Chapter 177: A Winter with a Fireplace Is Never Cold

Lin Heng drove the cart into town. After waiting for about half an hour, Li Chengguo’s delivery truck arrived, loaded with goods—including the fireplace Lin Heng had been dreaming about.

Li Chengguo glanced at him. “Boss Lin, do you want everything unloaded here?”

Lin Heng replied, “Help me take the fireplace and the electrical stuff—wires, bulbs, all that—up to the village. And while you’re at it, come have a meal at my place.”

“Well now, I’d be glad to. Been meaning to visit Boss Lin’s home anyway,” Li Chengguo agreed after a moment’s thought.

Lin Heng grinned. “I’m going to pick up some plaster too. Can you haul that for me?”

“No problem,” Li Chengguo nodded.

Once the goods were unloaded and the accounts settled, they headed off to buy plaster.

Last month, Lin Heng’s little store brought in about two hundred yuan—roughly the same amount he’d spent on a family outing to the city yesterday. But that income didn’t cover all the expenses. The fireplace alone had cost a hundred yuan, meaning if he were relying solely on the store’s profits, he’d still be down a hundred.

Fortunately, plaster wasn’t expensive—ninety yuan per ton. One ton was more than enough to redo the walls at home.

After wrapping everything up, Lin Heng did the math. After paying off the thousand yuan he owed the Unity Brick Factory owner, he had 6,500 yuan left in his savings account. With the musk deer sale yesterday and today’s store profits, minus the cost of the lime powder and fireplace, his balance now stood at 7,200 yuan.

That was just what was in the bankbook. Overall, his cash reserves had taken a hit recently. Good thing he’d caught a male forest musk deer.

Once the twenty mu of fish ponds were dug and the workers paid, he figured he’d be left with only four to five thousand yuan in cash.

Shaking his head, he sighed inwardly. If only I’d played the stock market in my past life. I’d know how it moves. Making money would’ve been so much easier.

He knew what kinds of businesses were profitable, of course. But those kinds of investments took time to mature. Without firsthand experience, it was impossible to catch the subtle shifts that let you make fast money.

“What’s wrong?” Li Chengguo asked, noticing Lin Heng shaking his head.

Lin Heng smiled and said, “Nothing, just thinking how hard it is to make money.”

Li Chengguo rolled his eyes, half tempted to smack him. “When I was your age, I couldn’t even scrape together five yuan. And you’re already a Ten-Thousand-Yuan Household, and you’re still complaining?”

The more he thought about it, the more he felt Lin Heng was something else. Just twenty years old and already this accomplished.

“I’m twenty-one now. Had my birthday already,” Lin Heng corrected.

“…Okay, let’s drop this topic. I can’t take it,” Li Chengguo said, waving it off.

“You got anything else to do?” he asked.

“Nope, bought everything I needed. Let’s head out,” Lin Heng replied.

Li Chengguo started the truck and drove toward Red Maple Village. Lin Heng led the way in his cart.

It took them half an hour to get there—mostly because Lin Heng’s cart was slow. Otherwise, they’d have arrived much sooner.

The villagers found the truck a bit of a novelty, but once they saw Lin Heng, they understood—he was at it again.

Lin Heng called over two people to help unload.

Li Chengguo stepped into the courtyard and looked around, impressed. “Your house is pretty nice.”

“Haha, not bad, right?” Lin Heng chuckled.

“Xiulan, make us a meal. Uncle Li’s staying for lunch,” Lin Heng called out.

“Okay,” Xiulan nodded and went off to cook.

After unloading everything, Lin Heng poured Li Chengguo a cup of tea. After a few sips, he needed to use the bathroom.

“It’s out back,” Lin Heng said, pointing toward the backyard and leading him there.

“Your backyard’s even nicer than the front. You really know how to live,” Li Chengguo said, admiring the scenery.

“Wait… is that a forest musk deer?”

He stopped in his tracks when he saw it. That was a rare find.

Lin Heng nodded. “Yeah, caught it by chance. Got lucky.”

He wasn’t too worried about Li Chengguo knowing—after all, he didn’t live in Red Maple Village. Lin Heng was more concerned about the villagers finding out.

The male musk deer was cowering in a corner, clearly spooked. Li Chengguo gave it a closer look, then asked curiously, “You selling it? I’ll give you fifteen hundred.”

Lin Heng laughed. “Boss Li, you’re joking, right? I wouldn’t sell it for fifteen thousand, let alone fifteen hundred.”

“Haha, just messing with you,” Li Chengguo said, chuckling as he headed to the toilet.

When he came back, he didn’t bring it up again. Instead, he checked out Lin Heng’s fish pond and strolled around the village.

Before long, Xiulan had lunch ready. Lin Heng and Li Chengguo had a couple of drinks, but Lin Heng didn’t let him have too much—he didn’t want him driving into a ditch on the way back.

“You’ve got it made,” Li Chengguo said enviously. “Your wife’s beautiful and capable, and her cooking is amazing.”

