Chapter 65: Six-Zero Farm System (31)

Upon seeing the Brigade Leader, Xie Yang got straight to the point:

"Brigade Leader, the stone house for Song Shuhe and his grandson is almost finished, but there is a difficulty now. There is no wood to make windows and doors, and the thatch for the roof lacks supporting rafters. The commune members are unwilling to lend any wood. But if I wait for the wood I cut to air-dry, I fear the old pig pen will be eaten through by termites and collapse before then."

Brigade Leader: "..."

That really was a problem.

But since the commune members were unwilling to lend wood, he could not force them.

"Is there not a single usable wooden rafter in the old pig pen? Have they all been eaten by termites?"

Xie Yang's eyes lit up: "Can we tear down the old pig pen? If so, we could surely find a few usable ones. It's just that if we do that, Song Shuhe and his grandson won't be able to continue living there..."

The Brigade Leader said irritably: "There is a side room behind the brigade headquarters that is temporarily empty. Let them stay there as a transition for a few days."

Xie Yang put on an expression of feigned heartache: "That's too good for them!"

Brigade Leader: "..."

Pretend! Keep pretending!

Xie Yang chuckled, stuffed the Economic Cigarettes into the Brigade Leader's hand, and ran off to help the grandfather and grandson tidy up the empty side room behind the brigade headquarters.

Once Song Shuhe and his grandson moved out of the dangerous building, Xie Yang kicked the old pig pen until it collapsed.

She picked and chose a few wooden rafters that hadn't been settled in by termites, and borrowed a saw from the brigade's old carpenter for a pack of Economic Cigarettes.

At this moment, the value of Economic Cigarettes was reflected.

Xie Yang asked the Main System why she couldn't find this type of cigarette in the "Limited Time Purchase" column.

Main System: 【Cigarettes that are too inferior have no production value.】

Xie Yang: "..."

Forget it, she would write a letter to her cheap father later and ask if he could still get some.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to give away the high-quality cigarettes from the System Mall, but that even if she gave them away, others might not dare to accept them.

The old carpenter received a pack of Economic Cigarettes and, without a word, lent her the saw and even helped sharpen the saw blade.

Holding the saw, she made modifications and barely managed to piece together the support frame needed for the thatched roof.

As for the doors and windows, the original ones from the old pig pen could barely be used, so they would make do for now. Later, when the wood she cut had air-dried, she would find time to make a new set and replace them. There was no rush for that.

One week later, the stone house was completely finished.

Song Shuhe and his grandson hurried to move into their new home before the next rainy season arrived.

These days, they worked at the Pig Pen during the day and only returned to the brigade headquarters to rest at night, so they knew the progress of the stone house better than anyone.

But when they actually moved in, they discovered that this small stone house was more practical and cozy than they had seen.

Although the doors and windows were old, they had been sanded down again and carefully coated with boiled tung oil to be waterproof, anti-termite, and anti-corrosive.

The furniture in the house was made from scraps of wood, but it was also sanded smooth and coated with boiled tung oil.

There were two rooms: one was the bedroom where the grandfather and grandson slept, and the other was a kitchen that doubled as a dining and living room.

The bed in the bedroom also had adobe bed legs and a wooden bed surface, with clean straw and reed mats spread on the bed boards; once the bedding was laid out, they could sleep.

On the wall of the dining and living room, a set of shelves had been embedded using some method, which could hold bottles and jars of food to prevent them from being stolen by rats.

The earthen stove in the kitchen had two stove eyes, one large and one small. The large eye was used for the Iron Pot, and the small eye was just the right size to embed a clay pot for stewing.

For now, the grandfather and grandson couldn't afford an Iron Pot, so they could manage with the clay pot for their three daily meals.

Looking outside the stone house, the back door led to the foot of Banyue Mountain, making it extremely convenient to go up and down the mountain.

A small courtyard was enclosed with a fence in front of the house, and a vegetable patch had been opened, already sown with seasonal vegetable seeds.

