Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Oh dear, it's so cold, the ground is rock hard. Can't we wait until next spring to dig the foundation for the village primary school?"

"When I shoveled the spade, I only dug a few inches in, and my hand was already sore from the impact."

"The children in the village are currently having their classes in the empty granary in the village office. This is fine in itself, but the key issue is that the granary is used to store grain and doesn't have many windows for ventilation. It's okay now because the weather is cold, but it will be unbearably hot and humid in the summer. Having classes in the village office's granary is not a long-term solution. It would be better to take advantage of the off-season to dig the foundation for the village primary school and prepare the bricks, stones, timber, and tiles so that construction can begin as soon as spring arrives next year."

"By then, the new school building will be completed in less than three months. It's much better for the children to sit in bright classrooms and attend classes than to be stuck in the village granary. Don't you all agree?"

"That's true. Let's not worry about it too much. If we work harder now, the children can start their classes in a bright new classroom sooner next year. Otherwise, they'll really have to study in the village granary next year."

"Let's not worry about that. Once the village chief finds the foreman in charge of supervising the construction and lays out the chalk line, we'll put all our effort into the work and try to finish digging the foundation as soon as possible."

"Once the new primary school is built, maybe our village will be able to produce a few college students."

At the original site of the village primary school, more than thirty men, young and old, from the village came. They all had shovels and spades. Someone swung a shovel at the ground and couldn't help but complain.

His words were immediately refuted by a man in his early fifties.

But the uncle's words made sense, and the people around him agreed with them.

Yes, it's okay if the ground is a bit hard. We can just put in more effort and spend more time to dig the foundation for the village primary school. Once the soil thaws next spring, we can start construction on the new school building immediately.

Among those present, some had children attending the village primary school, while others hadn't started school yet. However, most people clearly understood that building the village primary school was a great and beneficial undertaking that would benefit the present and future generations. Perhaps their children didn't need it now, but what about in the future?

Children need books to read to have a future.

A few years ago, when the college entrance examination was reinstated, a student from the neighboring village and their Guapigou village became a college student. Not only were the tuition fees waived, but the student also received a monthly living allowance from the government, which was said to be about ten yuan.

When they start working in the future, they can be assigned jobs and become cadres with secure government jobs.

The parents of the student who got into university were the envy of everyone in the village.

So, when this was mentioned, everyone was instantly filled with enthusiasm and hope.

Yes, who wouldn't want a college student to come from their family?

As long as a family produces a college student, not only can they bring honor to their ancestors, but they will also feel proud and become the envy of their neighbors, relatives and friends.

Moreover, if a child in the family is admitted to university and becomes a college student, not only will their tuition be waived, but they will also receive a monthly living allowance from the government.

Even after graduation, they were still assigned jobs by the state, becoming government officials with secure jobs and government stipends.

Just then, the village chief arrived on his old bicycle.

When the village chief got closer, you could still see an old man with gray hair sitting on the back of the old bicycle.

"Isn't this Master Qian from the next village? I didn't expect the village chief to have invited him here."

"Master Qian from the next village? He hasn't helped anyone with house construction in years. Is the village chief planning to ask Master Qian to help with the construction of the village primary school?"

"Probably, otherwise the village chief wouldn't have brought Master Qian here."

When they saw the village chief riding a bicycle and even bringing over Mr. Qian from the neighboring village, everyone couldn't help but start talking about it.

Li Yunshan stood in the crowd, looking thoughtfully at Master Qian on the back of the village chief's bicycle.

He recognized Master Qian; in fact, they were relatives.

However, this kinship is somewhat distant, dating back to his great-grandmother's generation.

His great-grandmother and Master Qian's grandmother were sisters from the same mother, so he had to call Master Qian his cousin.

However, Master Qian's maternal uncle was a bricklayer who specialized in overseeing house construction, similar to a small contractor. He also inherited some feng shui knowledge, so in the past, some people from the surrounding villages would come to him for help with feng shui and house construction.

However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the campaign to destroy the Four Olds, Master Qian was reported for his past work of helping people with feng shui. He was denounced as a monster and demon and was frequently paraded through the streets for criticism and struggle sessions, suffering a lot of hardship.

Even Mr. Qian's relatives and friends have issued statements distancing themselves from him.

It wasn't until three years ago that Master Qian was exonerated.

However, after being exonerated, Master Qian never again consulted on feng shui for anyone or helped anyone build a house.

