Crossing the Unknown Country

Grandpa Su He knew that since they had made this request, he had to consider it carefully, and agreeing was the best choice. Besides, it was not a big deal for him, and he had watched these children grow up.

Su He's family was also very happy. Since Grandpa became a teacher, the villagers would respect him more. What people want in life is to be respected and understood. Su He thought it was not a bad thing for the villagers to know some words. At least they would know etiquette and learn things faster. A place where everyone is good is a truly good place!

Su He's father started to get busy, looking for masons and carpenters, and also greeting the young and strong people in the village, asking whoever is willing to come to help, his family will pay for the workers. This is the best way, otherwise you don't know when you can repay the favor. Cooking is enough for your own family, build Su He's house first, and let the uncle's family come to help. When the uncle's house is built, they will go together to help.

Su He's father and uncle went to the workshop to buy the bricks they needed, and then went to the stonemason to buy some stones. The stonemason took them to the stone construction site to buy some directly. These bricks and stones were very expensive, and the family spent 40 taels to buy them all. Su He and his brother secretly burned some white lime in the mountains, bought some more and mixed them together, and put them in a large pit dug near the new home. In this way, all the materials for building a house were ready and they began to build a house.

Soon everyone arrived and started building the house. Because Grandpa Su He had to teach, everyone in the village came to help. They also said that they didn't need to pay, and that they just needed to teach the children when the time came. They would also come when they were free.

There is strength in numbers. Su He's house was built in half a month. Everyone looked at this house that was different from others and went in to visit it curiously. This kind of house has good thermal insulation, a clean toilet, and a large kitchen with a storage room, which is very practical for their area. Many people said that they would build their own houses like this in the future, but they couldn't afford this kind of brick and stone structure house, and at most they could build some mud houses.

After the house was built, Su He went to the river with her brothers to pick up pebbles. She used the pebbles to pave the walking area in the yard. In the middle, there was a large road paved with small stones, so that when the family walked in the yard when it rained, they would not step into the mud. In the yard, there were apple trees and pear trees bought from the town, as well as persimmon trees dug from the mountains. Outside the house, there were a few pepper trees and chestnut trees. Su He wanted to plant more fruit trees so that the family could use them as food, seasoning and wine. The vegetable garden, the cowshed and the chicken coop were all built against the wall, and of course there was the long chicken coop. There was also a pigpen next to it. There was space here, and pigs were also raised so that they could eat more meat.

There are some thorny shrubs planted around the wall to prevent bad guys and animals from climbing the wall. This is a precautionary measure, after all, this place is close to the mountain. There are also sharp stones on the top of the wall. No matter how high the wall is, it must be well protected. Su He thinks that everything he does is necessary.

For the floor of the room, Su He and his family mixed lime and mud, paved it flat and compacted it so that the room would be clean. The walls were also leveled with mud, and then painted white with lime. Under the wall, Su He specially used white lime with rice soup and some salt, so that the white lime would not fall off.

After the house was painted, the family looked at the spacious rooms and bright house, and they were filled with emotion. Such a nice house would be their new home in the future.

The house of the uncle next door has also been built, but it has fewer rooms than theirs, and everything else is exactly the same. The yard is also neatly maintained and beautiful, and the pigs and chickens are raised just like theirs. The happiest people now are the two brothers Su Pei and Su Che, who finally don't have to run back and forth. They can just walk over tomorrow after moving in, and don't have to worry about being late for home. It's also very convenient to go up the mountain, just walk to the edge of the mountain, saving time on going home.

They were able to burn lime quickly this time because it was close to the mountain and convenient for transportation. They looked at their house and felt proud of it, which was earned by their family's hard work.