Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

"you say."

"You need to build me a small wooden house in Qinjiatun. I'll give you the blueprints later. I need to do a small experiment, so don't worry about it or ask any questions."

Zhang Dabiao is preparing to conduct an experiment to confirm whether simply building a small wooden hut can "connect" to the "main base".

Qin Dingsong didn't ask anything, just nodded. It's just a small wooden house, how long could it take?

There are logs on the mountain and in the village; I can get them for you in no time.

When he left, Zhang Dabiao told Qin Dingsong and the old hunter to go first, as he needed to take care of something.

Five minutes after the two left, Zhang Dabiao started moving things without saying a word—he used a magical teleportation technique to move the six boxes of treasures directly to the main base, "Little Nest," to be cleaned up later.

------------

After returning to Qinjiatun, they couldn't collect any supplies today. Zhang Dabiao gave the design drawings of the log cabin to Qin Dingsong, and the brigade leader Qin Dingsong started calling on people to get to work.

The brigade leader refused the money, but Zhang Dabiao had to pay; otherwise, the item wouldn't be considered his.

Qin Dingsong didn't know why, but it was only a hundred or so yuan, which was nothing to this wealthy man, so he accepted it.

There were many people in the village, and many experienced in building rammed earth houses and wooden cabins. They worked in three shifts late into the night to build the houses. When Zhang Dabiao got up early the next morning, the small wooden cabin had already started to be covered with tarpaulin and thatch.

Zhang Dabiao was astonished by their efficiency.

After finishing breakfast, Zhang Dabiao went out again and saw that the house had been completed and was located in the courtyard of the brigade headquarters. The drainage system under the house was also well done, just like the small wooden house in the small courtyard, except that the exterior was not as smooth and was a little rough.

Qin Dingsong said that he would find a craftsman to do the tung oil application, fill the gaps with rammed earth, paint, and other processes a few more times in the next couple of days, and then it would be ready to live in. He didn't expect it to be super nice, but the waterproofing and windproofing had to be done well so that Zhang Dabiao could move in comfortably next time he came. He also said that the furniture would be provided.

He sensed it and found that the small wooden house had appeared in his mind and could be connected.

A house that belongs entirely to me, no problem.

As for building residential land in the village—

Qin Dingsong shook his head: "The homestead is not a problem. There are regulations on this. The ownership belongs to the production team collective, and the members only have the right to use it. It is also prohibited to rent or sell it."

"Not to mention you're from the city, not one of our commune members, so of course it won't work."

"Unless you settle down in our village, we can't allocate you a homestead, but renting you a house long-term is not a problem."

"You can build your own house if you want, but you'll only get the right to live there; the land is truly not available to you."

Zhang Dabiao thought about it and decided to give up. He didn't need to connect to the log cabin for the time being; he was just using it for an experiment, so building a house on the land wouldn't make sense. His sudden appearance in Qinjiatun was too abrupt and unsafe.

The cabin was left there, and Qin Dingsong didn't know what Zhang Dabiao was going to do with it, but "depositing" it at his brigade headquarters was no problem, so he could leave it there as he pleased.

He assumed that Zhang Dabiao was just unhappy with the house at the brigade headquarters every time he came to stay.

Furthermore, they thoughtfully locked Zhang Dabiao's cabin and gave him the key—"You built this house with your own money, so you can do whatever you want with it."

After a quick lunch, Zhang Dabiao took Qin Mancang and Qin Jingru back to Beijing. They had to go back today, as they had classes on Monday morning.

Along the way, Qin Mancang rode his tricycle silently, carrying Zhang Dabiao and Qin Jingru.

For him, there was nothing unacceptable about it; he had drawn a death lot, and that was fate.

If they didn't accept it, their family wouldn't be able to survive in Qinjiatun; if they accepted it, they would have a way to live.

Besides, our family still owes the Zhang family a life. Although the clan decided that Qin Jingru would be used to pay off Zhang Dabiao's debt, our family still owes someone else.

Then you have to pay it back.

"Mancang, don't you want to come to the city?" Zhang Dabiao asked, sitting in the back basket of the cart, noticing the somewhat silent atmosphere.

"Uncle Da Biao, I didn't. I'll accept whatever the clan decides to do." Qin Mancang was a man of few words, but he still clearly stated his position.

"You're in your twenties, right? You're older than me, so it's not appropriate for you to call me 'uncle'."

"That's appropriate. You're the clan chief's apprentice, and you're from the same generation as my dad and uncle, so I have to call you uncle. Jingru and my sister also have to call you uncle."

"...Whatever you want."

"Just make do with me here today, and I'll go to the factory tomorrow to see if I can help you with your job problem."

"You'll have to do the legwork of running things around from now on."

"Yes, Uncle Da Biao, you can make the arrangements. The clan chief said that I will do whatever you say, and I won't care about or ask about anything else."

A scapegoat should be prepared to be a scapegoat: talk less and do more, and if something goes wrong, take your own life. It's that simple.

Zhang Dabiao remained silent for a while. These days, human life is worthless, and this is all he can do.

He patted Qin Mancang on the shoulder: "Be careful, nothing should happen."

------------

He and Qin Mancang took turns riding the tricycle until around 9 p.m. before returning to the courtyard house.

The Jia family did not come out, so they were unaware that Qin Mancang had come to the city.

After a simple meal, Zhang Dabiao let him sleep in the side room and went back to his cabin to rest.

The next morning, Zhang Dabiao and Qin Jingru went to school as usual. Qin Mancang helped with planting, weeding, drying salted fish, and organizing the goods in the stable in the small courtyard. He was only discovered by Qin Huairu, who was at home taking care of Xiao Dang, when he went out to use the toilet.

"Fully invested?!"

"What are you doing here? How did you get out of Zhang Dabiao's yard?"

Qin Huairu was surprised. She didn't even know when her younger brother had arrived.

"Has something happened in the village?" Qin Huairu's face immediately darkened. Could it be that her family was struggling to make ends meet, and that's why her younger brother had come to the city for help?

Qin Huairu's voice summoned Liu Cuilan, Jia Zhangshi and Yang Ruihua from the front yard, and Wu Ma from the back yard (Wu Ma was helping Liu Guangtian and You Hongjuan take care of the children).

When Qin Mancang met Qin Huairu, he had a lot to say, but he held back in the end.

"There's nothing much going on in the village. The clan chief asked me to come and help Uncle Da Biao with the work so I could earn a living. From now on, I'll follow Uncle Da Biao."

"Uncle Da Biao? You mean Zhang Da Biao? Why do you call him uncle?"

"The clan chief took Uncle Da Biao as his apprentice. Our father and uncle are also the clan chief's apprentices. They are of the same generation, so you, me, and Jingru have to call him uncle."

"Sister, don't call me by the wrong name again, or our parents and the clan chief will be angry."

"..." Qin Huairu didn't know how to respond. Zhang Dabiao was only 17 years old, and suddenly he had become her uncle?

But you can't deny it, which is quite awkward.

"Let's not talk about that now. You came all the way to the yard but didn't come to see your sister. Come in and sit down. I'll get you something to eat."

As she spoke, Qin Huairu tried to pull Qin Mancang home. Qin Mancang was their family's precious darling, and Qin Huairu had always doted on this younger brother the most before she got married.

But before Qin Mancang could refuse, Jia Zhangshi screamed strangely, as if she had been robbed of millions.

"Qin Huairu, how dare you!"