The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 43

As Xu Ran returned home, he handed Liu Tong the paper money and told him he was going to construct a new house. With money lent, Liu Tong was a little uneasy "You've taken out a lot of loans, Ran. When do you think we'll be able to return it? Why don't you just return the money? We can still live in our current home."

With a shake of his head, Xu Ran insisted, "No, it's still extremely cold inside our home. Our children are also fed up with it. In the summer, the house is fine, but in the winter, it is a disaster. My palms, you see, are still raw from chilblains." Xu Ran then extended his hands to show to Liu Tong.

Without heating or a down-filled hat, it was too cold in the winter. Soon after the first snowfall, Xu Ran developed chilblains in his hands. His hands were raw with chilblains as time went by, and both of them swelled up like radishes. The chilblains on his hands did not begin to heal slowly until after the first month.

Xu Ran's hands were examined by Liu Tong. He discovered that the chilblains had not healed. He was moved by his pity for him. Xu Ran seldom revealed his hands to him. He kept his hands hidden even though he was asleep. As a result, Liu Tong had no idea what was going on in Xu Ran's hands. He simply tried not to allow him to work.

Now that Xu Ran had used himself as an example to persuade him, Liu Tong didn't think it was fair to deny. He believed that, despite the fact that 500 taels of silver was a large amount of money, their family could pay off the debt if they continued to sell chili paste. "Ran, just follow your arrangement," Liu Tong said, nodding.

"Great!" Seeing Liu Tong agree with it, Xu Ran smirked, "Let's find someone to see when it's appropriate to start building, and where to build the house. Finally, we'll discuss who to build it." In fact, Xu Ran had considered about building a house for a long time, so he had a clear mind at the moment.

Someone in the village did also specialize in geomantic omens and had some simple fortune-telling abilities. Even though Xu Ran didn't believe it, he decided to seek the help of the geomantic master in order to put Liu Tong at ease. Xu Ran had some wine at home, so he poured it out and tied it in a bamboo knot.  And because of such a gift, the geomantic master naturally took his work seriously.

Xu Ran first asked him to choose the most recent and best time to begin construction, and he replied that the 25th of the first lunar month was the most recent and best time. The time was too short, as it was already the 19th of the first month and only a few days remained. As a result, Xu Ran requested that he change the time.

Another day, the 15th of the second lunar month, was shown to him by the old master. Xu Ran considered it and decided that this was a good time. The early stage planning would be perfect if they could work efficiently. As a result, they both thanked the master and hurriedly returned home, eager to get back to work on other matters.

It was also necessary to find someone to choose a good place, but Xu Ran wanted to choose something he liked most. Thus he planned to go and see it himself first. He believed the new house should not be too far from the current house, and their industries were around there.

Wu Mei's house was visited by Liu Tong. Xu An was nowhere to be found. He worked in the town on a regular basis. Xu Ran advised Liu Tong to inquire as to whether the town had any successful house-building groups. It was much more comfortable to hire a construction crew to cover up the house construction than to try to do everything on their own.

At the moment, in Wu Mei's family, Wu Mei felt surprised to hear the news from Liu Tong.

"Yes? Your family wants to build a new house? Haven't you just built this current house? " asked Wu Mei.