“Build a house? Why the sudden decision to build a house?” Yao Chunhua and Old Man Gu asked in confusion.
“I want to build a rural villa for you two, so you can live more comfortably,” Gu Jianing said directly.
She had observed that the current house, now over twenty years old, was showing its age.
In truth, a house’s lifespan is typically around thirty years at most.
“Mom, Dad, didn’t you say the roof leaks from time to time and needs constant repairs?”
Not only that, but last night, when the topic of repairs came up, her mother mentioned that during a heavy rainstorm earlier this year, the roof had leaked. Her father and second brother had to brave the downpour to patch it up.
At one point, her father slipped and fell off the roof.
Luckily, there happened to be a pile of straw beneath him.
He landed on the straw—otherwise, if he had hit the ground directly, who knows how badly he might have been hurt?
Just hearing about it had made Gu Jianing’s heart race.
Her parents had kept the incident completely hidden from her, never letting her know.
If her mother hadn’t accidentally let it slip during last night’s conversation about the leaky roof, she would still be in the dark.
So, ever since learning about it last night, Gu Jianing’s desire to rebuild the family home had grown even stronger.
She had discussed it with Sheng Zexi, who fully supported the idea.
When Gu Jianing brought up the near-fall from the roof, Old Man Gu looked a little guilty.
They had deliberately kept it from their daughter, afraid she would worry.
In truth, whether it’s parents or children who have moved far away, everyone tends to share only the good news and hide the bad.
“And besides, our family has more children now,” Gu Jianing continued.
“Just look—Eldest Brother and his wife have two kids.”
“Second Brother and his wife also have two.”
“Once Third Brother gets married, he’ll surely have children too.”
“And I have Xingxing, Yueyue, and Tuantuan.”
“If everyone comes home during the holidays, how will the current house have enough rooms?”
“Not to mention, as the kids grow up, they’ll want their own space.”
“So, rebuilding the house is absolutely necessary!”
Yao Chunhua and Old Man Gu had initially been hesitant about the idea of constructing a new home.
But now, hearing their daughter’s reasoning, they found it quite persuasive.
It was true—with more children, the current house simply wasn’t big enough.
“So… should we tear down this house and rebuild it?” Yao Chunhua asked.
Gu Jianing shook her head and turned to her father. “Dad, are there any other vacant homestead plots in the village that we could buy?”
“If there are, we could purchase a larger plot and build the new house there. As for this current house, we can keep it as the old family home.”
Gu Jianing glanced around.
Though the house was leaky and aging, it held the memories of the entire Gu family.
It carried sentimental value.
So, if possible, Gu Jianing wanted to preserve it.
Moreover, as someone who had been reborn, she knew that rural homesteads would become extremely valuable in the future.
Right now, applying to purchase additional land was easy and affordable.
But in the years to come, it would become much harder and far more expensive.
So, Gu Jianing felt this was the perfect time to act.
As the village chief of Huaihua Village, Old Man Gu was well aware of whether there were any vacant homestead plots available for sale in the area.
“There are indeed quite a few empty homestead plots in the village.”
“If we’ve decided to build a house, we can go and take a look to choose one.”
Gu Jianing immediately nodded. “Alright, then. As for the money for building the house—”
Before she could finish, Old Man Gu cut in, “Since this house is for all of us to live in, the cost should be shared by everyone.”
In short, they couldn’t let their daughter shoulder the entire expense.
No matter how much money she had, it was still hers.
They absolutely couldn’t let her endlessly support her parents’ family.
Gu Yunnan also quickly agreed. “Yes, the money should be pooled together.”
“I’ll call Eldest Brother and Third Brother when I have time—I’m sure they’ll agree too.”
Yao Chunhua chimed in, “Right, right! That’s how it should be!”
Gu Jianing: Well, since you’ve all said it, I won’t argue.
Although she had been willing to cover the entire cost herself, this arrangement wasn’t bad either.
As her father had said, since the house was for everyone, they should all contribute to building it.
Without delay, Gu Yunnan called Gu Yunting and his wife in Haicheng, as well as Gu Yunzhou in Beijing, to get their opinions.
Soon, he received their approval.
“Ningning and her family are back home? That’s wonderful! It’s been so long since we’ve seen Ningning and the kids.”
Naturally, they missed Gu Jianing dearly.
“Ningning mentioned they’ll stay in the village for a while and then visit you in Haicheng and Beijing.”
“Really? That’s fantastic!”
Both Yang Manman and her husband, as well as Gu Yunzhou, were overjoyed to hear that Gu Jianing’s family would be coming to see them.
Before hanging up, they also promised to send their share of the construction money soon.
Of course, if anyone was short on funds for now, they could pay later.
“Since everything’s settled, let’s go pick out the homestead.”
The next day, Gu Jianing went with her parents and brother to the village committee.
“This is wonderful news!” The village secretary was delighted and fully supportive when he heard about their plan.
He immediately brought out a map of Huaihua Village.
“The circled areas here are all available for selection. Take a look.”
Gu Jianing and the others stepped forward to examine the map.
Dozens of plots were marked in red, varying in size.
“Ningning, why don’t you choose?” Old Man Gu and Gu Yunnan were both indecisive, unsure which plot to pick.
“Let me choose? Sure.”
Gu Jianing stepped forward, scanned the options, and finally pointed at one.
“This one.”
“That’s a great spot—large and in a good location,” the village secretary remarked.
The plot was indeed spacious, about five times the size of the Gu family’s current homestead.
Old Man Gu checked the location—it wasn’t too remote, yet not too crowded either.
But…
“Ningning, isn’t this a bit too big?” Old Man Gu hesitated.
“Dad, if we’re building a villa, it needs to be big. Besides, a house is always better when it’s spacious. Since you asked me to choose, trust my judgment.”
Old Man Gu: …Alright, fine.
And so, the matter of selecting the homestead was settled.
These days, buying a homestead wasn’t expensive.
They paid for it on the spot.
All that was left was to pick a date, gather materials, and start construction.
However, Old Man Gu thought there was no rush to begin construction. He wanted to wait until after Gu Jianing and her family had left.
For now, while they were home, he just wanted to cherish the time with them and his grandchildren, without any distractions.
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