Chapter 393

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

At night, Chai Mi was at home organizing the incense, candles, spirit money, eggs, and baijiu she had bought with Su Wan when Song Qingshan came strolling over with his hands behind his back.

"Chai Mi, are you home?" Song Qingshan called out loudly.

"Uncle Song is here? Come in and sit down quickly." Chai Mi greeted him.

"No sitting, no sitting." Song Qingshan waved his hand, "I have something to tell you. Regarding the red pine purlins you asked me to inquire about, I've found some. Old Wang's family in Shuichuan has stock, genuine red pine from the Daxinganling, dried for five or six years, stable quality, guaranteed not to warp or crack! The thickness is sufficient too, perfect for purlins!"

Chai Mi was delighted: "Great, Uncle Song! What's the price?"

Song Qingshan held up three fingers, then bent one: "Thirty-five yuan each. To be honest, that's not cheap. If you used local poplar or miscellaneous wood, it would be more than half cheaper. But this red pine is truly good; build a house once, and the purlins will last a lifetime! I estimate that for three houses, if the ridge isn't too high, twenty-something pieces should be enough."

"Alright! Uncle Song, I want this red pine!" Chai Mi decisively agreed, "Twenty-four pieces! Let me know when you're convenient, and take me to see them? Or you can just reserve them for me, and in a couple of days I'll have Da Zhi drive a vehicle to haul them back. I'll give you the money now."

Seeing Chai Mi so straightforward, Song Qingshan was also happy: "I knew you, young lady, have a good eye! Don't worry, I've inspected the wood; every piece is good timber! Tomorrow, we'll both go there once, and have them deliver it back to you! The money isn't urgent; just pay him after it's hauled back."

"Alright! Then thank you, Uncle Song!" Chai Mi said gratefully.

After seeing Song Qingshan off, a big stone in Chai Mi's heart was put down a bit more. Bricks, sand, stones, purlin wood—the main large materials were basically secured, and the prices were all within budget.

Early the next morning, Da Zhi came very early with a tractor, preparing to haul Chai Youqing to the mountain to get stones. The two sons of neighbor Liu Chunren had also been called by Chai Mi early to help with the work, and they all went to the mountain to move stones together.

Liu Chunren's two sons, Liu Chengjie and Liu Chenglei, were both sturdy young men with broad shoulders and thick waists, already waiting aside, holding pickaxes and crowbars.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, you've worked hard! The wind on the mountain is biting, eat something to fill your stomachs. Just pick stones that are sturdy and usable; similar sizes are fine, don't be too greedy for big ones and hurt your back. Da Zhi, look after them more. My father... you understand."

Da Zhi grinned: "Don't worry, Chai Mi! I'm here! Uncle, Chengjie, Chenglei, get on the vehicle, we'll go early and return early!"

After seeing off the stone-hauling group, Chai Mi went back to the house and drank some water. Song Qingshan and his daughter Song Qiushui had also arrived. Song Qiushui was obviously just dragged out of bed by her old man, her hair still messy, wrapped in a thick jacket, yawning incessantly.

"Chai Mi... can we go later? The chickens haven't even crowed yet..." Song Qiushui's eyelids were almost sticking together.

"What later? Shuichuan is so far away; if we don't go early, the whole day will be spent on the road!" Song Qingshan glared at his daughter, then turned to Chai Mi, "Chai Mi, is everything packed? Shall we go now?"

"Yes, Uncle Song, let's go." Chai Mi picked up the cloth bag containing the money and locked the door.

The three got on the donkey cart driven by Song Qingshan.

The donkey cart slowly drove out of the village; when the chilly morning wind blew, Song Qiushui finally became a bit more spirited.

Chatting and laughing, the donkey cart traveled for nearly two hours, finally arriving at Shuichuan Village. Old Wang's home was on a slope, with a huge courtyard piled with all kinds of timber, and the air was filled with the fresh scent unique to pine wood.

Old Wang was a lean old man; several family members and his nephew operated this place together.

