Chapter 42: The House Is Repaired

Chapter 42: The House Renovations Are Complete

After returning from the rolling mill, the construction materials were delivered to the house one after another by Master Liu. He Yuzhu and his younger sister, Yushui, moved into the west wing as a temporary measure and cleared out all their belongings from the main rooms.

On the day work was set to begin, Master Liu arrived with his crew.

"Mr. He, we are ready to start work today," Master Liu greeted him.

"Everything is cleared out. If you need anything, just let me know," He Yuzhu replied. He paused and asked, "Should I be responsible for your lunch, or will you handle it yourselves?"

"We'll handle it ourselves. My wife cooks at home, so the men will go there to eat. However, the meal costs will need to be included in the total labor fee."

He Yuzhu considered this. Master Liu was likely trying to make a little extra on the food, but it would save him the trouble. As long as the work was done to a high standard, he didn't mind. "Fine, that makes it easier for me. We can settle the bill in full once you're finished."

After their discussion, Master Liu lit a small string of firecrackers, and the work commenced. He Yuzhu watched for a while, but not understanding the craft, he left them to it. Besides, Master Liu lived nearby and had been recommended by the neighborhood office, so he wouldn't dare do a sloppy job.

He Yuzhu left a few packs of cigarettes for the workers. "There are cigarettes on the table and water in the kitchen. If you run out, just boil more. I have things to attend to, so I'm heading out."

Master Liu handed out the cigarettes and said, "Go ahead and take care of your business, Mr. He. I, Old Liu, guarantee the work will be done properly."

He Yuzhu headed to the free market outside the city to try his luck, hoping to find something worthwhile. He spent the morning browsing and bought several novels published during the Republic of China era, a few comic books for Yushui, and a set of replica Twelve Flower Goddess cups from the same period. As he was about to leave, he spotted someone selling blue crabs and bought a batch.

He brought the crabs to his master’s wife's home. "Ma'am, I saw some crabs for sale and bought a few. Let’s have them for dinner today."

"My, these blue crabs are quite large," she said, looking at the overflowing bag.

"I made sure to pick the biggest ones," He Yuzhu said while washing them.

He steamed a large pot full of crabs, but since there were a few left over, he casually tossed them into his personal dimension. Instead of putting them in the static storage area, he placed them by the edge of the small lake, curious to see if they could survive there, nourished by the spiritual spring water.

To his surprise, the crabs crawled into the water. As they entered, the lake underwent a transformation. An invisible membrane split the lake in two; one side remained as it was, while the other turned into a miniature ocean, complete with a sandy beach, a patch of reef, and waves lapping against the shore.

He Yuzhu was ecstatic—now that he had an ocean, he could farm seafood.

After lunch with his master's wife and Yushui, He Yuzhu returned home. Only one worker was left guarding the site while the others had gone to eat with Master Liu.

"Have you eaten yet?" He Yuzhu asked, handing the man a cigarette.

"Not yet, someone is coming to relieve me soon." The man tucked the cigarette behind his ear.

He Yuzhu looked around briefly and then left.

Ten days later, the renovations were complete. Master Liu walked He Yuzhu through the house. Everything looked solid and well-made, so He Yuzhu settled the payment.

That afternoon, he began decorating. The central living room remained as it was, while both sides were converted into a bedroom and a study. The kitchen was restored to its original state, and the former storage room was transformed into a bathroom and toilet.

In the evening, after picking Yushui up, he gave her a tour. "Yushui, look, do you like this room?" he asked, pointing to the room he had carefully prepared for her.

Yushui looked at the clean, tidy space. There was a desk by the window, a bookshelf stocked with her comic books and a few toys, and several cloth dolls on the bed.

"Brother, I love it!" she said, happily grabbing his arm.

"I'm glad you do. From now on, this will be your room," He Yuzhu said, patting her head.

Upon realizing her brother would no longer be sleeping in the same room, she pouted and whined, "But Brother, I'm scared to be alone."

He Yuzhu didn't yield. "Yushui, you're a big girl now. We agreed that once you started school, you'd sleep on your own. You have to keep your word."

Seeing that her pouting didn't work, her eyes welled up with tears. "But I'm still scared."

He Yuzhu comforted her. "Look, you're in this room and I'm in that one. There's only the living room between us. We won't close the doors at night, so it's just like being in the same room, isn't it?"

Yushui remained silent, looking at him with tear-filled eyes. Unable to bear it, He Yuzhu tried to bribe her: "How about this? When I have a day off, I'll take you out to play, how does that sound?"

He promised her a mountain of treats and fun activities. Realizing her brother wouldn't budge, Yushui reluctantly agreed to sleep alone.

That night, Yushui got up several times to check if her brother was still in his room. He Yuzhu couldn't sleep well either, worrying if she had kicked off her blanket or if she was scared. Neither of them slept much, and they both woke up the next morning with dark circles under their eyes.

Since Yushui had school, He Yuzhu quickly took some steamed buns from his dimension for them to eat, added a drop of spiritual spring water to her canteen, and hurried her to school.

On his way back, he stopped by his master’s home to let his wife know so she wouldn't worry. Seeing how exhausted he was, she said, "You should get some sleep here; you can barely keep your eyes open."

"It's alright, I'll sleep when I get back," He Yuzhu said, forcing himself to stay alert. "I'll come back at noon to pick up Yushui and the others from school."

"Don't worry about them, I'll take care of them. Go home and get some rest," she insisted.

He Yuzhu went home and collapsed into bed, sleeping until the afternoon. After a quick meal, he headed to the Fengzeyuan restaurant to help in the kitchen.

That evening, after picking Yushui up, they were both so tired that they went to bed early.

In the middle of the night, He Yuzhu felt someone by his bed. He opened his eyes to see Yushui standing there.

"Yushui, why aren't you asleep?" he asked.

"I woke up and wanted to see if you were still here," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Brother is right here. I promise I'll never leave you," he said. He tucked her back into her own bed and told her a story until she fell asleep.

It took a few more days, but Yushui finally adapted to sleeping alone and stopped waking up in the middle of the night to check on him.