Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 84

Zhou Yuren didn't dare to speak now, looking at Zhao Da'e, implying that Zhao Da'e's word was law: "Fourth Aunt, it's like this. You know, it's natural for men to marry when they're of age and women to marry when they're of age. A woman from one family will be asked by a hundred families, there's nothing wrong with that."

No matter what, you meant well. Whether it works out or not, we'll never forget you as our matchmaker. From now on, we're relatives. Genuine relatives.

Zhao Da'e said cautiously, "But we're not too comfortable taking on the responsibility for my cousin's side. My cousin is too picky. If we agree, no problem. But what if he changes his mind later?"

"To be honest..." Zhao Da'e started rambling, "In the past six months, there have been at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, matchmakers coming to our door. My cousin isn't really interested in any of them, so he's still unmarried. I was thinking, Fourth Aunt, you're a close relative of ours, so the girl you introduce must be good. She must be the best girl in all the surrounding villages. How about this, I'll agree on behalf of my cousin first, and then I'll ask him what his requirements are, okay?"

"Afterwards, Auntie, you should also ask Ma Huaihua what her conditions are. Let's discuss it first. If your conditions are reasonable, and my cousin has also changed his mind and wants to go and meet her, then we'll talk about it further. What do you think?"

Zhou Yuren was stunned: So, Zhao Da'e means he disagrees?

Zhou Yuren's heart was pounding. He couldn't wait to agree, after all, he had worked hard for four or five days to become sworn brothers with Lao Ma. Now that Shi Zhihui had come to visit, how could Zhao Da'e refuse?!

Zhou Chunwen frowned, wondering if Zhao Da'e had drunk too much. He was supposed to marry Shi Zhihui, but his older brother hadn't even been on a blind date yet. Let alone Ma Huaihua, even if his older brother Zhou Tianfu brought him a sow, Zhou Tianfu would think that sow was a feast for the eyes.

Why did Zhao Da'e refuse?

Shi Zhihui was also a little surprised, but after thinking about it, she felt that Zhao Da'e was right, after all, the Zhou family really had the strength.

They have plenty to eat and wear; their family is too well-off. Besides, that kid is only eighteen or nineteen, yet he's already in business, meeting a lot of people and seeing all sorts of women. I need to work harder.

“I have no problem with this. My niece listens to me. I can make decisions for her. She doesn’t ask for much, and she doesn’t plan to ask for a large dowry. She just wants to find a decent family and a decent man, not someone who’s always gambling and stealing.”

"Alright, my cousin doesn't seem to have any other problems. I'll talk to him properly and discuss it further. Fourth Aunt, don't rush to conclusions. Go back and take a look. Discuss it carefully. Marriage is a serious matter and can't be taken lightly. See what both of them think. If there are no problems, then let's meet up another day."

The Minor Snow solar term is just a few days away, and it'll get cold then. Fourth Aunt, if you're free on Minor Snow, I'd like to treat you to mutton dumplings all day. We can have a good chat then. We're both sincere, so let's go through the motions of finding a suitable match. As for the bride price, our custom is that it's not too much, usually around six or eight hundred.

I know Ma Huaihua is a good girl, capable and kind. Even if we offer a dowry of 10,000 yuan, she'll bring it all back. So, whether the dowry is large or small doesn't really matter. Asking for a dowry is just a formality; in the end, it all goes to the young couple anyway. Therefore, we need to be careful about the dowry issue. Fourth Aunt, you should also ask Old Ma what he really thinks and what his attitude is.

I only said that because my fourth aunt is a true relative. If it were anyone else, they would be eager to marry her, not asking for a single penny of dowry, and even having to give her money in return.

Hearing Zhao Da'e's words, Shi Zhihui immediately felt a sense of urgency. At this time, getting married was still relatively a viable option; people believed in the proper time for men and women to marry. There were few girls or boys from the surrounding villages who could go to school and move to the city; everyone stayed in their own villages, only seeing what happened within their own village and knowing only the people in their own village.

The wealthiest families Shi Zhihui could come into contact with were those with just a few single-story houses. As for apartment buildings, Shi Zhihui had never even been to the city. Of course, Shi Zhihui also knew that those arrogant city people wouldn't come to the village to marry Old Ma's daughter.

Shi Zhihui was very satisfied with Zhou Yuren's family conditions. After Zhao Da'e bragged about it, Shi Zhihui immediately felt that she had to hurry up with the matter. Otherwise, if things went sloppy, wouldn't Zhou Yuren's son, Zhou Tianfu, be snatched away by someone else's daughter?

"Okay, then I'll come again on the day of Minor Snow."

