Reborn in 1977

Chapter 294: The Big House

Facts proved that no matter how many people there were, only a few were actually capable of working.

Originally, Chen Fan thought that with so many people helping at the same time, the house could be built in two or three days at most.

However, there were only a few master craftsmen who could actually build walls. Even with a dozen apprentices helping, and with the assistance of dozens of laborers, it still took ten days to roughly complete the house.

The reason it was called 'roughly' completed was because the fermented soil for plastering the exterior walls was still fermenting in the pit, and the kitchen and dining room were naturally nowhere to be seen. Only the main house was completed at this stage.

In front of the semi-finished house, people stood in twos and threes on the open ground, watching the carpenters install doors and windows, while the tilers laid the remaining pottery floor tiles.

The pottery tiles were naturally fired by Chen Fan himself. Without porcelain tiles, he used pottery tiles instead.

Now, only about 50 people remained here. The original team of over 130 people had been reduced by half after completing the basic construction, and a few more had left later.

It wasn't that they had other things to do, but rather to reduce Chen Fan's burden.

Working here meant three meals a day. Breakfast was fine; whether it was vegetable and egg noodles or thin porridge with buns and steamed bread, it didn't cost much. The main issue was that the two main meals were a bit excessive.

When other families provided meals, half a chicken and a few taels of meat, along with some vegetables, would be considered a good meal.

However, Chen Fan asked Liu Jujang to provide the equivalent of a whole chicken per person, plus a fish and half a catty of meat.

The meat was bought from Master Zhu at the food station, and even the meat coupons were borrowed from him first, to be repaid later. Chickens were easy to come by; they could be caught at will within the team, as batches of chicks, ducklings, and goslings had been delivered over the years, and they were being raised.

Fish could also be caught directly in the river, without spending any money.

The key was the price.

The purchase price of live chickens was 90 cents per catty. Chen Fan paid according to the purchase price. A chicken weighed about three catties, which was about 2.7 to 3 yuan. A fish and half a catty of meat cost another yuan or so, plus the other dishes, rice, cigarettes for the masters, and wine, making each table cost more than 5 yuan, which was seriously excessive.

It was the kind where the gift money couldn't even cover the cost of the feast.

With so many people eating, there were 14 or 15 tables per meal, costing about 80 yuan, and nearly 200 yuan for three meals a day.

Two days' worth of food expenses could equal the cost of a mud-walled house. How many people could afford that?

Anquan and Captain Yang tried to persuade him together, but Chen Fan said that the master craftsmen of the construction team weren't charging him labor costs, so he could only take out the labor costs and put more effort into the meals, which could be considered a treat from the master craftsmen, leaving them speechless.

Seeing that this wasn't a solution, everyone decided to reduce the number of people based on the amount of work.

After completing the digging of pits, foundations, underground channels, and septic tanks on the first day, half the people came on the second day, and a dozen or so gradually left, leaving only the current number of people, each of whom was a capable 'one-equals-two' worker.

In addition, when they came to work in the morning, they also brought some wood and stone materials sent by their respective teams, which were all piled up at the bottom of the slope, resulting in a bit too much building material.

It was roughly the amount that could barely build another brick house.

However, the master craftsman of the construction team said that after the main house was built, enough would be left to build a wine cellar, kitchen, and dining room. If there was still more, he would build a cement yard in front of the house. If there was still more after building the cement yard, he would use fermented soil mixed with pebbles to build a small path down the mountain, ensuring that nothing would be wasted.

At this time, in addition to the construction team masters still working inside the house, everyone else gathered in front of the house to watch the excitement.

Anquan stood with his hands on his hips, seemingly unable to take in all the details as the windows and door frames were installed one by one.

He turned to look at Chen Fan, who was smiling, and said with emotion, "I didn't understand before why you wanted to make the windows so big. The room on the west side of the second floor is almost like a pavilion, with the walls only four feet high, and then open all the way to the top. Three walls are almost only load-bearing columns, looking empty. Now that the windows are installed, it feels immediately different."

Zhang Wenliang also nodded in agreement, "Once this house is completely repaired, except for the mud exterior walls and thatched roof, it has nothing to do with a mud-walled house."