They mainly processed some timber, broken boards and such materials, and also sold wood themselves, but the profit margin on selling wood wasn't large; they mainly made money from finished products like windows, doors, tables, and stools.

Carpentry was their main business, selling things was their side business.

Old Wangtou saw Song Qingshan and warmly greeted him.

"Old Song, you're here! Is this the Chai Miss you mentioned? Our goods, I've kept them for you; they won't go bad even after years of use, all good pine from the Daxinganling!" Old Wang led them to a stack of neatly arranged, perfectly straight red pine wood.

The timber was dark red, with clear and beautiful grain, the surface dry and smooth; at a glance, it was good material stored for many years.

Chai Mi stepped forward and examined it carefully.

"The material is not bad." Chai Mi praised sincerely, "Just as Uncle Song said yesterday, twenty-four pieces."

"Alright! The young lady has a good eye!" Old Wang was very happy to meet a straightforward person, "This material has been stored for five or six years, thoroughly dried, guaranteed to make you feel at ease using it! The ones I picked for you are uniform in thickness, without scars or cracks!"

Song Qiushui walked around the wood twice, reached out and touched the smooth wooden surface, but couldn't see anything special: "It's just wood, why make it so expensive?"

"I won't haggle with you on that, but you have to deliver it to my home; otherwise, we can't haul it ourselves." Chai Mi said.

Old Wang wasn't pretentious either; he directly had two workers help load it onto a three-wheeler.

Chai Mi happily counted out the money for Old Wang.

On the way back, Song Qingshu drove the donkey cart back himself.

Chai Mi and Song Qiushui directly sat on the three-wheeler carrying the wood to go back.

On the way back, Song Qiushui sat on the high pile of purlin wood, swinging her two legs, looking at the scenery by the road, and began to indulge in wild fantasies again: "Chai Mi, do you think if this wood could talk, how much fuel money would it cost to bring it from such a faraway place as the Daxinganling? I heard the Daxinganling side is all big forests; if we had a large forest or something, wouldn't we make a ton of money?"

Chai Mi couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Song Qiushui, narrowing her eyes to rest: "Got up early, sleepy."

Song Qiushui pouted, "Chai Mi, I'm asking you something?"

Chai Mi: "Fell asleep."

At home, Su Wan was even busier, not touching the ground.

She knew there were many people working today, and all doing heavy labor.

The fire in the big stove never went out; rice and steamed buns.

She also specially scooped out a small jar of mustard tubers pickled in autumn, cut them into fine shreds, and mixed them with sesame oil and chili oil—sour, crisp, and refreshing, perfect for going with rice.

While cooking, she counted the number of people: Da Zhi, Chengjie, Chenglei, Chai Youqing, Song Qingshan, Song Qiushui, Chai Mi, plus herself and a few young ones, over ten mouths. She lifted the pot lid to check, then added a handful of salt to the stewed meat pot, muttering to herself: "These half-grown kids, they'll eat me out of house and home... the meat might not be enough; if the steamed buns aren't enough, steam another pot..."

Just as she was busy, the roar of a tractor came from outside the door.

Su Wan quickly wiped her hands and went out to welcome them. Only to see Da Zhi's tractor stopped outside the courtyard, the truck bed full of blue stones.

Liu Chengjie and Liu Chenglei jumped off the vehicle, Chai Youqing followed behind, his steps a bit unsteady.

"Oh, you're finally back! Quick, quick, go inside and wash your faces, the meal will be ready soon!" Su Wan greeted them, "Just leave the stones there, you've worked hard! Chengjie, Chenglei, are you exhausted?"

"It's alright, Auntie!" Liu Chenglei smiled honestly, "It's all manual labor."

Not long after, Song Qingshan's donkey cart also returned.

Behind, the high pile of red pine purlins on the three-wheeler was especially eye-catching. Chai Mi and Song Qiushui jumped off the vehicle; Song Qiushui exaggeratedly stretched: "Oh my god, we're finally home! My butt is numb from sitting!"

Afterwards, everyone helped unload the vehicle; with many people, unloading was quick.