Shi Zhihui thought about it and then went back to persuade Lao Ma to stop mentioning the bride price and agree as soon as possible.

Seeing that Zhihui had basically agreed, Zhao Da'e was in a great mood. She took a wine cup, poured herself a cup of sorghum liquor, and respectfully raised the cup: "Fourth Aunt, come, come. There's nothing fancy, so please forgive me if I haven't treated you well. We're genuinely happy that you've come to my uncle's house. Your niece toasts you."

"Dry."

"A thousand cups of wine are too few when drinking with a bosom friend; even half a sentence is too much when talking to someone with whom you don't see eye to eye." The meal was leisurely and enjoyable. It wasn't until the afternoon that Shi Zhihui sobered up and left.

Zhao Da'e was still fast asleep on the kang (heated brick bed). Zhou Chunwen felt sorry for her and carried her back to the west room, covered her with a quilt, and then he and Zhou Chunhong continued to fill the "Kangxi Spring" with water to finish tomorrow's work.

But in the afternoon, it started to sleet, and eventually it started to snow heavily.

The snow fell all night, and soon the mountains were blocked by heavy snow.

The road was slippery, and the next day Xiangzi had difficulty driving. After Zhao Da'e sobered up, he had to hire someone to use a donkey cart to transport the water to the side of the road, and then have Xiangzi drive it out.

Zhao Da'e had his own considerations when it came to delivering water. Since road conditions were generally poor, the most primitive tools were the most effective. If all else failed, he could even use a donkey riding backwards.

However, the cold is a serious problem on this snowy day.

Especially in such cold weather, getting water is even more uncomfortable. Zhou Chunwen and Zhou Chunhong couldn't bear to see Zhao Da'e do too much work, so the two sisters' hands were chapped from the cold. When they were cooking, they complained to Zhao Da'e: "Da'e, we have to think of a way. Why don't you ask my dad to build a house over there or something, and we can fill the house with water? Wouldn't that be better?"

Zhao Da'e had just woken up when she heard her cousin nagging. She groggily glanced at the time; it was 4:44 a.m.: "Ugh, cousin, are you alright? You're talking to me about building a house in the middle of the night? Are you dreaming or are you still half asleep? Don't think about it, go back to sleep."

"My hands are cracked from the cold."

"It's really ten yuan a day. I'll give it to you once they give me the money."

"Really?"

"Mmm." Zhao Da'e continued sleeping.

Zhou Chunwen immediately couldn't sleep: "No, I can't take your money. Da'e and I are sisters. My second aunt lives far away and can't see us. My uncle's three sisters are all older than me and have already found husbands. My younger sister isn't very bright..."

"My brain... works... I... I... I... just... just... never mind... what my older sister said... is right." Zhou Chunhong stammered for a long time, but in the end she didn't refute her older sister, otherwise she would be too tired to argue.

Zhou Chunwen patted his younger sister Zhou Chunhong: "Chunhong, go to sleep now." Then he continued to Zhao Da'e: "I don't have many good relatives or friends, but you are one of them. Although you are still young and skinny like a monkey, you are smart. I don't want your money or anything when I work for you. I just hope that you can make a living in the future and not be so poor."

Zhao Da'e sighed: The Zhao family was indeed ridiculously poor, but Zhou Chunwen had no idea how much money Zhao Da'e had made recently. He was selling about thirty barrels of water a day, and in half a month, he had earned more than five thousand yuan. Although he hadn't received the money back yet, it was definitely not a problem.

Moreover, they continued to earn money, and things would only get better in the future. Therefore, Zhao Da'e wanted to pay Zhou Chunwen; a laborer without wages can't last long…

Who does manual labor every day?

However, since Zhou Chunwen didn't want wages, Zhao Da'e figured out how to make up for it elsewhere. He planned to withdraw money next time he went to town, buy some nice things, and help his older sister out.

Zhao Da'e drifted off to sleep again, half asleep.

When I woke up, the sky was overcast and everything was frozen. The temperature had plummeted to below minus ten degrees Celsius, and was about to drop to minus twenty degrees Celsius.

Zhao Da'e lit a stove inside the house and roasted two sweet potatoes and a few potatoes.

She started thinking about what to do about the well.

After thinking for a long time, Zhao Da'e found Zhou Yuren: "Uncle, could you go and build a scaffold for me? Over by the well."

Zhou Yuren was a bricklayer from the countryside, so he wasn't too surprised to hear about scaffolding. He asked, "What size is it?"

"Sixty-eight percent of the way through, how many beams and columns do you need? I'd like to use plastic sheeting for the roof so that it lets in more light."

