Chapter Five: Everywhere Demands Money

“But if we do it this way, no family has enough money!” Qin Zhihe said anxiously.

“If there isn’t enough money, then just wait. We can’t pool money together. Even if we manage to gather it, whose house should we build first?” Qin Dashan replied irritably.

The old man made his point clear, and the room fell silent once more.

That was the reality of the situation—if you pooled the money, you could definitely build a house.

With over a hundred yuan, you could build a thatched cottage, maybe even two.

After all, small thatched houses didn’t cost much to build.

But now, as the 1980s were approaching, people’s lives were gradually improving; at least, everyone could eat to their fill.

So, the conditions for young people to marry were slowly getting higher.

Before, it was enough just to have a thatched room of your own, or even to share a room with your parents as long as there was a curtain dividing the space.

Now, that wouldn’t do. Without at least three rooms, how could you marry? Just wait!

Besides, the bride’s family had many options now—they naturally wanted a good family.

Seeing that no one spoke, Qin Dashan stood up, clearly intending to leave.

But before he left, he made his position clear.

“In the future, don’t even think about borrowing or pooling money to build houses. Save enough money yourself to build, or borrow from other relatives if you can. It’s up to each person. If you don’t have the means, don’t bother asking the family. That’s final.”

“Wise words, old man!” Qin Jun immediately gave a thumbs-up. This old man really understood life. Only this way could brothers live together in harmony.

If they pooled money together to build houses, the problems would be endless. No matter whose house was built first, it would cause issues.

“Cut the sarcastic remarks! Wise? A few years ago, these words alone could’ve ruined our family!” Qin Zhiqi joked.

“You did say that was years ago. Things are different now. So, Uncle, how many of your elder brothers are planning to build houses and marry?”

“What do you think? All the older ones have to get married first,” Qin Zhiqi said with a forced smile.

Qin Jun was speechless. He had forgotten that in today’s countryside, it was common to marry at seventeen or eighteen.

“Let’s go. We’ll just save up gradually. If you can’t build all at once, prepare materials bit by bit like before. Whoever needs to dig the foundation pit, just say the word,” Qin Dashan said before turning to leave.

“Dig the foundation pit? Isn’t lime needed for that?” Qin Zhihe complained.

“Third brother, how old are you now? What kind of talk is that? Do you want a beating at this age?” Qin Zhizheng said cheerfully.

Qin Zhihe rolled his eyes. “Second brother, lime, stones, bricks—all have to be bought? Which family has enough money? Everywhere needs money. Aren’t you worried?”

Qin Zhizheng was speechless. If the family had money, would he be here discussing how to build a house?

Qin Zhiqi waved his hand. “Let’s go, let’s go. None of us three brothers have much money. Even if we pooled it to build one house, who would it belong to? Since it’s such a hassle, better to save our energy! They’re all sons or nephews; showing favoritism isn’t right.”

Qin Dashan sighed. “That’s true. You don’t know, Fourth Brother needs a new house too! He said the match is good, but the bride’s family wants a new house. They don’t want to squeeze into those three shabby thatched rooms with us old folks.”

Everyone was speechless. No wonder the old man didn’t want to help anyone—he had a big problem on his side too!

Qin Jun smiled. He had just done the math: among all the eligible young men in this big family, there were more than ten.

And all were over seventeen, many planning to marry within the next year or two.

Just relying on four old houses would definitely not be enough.

How much would it cost to build all of them?

At this time, building one house seemed to require over a hundred yuan. If each had three rooms, each house would cost no less than three hundred.

Building ten houses would require at least three thousand yuan!

Looking at the lean elders who looked as gnarled as ancient trees, even stripping their bones and boiling their marrow wouldn’t suffice!

Even for him, it wouldn’t be easy to come up with three thousand at once.

After all, one animal skin could be sold for fifty yuan, but that would only be possible after 1980.

Besides, to gather three thousand yuan, you’d need sixty skins!

Given the current hunting rate, that would take fifteen days—half a month.

That didn’t seem too hard—but why should he pay?

“Brothers keep clear accounts”—this phrase wasn’t selfishness now, but a necessity for their future relations.

With many siblings, it’s complicated because everyone has their own thoughts.

Favor received with a grain of rice can turn to hatred over a bowl of rice—this always applies!

Still, houses are a necessity and must be built.

The family’s conditions truly needed improving—at least a new house that didn’t leak.

But there was no hurry, since none of the eligible young men had wives yet.

Opening the door, a fresh, cool breeze invigorated Qin Jun.

He had planned to warm up inside but was quickly pulled by Qin Zhihe.

“Push the cart, we’re going to the commune to buy lime.”

“Second brother, are you up? Hurry and borrow a cart from next door.”

“If all goes well, the three of us can push back twelve hundred jin of lime in one trip, enough for the foundation pits and bases.”

Qin Zhihe organized while fetching supplies, and soon the three of them gathered.

“Dad, why don’t we eat breakfast first?” Qin Feng complained as they walked.

“Eat what? It’s just after six in the morning and you want breakfast? Who’s this house for? Don’t you get it? Besides, there’s more work after eating!”

Qin Zhihe scolded his second son, then quickened his pace.

Qin Jun chuckled but said nothing.

His attention was fully on the handcart.

This thing, called a wheelbarrow or “chicken cart,” was the most common farming tool of the era.

This so-called “two-thousand-year-old miraculous vehicle”—how many years had it been since he last used one?

Perhaps his body had adapted now, because pushing it felt surprisingly easy.

Only, when walking the dirt roads outside the village, he felt a bit unaccustomed.

Compared to twenty years later, the countryside now was shaded with greenery but the roads were rough.

The once straight paved roads had all disappeared, replaced by winding, rugged country lanes.

Originally, from their Little River Village to the commune was at most four kilometers—eight li.

Now, following these old dirt roads, it was at least sixteen li.

Oh, and their village wasn’t called Little River Village anymore—they belonged to the Tenth Squad of the Great River Brigade.

Winding eight kilometers—if a real fourteen-year-old child walked this, Qin Jun knew it would feel very long.

But not now, because he used to walk twenty thousand steps a day for exercise.

This short distance, at a brisk pace, took just an hour.

Sure enough, his estimate was accurate. After an hour, the three of them arrived at a busier street.

Of course, compared to the village, there were more people here, and the houses looked more orderly and newer.

The Hongqi Commune, later known as Hongquan Town, had brick and tile houses only along this one main road.

Although the houses were better built than in the village, they still bore the marks of the times—gray and dingy, giving a sense of backwardness.

The best building was probably the granary, a tall warehouse built entirely of black bricks.

Next came the supply and marketing cooperative, then the commune administrative compound.

Following these were the livestock station, agricultural technology station, seed station, and purchasing station—all government offices.

In his memory, Qin Jun was most familiar with the livestock and seed stations, but now he was most interested in the purchasing station.

However, compared to the livestock station and others, the purchasing station looked deserted.

This was actually a good sign—it meant fewer competitors.

Thinking of the few animal skins in his hand, Qin Jun couldn’t help but smile.

No rush yet. Once he saved up more skins, prices should rise!

Just thinking about making a big profit made his smile grow wider.

Especially when he saw a bustling shop, his smile became unstoppable.

Breakfast shops were always the liveliest places, especially when steamed buns were coming out of the steamer—the aroma was truly enticing.

If only there were a bowl of egg soup alongside—that would be perfect.

Sadly, now you had to use ration coupons to buy buns.

Well, even without coupons, he couldn’t afford them.

Five fen for a meat bun—equal to the price of an egg.

Even vegetable buns cost three fen each, and they weren’t very large.

That was just too much! It wasn’t because he had no money!