CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 449: PREPARATIONS

It is said that everyone except for Hua Chengtian was shocked when they saw the tall, unfamiliar wall in front of them, thinking they had lost their way since they hadn’t come down the mountain for a long time.

After triple checking, they finally realized that they hadn’t made a mistake. This was indeed Hua Village, the place where their home was.

And then they stared in shock, still somewhat unwilling to believe it. How did such a tall wall suddenly appear in their village inexplicably?

Hua Chengtian signaled everyone to climb the ladder and get up on the wall themselves, then laboriously moved the ladder over to climb down and open the main gate. When everyone came in and saw the familiar surroundings, they recovered their senses. At the same time, they understood why Hua Chengtian brought such a long ladder when he came down the mountain; it turned out he was prepared, and that was the reason.

Other than piles and piles of bricks and stones, it was indeed desolate as far as the eye could see. Without a ladder, getting in would have cost endless effort and even possible injury.

Don’t even think about calling for someone to open the door. There was still a little distance to Hua Village, and the entire area was empty. There wasn’t even a fly in sight, and no one would hear even if you shouted until you were hoarse.

Because of this, the men who had a good relationship with Hua Chengtian all gave him a thumbs-up. They saw that out of so many people, only Hua Chengtian did not show a surprised expression and was prepared. Clearly, he knew the situation in their village like the back of his hand. Thinking back to a few months ago when this guy left, everyone seemed to understand and surrounded him, chatting noisily like a group of gossiping women.

Hua Chengtian had anticipated this. After bringing everyone in and propping up the main door, he explained the events one by one as they walked, but he credited his daughter’s efforts to himself, especially when he mentioned using their own silver, food, and resources as compensation. One shouldn’t do a good deed without leaving a name, after all. Such things were not something Hua Chengtian would do, and it didn’t fit his character.

When they found out the wall that shocked them was actually built by the Qin family single-handedly, their subsequent astonishment was no less than when they first saw the wall.

Their first reaction was that it was truly amazing, and the goodwill towards the unseen Qin Shu family increased enormously.

When they reached the village and saw the Qin Shu family, the hospitality was so overwhelming that Qin Dagen, who was not good with words, was at a loss, but fortunately, the kindness of everyone else put him at ease.

After greeting the Qin Shu family and exchanging a few pleasantries, Hua Chengtian told them that they would move down the mountain soon, and then he returned home.

Children like Da Liu and Gouzi were clever. Knowing that the father of the big sister who helped them had returned, they needn’t be told to clean the main house themselves.

Since the extreme heat passed, the children had moved out from the cellar, or should I say, the basement of the main house to live in the side rooms. The Hua family’s house was big, and even one side room was enough for them to live in.

Seeing the clean environment at home, Hua Chengtian was in an even better mood about the children, especially seeing their pleasing yet apprehensive expressions.

"Da Liu, Gouzi, the house is tidied up nicely," Hua Chengtian gave an approving smile, which somewhat relaxed the children.

"As long as Uncle Hua doesn’t mind," Da Liu said nervously.

"Mind what? You might have to continue the hard work; soon everyone in the village will have to move down, and then we will have to start tidying up the houses and stabilizing the wall. I’m entrusting the house to you."

"That’s great. If Uncle Hua says so, then Sister Jin will also live in the village," Gouzi looked at Hua Chengtian joyfully, so happy that even his nervousness disappeared.

"Yes, everyone is coming back," Hua Chengtian was also in a good mood. Although living in the valley was comfortable, this place had a different significance. It was where they had lived for decades.

Why else would people say that it’s difficult to leave one’s native land?

"Uncle Hua, rest assured, my brothers and I are strong and can help with the work, and the sisters at home can also help take care of things," Da Liu quickly said.

"Yes, yes, yes," Hua’er and Wan’er nodded, looking at Hua Chengtian timidly. Although the father of the sister who helped them seemed friendly, they had only met twice, and it was hard not to feel scared.

"There are so many people in the village; it’s not necessary for you to do the work. Just help tidy up the house. The house will be very messy, and cooking is also a chore," Hua Chengtian said.

"Uncle Hua, can we still live here...?" Gouzi, the sharpest one, caught the hidden meaning in Hua Chengtian’s words and carefully asked, with a glint of hope in his eyes. If he could live with the sister who helped them, he wouldn’t mind doing more work.

"Of course, did I say you have to move out?" Hua Chengtian raised an eyebrow and smiled.

The children all shook their heads, although that’s what they thought.

After all, they were just temporary residents. Now that the family of the sister who helped them was returning, it was only natural for them to vacate the house, wasn’t it?

"Can we really live here?" Hua’er looked at the father of the sister who helped them in surprise, with a face finally relieved and smiling.

Hua Chengtian nodded again, "Of course. You took care of the house so well, and we still need you to continue. Since your sister Jin made you siblings, you are now part of the Hua family, isn’t it natural to live here? Besides, you’re not living here for free; you have to work. But if you prefer to move out, that’s fine too."

"Yes, yes, Uncle Hua, we are strong and can do lots of work," Da Liu, Caogen, and Gouzi replied quickly, joyfully smiling.

They had gotten used to living here and didn’t want to leave now.

"Okay, first, put away the things I brought. There’s also food, and we’ll eat together," Hua Chengtian said.

Hua Chengtian thought it was a great idea. Although he had a lot of ready-made food in his space, eating from it for every meal wasn’t realistic and might expose his secret.

With these kids, he just needed to take out the ingredients and didn’t have to cook by himself. Hua Chengtian thought it was wonderful and saved him a lot of trouble.

After comforting these little ones, Hua Chengtian didn’t idle. Using the wood available in the yard, he first made himself a bed, or he would have to sleep on the floor at night.

They had dinner at the Qin Shu’s house, including the children, but they sensibly brought their own dry food.

As for the rest of the village, each had enough food and solved their own meals. Cooking for over a thousand people would take a lot of time, so eating at one house wasn’t practical.

Then Hua Chengtian led these more than a thousand people, working from day until night, making a large number of adobe bricks and using the village’s bricks and stones to rebuild the houses in Hua Village one by one on their original sites. However, each family’s house layout was the same: three main rooms, two side rooms, a kitchen, and a woodshed. If it wasn’t enough or like in the valley, they could build more later.

With over a thousand people working together, the pace was fast. If it weren’t for the time needed to sun-dry the adobe bricks, it wouldn’t take half a month to finish the village houses.