Several years passed, and everyone thought that Master Qian had been beaten and struggled against during that extraordinary period and dared not to help people with geomancy anymore. Unexpectedly, the village chief stepped forward and invited him out again.

The village chief drove Mr. Qian to the original site of the village primary school and parked the bicycle steadily.

Master Qian carefully got off the back of the bicycle. He touched the inkwell and compass he always carried with him, his eyes filled with tears.

"Master Qian, I'm entrusting the village primary school to you."

The village chief propped up the bicycle kickstand and said with a smile.

"Okay, leave it to me. I promise I'll handle this perfectly."

Master Qian took a deep breath, composed himself, and patted his hunched chest with a resounding thud.

"Uncle."

Li Yunshan walked over and greeted Master Qian.

"Hey, it's Yunshan. It's been a while. I heard you've changed a lot lately. You've learned a lot!"

When Master Qian saw it was Li Yunshan, a kind smile immediately spread across his wrinkled old face. He patted Li Yunshan on the shoulder and asked, "I haven't seen your mother for half a year. How has her health been lately?"

"My mother is in good health. She can eat, sleep, and work. She's always busy."

Li Yunshan said with a smile.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Master Qian took out his compass and began to examine the feng shui to determine the orientation and location of the house.

After determining the orientation and location, Master Qian took out paper and pen and roughly drew a floor plan of the school building.

The total area, the length and width of the classrooms, the length of the corridors, the height of the buildings, and the amount of bricks and sand needed were all roughly listed.

Then, with the help of several villagers, Master Qian took out the ink line and marked out the width of the school's foundation.

"The foundation trench should be dug 80 centimeters wide and 1 meter deep. Use large blocks of stone to build the foundation, and then build a wall with one and a half bricks of good quality red bricks on top. As long as the building is constructed according to quality and quantity, I dare not guarantee that this newly built school building will last for a hundred years, but I am confident that it will last forty or fifty years."

Master Qian spoke with great conviction as he drew the diagram.

Hearing Master Qian's confident words, the villagers felt reassured.

The villagers dared not even dream of a house that could last a hundred years.

A house that might last forty or fifty years, even their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is worth it.

"Master Qian, only a veteran craftsman like you would dare to make such a guarantee."

"It's a blessing for us, and a blessing for all the children in our village, that the village chief was able to invite Master Qian to oversee the construction of the village primary school."

"Master Qian has overseen the construction of many houses before, and his craftsmanship is unparalleled in the surrounding area. We all trust your skills."

"Fellow villagers, Master Qian has already marked the lines, so let's get started as soon as possible and try to dig the foundation trenches as soon as possible. When the weather warms up next spring, we can lay the foundation and build the new school building quickly."

"Yes, yes, everyone, let's get moving!"

The villagers couldn't help but praise Master Qian, after all, he was truly skilled, and at his age, he braved the cold weather to come to their Guapigou Village and do a great favor.

As the village chief began to mobilize, the villagers felt a surge of energy rising within them.

Soon, everyone took shovels, hoes, and spades and began digging trenches for the school's foundation.

For a time, the construction site was bustling with activity.

In the following days, the site of the former village primary school in Guapigou Village was bustling with activity.

The men and women of Guapigou Village were all working hard to finish digging the foundation trench as quickly as possible.

With everyone working together, even the hard frozen soil began to be dug open inch by inch by the villagers' shovels and hoes.

The trenches for the foundation were dug deeper and deeper.

20 centimeters... 30 centimeters... 40 centimeters... 60 centimeters... 80 centimeters... one meter...

After three days of hard work by dozens of men from the village, the trench for the village primary school was finally completed.

The excavated soil was not transported far, but piled up on an open space not far away. After the foundation is laid, the excavated soil will be used to backfill the gaps in the foundation.

However, while the excavation of the village primary school's foundation went smoothly, the application materials for its reconstruction, submitted to the commune's education office, remained unanswered for several days.

This greatly worried the village chief and some villagers of Guapigou Village.

With the Lunar New Year just a month away, the children at the village primary school will soon be on holiday.

However, the application materials were being held up by the commune's education office.

The application materials are stuck and cannot be submitted to the county education bureau, so the bureau cannot approve them and therefore cannot allocate funds for rebuilding the village primary school.

Even if every household in the village donated money, relying solely on Li Yunshan's donation, there would still be a significant funding gap to rebuild the village primary school.