One minute this couple is fighting, the next minute that child is being disobedient.
The old woman is going to abuse her daughter-in-law in a little while; that's going to be quite a spectacle.
That day, Bai Xiaoyue went to eat melons as usual. Before she even reached the big locust tree at the edge of the village, she could hear several old women chatting happily from afar.
What kind of nonsense is this about a young widow dying and her husband going back to her parents' home?
What do you mean, "young widow, don't remember things!"
Something about a young widow with a daughter.
Damn it, isn't this a direct attack on me, Bai Xiaoyue? This is intolerable!
Without thinking, Bai Xiaoyue rushed forward and shouted:
“So what if I’m a young widow? Did I eat your rice or drink your water? My husband did sacrifice himself, but he sacrificed himself for the people.”
"You're all gossiping and insulting military families. Believe me, I'll sue you and have you all arrested."
A group of old ladies stared in disbelief, speechless for a long time. Bai Xiaoyue felt it was pointless and stormed home.
After calming down, she realized she had acted impulsively and resolved to think twice before acting in the future.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I heard my aunt and Bai's mother talking.
"Guilan, it's not appropriate for Xiaoyue to have her husband living at home for so long after her death; it's very unlucky!"
"We should hurry up and find her a husband. My nephew isn't married yet; maybe we should let Xiaoyue go on a blind date."
“Sister-in-law, you’ve gone to so much trouble. I’m happy to have my own daughter living at home.”
"It's okay for you, but Wen'an is 16 years old this year. You have to think about him!"
"Xiao An has no objection. Sister-in-law, I know you mean well. Please don't say it again, especially not in front of the children."
"Next time you come over, I won't keep you here today."
Upon hearing what Bai's mother said, Bai Xiaoyue quickly ran away. Only after her aunt left did she slowly walk inside.
He greeted Bai's mother and then went back to his room.
She lives in the new century, embraces new ideas, and is surrounded by only children who often bring their husbands and children to live with their parents.
She didn't expect that this wouldn't be allowed in this era; this is the difference between times and between ideas.
As for marriage, she had absolutely no intention of doing so.
Bai Xiaoyue felt this was an opportunity. She and Chang Le could move out and live freely. How wonderful!
We can build a better toilet and buy more food to store.
Occasionally, you can cook some rice to satisfy your cravings, instead of eating cornbread or sorghum rice every meal.
Upon thinking of this, she immediately perked up.
After much deliberation, she felt that building a house was a very good idea.
During dinner, he mentioned to Bai's parents that he wanted a plot of land to build a house.
Upon hearing this, Bai's mother became anxious:
"My dear daughter, have you heard the rumors going around outside? Don't worry, your parents are here for you."
“Mother, it has nothing to do with outsiders. I just want a house myself. I want to find a plot of land around our house to build it, close to you. I can’t bear to be too far away from you.”
Mr. Bai remained silent until he finished eating and put down his bowl, then he spoke:
"Daughter, have you thought it through? Do you want to build a tiled house or a thatched house?"
Bai Xiaoyue thought to herself, "If it's a thatched hut, then it's a thatched hut. What's the point of calling it a 'shān fāng' (艫房)?"
Thinking about the long and arduous years ahead, it's better to keep a low profile: "Let's just build a thatched house, and save some money."
Mr. Bai nodded: "I'll go talk to the village secretary about this tomorrow."
The village party secretary is your uncle, and the deputy party secretary is Ye Jianguo from the Ye family, who is Jianhua's uncle's son. This isn't difficult."
Soft whispers could be heard intermittently from Ye's parents' room that night, until Bai Xiaoyue fell asleep.
The next morning, Bai's father went to see Bai's uncle and got news about building the house.
Uncle Bai said that it's not cost-effective to find a new foundation to rebuild. There are several uninhabited courtyards in the village that belong to the village and can be purchased.
Bai's father led Bai Xiaoyue to look at several courtyards. They were all abandoned houses that had been uninhabited for many years and would require a lot of effort to renovate before they could be lived in.
The prices for the different courtyards are also different: 30 yuan, 40 yuan, and there's one that costs 60 yuan.
This courtyard, which costs 60 yuan, is the closest to the Bai family's house. It's right next to their house, and the house itself is quite dilapidated.
Bai Xiaoyue was puzzled:
"Dad, these are all dilapidated courtyards, why is this one so expensive?"
"This house has been uninhabited for many years. A family of three came here to settle down after fleeing famine due to drought."
Not long after settling down, my son went off to fight in the war and never came back.
Later, the elderly couple heard from others that their son had died in battle. The old man was so anxious that he died on the spot, and the old woman also passed away not long after.
His family fled famine and had no relatives, so the house belonged to the village. The house was expensive because there was a well in the yard.
"What? There's a well? I thought wells were only found at the beginning and end of the village, and that some people even had wells in their homes?"
“My dear daughter, you’ve just forgotten that some families in the village have wells. Your uncle’s family has a well, which was dug when your grandfather was still alive.”
"Then what about our family..." Before she could finish, Bai Xiaoyue knew she shouldn't have asked.
Mr. Bai scratched his head and said with a smile:
“When your brother graduates, we’ll have a go too.”
"Dad, I'll buy this courtyard. We can open a gate in the middle of the wall so you won't have to go to the village entrance to fetch water anymore," Bai Xiaoyue said, tugging at her father's arm.
"It's good, but it costs 60 yuan, and we also need to clean the house. It's quite an expense." Thinking about how much money it would cost, Mr. Bai hesitated again.
"Dad, let's buy this one. I want to be closer to you and Mom. Those other courtyards are so far away, it's not safe for them."
That night, Bai Xiaoyue listened to her parents whispering to each other for half the night.
Parents can never win against their children, and the house was eventually bought.
Bai Xiaoyue spent 60 yuan to get a piece of paper and a few dilapidated thatched huts.
The yard is quite large; you can grow vegetables in both the front and back yards.
The kitchen is right inside the main house entrance, with the stove connected to the kang (heated brick bed) in the inner room, and a thick fire wall in the middle.
There was another kang (heated brick bed) in the other room, next to which was the woodshed, and there was a dry toilet in the back corner of the house.
The house layout is decent; the lower half of the adobe walls is made of stone, and the interior is paved with stone slabs. The foundation is also solid. However, the purlins and rafters on the roof all need to be replaced.
Bai Xiaoyue carefully examined the house's layout, made some reasonable plans, and said to her father:
"Father, only the foundation is usable."
"Adobe bricks, thatched roofs, and timber—many families in the village have them. I'll get them ready and build it for you as soon as possible."
"Dad, I want to renovate the dry toilet. Please prepare more thin stones for me."
"Divide a small room of a few square meters into the woodshed near the back wall, and raise the floor by 40 centimeters."
Bai Xiaoyue thought to herself, "Raise the ground, lay stone slabs on it, and then build a 20-centimeter-wide, sloping groove with stones, and go out through the back wall."
From now on, you can squat steadily when using the toilet, and even little Chang Le won't be afraid. You can cover it with the lid when not in use.
Without water pipes or cement, they used thin stone slabs, neatly inlaid, to create a small ditch that led all the way to the dry toilet.
Then, cover it with a stone slab, and you can take a bath and use the toilet at home.
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