CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 90: CLEAR ACCOUNTS BETWEEN BROTHERS, BUSINESS BEFORE FRIENDSHIP

Early the next morning, everyone started building houses after getting up.

The structure of the house that Pei Shu’er designed was quite simple. The main family lived in one building, and the servants lived in another, without disturbing each other.

The middle building was the functional area, including the kitchen, bathroom, and washroom.

The warehouse was located behind the kitchen, with a cellar beneath it.

The entrance to this cellar was secluded, known only to Liu Xu, Tang Qingning, Pei Shu’er, and Tang Zan.

This building even had a two-meter-high wall around it, and with the door closed, no one could enter without using Qinggong.

The most abundant thing here was stone; the stones dug up during earlier clearing were piled up like a small hill in the corner, as Pei Shu’er had instructed.

Pei Shu’er wanted to teach everyone how to fire bricks, but unfortunately, that would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring the construction of a kiln suitable for firing.

Most importantly, what everyone currently wanted was a place to settle down and live safely.

If a kiln were built to produce finished bricks, it would take two to three months, or even six months to a year.

Clearly, this idea was contrary to everyone’s hope of having shelter from the rain quickly.

So using stone was still better.

The other exiles assumed that the grass huts Pei Shu’er and the others built were their houses, since most small groups hadn’t even built grass huts yet.

When they saw Pei Shu’er and others energetically building houses on a large open space, they realized that the aspirations of the Third House were far beyond that.

However, when they saw the people of the Third House using a kind of gray mud to bond the stones, they thought the Third House people were too naive.

The bonding agent for building a house was hard to find; not every kind of mud would work, and a rain might wash the house away.

They waited to see them make a fool of themselves.

Meanwhile, they felt their own thatched huts were quite good, even if the wind leaked through.

At least they didn’t have to work hard for half a day, only to have the house collapse.

The Tang Family people also watched the Third House with concern, but since the families were separated, the best course was to not interfere too much in each other’s lives.

They gathered around while they were vigorously building, always looking as if they wanted to say something but held back.

As relatives, they didn’t want the Third House to waste their efforts.

Tang Peiyi, having overseen construction while building the Prince Mansion, wasn’t entirely ignorant about building.

He felt that as Tang Zan’s fourth uncle, he had the responsibility and duty to take care of the Third House for his third brother.

He had already prepared to offer help and advice, but upon arriving, he found that the gray mud was not simple.

He gently poked at the discolored "cement," expecting to get a handful of mud.

To his surprise, it was incredibly hard, and he couldn’t push it at all.

His eyes lit up—this cement, once dried, was so hard! He poked it several more times, with the same result.

Even when he slightly shook the stones, they didn’t move at all.

There truly existed such an adhesive with great bonding strength!

Previously, he was convinced that the Third House’s efforts would be in vain.

Now it seemed that he was the one overthinking it.

The cement would ensure that even if the thatched huts collapsed, this stone house wouldn’t.

The key was that this stone house was constructed so neatly; Pei Shu’er had strong people use hammers and chisels to shape the stones to similar sizes.

Besides the stone blocks laid at the bottom, the rest was coated with cement.

So the house was particularly attractive and not at all messy.

Just looking at the facade made Tang Peiyi genuinely fond of it.

"Zan’er, do you have any extra cement?"

Tang Zan replied, "The cement was found by Pei Shu’er, so you’ll have to ask her."

Actually, he didn’t know how much cement Pei Shu’er had found, besides the obvious ones piled in the shed.

When Tang Peiyi was going to find Pei Shu’er, he bumped into Tang Peixiao, who was also admiring the beautiful stone house.

If this house could be built, it would undoubtedly be the finest building in the exile area, even considered a mansion.

"Let’s go, I’ll also find Pei Shu’er."

He was the smartest among the brothers, and seeing Tang Peiyi’s serious expression, he knew the cement was extraordinary.

"Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, currently there’s no extra cement. We’ll only know if there is any leftover after the house is finished."

The two exchanged glances, seeing hope in each other’s eyes.

They’d seen that everyone was using the cement sparingly, so there would surely be some left over.

Moreover, they believed that Pei Shu’er must have some extra cement on hand.

Their niece-in-law was kind-hearted and wouldn’t mistreat those close to her.

Tang Peixiao smiled and said, "Shu’er, how about this: we’ll help your Third House with our Second and Fourth Houses, and this way, the house will be built faster, right?"

Pei Shu’er understood Tang Peixiao’s intent and smiled, "Sure, how about we go by work points? A full day’s worth of work is ten points. When the time comes, we can decide how much cement should be shared with you two uncles based on the points."

She paused and added,

"Of course, work points can also be exchanged for food."

Even among close family, accounts had to be clear. With everything being rebuilt from scratch, it was crucial to account for these things clearly; otherwise, it would become more complicated later on.

Better to be upfront and honest now than to have issues later.

The two were evidently satisfied with this.

They quickly went home to inform their families; there were many people in their houses, and more people working on the house meant it would be built sooner.

Once they had cement, the Second House and the Fourth House could also build beautiful, warm houses without worrying about leaks.

People from the Second and Fourth Houses agreed.

They really couldn’t find food, and hearing that they could work for food, they were naturally happy.

Luckily, after the exiles, the Fourth House people had shed any pampered attitudes and were hard-working, diligent, and steady in their work.

They put in all their effort.

The Second House people, being smart, tried to slack off, thinking the Third House wouldn’t mind.

Pei Shu’er did not accommodate these bad habits. When recording work points each day, she singled out the work done by each person and then added up the points individually.

More points were given to the Fourth House, and fewer to the Second House.

This fair and serious attitude made the people from the Second House realize that playing the family card to gain an advantage wouldn’t work with Pei Shu’er.

Tang Peixiao immediately called a meeting for the Second House, rebuking them harshly.

"Everyone can see for themselves; every time you slack off, you lose a bit of trust. Do you think the opportunity to work for the Third House’s people is easily obtained?"

"It might look like we approached the Third House and they agreed. But didn’t you see the people watching around? They also want to work for the Third House!"

"This is a one-time opportunity, and I won’t argue with Pei Shu’er over these points—it’s our fault."

At lunchtime, Tang Peixiao and Tang Peiyi took their work point slips to Pei Shu’er to exchange for food.

The Third House only exchanged food for sweet potatoes, not rice or wheat cakes.

The Second and Fourth Houses had no complaints; in this cold winter, having something to eat was already very good.

When they ate the hot sweet potatoes, many were so emotional they nearly cried.

It was simply too delicious.

They had been in the valley for almost seven days and hadn’t eaten a decent meal.

The sweet potatoes filled them with an exceptional sense of peace.