Chapter 32: This House Cannot Be Built

“Build a house?!” Dalang cried out.

His face clouded with worry. “You said it yourself—the situation is urgent, and we’re pressed for time.”

“My wife still has to look after the children, so I’m the only one who can help.”

“With just you and me, it’ll take at least ten days to finish.”

Su Yanwen set the burlap sack down beside him. “I know. That’s why we need to find more people.”

“That’ll be difficult.”

Dalang shook his head repeatedly.

Whenever they mentioned asking the villagers for help, no one seemed optimistic.

Su Yanwen had given them food several times, and Aunt Zhang’s attitude toward him had improved considerably, though she still looked deeply troubled.

“Boss Su,” she said, “the mountain is closed right now. Even the most experienced old hunters wouldn’t dare go in, let alone the people from the village.”

“And besides, Su Xing came back today so frightened by the wolves that he fell ill. He’s still lying in bed.”

“Everyone’s health is poor these days. Some of them have to stop and catch their breath several times just to climb a hill, let alone do hard labor.”

When she finished, Aunt Zhang glanced at the sack Su Yanwen had brought home and shook her head again.

“It’s all food in there, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Su Yanwen openly opened the sack and displayed the meat inside.

There were three fish and two ducks.

Aunt Zhang licked her lips and let out a long sigh. “I know you want to trade food for labor.”

“But have you thought about it? Which matters more—your life or a bit of meat?”

“Building a house is exhausting work, and people need plenty of food for it.”

“What you have may look like a lot, but that’s only enough for your family of three.”

“If ten people help build the house, you’ll need to provide enough food for all ten.”

“Following the method you described, it’ll take at least half a month.”

“Do you know how much food you’ll need over those fifteen days?”

Su Yanwen fell silent.

According to his plan, they would first build a small cabin that day, then clear a large stretch of land and construct three bigger houses.

Adding in the making of the furniture, even the fastest they could manage would be half a month.

Yet the food at home was barely enough for that very day.

“We can’t worry about all that now. Dalang, see if you can find anyone. Building the house is what matters,” Su Yanwen said.

There was no question about Dalang’s skill. When it came to constructing houses with mortise-and-tenon joints, they would have to rely entirely on him.

But they also needed other carpenters, as well as strong men willing to do the heavy labor.

“I know a few people in the village. We can go and ask them.”

Houses in this era could generally be divided into several types: timber, earth, stone, and brick.

Timber and earth were by far the most common.

Stone construction required complicated materials and cost much more, so no one used it.

Brick-and-tile houses required glazed tiles, and not a single household in the entire village possessed one.

Given how urgently they needed shelter, Jiang Beichen had chosen a timber structure.

“Uncle Wang, are you home?”

The first house Dalang brought him to belonged to Uncle Wang.

Seeing the two of them, Uncle Wang hurried to open the courtyard gate.

“Oh, it’s Dalang and Boss Su!”

When Uncle Wang heard why Su Yanwen had come, his brows drew tightly together.

They visited several households in succession, only to receive the same answer each time.

“Boss Su, it isn’t that we don’t want to help you. We’re simply helpless!”

“We’ll say the same thing as before: if things truly become impossible, come back to the village. The families here can take turns squeezing you in.”

All of these families had gone to Su Yanwen before.

They, too, had said there was nothing they could do.

“There’s only Grandpa Cai’s house left.” Dalang sounded somewhat dejected.

He looked toward the wooden house at the edge of the village.

“Grandpa Cai is the oldest hunter in our village. If he agrees to help, perhaps the others will follow him into the mountains out of respect for him.”

Grandpa Cai was sitting outside his house, weaving a bamboo basket. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he raised his eyes and saw the two men.

Dalang and Su Yanwen hurried forward to greet him and quickly explained why they had come.

The moment Grandpa Cai heard that they wanted to build a house in the mountains, his expression darkened.

“What’s gotten into you two? The mountain is closed, and you still dare to go up there? You even want to build a house in the mountains!”

Grandpa Cai abruptly rose to his feet. His voice climbed several pitches, and his eyes were full of reproach.

“Have you forgotten the rules of our village? No one is allowed into the mountains during the closure. It’s a sign of respect for the Mountain God. If you go recklessly provoking him, what will happen if you anger him?”

“Then it won’t be only your life in danger. You could bring disaster upon the entire village!”

As he spoke, he strode forward, clearly intending to drive them away.

