Chapter 23

Zhao Qingzhu had already risen, her eyes rimmed with dark circles. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw that beast baring its blood-red maw at her. After being startled awake twice, she no longer dared to sleep and sat waiting until dawn.

When Jiang Li arrived, Zhao was nibbling on a roasted sweet potato and tore off half to hand to her.

"Why are you up so early? The sweet potatoes are already roasted."

Zhao replied as she ate, "I have nightmares whenever I fall asleep. I woke up startled twice and just gave up on sleeping."

Jiang Li could neither laugh nor cry. "Is the wound on your forehead still painful? I meant to come see you last night, but it was too late, and I figured you’d be asleep."

Zhao touched her forehead, unbothered. "It’s fine, don't worry. You returned late, why are you up so early?"

"Our ramshackle hut... it collapsed."

"What? It collapsed?"

Jiang Li nodded. "Yes, it collapsed. The roof is gone."

"Are you all alright?"

Jiang Li shook her head. "We are all safe."

Zhao patted her chest in relief. "As long as you're safe, that's what matters." Although she felt these words offered little comfort, there was no other way. In their current situation, with barely enough to eat, if the house collapsed and left them without shelter from the wind and rain, how could they go on?

"That’s what I thought, too. I’m going to ask your mother about building a new house."

"You want to build a new house?" Zhao asked, surprised. Jiang Li gave a calm nod. "I just don't know how much money it will take."

Zhao led Jiang Li into the main room, where Grandma Zhao was washing her face.

"Mother, A-Li wants to ask you about building a new house."

Grandma Zhao, wiping her hands on a cloth, looked up at Jiang Li. "Lady Jiang, you want to build a house?"

"Our house collapsed last night," Jiang Li explained. "I wanted to ask you about the process and roughly how much it would cost."

"Collapsed? How? Is everyone safe?"

"We’re safe. The wall near the hillside had cracked before. I patched the roof a few days ago, thinking it would hold for a while, but I didn't expect it to give way so quickly."

Grandma Zhao sighed, her gaze softening with pity. In her eyes, Jiang Li and Zhao Qingzhu were about the same age; if they were in ordinary times with their parents still around, they wouldn't have to suffer so much.

"To build a house, you first need to ask the Village Chief to mark the foundation. As for the money, you provide the soil and thatch yourself. You’ll need a carpenter for the wooden doors, which will cost a bit. My nephew, Xiaoman’s fourth uncle, is a carpenter. The villagers usually pay him twenty-six copper coins. There’s a custom here: on the day you break ground, you string copper coins with straw—two for each craftsman hired. You have to place four at the corners of your foundation."

Grandma Zhao was meticulous. Jiang Li calculated that the doors and the foundation would cost thirty copper coins, not counting the labor.

"If I need it done quickly, how many people would I need?"

"About a dozen."

That would mean another twenty copper coins, bringing the total to fifty.

"Do I have to pay wages afterward?"

Grandma Zhao laughed. "My dear, think about it. Ten men, plus the door and the foundation—how much is that already?"

"At least fifty, I suppose."

"In this village, some families can’t even save fifty copper coins in a whole year. If you had to pay wages, who could afford to build a house?" Grandma continued. "You give a lucky bonus on the day you start, and then provide two meals a day for the following days. It’s hard labor, so you need to provide some meat. It takes more than a day to build, so you have to factor in the food costs."

Jiang Li nodded, silently calculating. That meant serving meat almost every day. With pork at over thirty wen per jin, ten days would cost three to four hundred wen, excluding the grain.

"If I hire a dozen people, can they finish in half a month?"

"How large a house do you want?"

"Three rooms and a courtyard."

"Half a month is enough."

Jiang Li estimated her funds; she had enough, but she had to be frugal. She still needed to buy grain, after all—she couldn't just sit in a new house and eat mud.

Once decided, Jiang Li asked Grandma Zhao to help with the cooking. She couldn't manage the cooking for a dozen people alone, and she planned to head into the mountains to trap pheasants or rabbits to save on meat costs. Grandma Zhao agreed with a smile and offered to help recruit the workers.

"My sons are all skilled at building. I’ll count them in and help you find the rest in the village."

With four of Zhao’s brothers secured, Jiang Li felt a weight lift.

When they went to the Village Chief, Qiu, to mark the foundation, he wasn't surprised—he had seen the house teetering on the brink of collapse himself. Upon hearing that Grandma Zhao was helping Jiang Li, he looked at her with newfound respect.

"Building a house isn't easy."

Grandma Zhao spoke up for her: "Lady Jiang has the skills of a hunter. She won’t break the local customs. She’s asked me to help with the cooking, and she’ll go up the mountain to get wild game. She won't let the men work without a proper meal."

She then asked, "I remember your third and fourth sons are skilled builders. Are they free?"

Before the Village Chief could answer, his wife, Auntie Zhao, chimed in: "Of course they are. There’s no work in the fields right now. Just let us know a day before you start."

Grandma Zhao smiled. "It’s a deal, then."

When they went to mark the foundation, Auntie Zhao followed and saw the two children, Xue Man and his sister, crying by the ruins. It was a heartbreaking sight.

Jiang Li reached out and ruffled Xue Man’s hair. "Why are you making your sister cry again? I'm here, what are you afraid of?"

Xue Man stayed silent. He didn't know what to say. Jiang Li had just managed to get them fed, and then the house collapsed. It felt as if heaven was determined to bully their family of orphans and widows.

The Village Chief marked out the foundation with wood ash according to Jiang Li’s plan: three rooms, a courtyard, a kitchen, and a washroom—a luxury Jiang Li insisted on so she wouldn't have to carry water into her bedroom to bathe.

As they went to recruit more help, they passed the Old Xue residence. Jiang Li had to go in to ask Xue Chengwen to make the doors. The family greeted Grandma Zhao warmly, but their faces darkened at the sight of Jiang Li. Xue Daniu even pointed at her and told her to get out. Jiang Li ignored him.

Grandma Zhao asked the old lady, "Is your fourth son home?"

Before the old woman could answer, Auntie Zhao opened the door. "We’re home, Grandma. Come in."

Inside, the awkwardness between Jiang Li and the family remained. Grandma Zhao explained, "Lady Jiang is building a house and asked me to help find people. Chengwen, could you help with the doors and windows? The price will be the usual, is that alright?"

Xue Chengwen and his wife, Zhao Xiaoxiu, were surprised. "Why are you building a house?"

"The thatch hut collapsed last night," Jiang Li replied.

Xue Daniu and Liu Chunhua had been eavesdropping and were overjoyed at the news. "It served her right! Heaven sees the evil she does!" Liu Chunhua’s delight was palpable.

Jiang Li ignored them and asked Xue Chengwen, "Is that alright, Fourth Uncle?"

Xue Chengwen looked at his wife and asked in a low voice, "The dimensions will be the same as always?"

Jiang Li, unsure of the specifics, said, "Just make them the same size as Grandma Zhao’s."

"Understood."

Once finished, Jiang Li and Grandma Zhao left. After they were gone, Xue Daniu gathered his siblings to go watch the ruins. His mother, Liu Chunhua, cackled, "What a punishment from heaven! It’s retribution!"

Xue Chengwen, however, felt a pang of worry. "Do you think she knows how much it costs to build a house?" he asked his wife.

"She must," his wife replied, though she sounded uncertain. "Even if she didn't, Grandma Zhao would have told her."

They fell into a troubled silence.

"Maybe the auntie sold some game she caught?" little Xue Xiaoduo whispered from the corner.

The couple could only hope that was the case.