The two first went to the first house that Zhang Defa liked the most. This house was located right in the middle of the village. He felt that this place was close to everyone's house, so it would be convenient to come over if something unexpected happened.
The house has four rooms and the yard is not very big. There is a vegetable garden next to it and no wall.
Tian Cai didn't like this place very much. He was used to living in an apartment building in his previous life and felt that such a house had no privacy.
Seeing that Tian Cai's expression was not very satisfied, Zhang Defa wanted to take her to a few other courtyards that were a little further away.
"Captain, there's no need to look at them one by one," Tian Cai stopped Zhang Defa, "Is there a yard closer to the mountain? It would be convenient for me to go back and forth to collect herbs."
Zhang Defa immediately thought of a place, but he rejected it because the house was too remote, not to mention that it was not just remote.
"It's closer to the mountain. It doesn't matter if the yard is not too big. I can expand it. A bigger yard will be more convenient for drying medicinal herbs." Tian Cai looked at Zhang Defa's expression and thought that there should be a suitable one.
really.
Zhang Defa led Tian Cai towards the path she had taken down the mountain. "This house is a bit out of the way, and someone died there. The villagers are superstitious about it, so no one wants to live there. It has been empty ever since."
"But my dad said that the houses here were built with good materials, and the yards are spacious. It would be great if there are no taboos."
The two men passed through the village and met many people who had left their homes to go to work. It was also the first time that everyone saw what the legendary Dr. Tian looked like.
After the two of them passed by, some people were still whispering.
"You look so young, can you really heal illnesses?"
"Yes, there's a scar on his face. If he's really that talented, why didn't he remove it?"
"Who says any doctor can remove scars? I think Dr. Oda is pretty good. He looks calm and composed!"
"Yeah, I think he's not bad. At least he looks better than the medic in the brigade."
…
"We're here, look." Zhang Defa was about to push open the dilapidated wooden door in front of him, but the door fell down with a clang.
Tian Cai hurriedly pulled him back a step, subconsciously blocking him with his body.
Zhang Defa was frightened by Tian Cai's blocking, and then he understood what was going on. His heart suddenly felt warm, and he thought that Doctor Xiaotian was a really good girl.
He said cheerfully, "This door hasn't been touched in years, and it's all weathered now. When you come to live here, I'll have someone build a new one for you."
Tian Cai moved the broken door panel and followed him into the yard.
This house is divided into front and back yards. The front yard is paved with stones, but now there are a lot of leaves and dirt on it, which seems to have accumulated over the years.
There was a dead tree in the southeast corner of the yard. The trunk was so thick that it was difficult for her to hug it alone.
There are three main rooms, and there is a collapsed adobe room on the side. It looks like a woodshed or kitchen, and is connected to the courtyard wall.
Tian Cai followed the paved road next to the main house to the back of the house. The backyard was a very open area, connected to the hillside, and it was impossible to tell where the vegetable garden was.
"The backyard used to be surrounded by a wooden fence, but later the wood weathered and fell down and people picked it up and burned it as firewood. If you want this house, you can just fence it off yourself when the time comes, it's just a bit more work."
Tian Cai didn't care whether it was difficult or not. She was quite satisfied with the size and location of this place, and many places only needed to be cleaned up simply.
The two of them went back to the front yard. This time she went into the house and took a look. The door was gone. From the dilapidated house, she could see that there were bedrooms on both sides and a living room in the middle. The kang in the master bedroom had a big hole in the middle, and it seemed that it had collapsed. The other room was not much better.
Tian Cai walked around the house several times inside and out. Although there were many places that needed to be modified, many of them could be fixed slowly after moving in. The more she looked at it, the more satisfied she was.
"That's it!"
Zhang Defa had guessed it when he saw her looking around, but he still felt he should tell her why the house was vacant. "The previous owner of this house was an orphan. Before she got married, she was raped by bandits and her fiancé was killed. Unable to bear the blow, she hanged herself in the house. That was only around 1950. After that, people kept saying it was haunted, and even after trying to dispel the superstition, no one wanted to live there, so it's been empty ever since."
Tian Cai didn't feel anything after hearing this. She herself traveled through time and space and was no different from a ghost. "It's okay, I don't believe it. I think this is good enough. It's spacious enough for me to live in."
Seeing that Tian Cai was satisfied, Zhang Defa said nothing more and introduced her to the brigade office. "If you need someone to repair the house, just let me know. We can get it done before the autumn harvest. If you want to do something yourself, you can borrow tools from the brigade. Old Li, who looks after the warehouse, has taken leave these days. Just ask Accountant Wang to register it when the time comes."
Tian Cai felt that she could do most of it herself, but she needed help with technical work like building the kang and repairing the roof. "I think the kang in the house needs to be rebuilt. Captain, can you help me find someone who can do this job? I don't have much money, can I use pills to pay for the labor?"
"That's great! They're so happy! I guess they'll all be rushing to come." Zhang De laughed, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes turned into a chrysanthemum.
Tian Cai smiled embarrassedly. She decided to go back tonight to pack some things and come over tomorrow. She would build a simple shed in the yard and live in the shed while the decoration was being done. She probably wouldn't live there for too long.
Tian Cai asked Zhang Defa some random little things, such as where to get the wood for repairing the house, whether he could go to the mountains to cut it himself, how to buy nails, etc.
"We have to find someone to cut down the trees in the mountains. There is a carpenter in our village. You can ask him to do whatever you want, but you have to pay for the wear and tear of the tools..." Zhang Defa talked a lot.
It would take more than a day or two to renovate this house. Not to mention that she is not the type of person who likes to trouble others, even if she wants to trouble others, she has no money.
When they separated from the captain, Tian Cai forced the pheasant into his hand. Fearing that he couldn't take it back, he simply took out his water bottle from the backpack and put it on his back, stuffed the backpack together with the water bottle into his hand, and then ran away quickly before he could react.
Zhang Defa chased after him for a few steps but couldn't catch up, so he stopped and said, "This kid!"
Tian Cai looked at the sky and quickened her pace. She estimated that it was almost three o'clock and was a little hungry. She had hurriedly eaten lunch on the hillside before going down the mountain. If she hurried now, she would still have time to trap a pheasant or rabbit for a snack.
She had walked this route three times. Tian Cai simply tightened the strap of her water bottle, warmed up, and jogged home with the same enthusiasm as if she were participating in a cross-country training.
According to her estimation, it would take about an hour and a half to jog home, mainly because there were a lot of rocks in the mountains that were difficult to walk on, and running wouldn't make her much faster.
When passing by a bamboo forest, I couldn't help but slow down. If I don't have money to make a wooden cabinet, can I consider using bamboo?
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