Chapter 103: Chapter 103: New Home
When the new house was ready, Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei spent half a day inspecting it. The courtyard was laid out according to Gu Xiaoqing’s request, with a cement-paved walkway in the middle, and space on both sides for planting vegetables and such. Two persimmon trees and a jujube tree were also planted in the yard.
The entrance to the first floor of the house had two steps, all made of cement, smooth and clean.
The walls inside the house were coated with lime and given more than two applications. The floors were made of cement, all identical, except for the size and layout differences between the rooms. They were basically the same.
The staircase from the first floor to the second was indoor, primarily for convenience, since it was all family anyway, there were no distinctions.
The main feature was a small partitioned area on the ground floor of the courtyard, set against the wall, designed according to Gu Xiaoqing’s request, which served as a bathroom.
In the village, there was no such thing as a bathroom at the time. Most people would use a wooden tub, add a little hot water, and wash casually. Only during the New Year’s would people go to the town’s bathhouse for a bath.
Of course, that was for the wealthier families. If one wasn’t well-off, they would wash at home, and that would be considered the end of the year.
Gu Xiaoqing specifically made this bathroom for the family’s hygiene. After a busy day, Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei would be covered in dirt, oil, and sweat. Just washing with a big tub wouldn’t solve much.
Having a bathroom made a big difference.
But this bathroom was built through a favor from Feng Zhihai. Feng Zhihai, as the construction team leader, was considering that if the Gu Family’s house was built so well, people would see it and it might bring him a good reputation.
And finding people to hire him to build houses in the future wouldn’t be a problem.
So, as soon as Gu Xiaoqing had the idea, Feng Zhihai confidently took it on. Being in the construction business, he had connections with many people, especially in terms of building materials, etc.
For the sake of Gu Xiaoqing’s bathroom, he sought advice from the courtyards in the county, and brought back a showerhead and a set of equipment.
After pondering for a few days, he crafted a simple homemade water heater.
A homemade plastic barrel, with two water pipes for hot and cold water connection.
One pipe connected to cold water, while the other end was connected to a pipe.
That pipe was connected to a small stove head in the adjacent kitchen, and as soon as the water was heated there, it could flow into the pipe.
Of course, there were many issues with pressure, which is why Feng Zhihai often praised the shower in Gu Ruhai’s home to everyone he met.
It was indeed something Feng Zhihai put a lot of effort into.
This setup was comparable to the water heaters of later generations.
Yet here, it was all solved using homemade methods.
This bathroom was indeed a very advanced innovation.
Gu Xiaoqing was quite surprised after seeing Feng Zhihai’s process. This uncle, with his mindset stuck in the 1980s, was a farmer who hadn’t read many books, and yet he managed to emulate and create this setup just based on Gu Xiaoqing’s description. How could Gu Xiaoqing not be amazed?
This truly showed the boundless power of the people.
Every room was equipped with a homemade radiator, which relied on the major kitchen stove for heating.
These also required a lot of work.
In short, aside from the construction of the house, these additional expenses cost Gu Ruhai an extra 1,500 yuan.
Fortunately, Gu Ruhai’s business had never paused; otherwise, they would have been financially strained.
The new house was built.
What remained was moving into the new home.
In the countryside, moving also had its customs. You had to choose an auspicious day, and hold a banquet to invite the villagers, relatives, and friends to celebrate the warming of the new house.
Once the date was set, preparations began.
In those days, Li Xuemei was busy with this.
She found Butcher Feng to buy a pig.
Butcher Feng and the Gu Family had collaborated for a long time and were well-acquainted. He added just twenty yuan to the cost price and sold a pig to Li Xuemei.
This was half sale, half gift, a favor.
This showed considerable respect to Gu Ruhai. Butcher Feng even told Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai upfront, "We’re all from the same village, seeing each other frequently; we’ve cooperated for so long, consider this my housewarming gift to you. Don’t disdain it, it’s my kind gesture."
Hearing this, Gu Ruhai, being a modest person, thanked him repeatedly. Only when Butcher Feng insisted that if not accepted, he would take the pig back, did Gu Ruhai accept it.
The move-in banquet was set for April 18th, a good day according to the lunar calendar, suitable for moving.
Despite Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei being farmers at heart, choosing an auspicious day according to the lunar calendar was inevitable.
Gu Xiaoqing didn’t consider it superstitious; after all, some taboos were best honored.
Since the family wasn’t indulging in feudal superstitions, checking the calendar was nothing serious and reassured the parents, so why not?
Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaoying went door-to-door to inform everyone.
Of course, they also visited Mr. Gu and Gu Rushan.
Both Mr. Gu and Gu Rushan readily agreed to come with beaming faces.
What they really thought was anyone’s guess.
On the afternoon of April 17th, Li Xuemei and Gu Xiaoying brought back fresh vegetables and various foods from Town Hill.
These were needed for the next day.
There was no need to hire chefs; the villagers came to help proactively.
The wives of different households all came to assist, which was a village custom.
Mrs. Zhang from the Zhang Family had already come early.
She brought along her two daughters to help Li Xuemei, starting with preparing steamed buns for the guests, which was a huge task, as having a bun for everyone in the whole village required a considerable amount.
As the host family, one must prepare adequately; it would be catastrophic not to have enough food.
Hence, they pre-steamed the buns the day before.
Li Xuemei borrowed twenty large round tables, each seating about ten people, along with stools, which had to be prepared in advance.
Plus, there were dishes, chopsticks, and various table settings.
Li Qinghai’s family had returned early to help.
Both families took a day off from their business for the occasion.
Li Qinghai’s family came to assist early, for even as night fell, there was no sight of Gu Rushan and his wife. If they depended on the Gu Family’s help, there wouldn’t be any food to eat.
The place was bustling with activity.
At home, they had already prepared melon seeds, candy, cigarettes, and liquor.
This time, Gu Ruhai really splurged.
A once-in-a-lifetime honor, Gu Ruhai couldn’t miss it.
Perhaps, even when he got married, it wasn’t as grand.
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