Chapter 146 Planning to Tidy up the Old House

Chapter 146 plans to clean up the old house

The next morning, the two of them ate a bowl of wonton in town and went to the market to buy some rice, vegetables, grains, and oil for storage at home. Li Haitang got a basin of water, took a rag and began to wipe the dust off the door, window and furniture. He asked casually, "Li Tao, do you want to go back to the village today?"

"Yes. Dad asked me to go back and see how the house was doing. He also brought back some money and asked me to hand it over to my second uncle." Li Tao answered as he swept the broom.

"When are you going back?"

Li Tao looked at his watch and decided, "It's not eight yet. Let's leave at half past eight. Let's go to third uncle's for lunch. Li Yang said yesterday."

Li Haitang wanted to refuse. She didn't like Third aunt very much. Li Tao seemed to know what she was thinking. He smiled and said, "Go on, Third aunt has changed. She's not as shallow as before. The last time we went to the provincial capital, she insisted that we bring you a duck she raised, but this live duck is not easy to take, and she died because she was afraid that the temperature would be too high and the smell would change, so she didn't bring it."

Li Haitang smiled and teased him, "If you, Third aunt, knew you were talking about her like that, you would definitely be punished."

Li Tao pulled the corners of his mouth, but he was right. Third aunt was really shallow in the past, so he wasn't afraid of her taking care of him. He quickened his movements and quickly swept the rooms inside and outside. He also took out a wet mop from the bathroom and dragged it down to the ground.

The two sisters worked together and cleaned up at exactly 8: 30. Li Haitang came out of the house with several bags of things, borrowed a bicycle from the wang family downstairs, put on a sun hat, and went to the market with Li Tao to buy some meat dishes, and rode the bicycle back to Lee ka tsuen.

Walking along the muddy road in Lee ka tsuen, she took a long look at her old brick house. There were only a few walls standing there. The roof was gone and obviously collapsed. She said to Li Tao, "My old house has fallen down. I want to clean it up, but I don't know what's better."

Li Tao glanced over there and asked, "Do you want to build a red brick house on the original foundation?"

"I probably won't come back to live in the future. There's no need to build a house." This mud brick house carried a lot of her memories. It was a pity that it was so deserted.

"It's not a big place, and it's not good for other purposes. Why don't you plant vegetables for the villagers?" Li Tao gave her a weird look. She was already worth hundreds of thousands. He couldn't figure out what else she cared about this place.

Li Haitang rolled his eyes. Their spiritual level was not on the same path. After pondering for a moment, he decided to say, "Let uncle build a wall around me and plant a few osmanthus trees there."

"Ah!" Li Tao seemed frightened, her eyes bulging out, and she almost fell off her bike.

Li Haitang glared at him and said angrily, "Li Tao, what's that look in your eyes? I like osmanthus, august osmanthus, the fragrance is pleasant, this small place carries a lot of my memories, plant what I like on this land with memories, and place my feelings on it, isn't it good?"

Li Tao wanted to laugh but did not dare to laugh. Finally, he stifled his laughter and nodded repeatedly, "Good, very good, very good. When spring comes, I'll help you find the osmanthus tree and plant a few more here to express your feelings."

Li Haitang: ..." Let him be.

On the way back to the village, he met many people he knew or didn't know. "Grandpa, grandma, Uncle, auntie, uncle, aunt," he yelled, and the young boy grabbed a handful of candy from his bag.

The two bicycles had just arrived at the door of the house. Aunt er zhu, who was next door, was just about to go out to pick vegetables in the field. When she saw them, she smiled and said, "Oh, haitang, Li Tao, you're back."

"Yes, auntie, are you going out to work?" Li Haitang jumped off his bike to chat with her.

Auntie er zhu smiled and said, "Go to the garden in front and pick some vegetables. You two will come to our house for lunch later. Auntie will kill the chicken for you to eat."

Auntie, don't be so polite. Leave the pheasants you raised to Brother Rongzi. Yesterday, Li Yang called us to his house for dinner. We'll come back to your house for dinner next time." All the chickens raised in the countryside are very expensive. The roosters sell for money, and the hens keep their eggs, so they are willing to kill a rooster during the new year. They usually buy some meat on their birthdays, and there are several people in their family. It is rare for them to have a good meal, so they should not go.

Aunt er zhu naturally knew that their third aunt had changed a little. She smiled and said, "Well, it's rare for you Third aunt to be so polite. You should go and have a meal. Then come over this afternoon and play. We have a lot of vegetables at home. Come over later and bring some to town to eat."

"Okay, thank you, auntie." Li Haitang took one from the bag hanging on the bicycle's faucet and handed it to her, "Auntie, I brought some small things for you and your elders. They usually put their mouths on when they rest."

"Oh, haitang, then auntie is not polite." Aunt er zhu reached out and took it. She would bring them something every time she came back. There were not many things, but they were not available in town, and they cost a lot of money.

Li Haitang smiled, "Auntie, go ahead and do your work. We'll go back first."

"Okay."

