Chapter 92: Golden Light Bathes the New Home Courtyard, and the Good Days Finally Begin!

On the day the foundation was finally completed, the whole Shanwan village seemed to smell the meat aroma drifting from Lu Qingshan's house.

He specially asked Liu Hua Qiang to bring back from the county a plump, robust fat sheep, and set up a big pot beside the newly dug foundation.

The lamb stew bubbled and boiled, its dominant fragrance piercing every nose.

A few highly respected elders in the village, together with all the strong laborers who had ever exerted great force, were invited over by Lu Qingshan.

"Come, come, come, don't be polite; today the meat is plenty, the wine is abundant!"

Lu Qingshan personally poured wine for Zhao Yongnian and Zhao Dazhi.

The makeshift tables set up in the courtyard were filled with people; Zhao Qiang, that youngster, his face flushed from drinking, holding a huge bowl, shouted excitedly, "Brother Qingshan, the way you laid the foundation looks more meticulous than the methods used in the county to build officials' houses! It's solid as rock!"

These past few days, he followed Lu Qingshan and secretly learned many tricks, feeling greatly benefited.

Lu Qingshan laughed, patting his shoulder, his voice booming: "A house, like a person, needs a stable foundation! Mastery of the craft becomes one's own once learned, and from now on, this house‑building skill will only become more in demand!"

When those words were spoken, many young people nodded silently, their gazes toward Lu Qingshan gaining extra respect.

Day by day, with the villagers' support, the Lu Family's new house's blue‑brick walls rose rapidly like spring bamboo shoots after rain.

Those blue bricks were specially ordered by Lu Qingshan from Chen Zhiguo, who sourced them from the county's best brick kiln; they are sturdy and fire‑resistant.

The red tiles were also carefully selected premium goods.

The outline of the new house became clearer each day, and under the brilliant May sunshine, the combination of blue bricks and red tiles looked especially striking and majestic.

This spectacle was a first in Shanwan village.

Almost every day, villagers would deliberately take a detour to catch a glimpse, then gather under the tree at the village entrance, puffing dry tobacco and chatting animatedly.

"Goodness, this house is built with more splendor than the officials' courtyards in town!"

"The Lu Family is really rising this time; who could have imagined that Lu the Lame would achieve such success today."

An old man was full of emotion; besides surprise, his tone carried unabashed envy.

These words reached Lin Yue'e's ears to some extent; she merely gave a faint smile, yet her heart felt more soothed than anyone's.

She had completely changed, no longer the previously meek, down‑cast, timid, hard‑up woman.

Now she wore a new patchwork floral shirt that Lu Qingshan had hauled back from the county, her hair neatly combed and tied at the back with a red hair tie, her face bearing a brightness and calm she seldom had before.

She often brought Xiao Xue to the bustling construction site, speaking little, merely watching her husband calmly direct, occasionally joining the work himself, or, when everyone rested, timely offering chilled tea and homemade coarse‑grain biscuits.

"Below the foundation, I followed my mother's words and secretly buried a few copper coins and a handful of grains."

One evening, Lin Yue'e took advantage of the few people around and quietly said to Lu Qingshan, a hint of shyness and solemnity on her face.

"My mother says this is called a 'Wealth Vault', which can bless our family with ever‑flourishing days and abundant descendants."

Lu Qingshan heard this and felt an instant warmth in his heart.

He knew this was his wife's simplest and most sincere hope for their home.

He grasped Lin Yue'e's slightly rough hand, feeling the warmth of her palm, his gaze steady and gentle: "Yue E, you did right. This house, I promise you, will not only be the best in the village but also our stable foundation! Rest assured, those hard days are over. From now on, prosperity will grow like sesame blossoms, ever better!"

The day the main beam was installed, the celebration was extraordinarily lively, comparable to New Year.

According to the old village custom, installing the beam is the most crucial part of building a house; the village's most skilled and luckiest carpenter must personally place the beam, hang red silk on it, recite auspicious words, and toss candy buns below, all for good fortune.

Zhao Laonian stepped up without hesitation.

Although his main trade is stonemasonry, he had learned carpentry for several years from the master when he was young, and his skill is also counted among the best in the village.

At this moment, he wore a brand‑new blue cotton jacket, his face flushed red, stepping onto the freshly erected main beam of the house, like a victorious general.

He cleared his throat, raising his booming voice, and shouted in a thick Northeastern accent:

"Auspicious day and good time, joy upon the beam—! Golden beams and jade pillars in two rows—!"