Captain Yang smoked his cigarette and smacked his lips, saying, "Mud-walled houses are very dark. Look at his house, the windows are bigger than the doors, with good ventilation and lighting. I'm afraid even the buildings in the city aren't as good as his house."

Accountant Liu's eyes were full of envy, "This is supposed to be a building."

He was already calculating in his mind how much it would cost to build such a house, and how many years it would take to earn it back by raising chickens, ducks, and rabbits?!

Chen Fan said with a smile, "It's actually just a little change in design. In the past, the doors and windows of mud-walled houses were built small, and the rooms were also small, firstly to save materials, and secondly to keep warm. If you don't consider the problem of materials and warmth, opening up the doors and windows can make mud-walled houses as comfortable as brick houses."

Hearing this, several people around looked at him together.

Anquan blinked, "Then how will you spend the winter?"

Zhang Wenliang's eyes were full of confusion, "How big of a room can your charcoal stove handle?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "It's okay, I plan to build a northern-style kang on the first floor, which is especially warm for sleeping in winter. I've also reserved several fireplace openings on the second floor. When the fireplace is installed, it won't be so cold when the fire is lit."

Anquan gave a thumbs up, speechless and envious, "You really know how to enjoy life."

He had a classmate who was assigned to the Northeast, and his letter mentioned the kang, saying that you could spend the whole winter on the kang, which was more comfortable than spending the winter in Shanghai. He didn't expect Chen Fan to know how to build a kang?!

While the few were talking, a "convoy" slowly approached.

A dozen carts were being pulled by people, almost reaching the educated youth point.

Chen Fan looked into the distance, "What is that? It looks like it's pulling straw?"

Captain Yang looked with his hand shading his eyes, and said, "Oh, it should be Team 4 sending you the thatch roof."

Chen Fan turned to look at him, his face full of astonishment, "Ah? Does the thatch also need Team 4 to send it?"

He looked at the backyard of the educated youth courtyard again, "We have a lot of straw in our courtyard. If it's not enough, can't you just move a little more to me, Captain?"

At this time, the tiler came out of the house under construction. Hearing his words, he couldn't help laughing, "Teacher Chen, this thatch is not straw. Straw roofs need to be renovated in less than three years, otherwise they will be full of debris and won't last too long. This is white thatch, a real thatch roof, it's different."

White thatch?

Chen Fan thought for a while, and suddenly understood, "Orchids and irises change and lose their fragrance, sweet grasses transform into thatch."

Anquan nodded and smiled beside him, "Yes, that's the 'thatch'."

Now, the thatch roofs of many mud-walled houses actually use straw, which is the stalk of rice. This kind of grass is easy to obtain, so it has become the main choice for ordinary people to build houses.

And this time, Team 4 sent Chen Fan real "thatch," which is white thatch.

The motherland is vast and rich in resources, but no matter in the north or south, in the wild or in the countryside, you can often see a wild plant with slender leaves that are particularly tough. Even when bent over, it is more than half a person tall, and sometimes it blooms with small white flowers like reeds. That is thatch, also called white thatch.

White thatch is a very common weed, named for its leaves resembling spears and its white spikes. In the pre-Qin period, it was even used as a magic weapon to remove dirt and summon gods. Its smell can indeed drive away bats, owls, and other things that ancient people considered unclean.

The leaves of white thatch can also replace palm leaves to weave raincoats, which have a very good waterproof effect.

Hearing that it was this kind of thatch, Chen Fan realized that what the tiler said about "traditional craftsmanship" thatch lasting for many years was not just empty talk. Thatch roofs made of white thatch leaves, not to mention 20 years, would last several years longer than straw roofs.

The tiler had just seen the convoy sending thatch from the upstairs and came down to greet it.

As the "owner," Chen Fan naturally had to follow.

They went down the slope not long before meeting the convoy on the west side of the educated youth point.

Team 4's captain, Wang Dongping, personally "escorted" the carts. Seeing Chen Fan, he was naturally enthusiastic.

After some pleasantries, the 30-odd laborers who were still on the top of the slope also came down and pushed the carts to the top of the slope with the delivery people.

The roof beams had already been erected in the morning. When the ridgepole was raised, Chen Fan also had a blast, lighting two strings of firecrackers and throwing eight large firecrackers, considering it an auspicious ridgepole raising.