Su Yanwen hurriedly stepped forward, his face filled with helplessness. “Grandpa Cai, please don’t be angry. We truly have no other choice.”

Dalang chimed in from the side. “Grandpa Cai, Boss Su is only entering the mountains because he has been forced into it.”

His eyes were faintly red, and his voice was full of anxiety.

He briefly recounted everything that had happened to Su Yanwen’s family, adding a great many words in his defense.

He even exaggerated the tale of how Su Yanwen had returned alive from a night when the snow ghosts were said to roam, making it sound almost miraculous.

After hearing him out, Grandpa Cai stopped in his tracks, and his expression softened somewhat.

But he still shook his head. “Ah, child, it’s not that your grandfather doesn’t want to help. Building a house during the mountain closure is absolutely forbidden.”

“Don’t be stubborn. Swallow your pride, return to the village, and discuss it with everyone. There has to be some way forward. You cannot stay in the mountains.”

With that, he squatted down and resumed weaving the bamboo basket in his hands.

“Cough, cough-cough…”

A violent fit of coughing came from inside the house.

Hearing it, Grandpa Cai immediately set aside his work and hurried indoors.

When the curtain was lifted, they could see a child lying on the bed. He was skeletal and emaciated, his complexion waxen, his face the color of death.

He did not look as though he had long to live.

Su Yanwen remembered the child.

He was Grandpa Cai’s youngest grandson. Grandpa Cai had three sons, all of whom had died in the mountains.

Even his two elder grandsons, unable to endure the famine, had secretly gone into the mountains with weapons and lost their lives there.

His eldest daughter-in-law, unable to bear the blow, had hanged herself.

The youngest grandson had been sickly from birth and possessed an extraordinarily fragile constitution.

His youngest daughter-in-law had run away with her husband, leaving the grandfather and grandson to depend on each other for survival.

That child was Grandpa Cai’s entire world.

After comforting him for a while, Grandpa Cai came back outside.

Su Yanwen hurried over and took a duck from the burlap sack.

“Grandpa Cai, I’ve always admired and respected you. Whether or not you’re willing to lead people into the mountains, please accept this.”

Though the duck had already been plucked, Grandpa Cai recognized it at a glance.

“A spiral-toothed duck. They’re extremely wary. To hunt one at this time of year is no small feat.”

Grandpa Cai did not hold back his praise.

But he casually pushed the duck back. “In times like these, no family has enough to eat. You have children of your own. Keep it.”

“I can’t help you.”

“I can’t lead everyone to their deaths.”

“Grandpa Cai, if you can bear to go without food, that’s your choice—but you must think of the child!” Su Yanwen said, his eyes full of sincerity.

Grandpa Cai hesitated.

He rubbed his fingers together, then lightly touched one to the tip of his tongue.

His expression changed dramatically.

He looked astonished—and delighted.

No longer pretending to refuse, he immediately accepted the duck.

“Building a house won’t be easy.”

“Leaving aside how dangerous the mountains are, people will need to be paid for the work.”

Grandpa Cai looked at him. “How much money do you have?”

“Not a single coin,” Su Yanwen admitted with embarrassment.

“Then it won’t do.” Grandpa Cai waved his hand and spoke earnestly. “Boss Su, you’ve seen for yourself how many people starved to death during the famine.”

“Food and salt are both scarce now. Even if they work for you, they can’t feed only themselves while leaving their families hungry!”

“The strong laborers you need will all go to the town to find work.”

“They need to earn money to keep their entire families alive, not just one person.”

Su Yanwen understood the reasoning.

Anyone in the village with a skill or the strength to work would go to town for employment.

Su Yanwen’s own father and Su Xing had gone there as well, returning home only rarely.

Dalang had stayed in the village to care for his wife, yet people mocked him for being spineless.

As for Su Yanwen, he had long since become useless. Egged on by Miao Qin, he had remained in the village and allowed her to exploit him.

Those left behind in the village were the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled—people without the strength for hard labor.

“I still have several ducks like this,” Su Yanwen said, “as well as fish of the same quality.”

Ducks and fish were both meat, and both were precious commodities.

In truth, even those who worked in town had few opportunities to earn money.

But they could receive grain and a little salt.

Grandpa Cai greedily sucked the taste from his fingers and nodded.

“All right!”

“Boss Su, if you can guarantee that each person receives, in addition to their food, one piece of meat like this every day…”

“I can help you. I’ll call back ten able-bodied young men from the town.”