Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 294 Big House

As it turns out, no matter how many people there are, only a few can actually do the work.

Chen Fan originally thought that with so many people helping out, the house would be completed in two or three days at most.

However, there were only a few master bricklayers. Even with a dozen or so apprentices working together and dozens of helpers, it still took 10 days to complete the initial construction of the house.

It's described as preliminary because the fermented soil used to coat the exterior walls is still fermenting in the pit, and there's no sign of a kitchen or dining room yet. Currently, only the main house has been built.

In front of the unfinished house, people stood in twos and threes on the threshing floor, watching the carpenters lead their apprentices to install doors and windows, while the bricklayers laid the remaining ceramic tile flooring.

The pottery shards were naturally fired by Chen Fan himself; since there were no ceramic tiles, he used pottery shards instead.

There are now only about 50 people left here. The team originally consisted of more than 130 people, but after the basic construction was completed, it was reduced by half, and several more left later.

It wasn't that they had other things to do, but rather that they wanted to reduce Chen Fan's burden.

Working here, you get three meals a day. Breakfast is fine; whether it's vegetable and egg noodles or porridge with steamed buns or mantou, it doesn't cost much. The main problem is that the two main meals are a bit excessive.

When other families provide meals, they might use half a chicken, a few ounces of meat, and plenty of vegetables to make a good meal.

Chen Fan, however, instructed Liu Jujiang to serve a whole chicken, along with a fish and half a pound of meat.

The meat was bought from Master Zhu at the food station; we even borrowed the meat coupons from him first, and will pay him back later. Chickens are easy to find; our team can catch them freely. We've been receiving batches of chickens, ducks, and goslings over the years, so we can just raise them. Fish can also be caught directly from the river, without spending any money.

The key is the price.

The purchase price of a live chicken is 90 cents per pound, and Chen Fan pays according to the purchase price. A chicken weighs about 3 pounds, which is 2.7 to 3 yuan. A fish and half a pound of meat is another 1 yuan. Add to that other dishes, rice, cigarettes and alcohol for the chefs, and a meal costs more than 5 yuan, which is seriously excessive.

The kind where you can't even collect the money back after the banquet.

With so many people eating, there are 14 or 15 tables at each meal, which costs around 80 yuan. Three meals a day would cost nearly 200 yuan.

Two days' worth of food can buy a mud-walled house; how many people can afford that?

Safety and Captain Yang tried to persuade him, but Chen Fan said that the master craftsmen on the construction team wouldn't accept his wages, so he could only use his wages to pay for the meals, and even if the master craftsmen paid for them, he would shut them up.

Seeing that this wasn't a solution, everyone discussed it and decided to reduce the number of people based on the amount of work involved.

After completing the work of digging pits, foundations, underground ditches, and septic tanks on the first day, half of the people came on the second day, and then more than a dozen more were reduced, leaving only the current number of people, each of whom is a skilled worker who can do the work of two people.

In addition, when they came to start work in the morning, they also brought some timber and stone materials from their own teams, which were all piled up at the bottom of the slope, resulting in a bit too much building material.

It's about the size of a house that could barely be built another brick house.

However, the construction team's master craftsman said that after the main house is built, enough space will be reserved for building a wine cellar, kitchen, and restaurant. If there is still extra space, a cement slab will be built in front of the house. If there is still extra space after the cement slab is built, a path down the mountain will be built using fermented soil mixed with pebbles to ensure that nothing is wasted.

At this time, apart from the construction workers who were still working inside the house, everyone else gathered in front of the house to watch the excitement.

With his hands on his hips, Anquan watched as windows and door frames were installed one by one, seemingly too many to take in at once.

He turned to look at Chen Fan, who was all smiles, and said with emotion, "I didn't understand before why you made the windows so big. The room on the west side of the second floor was almost no different from a pavilion. The walls were only four feet high and then it was empty all the way to the top. The three walls were almost just load-bearing columns. It looked empty. Now that you've installed the windows, it feels completely different."

Zhang Wenliang nodded repeatedly, "Once the house is fully built, apart from the mud walls and thatched roof, it will have nothing to do with mud-walled houses."

Captain Yang, puffing on his cigarette and smacking his lips, said, "The mud-walled house is very dark. Look at his house, the windows are bigger than the doors, it's well-ventilated and bright. I'm afraid even the apartment buildings in the city aren't as good as his house."