Next, it was time to lay the roof.

This roof was different from the roofs of other mud-walled houses. From a distance, it looked like a house that had already been laid, but the material for laying the roof was horizontal rows of mao bamboo pieces. When you got closer, you would find that there was a finger-width gap between each bamboo piece, and underneath the bamboo pieces were vertical wooden strips.

Supporting the entire bamboo roof were sturdy beams. The roof was laid by placing thatch on the horizontal bamboo strips, a more complex structural technique than ordinary roofs.

At this moment, both the master bricklayer and the apprentice laborers were working together, nimbly climbing onto the roof, while helpers transported bundles of thatch upwards.

Once all the thatch was moved inside, Wang Dongping lit the cigarette Chen Fan had offered, exhaling a puff of smoke as he said,

“This thatched roof isn't simple. First, you tie a small handful together, then six small handfuls into a medium bundle, and then six medium bundles into a strand. When laying the roof, you place these strands one by one and secure them with rope.

There's also a trick to securing it. You can't just lay it directly; you have to apply layers of mud. There's a set amount of thin mud to use. Too much will weigh down the roof, and too little won't secure the thatch, making it easily scattered by the wind…”

Chen Fan watched the busy figures on the roof, listening to Wang Dongping's explanation, and combined with his observations of the bricklayers and carpenters' work over the past few days, his understanding of traditional architecture deepened.

At this moment, the bricklaying and carpentry skills on the skill panel suddenly disappeared, replaced by "Construction," which immediately appeared at LV4, roughly the ability to build a house or bridge using only wood.

Chen Fan noticed the change and was immediately surprised. He immediately opened the skill panel to check, but unfortunately, the skill panel was still so simplistic, with no improvements at all.

He couldn't be bothered to care anymore, put away the skill panel, and chatted with Wang Dongping, "Then it's too hard on you all, cutting grass and tying it tightly."

Wang Dongping waved his hand and smiled, "So much thatch, it wouldn't be easy for just our team to handle."

He pointed to Captain Yang next to him, "The other teams also helped. Everyone helped with the harvesting and selected the best thatch, drying it in the hot sun these past few days, and then hauled it to our team, where we bundled it under my uncle's guidance. Without their help, it would take at least another ten days to half a month to gather enough."

Chen Fan was somewhat taken aback, "So much manpower involved?!"

At this time, Zhang Wenliang smiled from the side, "Don't feel pressured. You've been busy building the house these past few days and haven't been to the brigade headquarters, so you don't know.

This thatch is considered purchased by the brigade headquarters, and the people who worked are given work points. Although it's not much, only a few work points per person, it's definitely not for free. Then, a small portion of these work points is considered part of the brigade headquarters' reward for your published articles, and a large portion will be deducted from your work points."

Chen Fan's smile froze, so I'm still paying for it myself?

He then waved his hand, pretending to be nonchalant, "Deduct it, deduct it."

But in his heart, he was muttering, livestock feed is deducted with work points, building materials are deducted with work points, and now the thatched roof is deducted too. I wonder how much of my two salaries are left?

Could it be that by the end of the year, I'll still owe the production team money?!

Thinking this, he also knew that if there wasn't goodwill, the members of the production team wouldn't have mobilized so many people to do such troublesome work for a few work points. It's not the slack winter season now; you can easily earn work points by doing something else.

The project progressed bit by bit, and with many people, the work went quickly. Although the construction process was a bit complicated, after more than three hours, the masters completed the laying of all the thatch and came down from the skylight reserved on the north side of the roof.

The bricklayers also completed the laying of the upper and lower layers of terracotta tiles. Now, the entire house only needed the installation of glass and furniture inside, and the exterior walls needed plastering outside.

Even the second-floor balcony and the first-floor porch were built. Once the kitchen and dining room were built, the porch could be extended and connected.

Looking at the large house with its blue brick, thatched roof, and original wood-colored doors and windows coated with tung oil, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel refreshed.

It wasn't easy. Before time-traveling, I struggled for so many years and couldn't buy an apartment. I didn't expect that only four months after time-traveling, I would successfully build a large house. No wonder everyone wants to time-travel. It does feel different.

