Old Lady Lin had actually become paralyzed—all because she got too worked up upon hearing about Lin Zhen building his new house.
Song Wei clicked her tongue without a hint of sympathy.
Now, Old Lady Lin’s household was surely in chaos.
But Song Wei knew better than to go and witness the drama herself. If she were seen, people would gossip.
“We’ll go check on Old Lady Lin’s situation and come back to tell you about it. After all, you’re Lin Zhen’s fiancée now. If people see you not helping but instead joining the crowd to watch the spectacle, those muddle-headed folks will definitely talk badly about you.”
Song Wei could only nod regretfully.
The elderly women left, and Song Wei and Lin Zhen didn’t discuss that family’s affairs any further. Instead, they continued decorating their new home.
Lin Zhen had brought two ginkgo trees, one male and one female, and planted them on either side of the front gate. Once they grew up, they could harvest ginkgo nuts.
He also planted the grapevines they’d previously sourced in an open area of the yard. Once the grapes grew, they could build a tall trellis and enjoy the shade underneath during summer.
“We should also get some roses to cover the courtyard walls. Their thorns will keep anyone from trying to climb over,” Song Wei suggested.
Lin Zhen replied, “I’ll find some.”
“How about digging a pond in the backyard? The space is pretty empty. We could raise some fish and grow lotus roots and water bamboo—all edible.”
Many of her ideas centered around food, but they would also make the place look beautiful.
“We can lay a pebble path from the gate leading inward. That way, even on rainy days, we won’t track mud everywhere.”
“We should also plan out the vegetable garden in the backyard. There are still plenty of blue bricks left—we can use them along with pebbles to divide the land into neat sections. It’ll be practical and look nice, with small pathways between each plot…”
“We can lay flat wooden boards under the eaves. It’ll look clean, tidy, and comfortable…”
Song Wei shared all her ideas, and Lin Zhen quietly took note.
Both were people of action. They immediately went into the mountains to select suitable trees, cut them down, and brought them back. Lin Zhen borrowed a tractor to transport the wood to the city, where a lumber mill processed it into uniformly thick, wide, and high wooden planks.
While the wood was being processed for a day, they took the opportunity to collect pebbles from the riverbank to pave the pathway.
The next day, Lin Zhen brought the planks back, and they began constructing the wooden flooring under the eaves. The width was just enough to be sheltered by the eaves—about one meter.
Both were strong—Song Wei alone could lift the supporting beams.
With hammering and clattering, they finished in a day.
Afterward, Lin Zhen started digging the pond, while Song Wei divided the vegetable plots into neat rectangles.
They were busy every day, but both were full of energy.
One day, after lightly turning the soil in the front yard, Song Wei scattered grass seeds across the ground.
These were pasture grass seeds that Lin Zhen’s old squad leader, Yu Wei, had sent from the far northwest—a type of forage that animals loved to eat.
The front yard already had trees and a pebble pathway, but it still looked somewhat empty. Song Wei thought turning the remaining space into a lawn would be perfect.
After all, they still had deer and roe deer to care for.
Just as she finished scattering the seeds, someone knocked on the gate.
Song Wei went to open it and found the elderly women standing there.
“Goodness, it’s only been a few days, and you’ve already transformed the yard like this!”
They marveled at the pebble pathway and the dramatically changed yard, their eyes wide with surprise. For a moment, they even hesitated to step inside.
Song Wei smiled and invited them in. “Please come in, aunties.”
The elderly women scraped the mud off their feet at the doorstep before stepping onto the pebble path, feeling a sense of novelty—no one in their village had ever done something like this.
“How lovely! This path is just beautiful. Who would’ve thought those ordinary stones from the river could be used like this? Now, even on rainy days, we won’t have to worry about stepping into mud.”
“You young folks really have creative ideas. And that wooden deck in front of the house—it’s so pretty, with those little steps too!”
“Hey, it’s sturdy!”
They jumped on the wooden deck a few times. The planks were thick and supported by logs as thick as their legs—no amount of people standing on it would break it.
“I was wondering why the eaves of your house extended so far out. So this is what it’s for! It’s brilliant—you can place a small table and stools here and enjoy the cool breeze in summer.”
“And it’s so clean! You won’t track mud into the house this way. Think of all the effort saved keeping the place spotless.”
Song Wei brought out some stools and placed them on the wooden deck. Sitting there and looking out at the yard was indeed comfortable.
“Your house is just wonderful—so cozy. If it weren’t so expensive, I’d want to do the same and enjoy life like this too.”
Song Wei brought out a plate of assorted nuts—peanuts, sunflower seeds, pine nuts—and placed it on a small table. She also set a small basket on the floor.
“Please toss the shells in here when you’re done. I’ll take them to the kitchen later to burn,” she said, demonstrating by dropping her own sunflower seed shells into the basket.
“Aside from the cost of building the house, we didn’t spend much on the rest. It mostly comes down to whether you’re willing to put in the effort.”
The trees were from the woods—anyone could go dig them up if they wanted. The stones for the pebble path were collected from the riverbank, completely free.
As for the wooden deck, Lin Zhen and I went into the mountains to cut the wood ourselves. We just paid a small processing fee at the lumber mill, so it didn’t cost much.
“But your eaves won’t work—they’re too short. When it rains, won’t the wooden deck get soaked everywhere?”
“Ultimately, it takes time and effort. And it’s best not to raise chickens, ducks, or geese in the front yard—otherwise, they’ll leave droppings everywhere.”
Their new house had deer pens built in the backyard, quite a distance from the living area. Thankfully, Lin Zhen had bought a sufficiently large plot of land for the house.
“I’ll give it a try when I get back. I’ll move my chickens to the backyard.”
Song Wei’s yard was so beautifully arranged that the elderly women couldn’t help but feel envious.
Song Wei smiled, and the women finally began discussing the situation at Old Lady Lin’s house—the main reason for their visit.
“Song, let me tell you, Old Lady Lin’s household is in complete chaos now. She’s lying there with a crooked mouth and eyes. Old Ji said she’ll likely stay like this forever and told them to go to a big hospital if they didn’t believe him.”
“But going to a big hospital costs money! Given their current situation, what money do they have left? In the end, they just carried her to a small clinic in town. The clinic took one look at her condition and didn’t even want to treat her, saying straight out they couldn’t help.”
“Now, Old Lady Lin can barely move except for her eyes and one hand. Lately, her two sons have been arguing over who should take care of her. Old Second Lin seems somewhat responsible—he’s willing to care for Old Lady Lin but refuses to look after Lin Youfu.”
“As for Old Fourth Lin—that guy is something else. He doesn’t even want to care for his own mother and is still making a fuss about splitting the household. Old Man Lin barely managed to shut him down for now. Today, they called the village chief, the brigade leader, and the Lin family elders to discuss what to do.”
“But you two need to be careful. We heard that wretched Old Fourth Lin telling them that Lin Zhen is also her grandson and should share the responsibility. I suspect they might come looking for Lin Zhen.”
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