country bumpkin

After breakfast, Kong Tongming didn't go to work; he and Kong Xiangyao split up. One went to the village to find a construction team, and the other went to the town to find someone selling bricks, tiles, sand, gravel, and cement.

Building a house is much more expensive now than before. Including the cost of steel bars, windows, doors, and labor, a 100-square-meter brick house would cost about 1.5 yuan, including labor and materials but excluding meals.

It would be much cheaper for them to buy the materials themselves, and with lunch included, it would be even cheaper. In the end, the cost would only be a little over 8 yuan.

Fortunately, Mu Shuyun was good at managing money. She didn't touch any of the money her youngest son brought back these past few times, and it was enough to cover the cost of building a house.

The money I brought back in the past few years was used to pay off my debts, and I've only managed to save it up in the last two years to build a house and get married.

All household expenses were covered by Kong Tongming's salary and his retirement pension.

He used to be an accountant when he was young, and he had a formal employment certificate in Xinjiang.

Kong Xiangyao finalized all the materials in the morning and started delivering them home in the afternoon.

Kong Tongming then brought a construction team to demolish the old houses.

While they were out looking for a construction team, Mu Shuyun and Yunya had already moved all the things out of the house.

Kong Xiangdong also came to help in the morning. He set up a large shed on the east side next to the kitchen, with a bed and some daily necessities inside.

The rest of the quilts, clothes, shoes, etc., were all hauled back to his home on a wooden cart.

And only one person needs to stay at the construction site at night, while everyone else can stay at his house.

His house has a main hall with three rooms. The couple lives in the east room, and their child, who is still young, sleeps with them.

There was a bed in the west room, and nothing else besides a few quilts packed in a large wooden box.

Tonight, Mu Shuyun will stay here with Yunya, while Kong Tongming can stay at the old house, watch over the materials, and sleep in the greenhouse.

Kong Xiangyao's approach was even simpler: he would go directly to the threshing ground to sleep, where a straw mat and a pillow served as his bed.

If it rains, you can go to your second brother's house and squeeze into one room with Mu Shuyun and Yunya to make do for a while until dawn.

Summer is much more convenient; you can find a place to spend the night anywhere. Unlike winter, when the wind is biting cold everywhere, you have to stay indoors or you'll definitely get sick.

The old house was now empty, and the construction workers were ready to begin work.

Before starting work, Kong Tongming would burn incense and kowtow to inform the household "guardian spirits" that he was going to demolish the old house and build a new one.

Another purpose of burning incense is to tell the snakes, insects, rats, and ants hiding in the old earthen houses that the houses are going to be demolished and they need to move.

These are all traditions passed down from the older generation, from generation to generation.

When Kong Tongming and his friends were young, there was a story that was widely circulated.

There was once a wealthy man who was renovating his old house. Without burning incense to warn the hidden animals, two thick, flowery snakes fell down when the roof was being dismantled.

One of the large red and black snakes flicked its tongue, raised its head and looked at the wealthy man as if it were angry that they hadn't given him any advance notice to move the snake.

The snake bit the rich man and ran away. The rich man was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground and eventually died of fright.

Another yellow snake looked up at the surrounding humans, then turned and slithered away. From then on, whenever someone demolished an old house, they would burn incense before starting construction. Perhaps this was just a way for people to seek peace of mind, but no elderly person would find it troublesome.

Only after these rituals were completed did the actual construction begin. Two burly men with dark skin, each wielding a large iron hammer, slammed it hard against the wall, creating a large hole with each blow.

Because the old houses were all made of mud bricks, they were easy to demolish. They kept smashing the walls, their strong arms as muscular as iron.

Before long, sweat streamed down the bulging muscles of his arms like a small stream.

Mu Shuyun brought over a large copper pot of cooled boiled water, with sugar and tea leaves added. She ladled it out bowl by bowl and began distributing the sugar water.

The workers were also thirsty, so they put down their work and gathered around to take the bowls of water and drink.

The two burly men who were smashing the wall took a sip, and the taller one looked up in surprise and said, "Wow! The old lady put sugar and tea leaves in the water, it tastes really good!"

The shorter man chimed in, "Mmm...mmm, it's delicious, ma'am, another bowl, please." He then handed over his empty bowl.

Mu Shuyun ladled the sugar water for everyone again, and after drinking it, everyone felt much more energetic. They then continued working with renewed vigor.

Mu Shuyun cooked communal meals, and Yunya helped out with odd jobs.

Today I made braised pork with potatoes and green beans. Yunya helped peel all the potato skins, cleaned the green beans, and washed them twice.

Mu Shuyun was steaming buns, some made with pure white flour and some with cornmeal. She figured that with more people, there would be more different flavors, so she would make a variety of different ones that they would enjoy.

After peeling the buns, Yunya went to the kitchen to start a fire. The steamed buns were steaming in the big iron pot.

It had been steaming for a while, and the aroma of wheat flour wafted over, making Yunya's stomach rumble.

Outside, Mu Shuyun started chopping potatoes and green beans. For a large meal, one dish is enough; as long as there's meat, it will taste delicious.

After waiting a while, the time was up, and the steamed buns were cooked. Mu Shuyun told Yunya to stop the fire. Yunya pulled out the unburnt firewood and put it in the ashes below, burying it.

After waiting for about 3 minutes, Mu Shuyun lifted the pot lid and picked up the steamed buns.

Clean the large wok and start cooking. First, heat the wok and fry the Sichuan peppercorns and star anise, then add the chopped pork and stir-fry.

Stir-fry until golden brown, then add scallions and ginger, add two drops of white wine to remove any fishy smell, stir-fry again, and then pour in water to cook the meat.

After cooking for about 15 minutes, the meat will be almost cooked. Then, add the green beans and potatoes.

After stir-frying evenly, I added some water and started cooking the vegetables. When the vegetables were almost cooked, I added salt and soy sauce.

Finally, add the garlic cloves to enhance the aroma. Once the dishes were ready, it was time for the workers to eat and rest.

Some of these people brought porcelain mugs, while others only brought an old-fashioned military water bottle.

Those who brought their own porcelain jars used them to hold their rice, while those who didn't had to use Mu Shuyun's large bowls.

Each person received a large bowl of food containing meat, vegetables, and vegetable broth. The steamed buns were served in large bamboo baskets.

Let them eat as much as they want, because some people have big appetites and some have small appetites, so we can't distribute it to everyone individually. This is the only way.

Many stingy families divide food among themselves. Even those who can eat a lot are only half full, and the rest of their stomachs are filled with water.

If you don't have enough to eat, you won't have the energy to work, which will slow you down. It's not worth it at all.

Now that everyone has eaten their fill, let's rest for an hour and then get back to work. After a good meal, we need to exercise to digest the food, which will speed up our work.