Accountant Liu's eyes were full of envy. "This is an apartment building, you know."

He was already calculating in his mind how much it would cost to build such a house, and how many years it would take to earn that back by raising chickens, ducks, and rabbits!
Chen Fan said with a smile, "Actually, it's just a small design change. In the past, the doors and windows of mud-walled houses were small, and the rooms were also small. This was to save materials and to keep them warm. If we don't consider the issues of materials and warmth, we can make the doors and windows bigger, and mud-walled houses can be just as comfortable as brick houses."

Upon hearing this, the people around him all looked at him.

Anquan blinked, "So you're not going to spend the winter?"

Zhang Wenliang's eyes were full of confusion. "With your charcoal stove, how big of a room can it control?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "It's alright. I plan to install a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) like those in northern China on the first floor. It'll be especially warm to sleep on in winter. I've also left a few fireplace openings on the second floor. Once the fireplaces are installed, it won't be so cold when the fire is lit."

Anquan gave a thumbs up, both speechless and envious, "You really know how to play."

He had a classmate who was sent to the countryside in Northeast China, and the classmate mentioned a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) in his letter, saying that one could spend the entire winter on it, which was more comfortable than spending the winter in Shanghai. Who knew Chen Fan would also build a kang?!
As the group was talking, a "convoy" slowly approached.

More than a dozen carts were being pulled by people, and they were almost at the educated youth settlement.

Looking into the distance, Chen Fan wondered, "What's that? It looks like they're pulling straw?"

Captain Yang shaded his face with his hand to look around and said, "Oh, it should be Team 4 bringing you thatched roofs."

Chen Fan turned to look at him, his face full of astonishment, "Huh? We need four teams to deliver thatch?"

He then looked at the backyard of the educated youth compound. "We have plenty of straw in our yard. If it's not enough, team leader, you can just move some more for me, right?"

At this moment, the bricklayer came out of the house under construction. Hearing his words, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Teacher Chen, this thatch is not rice straw. Rice straw roofs need to be renovated in less than 3 years, otherwise they will be full of debris and won't last long. This is white thatch, a real thatch roof. It's different."

White thatch grass?
Chen Fan thought for a moment and then suddenly realized, "The orchids and irises have changed and lost their fragrance, and the fragrant herbs have turned into thatch."

Anquan nodded and smiled, "Yes, that's the 'Mao'."

The thatched roofs of many earthen houses today are actually made of rice straw, which is the stalk of rice. This type of straw is easy to obtain, so it has become the main choice for people to build houses.

This time, however, Team 4 delivered real "thatch" to Chen Fan, which is actually white thatch.

China is a vast country with abundant resources, but no matter where you go, in the wild or in the countryside, you can often see a kind of wild plant with slender leaves that are particularly tough. Even when it is bent over, it is still more than half a person tall. Sometimes it also blooms with small white flowers that look like reeds. That is cogongrass, also called white cogongrass.

White cogongrass is a very common wild grass, named for its spear-shaped leaves and white spikes. In the pre-Qin period, it was even used as a ritual object to purify and summon gods. Its scent could indeed repel bats, owls, and other things that the ancients considered unclean.

The leaves of cogongrass can also be used as a substitute for palm leaves to weave raincoats, as they have a very good waterproof effect.

Upon hearing that it was this kind of thatch, Chen Fan realized that the bricklayer's claim that "traditional craftsmanship" thatch could last for many years was not just empty talk. A thatched roof made of white thatch leaves, even if not 20 years, would normally last a few years longer than rice straw.

The bricklayer had just seen the convoy delivering thatch from upstairs, which is why he came down to greet them.

As the "owner," Chen Fan naturally had to go along.

They met the convoy on the west side of the educated youth settlement not long after they went downhill.

Team 4's captain, Wang Dongping, personally escorted the vehicle and was naturally very enthusiastic when he met Chen Fan.

After exchanging pleasantries, the more than 30 helpers who were just at the top of the slope also came down and pushed the cart up the slope with the delivery people.

The roof beams had been erected in the morning. When the beams were being raised, Chen Fan had a good time by lighting two strings of firecrackers and throwing eight large firecrackers, which was considered auspicious for the raising of the beams.