"In front, a lucky star shines high—! Behind, the wealth god steadily supports—!"

"The Lu Family's new residence stands proud—! Descendants fill the hall with long blessings and longevity—!"

"First scatter gold, then silver, then the Lu Family's talented ones—!"

"A hundred‑year family business rises from now—! Wealth and honor flourish for ten thousand years—!"

"Rise—!"

"Good!"

The villagers watching below erupted in thunderous cheers.

The children, as if given a command, swarmed forward, crazily snatching the sugar pieces, red dates, and fragrant little buns scattered from the beam like a fairy sprinkling flowers.

Lu Qingshan laughed, pulling a thick red envelope he had prepared from his pocket, and handed it to Zhao Laonian with both hands: "Uncle Laonian, thank you for your hard work! Great luck and great profit!"

"You're welcome! You're welcome! Qingshan, this house will keep prosperity for three generations!"

Zhao Laonian took the red envelope, grinning so broadly his mouth couldn't close.

More than a month later, after tense yet orderly construction, the whole house finally took complete shape.

The walls built of blue bricks were solid and thick, and the red tiles glittered in the sunlight.

The front row comprised three spacious, bright main rooms, with two side wings on each side, forming a standard three‑courtyard layout.

The courtyard was paved with blue stone slabs, clean and spacious.

The back courtyard, according to Lu Qingshan's plan, reserved space for a pig pen and a chicken coop.

"Mother! Mother! This is my room! This is my room!"

The house had just been completed, not yet fully cleaned, when Xiao Xue broke free from Lin Yue'e's hand, darting around the new home like a lively little bird, her crisp laughter echoing through the spacious rooms.

She pointed with her tiny hand at a room in the western wing, her innocent face radiating pure joy and anticipation.

Lin Yue'e stood in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the brand‑new majestic roof, watching her daughter's joyful figure, her eyes involuntarily reddening.

After so many years of marriage, she never dreamed that she could live in such a fine house in her lifetime—a truly her own, stable home.

"Wife, look, what does this house still lack? What is unsatisfactory?"

Lu Qingshan walked to her side, his voice gentle.

Lin Yue'e slowly shook her head, the corners of her eyes and eyebrows bearing a satisfied smile, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible choke: "It's not lacking any more; it's already wonderful, far better than I imagined... much, much better."

Once the walls are repainted next month, and we open it up for a few days to let the dampness dissipate, we can move in.

Lu Qingshan looked around the courtyard he had poured countless efforts into, and his mind already began to map out the future living scenes.

The three rooms of the main house, the middle one will be the main hall, with an Eight Immortals table and a master's chair for receiving guests.

The large room on the east side, the two of us will live there, more spacious. The room on the west side will be Xiao Xue's bedroom, giving her her own little world, with a small bed and a little desk.

The remaining two rooms: one will be kept as a guest room, so if our parents or anyone from your Maternal Home comes, there will be a place to stay and avoid crowding.

And another will serve as the kitchen and dining hall, storing some miscellaneous supplies and food, and the household's hunting gear will have a proper place.

Qing Shan…

Lin Yue'e watched her husband's serious profile, wanting to speak but holding back.

She had so much to say—thanks, disbelief—but when the words reached her lips, she didn't know where to begin.

The man who had once driven her to despair, who made her weep every night, had truly changed, becoming someone she found unfamiliar yet immensely reassuring.

Lu Qingshan seemed to understand what she was thinking, gently draping an arm over his wife's shoulders, his gaze deep as he looked toward the towering, rolling mountains beyond the courtyard wall.

Yue E, don't overthink it. Our good days have only just begun. In the future, they'll be even better.

In the northern evening, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the Lu Family's new residence—its red tiles and blue bricks—with a warm golden sheen.

Jin Hu swished his tail, majestically lying beneath the freshly laid courtyard wall, vigilantly patrolling his new territory, and occasionally nudging Lu Qingshan's trouser leg with his big head, as if sharing genuine joy for the family's new beginning.

Lu Qingshan turned around and saw Lin Yue'e cradling Xiao Xue at the threshold of the new house, the soft sunset light outlining a warm silhouette of mother and daughter, while the surroundings seemed cloaked in a hazy, gentle glow.

He vividly recalled his past life, when he was destitute and miserable, holed up in that dilapidated little dark room, weeping alone against the empty walls in utter despair.

Looking at the scene before him now, it felt like another world, yet strikingly real.

He strode toward his wife and daughter.

Isn't the purpose of rebirth to protect all of this?