He thought about his own wife—loud and overbearing like a mother hen—and sighed.

“But the best part is your ingredients. This simple meal feels like a feast,” he added.

He’d expected a basic country lunch and hadn’t brought any gifts. Now, faced with this spread, he felt a little embarrassed.

Forget everything else—just the matsutake carp soup and the sliced black truffle were things he’d never had before. Black truffle went for forty yuan a pound!

Add in the wild boar meat and cured sausages, and this meal would easily cost forty or fifty yuan in the city.

“It’s nothing, really. Just homegrown stuff. Doesn’t cost much,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

His sincerity only made Li Chengguo feel guiltier. He made a mental note to bring a gift next time.

After lunch, Lin Heng took him up Red Maple Mountain for a bit. They brewed some tea and sat in the peaceful surroundings, which relaxed Li Chengguo completely. He ended up pouring out a lot of his thoughts.

Over the course of their chat, he felt more and more like Lin Heng truly understood him. What started as a business relationship now felt like a genuine friendship.

What he didn’t know was that compared to his midlife worries, Lin Heng’s past-life middle age had been downright tragic. That kind of experience gave him a deep well of empathy.

As he was leaving, Li Chengguo patted Lin Heng on the shoulder. “Lin Heng, if you ever need anything, just send word. I’ll be there.”

“Got it. Drive safe,” Lin Heng nodded.

Once he saw him off, Lin Heng couldn’t wait to get started on installing the fireplace.

Xiulan was waiting inside, bundled up in a dark blue cotton jacket. She was always cold and very modest—whether winter or summer, the most she ever showed was her arms or calves.

Xiao Xia was also wrapped up warmly, tugging at her mother and asking endless questions. She’d started talking early, and lately it was like a switch had flipped—she just wouldn’t stop.

Lin Heng looked at her with a smile. “Let’s move the fireplace into the bedroom and set it up. That way we won’t be cold at night.”

“Okay,” Xiulan got up to help him carry it.

Together, they moved the fireplace into the bedroom, placing it against the east wall—on the other side of which was the passageway between their house and his older brother’s.

They planned to install the chimney there too, so the smoke wouldn’t bother the beehives in the backyard.

“Where do you think we should put it?” Lin Heng asked his wife. He left this kind of thing entirely up to her—whatever made her happy.

The master bedroom window faced south, looking out over the backyard. Their bed was against the east wall, perpendicular to the window.

So putting the fireplace in the middle wasn’t an option—it had to go in either the southeast or northeast corner.

Xiulan thought for a moment and decided, “Let’s go with the southeast corner. That spot’s empty anyway.”

The southeast corner was right by the window, facing the backyard to the south.

“Alright, let’s move it over,” Lin Heng nodded. He agreed it was the best spot—tucked away in the corner, out of the way and safe.

The floor was all bluestone, carefully leveled during installation. The fireplace sat solid and steady—no wobble at all.

With the fireplace in place, the two of them went out to get the chimney.

“This chimney’s so heavy! Look how thick it is,” Xiulan exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course! Look at how much it cost,” Lin Heng said with a smile. The chimney walls of the fireplace were five millimeters thick—solid quality, no doubt about it.

After bringing it inside and confirming the height, they shifted the fireplace aside. Lin Heng took a steel rod and started drilling into the wall. It was a mud wall, so it only took about ten minutes to punch through.

Once the hole was done, he inserted the chimney and sealed it up with some plaster. Xiulan swept the floor, and the two of them eagerly installed the fireplace, then went to gather some firewood to light it up.

Living on their own had its perks—no nagging parents. If his mother were around, she’d insist on picking an auspicious day or something. But the two of them could do things however they pleased.

They stacked the firewood, lit it, and closed the stove door. The pressure difference would draw in air from the lower intake and vent it through the chimney. With the influx of oxygen, the fire roared to life.

Through the transparent crystal window, they could see the flames dancing wildly, twisting and flickering.

The efficient burn not only saved firewood but also heated the room quickly. In no time, the warmth began to spread.

Within about half an hour, the master bedroom was toasty warm—warm enough to make you want to take off your coat.

“Totally worth the money. Not a whiff of smoke,” Xiulan said with a smile.

“Of course,” Lin Heng grinned. “You can even heat water on top of this thing. Just keep a chair in front of it so Xiao Xia doesn’t get too close.”

The fireplace was designed with solid science behind it—safe and reliable in every aspect.

Building your own fireplace took skill. If you got it wrong, the smoke would back up into the room.

Lin Heng hated nothing more than trying to enjoy a fire while choking on smoke. It wasn’t just the stinging eyes—it was the headaches from carbon monoxide, too.

And burning charcoal in a sealed room was even more dangerous—carbon monoxide poisoning was no joke. For safety’s sake, a proper fireplace was the way to go.

