Chapter 5: Auspicious Time to Start Work

Inside the house, Cao Shujie and Cao Zhenggang were still discussing the matter of rebuilding the house.

Cao Shujie finished stating all his requirements in one breath, and Cao Zhenggang was recording them on the table at this time.

After finishing writing, Cao Zhenggang looked at the notes on the paper, thought for a moment, and very cautiously held up two fingers: “Shujie, this house of yours won’t be built for less than 200,000. Are you really planning to stay in your hometown and not go out?”

According to Cao Shujie’s requirements, this wasn’t just building a house; it was building a two-story small villa. Plus the later decoration costs, it was really hard to say exactly how much it would cost now.

It was only because it was being built in Cao Family Village; if it were in a slightly wealthier place outside, this amount wouldn’t be enough.

“Grandpa Zhenggang, didn’t I just tell you? I’ll be developing here from now on. At most, I’ll go to the city; I won’t be traveling far anymore.” Cao Shujie was very open-minded.

He pointed at the paper where Cao Zhenggang was taking notes and said, “Just go by this; over 200,000 is fine too. Grandpa Zhenggang, you see which day is a good day, and we’ll start work immediately.”

“Alright, since you’ve said so, then I’ll call people.”

After Cao Zhenggang finished speaking, he stood up: “I’ll check the almanac and pick a good day.”

{ T/N: An almanac is a yearly book with useful information like calendars, weather forecasts, moon phases, and farming tips.}

He stood up to look through the almanac. Not long after, he called out to Cao Shujie: “Shujie, look, March 18th, the fourteenth day of the second lunar month, is suitable for demolition, breaking ground, and construction. How about this day?”

“Okay, I have no objection.” Cao Shujie agreed.

Hearing Cao Shujie speak so readily, Cao Zhenggang was puzzled and asked him, “Shujie, tell Grandpa, what do you plan to do here in our village in the future? I’ve lived in Cao Family Village for 60 years, and I haven’t seen any profession here that can make money?”

Cao Shujie chuckled: “Grow some fruit, do some farming, and incidentally do some trade.”

“I’m not aiming to make a lot of money; as long as I don’t embarrass my dad by the end of the year, that’s enough.” Cao Shujie said this.

This one sentence made Cao Zhenggang laugh along.

“Shujie, you and Grandpa Zhenggang continue chatting. I’ll take Mengmeng outside for a walk.”

Cheng Xiaolin’s voice came from outside. It turned out Mengmeng insisted on having a contest with the pug to see who was stronger.

That wouldn’t do; she was really afraid of her daughter.

Hearing that his wife and daughter were leaving, and having finished saying what he needed to say, Cao Shujie said to Cao Zhenggang: “Grandpa Zhenggang, you go ahead and be busy. The child can’t sit still, so I’ll take them to see other places.”

“Oh dear, I was still thinking of having you all eat lunch here with me,” Cao Zhenggang said.

This was the truth!

People in the countryside are warm and hospitable, and since they were about to take on Cao Shujie’s job, earning a few tens of thousands wouldn’t be a problem then, so having a meal was a very normal thing.

“Grandpa Zhenggang, we won’t eat today; I’ll treat you another day.” As Cao Shujie spoke, he had already started walking out.

Cao Zhenggang picked up the eggs they had brought and wanted Cao Shujie to take them back, but Cao Shujie stopped him: “I used to only come back a few times a year, and usually didn’t have time to visit you. Please don’t blame me; you and Grandma can just eat these eggs.”

“You child, you can’t be like this in the future,” Cao Zhenggang told him.

Coming out of the house, Cao Zhenggang saw the little one, Mengmeng, pulling her mother’s hand and refusing to leave.

She even squatted on the ground, ready to throw a tantrum and roll around, shouting, “Mommy, flowers.”

“Little doggie.”

Both Cao Zhenggang and Cao Shujie were bewildered. What was going on?

“Wife, what’s wrong with Mengmeng?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s wrong’? She just wanted to fight with the little dog and also wanted to pick the apricot blossoms from the tree. Shujie, why is she so much trouble?” Cheng Xiaolin was too exhausted to complain.

Cao Zhenggang heard Cheng Xiaolin say this and chuckled happily: “Mengmeng, this won’t do. Wait a few more months, and come to Grandpa’s house to eat apricots, okay?”

“There’s food too?” Mengmeng weighed it in her little head and became obedient: “Okay!”

“Haha!” Cao Zhenggang laughed even more heartily: “Mengmeng is so well-behaved.”

Back home, Cao Shujie told his wife and mother about having discussed with Cao Zhenggang to demolish and rebuild the house.

His mother, Wang Yuelan, pondered for a moment and then asked, “Shujie, are you really sure you want to stay home? Why don’t you go to the city and see if you can find a suitable job, and buy a house…”

Before she finished speaking, Cao Shujie waved his hand to interrupt his mother: “Mom, at most you’d earn a few thousand yuan in salary in the city, a few tens of thousands a year. It’s better to rent a few more acres of land at home; the income from growing some fruit would be comparable.”

Wang Yuelan heard her son speak so casually and rolled her eyes: “Shujie, you think it’s too simple. Your dad and I have worked hard for so many years, and we haven’t seen much money earned.”

“Mom, aren’t you talking nonsense? I finished university, my sister is now in university, and when I bought a house in Beijing, you even gave me a 100,000 down payment!”

Cao Shujie said very seriously: “Mom, don’t always think that you’ll definitely make a lot of money outside and that you’ll definitely make less money at home than outside. That’s not the case at all.”

“So your dad and I spent money to send you to university just so you could come back and plant orchards?” Wang Yuelan retorted.