Next, it was time to lay the roof.

This roof differs from those of other mud-brick houses. From a distance, it appears as if the roof is already laid out, but the material used to lay it is actually horizontally arranged bamboo strips. Upon closer inspection, you'll see that there are gaps about a finger's width between each bamboo strip, and underneath these strips are vertical wooden beams. Supporting this entire bamboo roof are thick beams. Laying the roof involves thatching the surface with thatch on the horizontal bamboo strips, a process far more complex than that of ordinary roofs.

At this moment, both master bricklayers and apprentices worked together, nimbly climbing onto the roof, while the helpers carried bundles of thatch up.

After all the thatch was moved into the house, Wang Dongping lit the cigarette Chen Fan had handed him, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said...
"This thatched roof is not simple. First, you have to tie a small bundle together, then tie six small bundles together into a medium bundle, and then use six medium bundles to make a hanging bundle. When laying the roof, you just hang them up one by one and then fix them with ropes."

There are also specific techniques for fixing the thatch. It can't be laid directly; you have to apply layers of mud. The amount of thin mud used is also very important. Too much mud will weigh down the roof, and too little won't hold the thatch in place, and it will easily be blown away by the wind..."

Looking at the row of busy figures on the roof, listening to Wang Dongping's explanation, and combining this with observing the construction work of the bricklayers and carpenters over the past few days, Chen Fan's understanding of traditional architecture deepened.

At this moment, the skills Bricklaying and Carpentry on the skill board suddenly disappeared, and were replaced by "Construction", which appeared at LV4, roughly meaning that you can build a house or bridge using only wood.

Chen Fan noticed the change and was immediately startled. He quickly opened the skill board to check it out, but unfortunately, the skill board was still the same old user-friendly one, without any improvements.

He couldn't be bothered to care anymore, so he put away the skill board and chatted with Wang Dongping, saying, "That's too much work for you guys, cutting grass and tying it up tightly."

Wang Dongping waved his hand and laughed, "With so much thatch, it's not easy for just one small team to handle it."

As he spoke, he pointed to Captain Yang beside him, “The other teams also helped. Everyone helped with the harvest, and then they selected the best-growing cogon grass. They dried it in the hot sun these few days, and then brought it to our team. Under my uncle’s guidance, we bandaged it. If it weren’t for their help, it would have taken at least ten days to half a month to gather enough.”

Chen Fan was somewhat taken aback. "Such a big fuss?!"

At this moment, Zhang Wenliang laughed and said, "Don't feel guilty. You've been busy building houses these past few days and haven't been to the brigade headquarters, so you didn't know."

The thatch was purchased by the brigade headquarters, and everyone who worked there was given work points. Although it wasn't much—only a few points per person—it certainly wasn't free. A small portion of these work points were used as a reward from the brigade headquarters for your published articles, but the majority was deducted from your work points.

Chen Fan's smile froze instantly. So, it turns out I'm paying for it myself?

He then waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Go ahead and swipe."

But I was thinking to myself, "The livestock feed was deducted from my work points, the building materials were deducted from my work points, and now they've deducted the thatched roof. I wonder how much of my two wages I have left?"
Could it be that we'll end up owing the production team money by the end of the year?!
He thought this way, but he also knew that without personal connections, the members of the production team wouldn't go to such lengths for a few work points. It wasn't the winter off-season; they could just do some other work and the work points would come easily.

The project proceeded step by step. With many people working together, the workers completed the laying of all the thatch after more than three hours, and came down through the skylight reserved on the north side of the roof, despite the somewhat complicated construction process.

The bricklayers have also completed the laying of ceramic tile flooring on both the upper and lower floors. Now, the only things missing for the interior of the house are installing glass and furniture, and for the exterior, only the application of plaster to the walls.

Even the second-floor balcony and the first-floor covered walkway have been built. Once the kitchen and dining room are completed, the covered walkway can be extended and connected to form a unified whole.

Looking at the large house with its blue bricks, thatched roof, and wooden doors and windows painted with tung oil, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel refreshed and happy.

It's not easy. I struggled for so many years before time travel and still couldn't buy a house. But after time travel, I successfully built a big house in just 4 months. No wonder everyone wants to time travel. It really feels different.

