Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 93 - 18 Discussion on Building a House

The dinner was still a mess of dark porridge, but today there was a bowl of chicken soup added to the table.

Gu Chengyu took a sip of the chicken soup. Although it was a bit watered down, the fresh taste was entirely different from the farm-raised, feed-fed chickens of his past life. Without realizing it, a chicken drumstick appeared in his bowl. He looked up to see his second sister winking at him.

Knowing that his second sister still wanted to be close to him, he graciously accepted the gesture. Without hesitating, he picked up the drumstick and took a big bite, the tender and smooth texture making him squint with delight. Seeing that her little brother had eaten the drumstick, Gu Wan focused back on her meal.

Mr. Gu watched from the side, feeling quite gratified. His daughter had grown sensible, seemed to have understood things, and knew to take care of her little brother.

While eating, Gu Chengyu noticed that Gu Chengchi, who was sitting opposite him, seemed absent-minded. Since his fourth brother returned from outside before dinner, he appeared preoccupied and listless. He decided to talk with him after school tomorrow since there were things to do later tonight.

He brought the chicken soup from the table below, and once it was placed down, she filled the bowl with several pieces of chicken, taking some for her two sons as well. The chicken was chopped quite small; after all, a wild chicken only weighed about three to four pounds! The meat that reached the table was quickly snatched up, and she took the opportunity to pour herself a big bowl of soup, slurping it up eagerly.

"Dad! The cow we bought today is really sturdy! Can we bring it along for plowing tomorrow?" Gu Chengli was thinking of plowing the fields the next day, bringing the cow would certainly make it easier and the land would be plowed better.

"Tomorrow, the cow needs to pull the cart to send Xiao Bao to school, and I need to go to town to see if there’s any land worth buying from the broker. How about the house construction? Are we adding to the back or tearing it down to rebuild? Put together a plan." Mr. Gu quickly finished his porridge and thought it was best to finalize the land purchase and house construction soon.

"Dad! There’s so little open space at our place, with houses on both sides. It might be too cramped. If we’re going to build a house, we might as well do it in one go. Let’s build a big brick-tile house, and leave some open space beside it. Our family is large, and a small house won’t fit us in the future, which would be even more troublesome," Gu Chengyu said. Hearing that Mr. Gu was planning to build a house fit perfectly with his own plans, as he had long wanted his own room.

"This place of ours is indeed a bit narrow, and with more people in the future, the third and fourth sons will also need to marry. Crowding together isn’t appropriate." Mrs. Lv also thought this issue troublesome. Actually, when she first married into the Gu Family, she felt their home was too small.

"Then why don’t we pick a new plot of land in the village, and not demolish this place? It could be an old house," Gu Chengyi also chimes in. Their west wing only had two rooms, with one room filled with clutter; both sons still squeezed onto the same kang bed with them. Fortunately, Sanya didn’t sleep in the west wing, otherwise, with five people, he didn’t know how they would manage.

At this time it’s okay, but in the hot summer, it would be truly uncomfortable, everyone crowded together, feeling like their sweaty bodies would stick to the kang mat. With a new house, the two kids could have a room of their own, right?

"Dad! One side of our house is the Zhang Family, and who lives on the other side?" Gu Chengyu suddenly recalled that the house on the right was always uninhabited. The house, made of mud bricks, was dilapidated and hardly fit to live in, but the plot was not small, and the courtyard was quite large. If we could incorporate that land, the layout of our house wouldn’t be small.

"That’s your second grandfather’s house. Years ago, when there was a drought, your second grandfather’s family went to rely on his brother-in-law. It’s been twenty-five years now, and there’s been no word from them. Who knows if they made it to the south or how they’re doing over there!" Mr. Gu recalled how, twenty-five years ago, when his second brother left, they hugged and cried, reluctant to part. As he thought about it, his eyes became moist.

It was agreed back then that once they reached the south, they would write back. Big Brother and he would return to Shangling Village after the drought, but there has been no news from the second brother’s family. They didn’t even know the exact address. Even if they wanted to search for them, they might not find them. He was not young anymore, and he didn’t know if he’d have the chance to see them again in this lifetime.

Gu Chengyu saw Mr. Gu lost in memories of the past and, after some thought, felt it was best not to relocate if possible: one, they were used to living there; two, there wasn’t much decent land in the village, as everything had been divided into small plots, except for a large open space behind the fishpond. However, that area was a bit remote, and there was a small grove. Remembering what happened in that grove made Gu Chengyu uncomfortable.

"Dad! Is Second Grandpa’s house just sitting empty? Isn’t that a waste?"

"That land was taken back by the village long ago. That year of the great drought, many people escaped to Shangling Village, and the village’s household registrations were all re-processed. Since there was no one from Second Grandpa’s family, the house was deemed ownerless during the registration and was naturally reclaimed by the village. The village chief wanted to sell the house to newcomers, but how could newcomers afford the silver to buy it? They preferred to build a shack for themselves! So it just sat empty for over twenty years, until even the back half of the house collapsed." Mr. Gu also realized that the land now belonged to the village, so it might be better to spend some silver to buy this homestead, making it easier to build a house without worrying about space.

"Dad! Why not ask the village chief tomorrow!" Gu Chengyi thought that this homestead wouldn’t cost much silver, though he worried a bit about the trouble earlier with Fourth Brother and the Li Zheng family, unsure if Lin Lize would make things difficult on purpose.

"Dad! I’m heading back to my room!" Gu Chengchi, full of his own thoughts, finished his meal without getting involved in the house-building discussion, then stood up and left.

"Fourth! Why are you heading back to your room so early? Sit a while longer. Once the new house is built, you’ll get a room too." Watching Gu Chengchi was concerning; he was so reserved and never said anything. It was hard to know if he had any troubles since he wouldn’t share them with the family.

Gu Chengyu originally wanted to prepare for soap making after dinner but, seeing his fourth brother like this, felt he couldn’t delay any longer. The purchase of the homestead was essentially settled, and further efforts wouldn’t help.

"Mom! I’m full; I’m going to hang out with Fourth Brother for a bit!"

"Hey~ Xiao Bao, there’s still a drumstick you haven’t eaten!" Mrs. Lv called out behind Gu Chengyu.

"Let Mom have it!" After all, there were only four drumsticks. His parents hadn’t even had any.

Hearing this, He quickly swallowed the chicken soup in his mouth. Oh dear! That was hot! As they were discussing the house-building earlier, she had been drinking chicken soup!

"Mom! If Little Uncle doesn’t eat that drumstick, can I have it? I barely had any chicken!" He stood up and looked at the drumstick on the table above, smacking his lips. He hadn’t had enough yet!

"There’s already a pile of bones in front of you, and you still want more? Why don’t you just say you want to eat both chickens by yourself? Such a glutton." Mrs. Lv was exasperated by He’s behavior. She only meant to stew one chicken tonight, but the old man insisted on two, and now both were gone, which was distressing to think about.

The last drumstick was given to the third son. All four drumsticks had been distributed around the table above. Gu Wan had already gotten one, the one who hurt his leg got one, Xiao Bao had one, and with that, the last drumstick was served.

Gu Chengli kept his head down. He wouldn’t dare expect the drumstick; just having meat was good enough. Gu Chengyi was used to it by now, knowing that whenever there was something tasty, it wouldn’t reach him.