Uncle, I need your help with something." He said as he put the things on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The village chief glanced at her and then asked, "What is it?"
"I want to find a house to move out of the educated youth settlement and live on my own."
"Weren't you living there just fine? Why are you moving out? Did some of the educated youth bully you?"
"No, Uncle Guo, please don't laugh at me. I practice martial arts and work every day, so I eat a lot. I feel bad about eating too much at the educated youth settlement, so I'm not full. That's why I want to find a house to move out and live on my own."
"Do you want to rent or buy a house? There are several houses, but they all need to be repaired and are in remote locations."
"Uncle Guo, what do you think is appropriate?"
"Either way is fine, whether you rent or buy, you'll have to pay for the repairs yourself. There's one house on the west side that's not too far from the educated youth compound, one house on the east side that's close to the river, and one house at the foot of the north mountain. These are the only three empty, detached houses at the moment."
“Uncle, I want that house at the foot of Beishan Mountain, it’s far from the educated youth settlement. No, Uncle Guo, I don’t mean it, that—” An Moxue said urgently, but the more she spoke, the more wrong she became, as if she had said something she shouldn’t have. She didn’t know what to do, and her face turned red.
"Uncle Guo, I get along well with the people at the educated youth compound." That was the last, weak sentence. Then, she abruptly changed the subject, "Uncle Guo, how much does that house at the foot of North Mountain cost?"
"That house is too remote, too close to the mountain."
"Uncle Guo, don't worry. My parents went on a mission when I was very young, so I lived alone. Even after they sacrificed their lives, I still live alone. I know kung fu, and no one can do anything to me." Aunt Guo felt particularly bad after hearing this. This child has really had a tough time.
Do you know which house that is?
"Uncle Guo, I know there's a well in the courtyard of the stone house."
"Oh, it seems you've already done your research before coming to me."
"Yes, Uncle Guo, I took a look this afternoon."
“That house is more expensive because it’s made of stone, and it has a well. It’s only been preserved because it’s in a remote area. But it will need major repairs to be habitable, which will cost about fifty yuan. I can’t book it by myself. I’ll give you a definite answer tomorrow after the village cadres have discussed it. You can pay the money at the village committee office before you go to work tomorrow morning.”
"Thank you, Uncle Guo. I'll head back now. Auntie, I'm leaving." An Moxue got up and walked out.
"Take the things back." Aunt Guo chased after her with the things, but An Moxue had already left the house and jogged away.
An Moxue ran a short distance, and seeing that no one was chasing her, she turned around and went to Old Ma's house, where the old couple were enjoying the cool air in the yard.
"Uncle Ma, Aunt Ma, I'm here!"
Old Ma said disdainfully, "I heard you, what are you shouting for? Come in."
An Moxue took a small stool and sat down next to Aunt Ma, not forgetting to complain to her: "Auntie, Uncle Ma scolded me."
Aunt Ma smiled and said, "Don't pay any attention to him, he's just a lousy old man."
"Uncle Ma, I just went to the village chief's house to talk about the house. The village chief said that he will set the specific amount for the house tomorrow morning and I just need to go and pay for the transfer."
"Did the village chief say approximately how much it would cost?"
"I said fifty."
"Not much, how do you plan to fix it?"
"I just want to build a 2.5-meter-high wall around the courtyard and then cover it with a layer of broken glass. I also want the kang (heated brick bed) inside the house to be bigger so that we can burn more firewood in winter to keep it warm. I also want to build a toilet and a shower room."
“Okay, the cellar can be used after some more repairs. It will be convenient to store vegetables in winter. You will also need to buy two jars for storing water and for pickling sauerkraut. If you want to pickle vegetables, you will also need to buy small jars. As for the roof, how do you want it repaired, with tiles or straw? We have enough straw at home, but we will need to buy tiles.”
"Uncle Ma, if you can buy roof tiles, do me a favor? I'll pay for that. I saw that the county's scrap yard has glass shards, but does our town's scrap yard have any?"
“No need to pull strings, these small blue tiles are easy to get. Unlike those big red tiles, which you have to go to the brick and tile factory and need a permit to buy. I’ll go to town the day after tomorrow to buy you some glass shards. As for the workers, I’ll find six people, and they can finish the whole job in two days. The wages are four cents a day, and meals are provided.”
"Uncle Ma, how much is appropriate for me to eat meals a day? Two or three meals a day?"
"Two meals will only cost three cents."
"Uncle Ma, how about four cents? As long as you work hard, it won't hurt to pay a cent. Is that alright?"
"Okay. I'll prepare all the mud bricks, yellow mud, sand, and other materials you need for you. You just need to pay."
"Uncle Ma, you're so kind."
"Get out of here! Have you forgotten about how you complained about me? You'll have to take a day off tomorrow, so keep an eye on things. You don't need to take a day off the day after tomorrow; just check it when you get off work."
"Are you going to stay here and chat with your aunt or go back? I'll go find someone. That way we can start working tomorrow morning."
An Moxue waved her hand. "You go, I'm not going. I'll stay a little longer."
...
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