Zhang Wenliang walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed, "What are you looking at here? Why don't you go inside and take a look?"

Anquan waved his hand from the side and laughed, "Let's go."

Chen Fan chuckled and, without refusing, took the lead and headed towards the house.

After climbing two steps, you'll find a three-meter-wide covered walkway, paved with blue bricks, flanked by thick wooden pillars, and topped with blue tiles, exuding a rustic charm with a touch of antiquity.

You can see the antique color, and as for the antique fragrance, well, that's the smell of tung oil.

Standing on the covered walkway and looking at the house, you can see two large wooden doors in the middle, exuding a grand atmosphere despite its simplicity.

A gate that's two meters wide is bound to be impressive.

The walls on both sides are lined with a long row of windows, which are almost half the height of the walls. With so many windows, even with the covered walkway providing shelter, the interior is still well-lit.

After looking around, Chen Fan took a few steps forward and gently pushed open the door.

The first thing that catches the eye is a large wooden board that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. The board has a few openwork patterns, which can both allow for ventilation and block the view, making it impossible to see what is behind it.

The west room on the left has no door. Looking out, you see a large living room of nearly 80 square meters with white lime walls and green ceramic tile floor. Although there are still a lot of sawdust and dust on the floor, it does not affect the clean and grand appearance.

Unfortunately, some of the floor tiles inside had just been laid, and it would take at least two days before they could be used, so Chen Fan didn't go in.

There is a door in the east room on the right, which is open at the moment. You can see that there is a small living room inside, and then there are three rooms.

In other words, the entire first floor has a three-bedroom, two-living room layout, with the living room being particularly large.

After passing the large wooden plank, you'll find the stairwell. A short distance inside the stairwell, there's a small door leading to the first-floor restroom.

The floorboards are made of solid wood boards coated with tung oil. Go up half a floor, pass a platform and turn back to reach the second floor.

The layout of the second floor was the same as the first floor. In order not to damage the newly laid floor tiles, Chen Fan only took a quick look before coming down.

When he went outside, he found that no one had come in; they were just standing on the covered walkway, looking through the windows.

"This house is grand, truly grand."

"It's more than just grand; given such a large space, would you have built it like this? I have to say, Teacher Chen is truly skilled!"

"You're all just good at flattering people. Everyone in the entire Nanhu Commune knows how capable Teacher Chen is. Do you really need to tell him?!"

"What's wrong with flattering him? I even want to build a house just like Teacher Chen's."

"You know, it's possible. Hey, Master Wang, can you even build houses like this?"

The master bricklayer chuckled and said, "Sure, as Teacher Chen would say, many things are just a matter of understanding the underlying principles. Once you see through them, it's actually not difficult to do at all."

Just as everyone was excitedly thinking about raising chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, and making money to build a new house, Master Wang said casually, "But you'd better be prepared to spend a lot of money. Building this house won't be cheap. The bricks and tiles alone will probably cost over a thousand yuan. And the floor tiles, apart from Teacher Chen, even brick and tile factories don't know how to fire them. But Teacher Chen can't fire many by himself, so we can only use cement flooring."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Chen Fan walked out the door and happened to hear this, so he was about to speak.

At this moment, Anquan stepped forward and said with a smile, "That's alright. There are ways to build big buildings and ways to build small ones. If you don't have terracotta tiles, a cement floor is fine too. If you can't build two stories, you can build one. If you can't build two large rooms,..."

He pointed to the three bedrooms and one living room in the east room and said, "I think it's quite nice to build just one suite like this."

Upon hearing the word "safety," Master Wang nodded in agreement, "That's true."

He then turned and smiled, saying, "If we're just building this small suite, it would be quite suitable. I estimate we could get it for around 1,500 or 1,600."

In the past, 1,500 or 1,600 yuan was an astronomical figure for most people in Lujiawan. A strong laborer could only earn a few dozen yuan in dividends a year, and even if a family had two or three strong laborers, it would take many years to save up.

But now, almost everyone has heard their team leader calculate the profits: as long as you join the breeding team and put in more effort to raise chickens, ducks and rabbits well, more than a thousand yuan, which is the income for one or two years, is no longer out of reach.

Thinking about this, everyone became excited, fantasizing about the day they could live in such a big house.

(End of this chapter)