Chapter 32: A Couple’s Night Talk 1
She casually picked up a copy of The Campaign Against Bandits in Western Hunan and started flipping through it. Of course, her attention wasn’t really on this book; it was on the collection within her spatial realm. She needed to figure out a way to bring those books into the open legitimately. Otherwise, she’d be forced to sneak a peek every night, which was incredibly frustrating. Since her body was that of a child, her days were mostly spent playing anyway. If only she could read openly and proudly. It seemed she’d have to wait for the right opportunity; otherwise, she’d just be wasting time.
After playing at the Hu family’s for about half an hour, Zhu Yanli and Zhu Yanyi bid their farewells and headed home. By the time they arrived, Zhu Shun Yao had already returned. Overjoyed to see her little daughter back, she immediately scooped Zhu Yanyi up and showered her with kisses before they sat down to eat, wash up, and rest.
Once the two sisters were asleep in their bamboo bed, Xie Xinlian returned to the room separated by a cloth curtain. Zhu Shun Yao was sitting on the bed, reading. Although she had only completed primary school, she was diligent in her self-study, showing a particular interest in books about mechanics.
Xie Xinlian came over and slipped into the quilt. Instead of going straight to sleep, she reached for a sewing basket on the bedside table, took out a pair of shoe soles, and began to stitch. This process was locally known as “cutting shoe soles.” It involved layering several pieces of cloth according to the sole’s shape and meticulously sewing them together, stitch by stitch, to create a sturdy sole. These cloth-soled shoes were incredibly comfortable to wear. Every year before the Lunar New Year, Xie Xinlian would sew a pair for each family member.
After stitching for a while, Xie Xinlian finally spoke. “Shun Yao, we really need to come up with a plan to build a house. This current place is freezing in winter and sweltering in summer. It’s cold now, so we can just pile on more blankets at night, but summer will be unbearable. The baby is due around mid-August in the lunar calendar. I’ll be heavily pregnant throughout the entire sixth lunar month, and it won’t be easy in this house. I haven’t forgotten how stiflingly hot it was when I gave birth to An’nan in the seventh lunar month.”
Zhu Shun Yao put down his book and pondered for a moment. “I’ve thought about this too. Our savings are only a little over two hundred yuan. I was planning to ask someone tomorrow to go into the mountains and gather some main beams and rafters ourselves. That way, we can save on the cost of lumber, paying only a few yuan for transportation. Also, our supply and marketing cooperative recently renovated some buildings and replaced many old roof tiles and broken bricks, which they’re selling off at low prices. I’ll buy some of those. If we still don’t have enough bricks, the brick kiln discards plenty of waste bricks. I’ll go to Brother Lei Yao’s house tomorrow to ask. As the production team secretary, he might be able to arrange it for us. If we sort through them carefully, we should be able to put together a tiled-roof house. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll do.”
“Does it matter if it’s not perfect? It’s still better than this thatched shed, and that’s enough for me,” Xie Xinlian said. Her ambitions weren’t grand; having her own tiled-roof house was satisfaction enough. “If we’re short on money, I can borrow a bit from Jinfeng.”
Zhu Shun Yao thought for a moment. “Not necessary for now. I’ve done the calculations. If my plan works out, we’ll only need to spend about one hundred and twenty or thirty yuan from our current funds. The main expense will be providing meals for the workers helping us build. I’ve also thought about the cooking situation. Since you have to work and can’t easily take leave, and I have to work too, we’ll have to hire someone to cook. However, we’ll still need to provide lunch. I was thinking of speaking with our factory director to see if we can steam the rice at the soy sauce factory’s cafeteria. As for the dishes, I’ll ask Mother to help prepare them when the time comes.”