The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 168 - 157: Homestead

Chapter 168: Chapter 157: Homestead

To build a house, one had to inform the village head and the chief, because the location Old Zhou chose was right next to his own home, not farming land, and didn’t even require spending any money.

When the other villagers learned that the Zhou Family was going to build seven stone houses at once, most didn’t mind, except for Zhou Dayuan’s family, which was some distance away from Manbao’s house.

Between the two families lay a large patch of wasteland, overgrown with weeds and littered with stones, that no one had wanted for years, naturally leading to neglect. However, if the Zhou family were to build a symmetrical row of seven houses, they would inevitably take up the majority of that land, reducing the distance between the two homes even further.

Zhou Dayuan’s wife, Ms. Zhang, was the first to raise objections, not agreeing to allocate that piece of land to the Zhou family. Her reason was clear, "If their family takes up such a large piece of land, what will we do when we want to build our house?"

The village head responded, "Don’t you still have open space above your home?"

"The feng shui on that upper side is not favorable for our household. If we’re going to build, we’d also build downward."

That time, Zhou Dayuan didn’t say a word.

The village head frowned, "You only have one son, Dalv. Why do you need to build another house?"

"Now I’m unhappy with what you’re saying. I may only have one son, but that doesn’t mean I’ll only have one grandson. What if Dalv’s wife bears several children, and they grow up needing to build houses?"

The village head knew she was being unreasonable, purely out of envy. He turned to Old Zhou and said, "Then your family will have to pay. Measure how much land you’ll occupy and proceed according to the rules."

To Ms. Zhang, he said, "If the Zhou family is willing to pay for the land, and you want to enclose your land as well, then measure it out and hand over the money."

Ms. Zhang immediately fell silent.

Zhou Dayuan quickly added, "The children at home are still young; there’s no rush to build a house."

The village head snorted, then looked around at the villagers and asked, "Does anyone else want to buy this piece of land?"

Zhou Dagou laughed and said, "Our house isn’t around there. Who would build a house in that spot? If Uncle Jin wants to buy it, he should just buy the whole lot."

Zhou Jin wasn’t foolish. By buying that piece of land, he would directly border Zhou Dayuan’s household. Hmph, he would surely leave an empty piece of land to keep away from their family.

In Qili Village, as long as building a house on a vacant plot had the approval of all the families in the village, one could build at will.

Because there was plenty of unused land, that wasn’t cultivated and only covered in weeds or broken stones, one could build wherever they liked, as long as they had money.

But there were exceptions. Since everyone in the village lived together, though there’d be empty spaces on either side, there would also be neighbors. If your family and mine both wanted to build on the same empty space, then the only option would be to buy it.

The money paid would go to the village for future road construction, waterworks repair, or aiding the weak and widowed, all spent from the village’s public funds.

Of course, it wasn’t a lot of money. Based on the size of the land, Old Zhou had calculated that the plot he enclosed wouldn’t cost more than three hundred wen at most.

While this sum was negligible compared to the cost of building seven stone houses, it was still painful for the average villager.

Usually, to avoid this expense, they would prefer to choose another plot of land rather than pay for it.

After all, there was plenty of vacant land both in and around the village.

Old Zhou decided to pay, so naturally, Zhou Dayuan’s family wouldn’t contest any further, and the matter was settled.

He simply had the village head choose a good day for construction and immediately notified the people he wanted to invite to help build the house on that day.

Those invited agreed without issue.

Now that the weather was becoming colder and there was no work in the fields, Old Zhou’s house construction provided a good opportunity for income, so the invited were quite pleased.

Upon returning home, Old Zhou gathered everyone and went to the empty space next door to start cutting grass, clearing stones, and other debris.

By the time Manbao finished her homework at the Bai Family and ran back home, the weeds on the ground had been cut, and everyone was picking up stones to put in bamboo baskets. A large circle outlined with ash on the ground contained several squarely drawn shapes.

Manbao, with her Small book box on her back, hopped into the largest drawn shape and excitedly asked Zhou Silang, who was slacking off, "Silang, why are we drawing on the ground?"

"Drawing? The place where you are standing is the courtyard; these are outlines of the houses," he explained.

Manbao looked around, unable to imagine the dirt floor as rooms and a courtyard. She scratched her head and asked, "Why do we need to draw?"

"We draw so we know how much land we need to buy. See, from here to there, we’ll have to pay three hundred and twenty wen."

Zhou Dalang frowned and said, "If you ask me, there’s really no need to make it so big. Isn’t the courtyard and the rooms too large?"

"Where’s it too large? I think it’s just right. Father and Mother also said it’s good," Zhou Si insisted, looking at the central shape. "See, that’s going to be my room. I have it all planned out. A room this big, I’ll divide it into two sections, just like Father and Mother’s room, separated by a bamboo screen. Inside, I’ll have the bed, and outside, I’ll have a table, chairs, and a bench; it can even be used to entertain guests occasionally. When I have sons, they can stay in the outer part."

Zhou Dalang thought it over and nodded. "That’s not a bad idea. Alright, if it needs to be bigger, then bigger it shall be."

Manbao then excitedly asked, "And where will my room be?"

Zhou Si waved his hand generously and said, "Pick any, this one, that one... they’re all available."

Old Zhou, who just happened to overhear him bragging, slapped him on the head and scolded, "You’ve been the laziest today. While your elder brother and sister-in-law have finished cutting the grass, you haven’t even collected a basketful of stones. What are you boasting about?"

Manbao immediately scampered off. She ran to find Zhou Dalang and asked, "Big brother, where will my room be?"

Zhou Dalang pointed to the room west of the legitimate wife’s and smiled, "There; Mother said you need to study in a sunlit room, so this one’s for you. We’ll make a window facing west for you, and your desk will be placed below the window so reading won’t strain your eyes."

Manbao was overjoyed and hopped over to inspect, saying, "I like it here. It’s right next to Father and Mother’s room, so at night, I could even talk to them through the wall."

Zhou Dalang thought to himself that his parents probably wouldn’t be pleased.

Nevertheless, Manbao twirled enthusiastically on the spot, trying to plan her room, but the ground was uneven, and she struggled to imagine what it would look like transformed into a room. After turning around for a long time and getting nowhere, she realized she had no layout planned at all, not even knowing where to put the bed.

Keke saw her spinning aimlessly and reminded her, "Host, didn’t your parents say money is tight? I think they won’t buy many things for your room. Shouldn’t you consider earning more money to get some things for yourself?"

Manbao nodded seriously, "You’re right. As soon as Fifth Brother returns from the county town, I’ll start saving money, and I won’t be careless with it anymore."