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墨書 Inktalez
"Is what you said true? You really don't need to tear it down and rebuild?" The man suddenly stood up, asking excitedly.
But upon seeing Liu Qingxi, a thin and dark girl, he wondered what could be done. Shaking his head, he realized he had lost his mind to actually believe a girl's words.
"Forget it, forget it. We should just tear it down and rebuild. Young lady, you should hurry home!"
The man's disappointed words reached Liu Qingxi's ears, and she felt anxious: "Uncle, you have to believe me, I really have a way!"
"Young lady, hurry back home to find your parents. You're too young to be talking big here!" This was the woman's voice, clearly worried about the situation at home, feeling that Liu Qingxi was just making things worse.
Liu Qingxi felt a bit anxious; she hadn't expected them not to believe her. But then again, she realized she didn't have much to make others trust her.
Well, now she could only try her best to explain: "Uncle, Aunt, don't judge me by my age. I really have a solution. This house must have been built for quite some time now!"
"Yes, to be honest with you, it's been about seven or eight years. But look at the base of the wall; it's peeling off. This area is pitted and uneven; it's fundamentally damaged. If we don't tear it down..."
The woman frowned; rebuilding wasn't just a simple matter. It required materials and labor, which would cost a lot of money.
"You still don’t understand how serious the damage is here. I've seen families who thought it was no big deal and could make do with it. But one year during heavy rain, while they were sleeping at night, the rain came and directly collapsed their house.
Oh dear, that family was completely buried under the rubble. Although our Earthen House didn't cause any fatalities, that family suffered serious injuries; just the medical expenses could have built another house!"
The man continued from where the woman left off. So even if it was difficult, they didn't want to risk their family's safety. The erosion from wind and rain over time had indeed caused severe damage at the base of the wall.
Liu Qingxi understood very well that most modern buildings are made of masonry or reinforced concrete, which inherently have much better safety and durability. Plus, there are a series of protective measures for exterior walls that greatly enhance their ability to withstand wind and rain.
Even so, after years of erosion from rainwater and wind, along with alkali damage to houses—especially these old Earthen Houses—it was still quite severe.
However, there were solutions available; this wasn't considered a major disaster and could be addressed through maintenance to extend its lifespan.
"Uncle, Aunt, I know you don't believe me, but we can give it a try! Don't worry; my method won't cost much—just some effort will do. If it really doesn't work out, you can always tear it down afterward; it won't take much time."
Liu Qingxi's suggestion seemed somewhat reasonable; the woman hesitated: "Head of the family, why don't we give it a shot?"
"What if it doesn't work?" The man remained skeptical. After living for decades without finding a solution himself, how could a girl in her teens possibly have one?
"Then you figure it out! We don't have that much money to build a new house!" The woman looked troubled; this house had taken years of saving to build, and if it were to be ruined, they would be in debt for many more years.
"Come on, uncle, just give it a try! I heard this from an old man with a white beard by chance. This method is really effective; his family has been living in their house for many more years!"
Liu Qingxi provided an example that made the woman believe even more.
The most important thing was that they had no money and were willing to take a chance.
"Thank you then! We really have no other choice. My husband is called Zhang Sanyou, and my surname is Song. You can call him Uncle Sanyou and me Aunt Song!"
From Song's words, Liu Qingxi learned about their situation. The couple was thirty years old this year and had two sons and one daughter. Their eldest son, Zhang Tiechui, was thirteen, their second son, Zhang Copper Hammer, was ten, and their daughter, Zhang Hua, was six years old.
"Aunt Song, nice to meet you! I'm Liu Qingxi, and this is my brother Liu Qingyan. You can just call us by our names!" Liu Qingxi introduced himself.
Upon hearing Liu Qingxi's introduction, Song exclaimed in surprise, "You are the girl that the Wang family kicked out?"
It turned out she didn't recognize them at first and thought they were from another village. She knew all the children from her village well, but these two faces were unfamiliar.
"Yes, that's us. But don't worry, Aunt; my method will definitely work!"
Liu Qingxi was confident about this. Having worked in the construction industry for many years in modern times, he had considerable experience in both design and renovation, dealing with buildings dozens of stories high.
Dealing with these few earthen houses that were only two or three meters high would be simple.
However, it was clear that Song's concern was not about that but rather: "Don't you have that flower? It won't be contagious, will it?" It wasn't surprising she believed this; the gossip in the village was rampant.
Liu Qingxi felt a bit exasperated; the speed of ancient gossip was astonishingly fast, comparable to modern-day internet rumors. This was clearly all fabricated by the Wang family.
He just couldn't understand why the Wang family hated them so much that they wished them dead.
But that wasn't something to consider right now; survival came first.
"Aunt Song, that's not true! If my brother had caught that flower disease, would he still be lively? He would have fainted long ago; that's all nonsense."
To prove his point, Liu Qingxi took hold of Liu Qingyan's arm and rolled up his sleeve for Song to see: "Aunt Song, look! These are not flowers at all; they're just red spots from an allergy. It's almost healed now!"
After a night of rest and a wipe with a damp cloth, the red spots on Liu Qingyan's body had become less noticeable. Unless one looked closely, it was hard to see the faint purple marks that resembled scars.
Song felt a lingering fear and patted her chest. "Oh dear, that really startled me! So it turns out there's nothing wrong. If it were really something serious, who knows how many people in the village would be affected!"
"Aunt, now you believe it! In just a couple of days, everything will be fine!" While Liu Qingxi explained, Liu Qingyan bounced around beside her, which made Song even more convinced.
"Alright then, Aunt will give it a try. If it doesn't work out, we can always cover it later!" Although she still had many doubts in her heart, Song thought about the possibility of saving a large sum of money.
"Good, Aunt. From now on, you and Uncle Sanyou just need to follow my instructions. If tonight doesn't work out, Ming Wo will come over early tomorrow morning. If you have time, prepare in advance."
Liu Qingxi listed some materials needed for the process.
"Alright, no problem. These are all common items; I'll get up early tomorrow morning to gather them!" Song readily agreed.
Zhang Sanyou was even more eager: "No need to wait until morning; we should start preparing now. It will still take some time before it gets dark, so it's better to start early!"
"Okay, Uncle Sanyou and Aunt, you both prepare ahead. I’ll head back now!"
Liu Qingxi took Liu Qingyan's hand and bid farewell to Zhang Sanyou's family.
Initially feeling that life was difficult, after encountering the situation at Zhang Sanyou's home, a sudden idea popped into her mind.
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