Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

Zhao Lei nodded in agreement: "One hundred yuan isn't a small amount, but Zhang Sangong deserves it. He led the entire construction process, and his workmanship is meticulous and thorough, so giving him more is only fair."

Jiang Xinyue turned a page of the ledger and continued, "The brothers Dalong and Xiaohu are not considered skilled workers; they are paid 1.2 yuan per day for casual labor. Each of them works for 35 days, so each of them earns 42 yuan, and the two of them together earn 84 yuan."

Qin Yuchan chimed in from the side, "Dalong and Xiaohu are hardworking and diligent, so it's okay to give them a little extra money. Their family is already poor. The beams and timber we used to build our house were also thanks to the help of Uncle Shoushan's family."

Zhao Lei chimed in, "That's right. Xiao Hu learned bricklaying from Zhang Sangong, so he's practically a semi-skilled worker. We should count him as a bit more if we can."

Jiang Xinyue nodded: "Then let's settle for 1.5 yuan per day for the two of them, 52.5 yuan per person, and 105 yuan for both of them, to make it a neat number."

Zhao Lei had no objection: "Okay, let's settle it according to this amount."

Jiang Xinyue started calculating again: "Next is the biggest expense in building the house: materials. Red bricks, cement, sand, and wood cost a total of over 2,400 yuan."

The furniture was commissioned to be made by carpenter Zhang, with a total price of 360 yuan. A deposit of 100 yuan was paid in advance, and the balance of 260 yuan is still owed.

In addition to the food expenses for more than a month, with a dozen or twenty people eating every day, the rice, noodles, oil and vegetables alone cost several hundred yuan.

If San Shi hadn't gone into the mountains to hunt and brought back a large quantity of wild game to fill the meat shortage, the cost of buying meat alone would have doubled.

Qin Yuchan frowned upon hearing this: "Wait, the materials alone cost two thousand four hundred?"

Jiang Xinyue looked up at her: "That's right, this is the result of careful planning and saving a lot of money. We underestimated the amount of materials we needed to collect, so we had to collect an extra batch."

Su Wanqing turned her head from the threshold, her face full of surprise: "If you add the furniture, food, and wages for all the workers... how much did this house cost in total?"

Jiang Xinyue finished clicking the abacus beads a whole round, then stopped and said, "Materials cost 2,400, furniture 360, miscellaneous food expenses nearly 400, plus all the labor costs, the total comes to a little over 4,000!"

"four thousand!"

Qin Yuchan leaned back, her face full of shock. "My God, that's a huge sum of money! In previous years, our whole family would scrimp and save all year and still not save a hundred yuan. And now it's costing four thousand to repair a house?"

The little stone in Su Wanqing's arms trembled with fright. She quickly gestured to Qin Yuchan to lower her voice: "Sister Yuchan, keep your voice down, the little stone is already asleep."

Qin Yuchan quickly covered her mouth: "Oh, sorry, I almost forgot."

She paused, then asked softly, "But do we really have that much savings right now?"

Jiang Xinyue glanced at Zhao Lei and said, "This is exactly what I'm going to talk about next. I've recorded all of Sanshi's income over the past few months in the ledger."

Zhao Lei sat up abruptly and stubbed out the cigarette at his feet.

"During this period, I made many trips between Sanhe Township and Huangshi Mountain to hunt. All the income from selling goods, plus the money converted from grain coupons, added up to nearly three thousand yuan."

"Three thousand?"

Qin Yuchan gasped in a low voice, looking Zhao Lei up and down, "You can actually earn this much by hunting in the mountains?"

Zhao Lei chuckled: "You think I'm wasting my time running around in the deep mountains all day? A wild boar can sell for a hundred or two, and roe deer and goat fur can also be exchanged for money. Plus, there are the subsidies and grain coupons issued by each brigade, so making money is naturally fast."

Jiang Xinyue checked the abacus again: "Before construction began, Sanshi had already saved more than two thousand yuan."

Adding the three thousand yuan earned from hunting, the family had a total of over five thousand yuan in savings.

After deducting the more than 4,000 yuan spent on building the house, and adding today's purchase of a tricycle and various daily necessities, we now have a little over 600 yuan left!

Su Wanqing was stunned after hearing the numbers: "With such a large expenditure, how come there's still over six hundred left at home?"

Jiang Xinyue smiled and said, "Wanqing, you have no idea how hard Sanshi has been these days. He's been traveling to various mountains and forests all day long, and his legs have never rested. If it weren't for the income he earned from these hunting trips, the house would have had to be stopped halfway through construction based on our previous savings."

Su Wanqing looked at Zhao Lei with admiration and heartache in her eyes: "Brother Sanshi, you've really worked hard."

Qin Yuchan rarely praised Zhao Lei, saying, "Hey, Sanshi, you've been doing quite well lately."

Upon hearing the praise, Zhao Lei immediately grinned and carefully examined Qin Yuchan.

Qin Yuchan is only twenty-seven years old this year, which is the age when a woman is at her most charming.

Her long, black hair was piled up at the back of her head, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears. Her fair, oval face was framed by a pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes.

The slightly worn floral print jacket she wore couldn't hide her well-proportioned and full figure; her waist was taut, and her curves were prominent, inevitably attracting a few more glances.

Zhao Lei stared at her for a while, then smiled and said, "Really? Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

Qin Yuchan's cheeks flushed instantly, and she grabbed the sole of her shoe as if to hit him: "Get out of here! You're never serious!"

Zhao Lei stepped back slightly, spread his hands, and laughed, "What's the use of just praising me? Our Zhao family is still waiting for me to carry on the family line. We're still young, and I can easily afford to raise a few more children..."

Qin Yuchan was both embarrassed and angry: "Shut up! The children are still here!"

Su Wanqing smiled secretly to herself.

Jiang Xinyue gently shook her head and closed the ledger: "Alright, alright, it's getting late, let's sort out the accounts first."

She counted the change and bills on the table, took out stacks of neatly arranged bills from her embroidered purse, and handed them to Zhao Lei.

"Here is the total wages for the workers and the final payment for the carpenters' furniture, totaling 965 yuan."

San Shi, you and Ming Tian go to the Taiyang Production Brigade to settle Da Long and Xiao Hu's wages, and also pay Liu the carpenter's final payment. Once all the wages are settled, everyone will feel at ease.

Zhao Lei took the money and put it in his pocket: "Don't worry, I'll make the trip tomorrow."

Oh, and there's one more thing: we'll need my father-in-law's help to coordinate the installation of electrical appliances at home.

"Yu Chan, go back to your parents' house tomorrow and tell your father to ask the village committee when our village will officially have electricity. These brand-new red brick houses are really uncomfortable without electricity."

Qin Yuchan nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll go back and talk to Father tomorrow."

In those days, most farmers still relied on kerosene lamps for lighting, and only the commune compound had electricity.

Zhao Lei wants his house to be brightly lit both upstairs and downstairs, and this definitely requires his father-in-law to coordinate and make arrangements with the village committee...

Without approval, he really can't just haphazardly connect electrical wires.