Zhou Yuren was taken aback: "That's a huge job. We'll need to find a lot more people. Let me do the math, 68% of the time, that's 26 beams, 15 plus 3 plus 3, that's 21 pillars. That'll require a lot of wood. The beams are manageable, but the pillars underneath need to be thick."

"That's about fifty purlins, enough for a large house. This won't do. Big Goose, how about this: build stone walls on three sides, then seal them with red clay. It won't freeze in winter. That way you'll save on pillars. As for stones and tiles, there's plenty in the mountains, and they're not worth much. It'll just take a bit of work. Then you can build the roof with tripods, cover the back with soil and millet straw, and put a plastic sheet at the front. That way, it'll be much faster and save a lot of trouble."

Zhao Da'e sounds a bit like building a greenhouse, and it really is just building a greenhouse. Building a wall with stones is certainly sturdier and cheaper, but it takes too much time.

“Uncle, let’s go to the building materials market and buy some wood. I remember a small pine pole there only costs about ten yuan. Fifty poles would only cost a little over five hundred yuan. If we bring the wood over and find a few people to help, we can finish in half a day. If we were to work with stone, it would take at least ten days.”

Zhou Yuren shook his head: "Plastic sheeting isn't very windproof. The wind is so strong here, your plastic sheeting will be torn to shreds in a few days. And it's expensive."

After thinking for a while, Zhao Da'e said, "Then let's do this: first, we'll build the shed, and then we'll build the walls outside. I estimate that building the walls will take several days, and my eldest and second eldest sisters and I will freeze to death in those few days. The water supply over there can't be stopped, and the roads are difficult to travel on now, so we need to prepare for it a day in advance. Once the shed is built, we won't be able to withstand it."

"Uncle, you know how to do this kind of work. You can go and set up the wiring later. Where to start, where to dig the hole—it's all up to you. You'll be in charge then. I don't know anything about this; all I know is that we need to build a shed. It's all up to you, Uncle."

Zhou Yuren was indeed the best bricklayer in the surrounding villages. He not only worked quickly, but also had excellent workmanship.

Since Zhao Da'e said so, Zhou Yuren went to the ancient well to measure the dimensions and determine the location. After confirming the dimensions and the amount of material needed, and finally calculating the final amount, Zhou Yuren and Zhao Da'e took a car to the city.

There's a building materials market in Toudaowa, near the county town, with a very complete selection of products.

The owner was a woman in her fifties. After Zhao Da'e and the others explained their purpose, she led them to see the timber. After agreeing on the price, Zhao Da'e spent over five hundred yuan. Finally, they ordered a tricycle to deliver it to their home, which cost them another twenty-odd yuan.

Then I went to a hardware company and specifically bought double-layered PU film plastic, the thicker kind. I also bought some iron wire, No. 8 wire, iron nails, and finally a new stove.

Zhao Da'e had almost run out of money before he went home.

In the afternoon, the timber and other materials were delivered and piled up in the back yard. In the front yard, Zhao Da'e's grandfather looked on blankly at the bustling activity in the back. He wanted to go over and ask a few questions, but was afraid of being rebuffed by Zhao Da'e. So he just muttered to himself, "What is this little girl up to now?"

That evening, Zhao Da'e went to Zhao Tingming's house and got straight to the point: "Grandpa, I want to build a shed. I need to find a few people to work on it. Can you help me find some?"

"Why didn't you ask your grandfather to find someone to do the work?" Zhao Tingming asked, puzzled.

“Oh dear, my grandpa doesn’t help others with their work, so who’s going to help him? As for my dad, he’s gone out to do a lot of work, but I’m too lazy to bother with him now.” Zhao Da’e chuckled. “So, I came to you. After all, you’re the village chief. When the villagers are in trouble, the village chief has to take the lead.”

Zhao Tingming, having been accused by Zhao Da'e, laughed and said, "That doesn't mean I can lead the work for you, hahaha. Then I'll look for your third grandfather's sons, and your second grandfather's family. Your sixth grandfather is a traitor, I won't look for him."

“Anything is fine with me. I won’t provide breakfast in the morning because I can’t get up and there’s nowhere to eat. Grandpa, please find a few more people and try to build my shed in one day. I’ll treat everyone to a good meal at noon and in the evening. I won’t do anything else. For lunch, I’ll arrange for everyone to have pork stew with sauerkraut. I bought more than 20 catties of pork, so eat as much as you want. There will be plenty of white flour steamed buns.”

"This food is really good, that's great."

"At night, I'll take care of everyone's drinking. I'll have over twenty sorghum liquors, so everyone can drink as much as they want."

Zhao Tingming was also happy, "Then I'll go help out and get a free meal. There's plenty of wine and food. If I say that, even your third uncle, that drunkard, will be jumping for joy."