Rebirth 78: Hunting for Treasure in the Mountains, Spoiling My Wife and Daughter to the Heavens

"Here, yes, dig a sewage well here, in the front yard. And if possible, also build a water well. I know digging wells is a bit difficult now."

But let's try to get it done quickly and efficiently, so we can move in as soon as the house is finished.

Lu Weiguo stood on the construction site and spoke to several experienced workers.

"Wells, I understand that. Wells in our village are easy to dig, and they don't need to be too deep to get water. It's the sewage wells that are..."

The experienced workers were all from the countryside; they used to work on adobe houses and had never actually worked on indoor toilets in big cities.

"The wastewater in the house can be disposed of directly inside the house. It's piped here and then connected to the pool over there."

The sewage well serves as a transfer station...

Lu Weiguo gave an explanation that left many people speechless with astonishment.

"Is that even possible? Then we can go to the toilet indoors from now on, and our butts won't get cold."

"Of course, the wives of the people of Wei are very delicate. Look at their skin, they really have a good life."

"That's right, this is a huge project. Just the labor alone will cost several tens of dollars."

"..."

Lu Weiguo's designs are always quite avant-garde, and many people are seeing this kind of house for the first time.

After talking to his mentors, he stopped worrying about the rest.

Now everyone can see that Zhang Dexing is taking advantage of Lu Weiguo's house-building opportunity.

He would wander around the construction site, currying favor with people, and get paid the same wages as those he paid.

Only Lu Weiguo chuckled to himself.

This free supervision and free labor came to us on their own.

As long as he wandered around the construction site, none of the uncles and elders who came to help slack off.

He's so confused now that he can't tell who's taking advantage of whom, him or Zhang Dexing.

As the saying goes, you have to look at both sides of everything, and try to look at things from a deeper perspective.

If you calculate it this way, Zhang Dexing has worked for so long as a supervisor for nothing, and in the end he will only have a reputation for taking advantage of others.

Don't let its less-than-stellar reputation fool you.

but!

In rural areas, who would like or trust a leader who is prone to taking advantage of others?

The wind continued to blow, but Lu Weiguo was not in a hurry at all.

Grasshoppers always need to hop around for a few more days after autumn.

Wu Guifen and her husband, along with Li Xiuhe, stayed at the Lu family's house until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

After the whole family gathered together to make dumplings.

Wu Guifen learned that after Widow Sun left the hospital, she was sent out of the city.

That's how I made arrangements for this trip to the county town.

Living in the countryside is good and comfortable.

But all my old friends are in the county town.

This is why the older generation is reluctant to leave their hometown.

I have comrades-in-arms and old chess partners back in my hometown.

At least you have company!

There were two bicycles in the house, and Li Guangrong was allowed to ride one of them.

Lu Weiguo was about to deliver it when Wu Guifen touched his waist, so frightened that he dared not move.

As a mother-in-law, it's already embarrassing for her to have stayed at her son-in-law's house for so many days.

She definitely wouldn't want to trouble her son-in-law to deliver it now.

Li Guangrong was still quite vigorous despite his age. Wu Guifen sat in front of him on the bicycle frame, and Li Xiuhe sat behind him.

I rode my bike wobblingly out of the village.

The following days.

The Lu family lived a leisurely yet fulfilling life.

The entire Fendou Village seemed to have returned to its former tranquility.

For the people in the county, the New Year is considered over once the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has passed.

But rural people don't start planting until April or May.

There's still no work to be done at home.

Fortunately, Lu Weiguo built houses, giving the old and young men something to do.

The women also went to the purchasing station all day long. Even if they only embroidered one or two insoles a day, they could earn enough to feed their families.

Lu Weiguo would take his child to the construction site during the day, watching the bricks and tiles being piled up layer by layer.

I was extremely satisfied.

"These brick houses look much more impressive than mud-brick houses, which give you no hope for the future."

"When they're alive, they live in mud boxes; when they're dead, they live in wooden boxes."

I watched as the brick houses gradually grew taller.

The whole village was talking about it, as if everyone considered owning a brick house as their future life goal.

Indirectly, it boosted the morale of the entire village.

Zhao Yangyang was followed by Huang He, and he was always hanging around Li Xiulian.

This year's college entrance examination is the last year that it is an exam for students of different ages, and Li Xiulian and Zhao Yangyang have been studying from morning till night.

Huang He transformed into a loyal servant, serving tea, water, and cooking.

They were given ample logistical support.

Fifteen more days passed.

Just after the first month of the lunar calendar, Li Xiuhe's breakfast shop opened for business.

Early in the morning, Lu Weiguo pulled Li Xiulian and rode towards the county town!

When Lu Weiguo and his companion arrived.

It was just past eight in the morning.

The sign carved from the wooden plank cart hung high in front of the small, dilapidated house.

The words "Xiuhe Breakfast Shop" were painted in large red paint on it!

The characters were written by Li Guangrong himself, meticulously and with straight lines.

Eight o'clock is precisely the peak time for students to go to school.

In addition, this is one of the first snack shops in the entire county to start operating on its own.

There were so many people at the entrance.

Li Xiulian was bustling about at the window.

Wu Guifen and Li Guangrong were in the hall, helping to serve tea and water.

In just over ten days, this little house, which had been built in a terrible state, was completely transformed.

A small kang (heated brick bed) was left in the living area, while the rest of the space was opened up.

The kitchen is open and bright, with steaming buns coming one after another on the stove.

Freshly fried dough sticks are made with bright yellow fresh soybean oil.

As soon as I reached the door, a delicious aroma wafted out.

"Give me four fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk."

Lu Weiguo pulled Li Xiulian along, lined up at the window, and held up a red envelope in his hand as he spoke.

"Help yourself to get your own soy milk. It's our grand opening today, so drink as much as you want until you're full..."

Li Xiuhe had just put the fried dough sticks into a plate when she noticed that the person speaking sounded off.

"Oh dear, why are you two so late? Hurry up and come inside, we'll find you when we're done!" Li Xiuhe handed the fried dough sticks to the people behind her without saying a word.

A fried dough stick in a state-run restaurant costs one cent, and you need a ration coupon.

At Li Xiuhe's place, a fried dough stick costs 15 cents. Not only do you not need a ration coupon, but one of them is also the size of two from a state-owned store.

They were working incredibly hard.

"Congratulations! Here's your red envelope later. We're going inside to help out."

We're all family, this isn't the time to be nitpicking.

The two rolled up their sleeves, went inside, and got right to work.

Tidy up the seating area and help knead the dough.

Li Xiuhe started preparing breakfast at four in the morning, and it was sold out before nine o'clock.

Many elderly people have also heard that the fried dough sticks here are oily, large, and come with free soy milk.

They were all hungry, packing up fried dough sticks, their bellies full of soy milk.

This made Li Xiulian feel sorry for her.

"Honey, if everyone's taking advantage like this, how am I supposed to make any money? It's like losing money while gaining publicity."

"You don't understand. Your sister's soy milk is so thick that one bowl is enough to fill you up. If you want sugar, you have to pay for it."

"We made our money back from the sugar alone. I think your sister is really good at business; she can come up with such a clever idea." Lu Weiguo held a bowl of soy milk, his opinion of Li Xiuhe improving even further.