Yuan Shitou and Yun Xiaoxiao quarried stones in the mountains every day and transported them by handcart.
Mr. Yuan, Mrs. Yuan, and Gou Dan'er were picking up stones by the river.
After they were collected, Yuan's mother transported them back.
When Yuan Shitou went home, he would also help with the transportation.
Some people saw this and asked Yuan's mother and the others, "Why are you picking up these stones?"
Mother Yuan didn't try to hide it, knowing that it would get out sooner or later anyway.
It makes no difference whether you say it sooner or later.
And so the story spread.
Yuan Shitou's family is going to build a new house, and it will be a stone house.
There are all sorts of people in the village; some are envious, some are jealous.
Some people even came to our door to borrow money.
They were thinking that Yuan Shitou's family wanted to build a stone house.
That must have meant they made a lot of money last time they went down the mountain.
In addition, since the Yuan family was easy to talk to, they decided to borrow money from them.
If we can actually borrow the money, we can improve our house.
When the news was first told, Yuan's mother knew that this day would come.
I never expected these people to be so shameless.
They actually treated them like suckers.
Want to borrow money to repair the house? Who do you think is a fool?
If we lend them money to repair their houses, when will they be able to pay it back?
Yun Xiaoxiao told Yuan's mother that when others asked, she should say:
They will prepare the materials themselves, and they will only need to hire people to help them build the stones. It won't cost much.
The family really didn't have much money.
They went down the mountain to sell local produce and made some money.
Isn't this the 20 yuan debt they borrowed before?
Now that I've paid off my debts, I only have twenty or thirty yuan left.
The house needed repairs because their wall was about to collapse.
Otherwise, who would have the spare money to repair a house?
When someone asked again later, Yuan's mother replied with those same words.
And so the word spread among the villagers.
They say Yuan Shitou's family only has twenty or thirty yuan, yet they want to build a stone house? That's just wishful thinking.
Some were quite practical, and they said:
When you're building a house with stones, just call out and they'll come to help.
Some people saw Yuan Min and the others and asked them how much money they got from the last trip down the mountain.
Yuan Min was even more adept at feigning poverty, saying that they had used up all the meat they had prepared for their wedding banquet.
They only sold some dried mushrooms, which cost only a dozen or so yuan.
Although some people don't believe it, they've never been down the mountain and have no idea about the market situation.
No one will go down the mountain to find out.
After all, it's so far away, and they don't have anything to sell, so what's the point of going down there?
Besides, although a road has been carved out, it winds through the mountains.
There must be quite a few wild animals.
They don't have the skill to hunt.
They are completely incapable of dealing with wild animals.
What if I'm unlucky and get eaten by a wild animal?
Yuan Min and Fan Tiesheng heard that Yuan Shitou and the others wanted to repair the house.
They also came to the riverbank to help pick up stones.
Several other families who were on good terms with Yuan Shitou also came with him.
Later, the men all helped quarry the stones.
The rest of the people continued to collect pebbles by the river.
Mother Yuan thought that since so many people had helped pick up the stones, she should at least treat them to a meal!
But those people refused no matter what they said.
They also said that if they ever need to repair their house in the future, they should ask Stone to help.
The village chief also sent some of his sons to help.
He wanted to see how the houses Yuan Shitou and his team had built were.
He'll decide whether to fix it or not then.
I thought it would take a long time to prepare these materials.
Unexpectedly, with the help of so many people, it was prepared in just over ten days.
The next step is to make the tiles.
When everyone learned that Yuan Shitou and his group could also make tiles, they were all very surprised.
I was surprised and curious at the same time.
So everyone started firing tiles again.
Amu also said that if his family were to build a house in the future, he would ask Yuan Shitou to help build the kiln.
Yuan Shitou naturally said no problem.
He's a helpful and generous person.
The brothers have all come to help, so why can't we agree?
Besides, even if they hadn't come to help, he would have agreed to help if they had asked.
Once everything was ready, an auspicious day was chosen, and the old mud-brick house was demolished and rebuilt.
During this time, Yun Xiaoxiao asked Yuan Shitou to build a thatched shed next to her.
As long as it can keep out the rain, that's fine.
More than a dozen people came from the village to help build the house.
They definitely need to provide food.
So Yun Xiaoxiao and Yuan's mother took on the task of cooking.
Of course, Yuan Min also came to help.
Fan's mother was also there.
His daughters-in-law all have to take care of the children and have other things to do at home, so his mother can handle it all.
Actually, cooking for over twenty people was manageable for Xiaoxiao and Yuan's mother alone.
When Yuan Min arrived, they stopped saying anything.
After all, Yuan Min often came to his house, and she had a particularly good relationship with Xiao Xiao.
But when Fan's mother came, they felt a little embarrassed.
But I didn't say anything, after all, they meant well.
As long as it's not about Fan Xiaohua, there's nothing wrong with Fan's mother.
She even had a fight with Yuan's mother over Fan Xiaohua a few days ago.
Now the two of them are acting as if nothing happened, still chatting and laughing.
Sometimes Grandma Yun would come to help, making it quite lively.
The village chief comes to visit almost every day.
It's like being a supervisor.
The structure of the house was drawn by Xiaoxiao.
The main building has seven rooms.
There are two side rooms and one storage room on the left.
There is also a kitchen and a bathroom.
The toilet, also known as the outhouse, is quite large and can be used for showering.
Next to the outhouse is a two-room area that can be used to raise pigs or rabbits.
To the right are rows of open houses.
The starting point is excluding the 3.2-meter-wide gate.
There are spaces on both sides; one side is where calves are kept.
The other side was also empty, with firewood and the like piled up.
The courtyard is in the middle.
When the time comes, we will also need to pave it with pebbles and smooth it with clay and lime.
It couldn't be more convenient to dry grains like this.
It looks really big.
Of course, the foundation is still the old house.
There was absolutely no expansion outwards.
It is evident that the old houses used to occupy a relatively large area.
When they first started digging the foundation, they couldn't figure out what was going on.
When construction began, everyone was surprised.
The design of this house is really good.
Everyone asked Yuan Shitou how he came up with that idea.
Yuan Shitou scratched his head, a simple smile on his face.
"How could I have that ability? This was Xiaoxiao's idea."
Everyone was then surprised to realize that Xiao Xiao was truly hiding her true abilities!
At first, the village chief didn't pay much attention, but the more he looked at it, the more he liked it.
He really wanted a house with that design.
Especially that toilet. It can be flushed clean anytime.
There is a large septic tank outside, which is covered.
When you need to use manure, just move one board aside.
There's no need to expose it to the outside; flies and mosquitoes swarm around it every day.
It's both beautiful and hygienic.
The seven main rooms were all built of stone.
The row of side rooms and kitchen was also made of stone.
The open-air room was entirely made of pebbles.
Some people were curious and asked Yuan Shitou why he built such a wide house when there were only a few people in his family.
Isn't that a waste?
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