In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 36 Plans to Repair the West Room
After lunch, Yu Dawei carried a bowl of leftovers and walked towards his dilapidated house.

When I passed by Old Wang's house next door, I saw Old Wang's second brother sweeping the yard with a broom.

"Old Wang, you're such a clean person. Every time I pass by your house, I see you tidying up your yard," Yu Dawei greeted him with a smile.

“I’m the only man in the house, if I don’t do it, who will? You’ve come back from town?” Wang Aiguo put down the broom in his hand and looked up at the gate.

"Yes, I took leave to come back and see my wife."

"You've really made something of yourself, knowing how to earn money to support your family." Wang Aiguo's thin face was beaming with smiles.

Take this with a grain of salt. It's been circulating in the village for a while now. They say that Yu Dawei has been working in town for so long, but he's never brought back any money. To put it bluntly, he's just been working hard without earning any.

Seeing that Yu Dawei always came back empty-handed, and that his parents had to pack him lots of food when he left, they guessed that he hadn't made any money or hadn't made much, at most just hard-earned money.

This matter has spread privately.

Of course, Yu Laonian knew about this kind of thing. After all, his relatives often came to visit, and they would ask what Yu Dawei was doing in town and how he was doing. In the end, they would reveal what so-and-so's father had said about Yu Dawei.

Yu Laonian was used to this, only saying that the work in Dawei Town was hard labor and didn't earn much money.

The villagers' initial envy of Yu Dawei's desire to leave the village and make money vanished instantly.

After all, we see each other all the time. I spend the whole winter hibernating, but you insist on being different and doing something unique, which is bound to make some people uncomfortable.

It's like having classmates in the same class, all taking music class, but someone insists on turning it into an English class and having them read aloud in the classroom. Is that appropriate? Wouldn't that be just plain ridiculous?
Yu Dawei was well aware that the village was never short of gossip.

But he was happy to stay put and develop, which was much better than being penniless in his previous life and still showing off in front of others.

He exchanged a few more pleasantries with Old Wang's second brother, mostly nothing of substance, before turning back to his own courtyard.

Now the courtyard is neglected, and tender green grass has grown in the yard and garden.

Yu Dawei was thinking that after the truck finished its work and his eldest son was born, he would stay at home to take care of his wife, and during the day he could also tidy up the weeds in the garden and plant some vegetables.

Raise some chickens, ducks, geese and the like, and then go to the place that sells piglets and grab a couple of piglets.

So this year can be considered a great start for me.

Yu Dawei squeezed through the dilapidated western window and brought in the bowl of leftover food from outside. When the puppies saw Yu Dawei, they all ran up to him and started rubbing against him.

Another month passed, and the four puppies had grown a bit. Big Black and Big White's fur was becoming more and more beautiful, and you could even see the shine on it, which showed that the old man had really taken good care of these dogs while he was away.

Cuihua is the most timid of the four dogs, and has spent most of her life in her mother's arms since birth.

Every time Yu Dawei came to visit them, Da Bai would take Cuihua out of his arms with his mouth and place her in front of Yu Dawei.

Yu Dawei really cherished Cuihua. He would give her bones and scraps of meat first, but in the end, Gou Shengzi always snatched them away.

Speaking of Gou Shengzi, Yu Dawei is really angry.

The old man said that this dog was very wild; it could even jump out of the window by clinging to the eaves, but the problem was that it couldn't come back. Several times, the old man had seen it circling around the chair under the window, howling anxiously.

As soon as it was put back, it didn't learn its lesson in a couple of days and started repeating the same actions again.

Later, it became even more unruly. Knowing that someone could send it back, it would jump out and run all over the yard during the day.

The neighbors on both sides know each other well, and this dog is thin and ugly. If it were to pass by another village, they would definitely take it away.

So as soon as Yu Dawei met Gou Shengzi, he grabbed the other man by the neck, lifted him up, picked up a shoe sole from the kang (a heated brick bed), and gave him a good beating on the buttocks!
"I heard you've been up to no good again! You still dare to wander around the yard every day! You're a handful, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!" Yu Dawei used seven-tenths of his strength, hitting the little rascal so hard that his body swayed in mid-air.

"Awooo~ Awooo~" Gou Shengzi shed tears of humiliation as he was beaten.

"Dabai, look at the puppies you gave birth to, they're such a handful." Yu Dawei, tired of beating them, tossed the dog aside and stroked Dabai's head. "When I get back in a few days, I'll build you a nice doghouse."

"After all, you have a child now. I can't say I'll get you a three-bedroom apartment, but at least make it more spacious."

"Wang Wang!"

As if it were sentient, the big white dog stuck out its tongue and licked Yu Dawei's hand.

The village dogs are mostly slow-witted, but there are also quite a few clever ones. With so many households keeping cats and dogs, there are bound to be a few that stand out.

Big White is one of them.

Back when they were just about to get their marriage certificate, the old female dog at the mother-in-law's house had just given birth to a litter of puppies. Yu Dawei immediately took a liking to Dabai and, without waiting for his brother-in-law's consent, took Dabai away without saying a word.

This was the last litter of puppies the old dog had, a total of six. After that, some died, some were lost, and some were taken away. Now, the only remaining of Da Bai's brothers is Da Huang, who lives with his mother-in-law.

In terms of intelligence, Da Bai is arguably the most intelligent of the litter of puppies.

“You’ll have to move out in a few days. This house will collapse in no time.” Yu Dawei glanced back at the north wall, where the cracks were widening, and couldn’t help but feel worried.

Once I get paid in May, I'll definitely reinforce the last room and, ideally, repair the west wing.

The west room is considered the master bedroom of the house. It is not only spacious, but also has a large kang (heated brick bed), and there is a place to put cabinets on the north side.

If the west room can be repaired, the whole family can move there, which will save them from having to smell cooking fumes every day, since it's not good for the children.

Having made up his mind, Yu Dawei climbed out of the window, slammed it shut, gave Gou Shengzi one last defiant look, and then went to the back of the house.

The house that Yu Dawei bought occupies a large area, and there is a large open space behind the house. He reached out and touched the cracks on the outside of the north wall, feeling somewhat helpless.

This wall is not only cracked, it's even bulging badly. It would be very dangerous to live in it. It would be better to tear it down and rebuild a west-facing room.

Yu Dawei thought it was feasible. When he came back next time, he would drive the old man's four-wheeled vehicle to haul yellow soil, make adobe bricks, and rebuild the west house.

(End of this chapter)