Zhang Liushui felt a pang in his nose at his third brother's words; the weight of brotherhood, such a heavy phrase.
Ever since he got married, he couldn't bear it. Because whenever he wanted to have a good chat with his third brother, Wu Gudie would appear and argue, turning the household upside down.
As time went by, he stopped seeking out his third brother for conversations.
It wasn't that he feared Wu Gudie, but rather he didn't want the hassle.
"That's still too high. One hundred, I can accept that."
"Big Brother."
"Just one hundred yuan a month. Even at this price, it's more than Second Brother gets. Listen to me, Big Brother, just one hundred.
But if one day you can't pay the wages, I will still work for you. That's also brotherhood, you can't refuse."
"Okay."
"However, if I have to guard the lake, do I have to live there like Old Guotou? And what about the fields at home?"
Guarding the lake meant living by the lake and not being able to leave. Zhang Liushui knew the rules.
"You can still farm the land. Tomorrow I'll bring two packs of cigarettes and talk to Old Guotou. He'll watch over it with you, one person on each side.
When it's time for the busy farming season, you can go and work. Just ask Old Guotou to look after things for you."
"Forget it. During the busy season, I'll have Dad watch over it. But I need a place to stay."
"That's easy. I was thinking of rebuilding these mud houses anyway. Tomorrow I'll find people to build them, starting with your house by the lake. Though the house might be a bit far from the village."
"Far is good. It saves my sister-in-law from always looking for trouble.
But rebuilding the house? Isn't your house still fine? Why rebuild it?"
"My house is no good. The walls are already cracked. It'll collapse in a storm."
It was indeed going to collapse, and it would happen within a month or two.
But it was understandable that it would collapse, after all, this house was built by Zhang Liunian's parents when they got married. It had been decades by the time it got to him, so if such an old house didn't collapse, who would?
He couldn't let his wife and daughters live in such a dangerous house. What if they were crushed?
"But rebuilding a mud house will cost at least one to two hundred yuan, and you still need to dry the mud bricks. Are you sure you want to do it?" Zhang Liushui's house was rebuilt after the family division. His was not a mud house, but a pure wooden house, much better than Zhang Liunian's.
"If I build, I'll build a blue-brick tiled house. A few hundred yuan isn't enough.
Your lakeside cabin should also be a blue-brick tiled house. I'll build two rooms for you, and your whole family can live in it."
"No, no, it's fine if only I can live there. You don't need to build it big." If he could avoid living with Wu Gudie, he'd be happy to have some peace.
But Zhang Liunian wouldn't do that. He didn't want to break up his elder brother's family. It would be too lonely. "It won't be too big. I don't have that much money to build it too large, but an eighty-square-meter house is definitely needed."
Eighty square meters could accommodate two rooms, plus a small living room. Outside, a kitchen and an outhouse could be built.
Everything needed would be there.
"Two houses, how much will this cost you?" Zhang Liushui found that after his third brother started making money, he also spent like water. He had to buy everything, and now he wanted to build houses. He really didn't know where he got so much money to do this.
"One to two thousand yuan will definitely be needed."
"..."
Zhang Liushui looked at his third brother's calm expression and thought to himself, this is one to two thousand yuan, not one to two yuan.
How could his third brother say it as easily as drinking water?
"Do you have it now?"
"No."
"Perhaps it's better not to build it, just get me a thatched cottage."
"That won't do. This is a house meant to be lived in for ten years, so we can't be careless."
"..."
"Third Brother, your Big Brother here has some private savings. I'll lend it to you later."
"Big Brother, you don't need to. I'll earn the money to build the house."
The price for taking over Daming Lake wasn't too high. He believed that not only would he be able to build the house soon, but he could also pay off the remaining balance.
After sending his elder brother off, Zhang Liunian turned and saw Jiang Qingqing staring at him. He stepped forward and held her hand. "What's wrong, Qingqing?"
"You want to rebuild the house?"
Her husband had never mentioned this to her. She had only overheard it just now.
Zhang Liunian put his arm around his wife's slender waist and placed his hand on her bulging belly. "Yes, our house is too old and can't withstand the autumn storms.
Moreover, you're due to give birth in three months. You can't live in such a dangerous house."
So, her husband was worried about her and the baby. She was so touched.
Jiang Qingqing reached out and clasped his large hand. "But didn't our family just take on several thousand yuan in debt? If we have to build a house now, won't that make things worse?"
Last night, her husband had told her that he would sign the cooperation agreement today. When he took out the contract just now, it meant they were indeed in debt.
"We owe several thousand? How long will it take to repay it?" Jiang Qingqing raised her beautiful eyes and stared at Zhang Liunian without blinking.
Zhang Liunian looked at her pure black pupils, leaned down, and kissed her eyebrows. Jiang Qingqing didn't expect her husband to steal a kiss and her pretty face immediately turned red. Her eyes flickered, unable to meet Zhang Liunian's starry gaze directly.
"Four thousand five hundred. It just needs to be repaid within two months.
For building the house, we might need one to two thousand yuan, but that's okay. I'll expand our market again and strive to build the house first, and then pay off the debt." Zhang Liunian, having "stolen a kiss," held his wife contentedly, full of confidence.
Jiang Qingqing's face was flushed and her heart was pounding, her mind full of the kiss from just now. She could only respond and didn't know what else to say.
"By the way, the thousand yuan I took out this morning and the five hundred yuan, plus the crayfish I sold, it's a total of 800 yuan. Here, take it."
Zhang Liunian added the tens of yuan in his hand, making it exactly eight hundred yuan.
Jiang Qingqing took it, very surprised to have eight hundred yuan.
This gave her some confidence regarding the 4,500 yuan debt.
"I only need five hundred. Three hundred for you to buy a bicycle. You've been walking to the county town, and it takes too much time." It was also very tiring. If he had a bicycle, her husband wouldn't have to carry the shoulder pole in the afternoon.
Moreover, if he wanted to cooperate with other factories, having a bicycle would make it much easier to find them.
Zhang Liunian smiled, looking at his thoughtful wife. He took the three hundred yuan and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll go to South City tomorrow to buy a bicycle, and by the way, look for new business partners."
"Yes, whether you find them or not, you don't need to be under too much pressure. We've now cleared the village debt, so we don't need to worry about villagers coming to collect."
Zhang Liunian nodded and smiled, "Qingqing, your belly is getting bigger and bigger. Why don't you stop getting up early to peel crayfish tomorrow?
Now that crayfish are available, it's no longer a secret. I can hire more people. You don't need to work so hard.
From now on, you just need to pay the wages to these helpers and manage the household accounts, what do you say?"
"No need, I can still work."
"No, you need to rest well and take care of yourself."
"Okay! I'll listen to you. But do we really need to build a house? Can't we wait a bit longer?"
"We can't wait any longer. I want us to be able to live in the new house when the baby is born."