Gu Qingcheng sipped her tea from the side, listening to her mother charm Mrs. Sun San. She felt that any moment now, her mother's neighborhood committee zeal might kick in and she'd start matchmaking for Mrs. Sun San...
Fortunately, before Mrs. Hu Lanfang's enthusiasm could truly awaken, Mr. Sun returned, bringing a group of laborers.
Gu Chaobei and the other two were idle anyway, so they joined them on Cliff Mountain, directing them to clear the estate.
Their carriage went ahead, waiting at the foot of the mountain for the laborers who were walking.
Just then, Boss Zhang also arrived at the foot of the stone steps with his men. Boss Zhang brought five people.
The two groups met.
Boss Zhang and Mr. Sun also knew each other, so Gu Chaobei took the opportunity to assign tasks for them.
Both men agreed to do their part and repair the Gu family's estate as quickly as possible.
Once all hands were present, everyone climbed the hundred steps to the old manor.
Boss Zhang's men were responsible for installing underfloor heating. After discussing with his wife and daughter, Gu Chaobei requested underfloor heating in two bedrooms, the dining room, and the bathroom.
The old manor did not originally have a dedicated bathroom, but they converted one of the side rooms on the lower right.
Not bathing was impossible; an uncomfortable bath was even more so.
Boss Zhang said there were no problems.
The men brought by Mr. Sun were tasked with weeding the old manor, cleaning ditches, inspecting roof tiles for damage, clearing the gutters, and cleaning the well.
The group worked efficiently.
Gu Qingcheng personally watched as they cleared all the weeds around the estate and in the courtyard within an hour.
The cut weeds were piled up, ready to be burned once they dried.
In addition, the removal of old furniture, dusting, and clearing of soot inside the house were also proceeding in an orderly fashion.
"Mr. Gu, I think you should build a surrounding wall,"
Boss Zhang guessed that this family of three must have a story, otherwise, they wouldn't have bought an old house halfway up the mountain to live in seclusion.
For the safety of the main family, he made this suggestion.
This proposal greatly pleased Hu Lanfang.
Gu Chaobei then asked Boss Zhang to call for more masons to build the surrounding wall.
This would add to the cost of construction.
Since the stone slabs for the wall had to be transported from the foot of the mountain, the price would be relatively high, estimated to cost an additional five taels of silver.
Upon hearing this, Hu Lanfang, worried about the excessive expense, said anxiously:
"Husband, we don't have this much in our budget, and the expenses are increasing. Why don't we build the wall later?"
Gu Qingcheng pulled her mother aside to a secluded spot and said:
"Mother, it's alright, we can afford it. The system just gave me 100 Satisfaction Points."
It turned out that after Gu Qingcheng rescued the dog, she received 100 Satisfaction Points from the system, sourced from: Love for saving lives!
Gu Qingcheng hadn't expected that a casual act of kindness would unexpectedly yield such a high amount of Satisfaction Points.
With 100 Satisfaction Points, she could exchange them for 20 taels of silver, which was enough to build the wall.
Hu Lanfang was finally relieved.
These past few days, money had been flowing like water, mostly spent on the estate.
Indeed, regardless of the era, matters related to real estate were always the biggest.
Boss Zhang sent someone to call for masons from down the mountain.
Thus, the stone-paved road on Cliff Mountain was lively today: people carrying stones, mud, and coal, breaking the mountain's silence.
Each stone slab weighed thirty to forty jin. One person couldn't carry it; they had to carry it up the mountain in pairs.
Gu Qingcheng asked the coal carriers to place the coal in the storeroom next to the kitchen.
Coal couldn't be left outdoors; it would be washed away by the rain. If the weather turned extremely cold, the moisture in the coal would freeze it solid, making it impossible to pry. Storing it indoors was more reliable.
Boss Zhang was busy overseeing the installation of the underfloor heating.
They didn't understand these professional matters, so they let him handle it.
The roofer complained that the roof tiles were covered with a lot of decaying dust and fallen leaves, completely blocking the gutters. Every ditch needed to be cleared, which would take at least two days.
Some tiles were broken and needed to be replaced.
This was also not a problem. Gu Chaobei asked Mr. Sun to arrange it.
Nowadays, when hiring laborers, the master had to provide meals.
In the meantime, Gu Chaobei asked Mr. Sun to arrange for someone to go buy a large pot and a bag of rice, and then cook a meal.
Gu Qingcheng had all these things in her mountain cat supermarket, but she couldn't take them out so openly, or she would be completely exposed.
Don't rush to your death!
Mr. Sun called two men to go down the mountain, one to buy a large pot, and the other to buy rice. He also asked the one buying rice to bring back some preserved vegetables.
When the rice and pot were bought, Hu Lanfang cooked preserved vegetable and rice for everyone.
The laborers never expected to eat cooked rice.
They had originally thought that porridge with preserved vegetables would be good.
They never imagined they would eat rice, which they hadn't had in years.
Everyone ate with relish, their faces showing satisfied smiles.
Gu Qingcheng held a piece of golden crispy rice crust and ate it with a satisfying crunch.
With this kind of large-pot rice cooked with preserved vegetables, the crispy rice crust was the icing on the cake.
Taking small bites of the crisp, golden-brown rice crust, her soul was satisfied, and the system, naturally and powerfully, sent Gu Qingcheng another Satisfaction Point, sourced from: Appreciation for food.
Seeing the laborers happily eating ordinary rice, without even side dishes, and repeatedly thanking their hosts, Gu Qingcheng was deeply moved.
She once again thanked Grandpa Yuan for allowing them to have enough to eat in this peaceful era.
Just then, the system sent her 50 Satisfaction Points, sourced from: Reflection on cherishing food.
Gu Qingcheng discovered that she could not predict what the system would deem worthy of Satisfaction Points. Well, as long as she acted decisively, that was enough!
After lunch, Gu Chaobei saw that everyone was settled into their work and understood what they needed to do. He then took his wife and daughter down the mountain.
Back at the inn, the golden retriever Wangcai was still in a deep sleep.
Gu Qingcheng squatted by the dog bed and observed for a while. Seeing that its breathing was stable, she was slightly relieved.
Gu Chaobei examined the dog and concluded that tonight was critical. If it could get through, it would get better day by day. If not, there was no hope.
Gu Qingcheng took this very seriously. She kept getting up in the night to check on Wangcai's condition. When it was time for medication, she used a syringe to administer it.
Fortunately, Wangcai was groggy but cooperative, seeming to understand that Gu Qingcheng was saving it and was also trying to survive.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and Wangcai visibly improved day by day.
Gu Qingcheng stayed with it daily, giving it medicine, dog food, kibble, and even goat milk to nourish its body.
Wangcai was finally able to stand up.
When it shakily stood up, the first thing it did was slowly walk over to Gu Qingcheng, then rub its head against her small leg and lie down by her side.
Gu Qingcheng was reading a post-apocalyptic survival novel. She had bought it from a bookshelf corner in the mountain cat supermarket.
The mountain cat supermarket, perhaps in response to the national reading month, had opened a small book corner in the mall, selling a wide variety of books.
Gu Qingcheng used to prefer reading on her phone, but now that she had no phone, having physical books to read, she gradually got used to it.
Unexpectedly, Wangcai immediately recognized her as its owner.