Chapter 13: Building a House

"Daqing, thank you for today; otherwise, we would have been at a loss."

"Hey, brother, you're being too formal by saying that."

"That settles it, then. Once Ping'an finishes building the house, we'll have a proper drink."

"Sounds good."

Upon returning home, Lao Jia asked Zhang Xiaohua to take out the family's savings.

"Xiaohua, take the money Ping'an gave you before, add a little more, and give it to Ping'an tomorrow. He's spent quite a lot buying land and building this house."

"Alright."

At five o'clock the next morning, Zhang Ping'an went to the kitchen to simmer the porridge; by the time he finished his stretches and exercises, the porridge was just about ready.

On his way back, he passed a place selling steamed buns and bought ten large buns and ten fried dough sticks, which made Yan Bugui shake his head incessantly.

This old geezer gets up so early!

Zhang Ping'an had assumed that since it wasn't even six o'clock, no one in the courtyard would be up, but he didn't expect to run into this old geezer the moment he stepped into the Front Courtyard.

"Ping'an, what kind of family fortune do you have that can withstand you squandering it like that?"

"Selling fish."

"You..." Yan Bugui was left speechless and frustrated.

"Hahaha, Teacher Yan, don't mind me, I was just joking. Don't forget to help me ask about the registration situation today."

"Hmph, I won't forget."

Zhang Ping'an returned to the Middle Courtyard feeling refreshed and called his nephew to get up for his training. This was his third time teaching Jia Dongxu to exercise, and he had only just barely managed to get him to perform the third movement correctly.

"Dongxu, get up and exercise."

"Uncle, what time is it?"

"It's six o'clock. I've already finished my workout and come back."

"Alright." Jia Dongxu washed his face.

"Come on, let's start with stretches."

Half an hour later, Jia Dongxu, drenched in sweat, was panting "huff, huff" and lying on the ground in a sprawl.

"Drink the water, then hurry inside to mix in some hot water and wipe yourself down with a towel."

"Okay." Jia Dongxu drank the Space Water in one gulp and regained his strength.

By this time, Lao Jia and Zhang Xiaohua were also up. They were used to it by now, knowing that Zhang Ping'an was doing it for Dongxu's own good.

"Ping'an, where do you get so much energy every day?"

"Hehe, I'm used to it. I was like this back home."

"Lao Jia, it's not like you don't know—Ping'an is a little monkey; he used to run wild all over the mountains back home every day."

"Hahaha, that's true."

Lao Jia also recalled how Zhang Ping'an used to get into trouble everywhere when he was a child, and how often it was his brothers-in-law who had to help resolve things.

"San Jie, San Jie Fu, let's not talk about my childhood; I was just ignorant back then."

"Alright, alright, we won't mention it. Let's eat, let's eat." Lao Jia saw that Jia Dongxu had finished washing up and was coming over.

"Ping'an, Master Lei will probably be here in a bit. Do you need me to stay here with you?"

"No need, San Jie Fu, you go to work."

"Alright then." He also knew that Zhang Ping'an was someone with his own plans.

At nine in the morning, Master Lei and his son arrived with their tools.

"Lao Lei is here, Ping'an?"

"Mm."

"He's here, he's here."

"Brother He, you didn't go to work?"

"I'm not in a rush; as long as I make it back for lunch, it'll be fine."

"Oh, oh, oh." This old geezer really is lucky, being able to sleep until he wakes up naturally even while having a job.

"Master Lei, over here."

"Alright."

The father and son began measuring with their rulers, writing and drawing in a notebook as they went. Before long, a rough sketch was finished.

"Young Master, take a look. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."

"Alright."

Zhang Ping'an took it and looked: it was a layout of five main rooms, with Ear Room designs included, and three rooms each for the East Wing Room and West Wing Room, also with attached Ear Rooms. The dimensions were clearly marked, and in the corner, there were even two dry toilets labeled for men and women.

"Very good, Master Lei, let's go with this. However, I want to use the South Ear Room of the West Wing Room as a bathroom, and add a basement to the East Wing Room. As for the dry toilets, do you have those porcelain ones that flush with water?" Zhang Ping'an couldn't describe it for a moment and had to use body language instead.

Because the Ear Rooms had flat roofs, he could put a large barrel up there later and paint it black; it could perfectly serve as solar heating.

"Mm~ these are no problem. I understand what you mean about the dry toilet; I'll try my best to find one for you. Do you want new bricks or old bricks?"

"Old bricks?"