Cao Shujie didn’t think much of it. He said with a smile, “Mom, how could you forget what university I attended? Agricultural University! My major was agricultural science and animal husbandry, so coming back to do cultivation is actually a professional match.”

“Nonsense,” Cheng Xiaolin scolded him playfully.

However, what her husband studied was indeed a discipline related to agricultural science research, and the work he did in Beijing was also agricultural science research that matched this major. On this point, he wasn’t talking nonsense.

As soon as she finished speaking, Mengmeng, who was playing nearby, also chimed in: “Fu shuo ba tao.”

{T/N: In this context, Mengmeng is trying to imitate “胡说八道” (“nonsense”), but as a young child, she mispronounces it as “服说八套.” It’s just cute mimicry.}

Cheng Xiaolin rolled her eyes at her daughter: “Look at how clumsy you are; you can’t even speak clearly.”

“You’re the clumsy one!”

Wang Yuelan immediately understood what her granddaughter meant, and chuckled happily, amused.

But as soon as she thought about the things she heard them say when chatting with neighbors this morning, she felt uncomfortable inside.

“Shujie, I ran into your Aunt Shuying this morning. She was telling others that you couldn’t make a living outside and that’s why you came home to plant orchards.”

Cao Shujie couldn’t immediately recall who Aunt Shuying was, but when his mother mentioned the name Cao Jianhai, Cao Shujie remembered talking with Cao Jianhai for a while on the way to the old house this morning.

So he told his mother, Wang Yuelan, about this matter.

After his mother heard it, she grumbled, “Your Aunt Shuying is just a gossip; nothing good comes out of her mouth.”

Cheng Xiaolin advised her mother-in-law: “Mom, just ignore her. Wait until next year when Shujie earns a few hundred thousand, more than what those working outside earn. Then you’ll see who in the village still talks nonsense!”

“Oh dear, a few hundred thousand? It would be good enough to earn a few tens of thousands,” Wang Yuelan said, but the smile on her face already reflected her mood.

She stood up: “Alright, do whatever you like; I won’t interfere anymore.”

She reached out to her granddaughter: “Mengmeng, want to go out and play with Grandma?”

“Okay, Grandma play!” As soon as Mengmeng heard “go out and play,” she immediately followed Grandma.

Only Cao Shujie and Cheng Xiaolin, the couple, were left at home. Cheng Xiaolin still grumbled, “Shujie, they’re all our neighbors, why are they still so gossipy?”

Cao Shujie smiled; he wasn’t too bothered: “There are people like that everywhere, why bother caring about them? Just live our own lives. When we’re doing well, you’ll see how many people still talk nonsense.”

There was nothing wrong with that statement, and Cheng Xiaolin also agreed.

“So, should we go buy materials? Or go check out the orchard?” Cheng Xiaolin asked him.

Cao Shujie said, “We just got back and aren’t familiar with the situation here in our hometown. Grandpa Zhenggang can buy the building materials. Tomorrow we’ll go to the orchard, and I’ll see how the fruit trees are doing.”

“Also, there’s over 1.6 million still sitting in the bank card; it’s quite a waste. I reckon building the house will need around 200,000, and later contracting land will also require a sum of money, but not too much.” He paused here, then looked at his wife: “How about this then, we won’t touch the odd 600,000, and just take out 1 million to invest.”

“Invest in what? I don’t understand anything! Do you understand?” Cheng Xiaolin asked him.

Cao Shujie must understand. Even if he hadn’t studied it, he still had memories of some things he had experienced.

1 million compared to the large market is just a small amount of money; it won’t affect anything.

“Let me think about it. I’ll put together a plan for you to see,” Cao Shujie said.

But Cheng Xiaolin shook her head: “Husband, if you’re going to invest, don’t tell me about it. I don’t understand these things, and if I give you the wrong advice, it’ll be even worse.”

“You really won’t take a look? What if I lose everything?” Cao Shujie asked his wife.

Who knew Cheng Xiaolin immediately said without hesitation: “I still have some private savings here, and once I start working, I can also earn money. We won’t spend much living in our hometown. Besides, you’re not lazy. With your skills, you can also earn money by planting fruit trees well later on. What do I have to fear?”

Cao Shujie listened to his wife saying these words and was stunned for a long time.

A woman unreservedly placed her hopes and future on him. Could he let her down?

Cao Shujie subconsciously reached out and held his wife’s hand, which was very soft and had no calluses. He said with a smile, “Wife, don’t worry!”

…

A few days passed in a flash, and it was suddenly March 18th.

It had been exactly one week since Cao Shujie and his family of three returned from Beijing.

In front of their old house, Cao Zhenggang had already prepared with eight people.

They were waiting to completely demolish this old house, and then re-prepare the site for the foundation.

Cao Shujie and his wife Cheng Xiaolin came over with their daughter Mengmeng.

His father Cao Jianguo and mother Wang Yuelan also came over.

After greeting Cao Zhenggang, he looked at his watch; it was time. Cao Zhenggang said to Cao Shujie, “Shujie, the auspicious time has arrived. Light the firecrackers, and let’s start work.”

“Alright!” Cao Shujie didn’t waste words. He immediately lit the large red firecrackers, a string of ten thousand.

The crackling explosions, accompanied by the smell of sulfur and saltpeter, pervasive smoke and dust, and the shattered red paper, like dancing butterflies, fluttered in the air.

Mengmeng was mesmerized. She hopped and clapped her little hands, shouting, “Oh oh, fun!”

Children her age are rarely unafraid of firecrackers, but she seemed quite excited.

Before the firecrackers had even finished, she wanted to run over and chase the paper scraps. Her boldness greatly frightened both Cheng Xiaolin and Wang Yuelan, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

(End of this chapter)