The two of them parked their bikes in the sun valley terrace in front of them. Li Haitang took a look at the newly built house. It was similar to the one in Wang Li's hometown, with two floors up and down. It didn't pursue much beauty, but only convenience and practicality. The hall, living room, bedroom and other areas were large, and the windows were large, spacious and bright. In fact, it should be quite comfortable to live under a good decoration.

There was a faint "Bang" sound upstairs, guessing that second uncle was working upstairs. Li Tao shouted at the top of his voice: "Second uncle, second uncle!"

The sound stopped upstairs, and two heavy footsteps came towards the balcony outside. Li Jiangang and Zhao Chunhua were working upstairs. Li Jiangang grinned and said, "It's haitang and tao er who are back."

"Second uncle, second aunt." Li Haitang looked up and laughed. This was the first time she had ever called Zhao Chunhua an aunt.

Zhao Chunhua smiled a little stiffly and said, "The sun is shining outside. Come in. There's a pot of tea in the living room next door. Pour some for yourself first. Second aunt is covered in cement mortar. It's not very clean, so I won't pour it for you."

"We can do it ourselves, you guys go ahead." Li Haitang parked his bike and entered the house with a big bag and a small bag.

Li Tao poured her a glass of water, and she walked around the house with her large enamel cup. The walls and floors of the downstairs room were already plastered with cement, and a few old pieces of furniture were left alone in the room. The kitchen, toilet, bathroom and miscellaneous rooms were all set up at the back. This time, a small yard was added, and a new well was drilled in the yard.

She walked upstairs with Li Tao, and the stairwell was not finished yet, so it should be left for final painting. Zhao Chunhua was mixing mortar in the hall upstairs, and Li Jiangang was brushing the floor with a brick knife.

Li Haitang went to the other rooms and looked around. He came over and stood where they were not in the way of their work. He asked, "Second uncle, the second floor is almost done now. Only this room and the hall, and the stairwell are not done, are you?"

Li Jiangang stopped, stood up and pointed outside, "Besides these, there's still a balcony."

"Then it should only take a few days to finish, right?" The two of them were working really fast, and it took less than 20 days to get everything done inside and outside.

Li Jiangang wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief on his shoulder and said, "The paint in the house will be ready in two or three days, but your father said that you need to build a wall outside and that there is a place on the right side of the house that is prone to collapse and that you need to build a stone wall. I've already gone to buy the materials. They'll be delivered tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. They should be finished in half a month."

Li Haitang's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Second uncle, when the work in this house is done, you can help me mess with my little hut in the east of the village."

Li Jiangang took a bowl of water from Zhao Chunhua, took a sip, and asked curiously, "What do you want to do about that place?"

"Hehe, just make it simple. Don't build a house, build a wall around it, and plant osmanthus trees in it next spring." Li Haitang was now certain that she would say so, and the couple would be surprised.

Sure enough, both eyes widened in disbelief, and Li Tao smiled unkindly again. In the countryside, the farmers treated the land as a treasure and planted vegetables in places with large baskets. Even if they wanted to plant fruit trees, they planted them in a small place in front of their houses and behind their houses. For example, the osmanthus tree, which was regarded as a "Good-for-nothing" tree in the eyes of the rural people, almost no one planted it.

"Sister hoi tong, why don't you turn it into a small orchard and plant some poplar, jujube, chestnut, or orange trees in it?" Li Tao thought it was more reliable to plant fruit trees. Several families in the li village also planted one or two fruit trees. When the fruit was ripe, the children in the village carried their schoolbags to climb trees and pick them every day after school.

Li Haitang raised an eyebrow, "The house is only forty square meters in total. With the small yard in front of it, it is estimated to be sixty square meters. Only a few trees can be planted, and the fruit won't be enough for the children in the village."

Li Jiangang wiped off his dark skin and suggested with a smile, "Haitang, you still have a lot of space in front and back of your house. There is no owner from your door to the road. You can go to Yuanhua and measure the area before buying it. I think it should add up to three or four hundred square meters."

Li Haitang blinked. He had some memories in his mind and asked, "Uncle, I remember that part. It seems that someone in the village bought it, but it hasn't been built yet."

"No. It was your second uncle's family, xiang zi, who planned to buy that piece of land. Later, he went to the south to work with someone else and made money outside, so he disliked the small land. Now, he has built a big house next to your uncle lin's house, so he doesn't want this land." Li Jiangang was naturally more familiar with the village than she was.

Li Haitang chuckled, "That's good. I'll go buy it. Since you all think that fruit trees are good, I will plant seven or eight osmanthus trees, and the rest will be saplings. When I come back, I can also eat my own fruit."

"Hehe, okay." Li Jiangang could tell that she liked the osmanthus tree, so he didn't say much.

"Third uncle, I'll go to Yuanhua Uncle this afternoon to take measurements. You can help me figure out how many red bricks and cement and other materials I want. I'll give you all the money this time. I'll have to trouble you to help me with the family business." Li Haitang did not understand this at all, but she could tell that Li Jiangang was a good cook, so she left him to rest assured.

"Okay. I'll go with you to the scene this afternoon."