"I mean city wall bricks. They're sturdy and durable, more than enough for building a house. If you have time, you can go pick them out yourself, or pay a bit of money and we can do it."

"Let's use old bricks. Leave professional matters to the professionals; I'll leave it all to you."

"Done. What about the furniture?"

"You handle everything."

"Alright, I'll give you a rough price estimate."

"Good."

"One million for a main room, five hundred thousand for a wing room; the Ear Rooms are included as a bonus. As for the furniture—tables, chairs, and benches—that will depend on the materials."

"If we don't count the furniture, eight million."

"Fine, for the furniture, just use sour jujube wood or something similar. I don't know much about it, as long as it's sturdy, durable, and doesn't crack, that's fine. You arrange it as you see fit."

"By the way, make all the beds in the bedrooms into heated brick beds; that stuff is less trouble and saves peace of mind."

"Done. I'll go back and pick an auspicious day to start work. We'll need you to provide one meal at noon every day while we're working. It doesn't have to be too fancy, just enough to be full. You should also provide the material costs so we can go purchase them."

"Done, no problem." Zhang Ping'an took five million from his satchel and handed it over; he believed that Style Lei would not do anything to ruin their reputation.

"You're generous." Style Lei had originally intended to ask for one or two million, which would have been about right, but he hadn't expected five million. He then efficiently wrote out a receipt and handed it back.

"Done, then we'll head back first. Tomorrow I will have Xiao Lei come over to notify you of the specific start time."

"Good."

In two days, he had spent nearly ten million. This suddenly sent Zhang Ping'an back to the pre-liberation era; he had less than five million left in his hands. Once he received the notification from Xiao Lei tomorrow, he would have to go fishing to save up money.

The fish in the Space Pond were exceptionally delicious. When they multiplied too much, he put them all into the Thatched Cottage. He couldn't bear to sell them; he had to keep them for his own family to eat. If they couldn't finish them, he would just hoard them and wait until after the Reform and Opening-up to sell them at a high price.

"San Jie, I'm going out to fish. I won't be back for lunch."

"Alright, be careful by the river."

"Mm, okay."

Zhang Ping'an carried his bucket and sack to Shichahai. First, he collected quite a bit of silt by the river; he planned to go and dig out all the boxes in the courtyard pond that night.

The lotus roots from last time had already bloomed in the Space Pond. He didn't know what variety they were, but they were quite pretty. Now, a large patch had grown in the Space Pond, and he had hoarded quite a lot of lotus flowers, Lotus Seeds, and lotus roots.

He fished from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, a full six hours. He didn't even eat, and his bucket and sack were already full. There was also a pile in the space, totaling about three hundred jin or so.

Just as Zhang Ping'an was preparing to pack up his rod and sell the fish, Yan Bugui came over carrying a bucket.

"Hey, Ping'an, what a coincidence. Are you leaving? Just in time for me to take over."

"Mm, I was just about to leave. Teacher Yan, are you signing up?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. After the summer vacation, just take the household registration documents and go. As for the specific grade, that will have to wait until after you've taken the test."

"Done, many thanks, Teacher Yan. Then you go ahead and fish, I'm heading back."

"Good, good, good." Yan Bugui watched Zhang Ping'an with another bucket and another sack, feeling envious. Could this kid be the son-in-law of the Dragon King? He had a harvest every single time.

Yan Bugui shook his head, dispelling his miscellaneous thoughts, and began to focus on fishing. Zhang Ping'an went to his usual spot to set up his stall.

"Fresh fish, fresh fish, lively and jumping fresh fish!"

"I'll take them all."

"....."

"Little brother, give me five crucian carp."

"Give me..."

There were many fish this time, and Zhang Ping'an's sack seemed inexhaustible. It wasn't until he had sold all three hundred jin from the space that the fish in the sack began to decrease.

"Little brother, it would be great if you had this amount every day."

"Yeah, it was hard to buy any today."

"Sure, I'm quite free for the next few days, so I should have about this amount every day."

"Good."

When the crowd had mostly dispersed, another person who looked like a purchaser from a factory came over.

"I'll take everything that's left."

"Alrighty."

"Little brother, if you have fish in the future, you can send two or three hundred jin to the Rolling Mill every day."

"That's not a big problem. Big brother, are you guys still hiring?"

"Hahaha, we are! Our Procurement Section is short of people, but you have to have connections and skills."

"Can someone like me do?"

"Sure, if you can provide three to five hundred jin of fresh fish every day, I'll put in a word for you at the factory."