This autumn, the village had an extra activity compared to previous years—collecting acorns. Everyone was waiting to use the acorns to feed their pigs, so the house construction couldn’t be delayed. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find anyone to help.

Zheng Changhe and Yang Family personally went to Xiatang Market to buy green bricks and small tiles, hiring an ox cart to haul them back in many trips.

The Zheng Family Courtyard was suddenly in disarray, piled high with lumber, bricks, and tiles, along with sand Qingmu had hauled from the riverbank and yellow clay he had dug from the mountains.

One day, an autumn rain began to fall, making the courtyard seem even more cluttered. The entire Zheng Family was worried, afraid the rain wouldn’t stop.

Fortunately, the sky cleared the next day. Only then did Zheng Changhe relax. He and Qingmu started making adobe bricks, and in their spare time, they gathered stones and hauled them home.

There was no time during the day, so at night, Zhang Dashuan and his son, along with Zhao San, came to help make adobe bricks by torchlight.

Juhua was exhausted once more, truly run off her feet.

She kept comforting herself. ’Once this house is built, we’ll be living in it for many years. It’s one big push for a lasting reward.’

She even worked with her father and brother to design the structure of the house and the layout of the courtyard. She drew a crooked floor plan, and with a combination of gestures and explanations, she managed to make them understand. After some careful revisions, they finally settled on the design.

A row of six rooms, three on the east and three on the west, all with the same layout to make it easier to divide the property in the future. Aside from the main hall, each room was partitioned into a front and a back section. A window in each faced south toward the front yard, and another faced north toward the backyard. This created extra rooms for storage and for hosting guests.

The pigsty and chicken coop were moved entirely to the backyard. A passageway was specifically left on the sides of the east and west wings in the front yard to provide access to the back.

The vegetable garden was also moved to the backyard, leaving only a few fruit trees to be planted in the front. Since the well couldn’t be moved, the kitchens were planned for the east and west ends of the front yard, though for now, they would only build one.

The vegetable patch they had started last year was completely cleared out and leveled to serve as the foundation for the new house. The addition of a backyard made the plot a bit tight, but thankfully, they had recently purchased an extra mu of land in the front, so they shifted the entire foundation forward a bit.

With the preparations complete, Juhua’s eldest maternal uncle arrived to help, bringing along her cousin Laifu, her second maternal uncle, and her eldest uncle’s wife. Her maternal grandmother and second uncle’s wife were left at home to manage things there. Laifu’s master, Wang Jinhua, came as well, serving as the carpenter.

A large crowd from the village came to help as well. The families of Zhang Huai and Zhao San were there, of course, along with Liu Ershun, Qin, Li Gengdi, Old Cheng, Shorty Zhou, Huang Dagunzi’s son Huang Xiaodun, Li Changxing, Li Changming, and Big Mouth Zhao. A boisterous crowd milled about the courtyard.

Zheng Changhe and his son had already built a simple shed out of Zhuzi and straw and moved all their belongings inside. They hadn’t dismantled the kitchen yet; otherwise, they would have had no place to cook.

With a synchronized work chant, the thatched cottage the Zheng Family had lived in for over a dozen years was torn down.

Gazing at the dusty, crumbling walls, Zheng Changhe and Qingmu broke into relieved smiles. It was torn down, but what would rise in its place was a tile-roofed house.

Every day, Juhua and Liu Xiaomei helped Yang Family and her eldest uncle’s wife, Ms. Zhang, with the cooking and dishwashing. In a stolen moment of leisure, she would often run out to gaze at the chaotic but lively construction site, her heart filled with joy.

Some of the villagers worked shirtless, digging earth, laying walls, carrying bricks, and shouldering lumber. The construction site was a constant flurry of activity, with people coming and going, all of them talking and laughing loudly.

Juhua watched as the foundation was laid. The next day, they began to lay the walls. Two days later, the walls were already standing tall, and the rough shape of the new house had emerged.

At this point, even the kitchen had to be torn down to make room.

So, they set up the two large woks in the open air. They brought over tables from Zhao San’s and Zhang Huai’s homes and put everything outside. During meals, food was laid out on three tables for everyone to help themselves. No one sat down formally; each person grabbed a bowl, filled it with food, and squatted off to the side, eating and chatting.

Water was boiled in large woks, and chrysanthemum tea was brewed in a large jar. Rice was cooked in other large woks and then served from a large bamboo basket.

The aroma of food being stir-fried and cooked in the open air attracted every dog in the village. They would often fight under the tables over a meaty bone, creating a chaotic scene.

Juhua’s dog, Black Dog, was furious and did his best to chase off the intruders.

Juhua, afraid they would knock over bowls and basins, also grabbed a stick to drive the dogs away. Black Dog watched the other dogs retreat, barked a few times with its head held high in victory, then turned and affectionately rubbed against Juhua’s leg.

At night, though exhausted, Juhua was often still too excited to rest. She would wander through the new, unroofed house with Qingmu, listening to him explain his plans for this or that section.

He had been attending school at first, but he eventually grew too restless to stay in the classroom. He asked his teacher for leave, and even Zhang Huai took a leave of absence so they could both come and help.

Their sleeping arrangements were just pallets on the ground. Juhua slept in the straw shed with Yang Family and Ms. Zhang, while Zheng Changhe, Qingmu, her eldest uncle, and her second uncle had no choice but to sleep in the open.

In truth, it didn’t matter where they slept. Everyone was so exhausted they fell asleep the moment they lay down, not even having a single dream.

Unfortunately, Juhua woke up one night. Listening to the chirping of autumn insects in the quiet night would have been lovely, but the men, exhausted from the day’s labor, were snoring like thunder.

Her father, her eldest uncle, and her second uncle sounded like they were in a snoring competition, and it was driving her mad. One moment the snores were loud enough to split her eardrums; the next, they’d become a thin, thread-like wheeze, making her think the snorer was about to stop breathing altogether. Juhua even found her own breath catching in sympathy. Then, mercifully, the next breath would be drawn, and the snoring would resume. Just as she’d let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, she’d find herself more wide-awake than before.

She sat up and watched as the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, slowly tracing the outlines of the mountains and fields. Beside her, Yang Family was already getting up, though her eldest aunt was still sound asleep.

Yang Family looked at the seated Juhua in surprise and whispered, "Why aren’t you sleeping?"

Juhua gave a helpless smile. "I woke up, and I couldn’t get back to sleep with Dad and my uncles making all that noise."

Yang Family recalled that Liu Xiaomei had invited Juhua to sleep over. "Why don’t you go stay with Mei at her place tonight?" she suggested. "Sleeping in a real bed has to be better than sleeping on the floor."

Juhua shook her head. "I’m afraid I’d sleep even worse in a strange place. It’s fine as long as I don’t wake up in the middle of the night." (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please consider supporting it with your votes and monthly passes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation!)