Chapter 28: I Want to Build a House
Li Yi knew his father’s mindset was somewhat old-fashioned, so it was understandable that he might find it hard to accept such seemingly risky behavior right away. Therefore, Li Yi didn’t say much more.
He believed that, with time, his father’s views and attitude would change.
After briefly informing his father, Li Yi headed straight for the back mountain!
By the time Li Yi arrived, more than a dozen baskets had already been placed on the reservoir dam, and quite a few children were busy processing the wild produce they’d gathered.
Seeing Li Yi approach, the children all gathered around him.
Li Yi glanced around and noticed that the number of children gathering wild produce had been growing over the past few days—there were as many as thirty of them.
“Dongzi, what’s the story with them?” Li Yi asked, pointing to a few seven- or eight-year-olds.
Dongzi replied immediately, “Brother Yi, everyone in the village knows we’ve been making money picking mushrooms with you. Their parents came to me, wanting them to join us too!”
“They’re too young!” Li Yi said, frowning.
Just then, a grubby little boy shouted, “We’re not little anymore—we can pick mushrooms too!”
Li Yi recognized the little guy; he was the third son of Lame Dong’s family at the west end of the village.
His father had polio and was disabled, his mother was mute, and with five children in the household, they lived a very hard life.
Dongzi chimed in, “Brother Yi, we’re all mountain kids—picking mushrooms is no problem for us!”
Li Yi sighed and said, “The mountains aren’t safe, after all. Not to mention wild beasts like jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and wild boars—even just gathering wild produce is no easy task. Climbing up and down all over the place, I’m worried something might happen to them!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the children chimed in in unison, “We’re not afraid!”
“That’s right, we’re not afraid!”
“We run around the mountains every day—we really aren’t afraid…”
Li Yi motioned for them to quiet down, then said, “If you want to come with me to earn some money, that’s fine. But first, have your parents come to my house to talk to me. We need to get everything straight before I’ll take you along—otherwise, it’s out of the question!”
It wasn’t that Li Yi was being overly cautious; it was just that there were certain things he had to think through in advance.
Foraging for wild produce is a genuinely dangerous line of work. Although the government has organized militias in recent years to hunt down and eliminate large wild beasts like wolves, tigers, and leopards in the mountains—and even if any remain, they’ve retreated deep into the mountains—there are still wild boars, gazelles, and roe deer.
Wild boars, in particular, were still quite common in the mountains. If the children ever encountered one, it would be genuinely dangerous.
If a child were to get hurt or even killed while gathering wild produce for him, the child’s parents would surely burn down Li Yi’s house—he couldn’t take that risk!
Hearing that Li Yi wasn’t actually turning them away—but rather asking their parents to come speak with him—the children said no more.
Afterward, under Li Yi’s direction, a large group of children carried over a dozen baskets of cleaned mushrooms and wood ear fungus back to the village!
Once back home, Li Yi also paid them their wages for the previous day’s work.
In the evening, after the production team had finished work, villagers began trickling into Li Yi’s home.
They all had the same goal: to have their children work with Li Yi and earn some pocket money to help support the family.
Li Yi’s stance was clear: they could work with him, but they had to sign an agreement.
The terms of the agreement were simple: the children would be working part-time to earn money during their free time, and he would not be considered an employer of child labor.
Secondly, the children had to follow the older kids’ instructions when going up the mountain and were not allowed to act on their own; furthermore, he would not be held responsible for any safety issues that might arise.
Everyone understood Li Yi’s predicament, so they all signed the agreement.
Some even asked if Li Yi wanted the wild produce the adults had gathered, but he declined.
It wasn’t that Li Yi lacked a market for them; rather, the agricultural commune had not yet been dissolved. If he encouraged these adults to go into the mountains to gather wild produce, it would inevitably affect the production team’s progress—something that was absolutely out of the question.
Furthermore, the reason he wanted to take Dongzi and the others into the wild produce trade was, on the one hand, because he needed money, and on the other, because he wanted these younger brothers to earn money alongside him.
But if all the adults in the village went into the mountains to pick mushrooms and wood ear fungus, what would be left for the children to do?
So although Li Yi was very tempted by the adults’ suggestion, he ultimately held back!
……..
By the time everyone left Li Yi’s house, it was already past ten o’clock at night!
The family tidied up and got ready for bed!
Just then, Li Yi suddenly turned to his parents and said, “Dad, Mom, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you!”
Li Shan Kui tapped the pipe he was holding against the edge of the kang, then asked, “What is it?”
“Dad, I want to build a house!” Li Yi said earnestly.
Li Yi had been thinking about building a house for several days. He knew his parents’ plan was to clear out the room he currently occupied and use it as their wedding chamber once he married Tang Xue.
But Li Yi felt that was a bit too shabby. For one thing, that room was originally used for storing odds and ends; not only was it small, but it also didn’t keep the heat in.
It was bearable in the summer, but in the winter, with drafts coming in from all sides, it was simply unsuitable as a bridal chamber.
Besides, barring any surprises, Tang Xue was likely already carrying their child. Even if only for the sake of the child, he had to start thinking about a proper home.
Li Shankui was silent for a moment, then asked, “Why are you thinking about building a house now?”
His mother, Zhang Yuehong, also asked, “The west room is a bit small, but it’s livable, isn’t it? If it really doesn’t work out, once Xue moves in, your father and I can take the west room, and you two can have the east room!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “I’ve actually been thinking about building a house for a long time. On one hand, Xue and I want our own little home after we get married, and on the other hand, our house is just too small.”
“Since the house is too small to accommodate many people, my eldest and second sisters haven’t been coming back to visit much these past few years. Even when they do come back, they never stay overnight.”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Shankui and Zhang Yuehong both fell silent.
They both knew their son was telling the truth, but building a house wasn’t that simple—between labor and materials, it wouldn’t be cheap!
After a long pause, Li Shankui finally said, “Building a house costs money, and you’re getting married soon—that costs money too. Why not hold off on building for a while?”
“I’ve got about 500 yuan on hand right now. I’m not sure if that’s enough,” Li Yi replied.
Li Shankui and Zhang Yuehong exchanged a glance. They were genuinely surprised—they hadn’t expected their son to still have 500 yuan left after paying the dowry and buying a bicycle.
“It’s not quite enough for a brick-and-tile house, but it’s plenty for an adobe one!”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Dad, I want to build a brick-and-tile house. Let’s build three rooms this year, and next year we’ll renovate the old house and turn it into a brick-and-tile house too!”
Li Shankui took a drag on his cigarette and said, “We’ll worry about the old house later. Take care of yourselves first!”
“If you’re okay with it, I’ll go see Uncle Feng tomorrow and ask him to allocate a plot of land for me!” Li Yi said.
“Hmm, remember to bring Old Feng a couple of bottles of liquor when you go!” Li Shankui reminded him.
Since his son had the money, he certainly wasn’t going to stand in his way.
Besides, he was worried his son might fall back into his old, reckless ways and squander the money—it would be better to use it for building a house now.
“Alright!”
……..