An Ning liked this plot of land by the mountain, and An Sancheng liked it too.

The area here was large and secluded.

Seclusion meant fewer problems, especially for the An family in their current situation. It was easy to make people envious.

"Team Leader, we’ll take this homestead plot."

"Alright, I’ll approve it for you when I get back. You should hurry up and get things organized before the autumn harvest. It’ll go up fast."

"Right, we’ll go back and discuss it right now."

An Sancheng was thinking the same thing. If they were going to build a house, they had to do it before the ground froze.

The autumn harvest was just over half a month away. With more people, the work would get done quickly.

As the group left the foot of the mountain, Da Huang and Grandpa Jiang Xia were standing not far away, in front of Jiangxia’s house.

"Da Huang, looks like we’re going to have neighbors."

"WOOF WOOF!"

Da Huang barked twice excitedly. The boss was here.

In Da Huang’s eyes, An Ning was the absolute boss.

After the An family members left, An Ning went home to draw the blueprints, while An Sancheng found Uncle An to discuss things while they worked.

Before noon, An Ning had already finished the blueprints.

In the An family’s courtyard, there was a table with several sheets of paper laid out on it.

Lin Cuihua and Gao Guifen were on either side, looking at the white paper on the table.

"Wonderful, just wonderful. This house is wonderful."

Lin Cuihua truly loved it. While drawing, An Ning had asked for both Lin Cuihua’s and Gao Guifen’s opinions and preferences.

On the blueprints, four houses were drawn in an orderly fashion.

Two in the front, two in the back, with the courtyards connected.

It was a bit like a siheyuan, but not quite, as it was missing the east and west wings.

Each house had three large rooms, with rooms on the east and west sides, and windows in both the front and back, unlike their current old house which only had windows in the front.

After An Ning finished the blueprints, she went to the fields.

She worked for a while, then came home at noon with An Sancheng and Uncle An, who had come along with them.

When Uncle An was younger, he had learned carpentry, so when it came to building a house, he definitely had a say.

In the west room of the An family’s main house, An Ning sat on a stool while An Guoqing stood by the door.

Uncle An and An Sancheng sat on the kang, with An Ning’s blueprints laid out between them.

"Our An Ning is really something. These blueprints are drawn so well, I can understand them at a glance. The dimensions are marked clearly too."

The more Uncle An looked, the more he liked them.

"Lao San, how are you planning to build this house?"

An Sancheng didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at An Ning and said, "My daughter is paying for it, so she calls the shots."

To Uncle An’s ears, that sentence was a blatant show of pride.

Uncle An saw through An Sancheng’s smug little thought and ignored him, looking at An Ning to ask, "An Ning, tell your uncle, how are you planning to build it?"

"Cement and red bricks, glass windows, and the floors inside will also be paved with cement."

Uncle An had already done some mental calculations. He estimated, "That’s going to cost over a thousand yuan."

"I know, Uncle. I’m thinking of building it right in one go, so in the future we’ll only need to make small changes, not big ones."

Uncle An nodded, calculated the days, and said, "If you’re going to build, you have to start now. The ground will be frozen by the end of October, and you won’t be able to break ground then."

An Sancheng picked up the thread, saying, "I was thinking of hiring people to build the house. We’ll pay them. Is one yuan a day appropriate?"

Uncle An did the math and said, "One yuan per person per day... We have to finish before the autumn harvest. If we start early and work till it’s dark, with our family members and a few more good hands—five or six should be enough."

An Sancheng deferred to Uncle An’s judgment, and the two of them began making arrangements to find people.

"Uncle, Dad, I’m going to the town to check on cement, bricks, and glass."

"Okay. Check the prices, but don’t rush to buy. We have to dig the foundations over here, and that’s slow work. It’ll take a few days."

"Okay, I got it."

An Ning left the house and rode her bicycle to town.

The people at home didn’t stay idle either.

Uncle An and An Sancheng went off separately to hire workers, while An Guoqing went up the mountain by himself to carry back stones.

With all this activity, the village soon found out that the An family was going to build a house.

Everyone was very envious. Who wouldn’t want to live in a new, big house?

There were jealous people, too, but the family was truly capable. That daughter of theirs, all by herself, could get a tractor and even arrange jobs for people. Who could compare to that?

And look at their family members: a primary school teacher, a tractor driver, and one who worked in the county town, supposedly as a driver.

Every one of them was earning money. It only made sense that they were living a good life.

Meanwhile, An Ning, who was halfway to town on her bicycle, ran into Jiang Xia.

"Jiang Xia, heading to town?"

"No, I was waiting for you."

Jiang Xia, who had been squatting by the roadside, stood up.

"I wanted to discuss something with you. I also want to rebuild the place where my grandfather and I live, make it a bit nicer. I was hoping to go with you to buy bricks, tiles, and cement."

"No problem."

An Ning asked, "Do you need a ride?"

"No need, I can just run there."

"Alright."

An Ning didn’t insist.

Having been on Ancient Earth for two months, she already knew that men and women of this age needed to maintain a certain distance.

As for other aspects of romance, she was completely clueless.

Jiang Xia was also thinking along the same lines. He didn’t want to cause any trouble for An Ning, which was why he had waited for her halfway.

And so the two of them set off: one riding a bicycle in front, with no intention of waiting, and the other running hard behind, not much slower than the bike.

When they reached the town, An Ning waited for a short while.

"You actually waited. I’m impressed."

"As long as you’re happy."

An Ning pushed her bicycle, and together with Jiang Xia, they first went to the place that sold cement.

Sanhe Town didn’t have a cement factory. The cement here was sold at a stall, a private business that had been set up after the economic reforms.

It was a dilapidated-looking private house with several bags of cement placed by the door and a sign that read "Cement for Sale."

Simple and crude.

After Jiang Xia and An Ning walked up to the door, the man sitting on a chair there looked up.

"Buying cement?"

"Yes."

"One hundred and eighty yuan a ton. Or ten yuan a bag if you buy them individually."

An Ning didn’t know the prices, so she glanced at Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia shook his head slightly. It was expensive.

At the cement factory, you could probably negotiate it down to one hundred and twenty a ton, but you’d have to pay for shipping.

An Ning understood what Jiang Xia meant and said, "Thank you."

As the two were about to leave, the young man selling cement said in a voice that wasn’t quiet, "We’re the only ones selling cement. You won’t find another place in all of Sanhe Town."

They had a monopoly on this business.

"We know. Thank you."

The two of them still left. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

When they had walked a short distance away, Jiang Xia told An Ning what he knew.

"Actually, if we buy a larger quantity and ship it back together with the bricks, it’s more worthwhile to go to the county."

An Ning had money, but what could be saved should be saved.

One hundred and twenty versus one hundred and eighty was still a big difference.

"Go to the county?"

"I know someone who can haul it back directly for us. Interested?"

As soon as Jiang Xia finished speaking, he saw the suspicious look in An Ning’s eyes.

"Hey, I’m trying to do a good deed here. What’s with that look?"

An Ning wasn’t suspicious that Jiang Xia was up to no good. She asked, "If you have a way, why do you still want to buy with my family?"