Although they couldn't be completely self-sufficient, if they ate sparingly and occasionally went into the mountains to dig for wild vegetables and pick mushrooms, it would be enough for the two of them.

"Grandfather, look!"

Song Mingyu discovered a familiar small sack on the chimney ledge in the kitchen. When he opened it, it was actually a strip of smoked pork belly and a dried Fish weighing three or four catties!

Attached to the smoky-colored pork belly was a note, written in charcoal: Wishing Lao Song and Song a happy move to your new home! May good things come in pairs! May you have abundance every year!

Grandfather and grandson: "..."

Lao Song was so moved that his eyes turned red.

Song secretly swore in his heart: He would definitely repay her kindness twofold in the future.

"Achoo—"

Xie Yang was walking on the road back to the Youth Hostel when she was provoked by the evening breeze mixed with misty rain and let out a sneeze.

She stopped, took out a handkerchief to blow her nose, and looked back at the stone house in the twilight.

Envious, so envious!

She also really wanted to have an independent house with a courtyard!

This spring rain drizzled on and off for a good half a month.

Because the rain wasn't heavy, they couldn't huddle in the dormitory and skip work like they could during a downpour; they still had to go to work during the intermittent light rain.

But there wasn't much work; at least watering was saved, and loosening the soil wasn't needed for the time being.

Wearing bamboo hats, they patrolled the fields, pulled weeds, quickly removed aphids and insect eggs, and propped up the fallen crops with thin bamboo poles.

Compared to the labor intensity during spring plowing, this was already quite leisurely.

But Zhao Wanqing still kept yawning all day long. Seeing this, Yang Qingqing was extremely puzzled: "Wanqing, is your body really alright?"

The two had been in a cold war for nearly ten days and had recently reconciled.

However, since there had been a rift, even though they had reconciled, they couldn't return to the intimate "good sister" state they had before. But they still maintained a very good surface harmony.

"I'm fine."

Zhao Wanqing waved her hand, propped her chin on her hand, and gazed at the hazy Yuewan Lake in the rain and mist, as if asking Yang Qingqing, or perhaps talking to herself:

"I want to go to the Commune. If I go to ask the Brigade Leader for leave, will he approve it?"

The radishes in the Farm Space were ready for harvest; yesterday she sold half to the system and kept the other half, planning to take them to the black market to exchange for money.

But in just a few days it would be the Grain in Ear solar term, and the summer harvest was imminent; she heard the Brigade Leader was already preparing to convene a summer harvest mobilization meeting. If she went to ask for leave at this point, would the Brigade Leader agree?

Yang Qingqing said, "Wanqing, do you want to go to the Commune? I want to go too. My brother got married on Labor Day, and I didn't send money back, so my family must be cursing me! I'm actually quite curious to see how they cursed me in their letter. Shall we go together to ask the Brigade Leader for leave?"

Zhao Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then got up and followed Yang Qingqing to the brigade headquarters to ask for leave.

"Yang Yang, do you want to go to the Commune too?"

Seeing Xie Yang lost in thought as she closely followed the receding figures of Zhao Wanqing and the other, Lai Zhaodi said:

"Then shall I accompany you to ask for leave? I think the Brigade Leader should still approve leave these two days. It's hard to say once the weather clears up. Perhaps he won't be willing to give us leave until the summer harvest is over."

Xie Yang nodded; since Zhao Wanqing was leaving the brigade, she definitely had to follow and see.

"What about you, Zhaodi? Not going to the Commune?"

"I'll pass," Lai Zhaodi shook her head. "My family won't write to me unless there's something wrong. As for the postage for a letter, they'd rather buy two hard candies for my younger brother."

Xie Yang opened her palm and smiled, gesturing toward her: "Take it! What's so special about hard candy? If we're going to eat some, we'll eat milk candy."

Lai Zhaodi chuckled, though the corners of her eyes were a little damp.