Of course, another big reason was that Lin Heng just liked watching fire. There was something mesmerizing about watching the flames dance through the crystal window.

He moved a small table into the bedroom. They’d be spending a lot of time in there during the winter, no doubt.

Once the table was set up, Lin Heng lit a stick of pine resin in the Boshan Censer, then took out a purple clay teapot, brewed some tea, and poured a cup for Xiulan.

But she wasn’t interested. Instead, she grabbed some dried red dates and peanuts, stuffing her cheeks like a little squirrel.

Xiao Xia was full of questions, chattering non-stop. They had to give her some shrimp chips just to keep her mouth busy.

Still, they hadn’t expected her to be so talkative even while eating. She was more of a handful than ever.

“Looks like she’s really hit the talking phase,” Lin Heng said to Xiulan with a helpless smile.

Kids always went through a stage where they just couldn’t stop talking.

“Daddy, what’s the talking phase?” Xiao Xia tilted her head, her voice soft and sweet.

“It’s exactly what you’re doing right now,” Lin Heng said, giving her chubby cheek a gentle pinch.

“Daddy, you eat~” Xiao Xia didn’t quite get it, so she handed him a shrimp chip.

At least she wasn’t trying to feed him grass anymore.

“Good girl,” Lin Heng said, beaming.

Xiulan chuckled and said, “You need to grind that fern root starch today. If we don’t get on it soon, we won’t have time to make the noodles.”

“Alright, we’ll get to it in a bit,” Lin Heng nodded. He had originally planned to plaster the courtyard and outer walls later.

“Okay,” Xiulan agreed.

They hadn’t chatted long when the bedroom door was nudged open by Xiong Ba. A dog and a cat trotted in one after the other and claimed spots in front of the fireplace.

Lin Heng glanced at the pair but didn’t say anything. At least they were well-behaved and didn’t make a mess in the house.

After two cups of tea, Lin Heng and Xiulan headed out, with Xiao Xia tagging along. Xiong Ba and Jinbao stayed behind, curled up by the fire.

The fern roots had already been washed and dried. The two of them carried them over to his parents’ courtyard, where there was a massive stone mortar about seventy centimeters in diameter.

Mother Lin looked at him and said, “So you’ve finally decided to deal with your fern root starch, huh?”

“Haha, I’ve just been busy,” Lin Heng laughed.

The process was simple—crush the roots, mix with water, and let it settle to extract the starch.

Xiulan tossed the fern roots into the mortar. Lin Heng picked up the pestle and started pounding, mashing the roots into a pulp before tossing them into water.

“This is exhausting. Once we get electricity, I’m buying a grinder,” Lin Heng said, shaking his head.

With a machine, not only could they extract more starch, it would be way easier.

“Buy one next year then. You’ll need it for grinding feed anyway,” Xiulan said.

“Definitely getting one.”

Lin Heng kept pounding away. It was a real workout—by the afternoon, his arms felt more sore than if he’d done five hundred push-ups.

By 5:30 p.m., Father Lin and the others came home. Lin Heng had finished pounding the fern roots, and they were left to settle in a bucket. By morning, the starch would be ready.

Father Lin reminded him, “The first batch of fish ponds should be done tomorrow. Make sure you’ve got the next steps planned.”

Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, “If they finish tomorrow, that’ll be the sixth. Let’s just take a two-day break. Power’s coming to the village on the eighth, so we’ll resume work on the ninth. Dad, you can use the break to brew the liquor.”

Mother Lin added, “Tomorrow your dad and your big brother need to be here too. We can’t make the noodles without them.”

Lin Heng waved it off. “No problem. My uncle and Third Uncle can keep an eye on the site. Nothing major should go wrong.”

Father Lin nodded. “Alright then, we’ll make the noodles tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds good!” Lin Heng agreed. It had been a long time since he’d made noodles from scratch.

The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Heng headed to Red Maple Mountain to oversee construction. He had the workers sign in and checked on the progress.

Out of the ten new fish ponds being dug, two had large boulders that couldn’t be moved. The rest were in great shape—clay bottoms, no worries about leakage.

After inspecting the site, he handed things over to his uncle and Third Uncle and headed back home.

His childhood friends Li Shiwei and Lin Hai had been working there these past few days. Lin Heng would occasionally chat and joke with them when he had time.

He didn’t really want his best buddies working for him, but they didn’t have any other skills. If they wanted to get ahead, they had to work hard and build up some capital.

He couldn’t just give them money—that wouldn’t be right or practical.

Besides, working for him gave them a chance to learn. Later, when he had the means to support them, it would happen naturally.

They never complained either. In the countryside, it wasn’t easy to find a paying job. Lin Heng had even given them management roles and answered all their questions without holding back—he was already doing plenty.

When Lin Heng returned home, Father Lin and his older brother were already in the outer courtyard, setting up a big pot. The water was boiling.

“Just in time, little bro. We’re about to start making the noodles,” Lin Yue said with a grin.

(End of Chapter)