Zhang Wenliang walked over and patted him on the shoulder, laughing, "What are you looking at here? Aren't you going inside to take a look?"

An Quan waved his hand nearby and smiled, "Let's go."

Chen Fan chuckled and didn't decline, taking the lead towards the house.

After going up two steps, you reach the three-meter-wide porch, paved with blue bricks, with thick original wood pillars on both sides, and a blue tile roof, simple and unadorned with a touch of antique charm.

You can see the antique charm, as for the antique fragrance, well, that's the smell of tung oil.

Standing on the porch looking at the house, in the middle is a large double wooden door, simple and unadorned, exuding an air of grandeur.

A door with a total width of two meters is hard not to be grand.

On both sides of the walls are a long row of windows, the height of which almost takes up half the height of the wall. With enough of them, even with the shelter of the porch, the light inside is very sufficient.

After looking around a few times, Chen Fan stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.

What first came into view was a large wooden board reaching from the floor to the ceiling, with a few hollowed-out patterns, which could ventilate and block the view, making it impossible to see what was behind it.

The west room on the left had no door. Looking inside, it was a large living room of nearly 80 square meters, with white lime walls and blue-green terracotta tiles on the floor. Although there was still a lot of sawdust and dust on the ground, it didn't affect its clean and grand appearance.

Unfortunately, a part of the floor tiles inside had just been laid and would have to wait at least two days before being stepped on, so Chen Fan didn't go in.

The east room on the right had a door, which was also open at this time. You could see a smaller living room inside, and then three rooms.

That is to say, the entire first floor is a layout of three bedrooms and two living rooms, except that the living room is particularly large.

Going around the large wooden board, behind it is the stairwell. Next to the stairwell entrance is a small door, which is the first-floor bathroom.

The floorboards are made of solid wood coated with tung oil. Going up half a floor, after a platform turn, you reach the second floor.

The layout of the second floor is the same as the first floor. In order not to affect the newly laid floor tiles, Chen Fan only took a quick look and came down.

When he came out of the door, he found that everyone hadn't even entered, but just stood on the porch, looking inside through the windows.

“This house is grand, really grand.”

“It's more than just grand. If I gave you such a big place, would you build it like this? I say Teacher Chen is really skilled!”

“So you know how to flatter. Who in the entire Nanhugong Commune doesn't know that Teacher Chen is skilled? Do we need you to say it?!”

“So what if I flatter? I also want to build a house like Teacher Chen's.”

“Don't say that, it's possible. Hey, Master Wang, can you still build such a house?”

The master bricklayer smiled and said, "Yes, according to Teacher Chen, many things are just separated by a layer of window paper. Once it's pierced, it's actually not troublesome at all to do."

Just when everyone was excited, thinking about when they would raise chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, and build a new house when they earned money, Master Wang said indifferently, "But you have to be prepared for a big expense. This house wasn't cheap to build. The bricks and tiles alone probably cost over a thousand, and there are those floor tiles. Except for Teacher Chen, even the brick and tile factory won't fire them, but Teacher Chen can't fire many by himself, so we can only use cement flooring."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's hearts suddenly cooled by half.

Chen Fan walked out of the door and happened to hear this, so he prepared to speak.

At this time, An Quan stepped forward and said with a smile, "That doesn't matter. There's a big way to build big, and a small way to build small. If there are no terracotta tiles, cement flooring is also good. If you can't build two floors, build one floor. If you can't build two large rooms…"

He pointed to the three-bedroom and one-living room in the east room, "Just build such a suite. I think it's pretty good too."

Hearing An Quan's words, Master Wang nodded in agreement, "That's right."

Then he turned his head and smiled, saying, "If you only build this small suite, it would be quite suitable, probably costing about fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred to complete."

If it were in the past, fifteen hundred to sixteen hundred would have been an astronomical figure for most people in Lujiawan. A strong laborer could only earn dozens of yuan in dividends a year, and even if there were two or three strong laborers in the family, they would have to save for many years.

But now, almost everyone has heard their team leader calculating the accounts. As long as they join the breeding team, spend more effort and take good care of the chickens, ducks, and rabbits, more than a thousand yuan is just one or two years of income, so it is naturally no longer out of reach.

Thinking of this, everyone became excited, fantasizing about one day living in such a large house.