Chapter 49: You Are a Piece of Dog Shit

After driving Jiang Jingtao away, Leng Hui first dug the foundation for the bathroom.

A bathroom is not like building a main house; the foundation doesn't need to be very deep, just about the depth of two or three bricks.

She then dug a deeper channel extending toward the northwest corner, which was reserved for burying the drainage pipes.

With no outsiders in the courtyard, Leng Hui could work without hesitation, making things much easier. She poured all the yellow clay she had dug from the back mountain this morning out of her space, mixed it with water until it was even, and then stored it back in the space.

The bricks were also stored in the space, making the subsequent wall-building much more convenient; she could simply pull mud and bricks directly from the space and build the wall without stopping.

With such an immersive building process, her speed naturally increased.

When Tang Lin returned from work in the afternoon, Leng Hui was already laying the tiles.

"The bathroom is being built so quickly?"

"The sooner it's built, the sooner I can take a shower."

After a day of hard labor, being covered in sweat made it impossible to wash properly; Leng Hui felt that her baths during this period had been nothing more than a formality.

Tang Lin walked to the area where the septic tank was meant to be dug and pointed at the shallow pit, asking, "You're planning to dig the septic tank here?"

"Yes. Since you're back, you can dig the septic tank when you have time. Jiang Jingtao started digging this afternoon but ran off because the ground was too hard."

"That boy isn't built for hard work. It's a miracle he lasted this long."

Tang Lin had never expected Jiang Jingtao to actually do any real work.

She had Leng Hui take the mechanical arm out of the space, and she took over the task of digging the septic tank.

A few square meters of tiles were quickly laid. Leng Hui climbed down from the roof, walked into the room intended for the kitchen in the northwest corner, and marked out where the door would be.

Then, she took a chainsaw out of the space, swapped in a stone-cutting blade, and got straight to work.

Having tools in hand made many things easy, including cutting through walls.

If people of this era were cutting a doorway, they might have to hammer it out with a large iron sledgehammer.

The resulting vibrations could potentially affect the entire wall, whereas a chainsaw was much more convenient.

In no time, the opening was cut out in the shape of a door frame.

After storing the cut-out section of the wall in her space, she could proceed to bury the drainage pipes in the bathroom.

The sewage pipes for the bathroom required 110mm piping. Burying them didn't require much technical skill; one just had to connect the pipes with glue according to the requirements.

After installing a squat toilet at the end of the pipe connection, the remaining floor was covered with a layer of mixed cement slurry. Once it was smoothed out in two hours, it would basically be finished.

By the time she finished her tasks, Tang Lin had almost finished digging the pit.

As darkness fell, working became inconvenient, so the rest would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll build a brick wall around the septic tank and coat it with cement. By tomorrow night, the bathroom should basically be usable."

Tang Lin brushed the dirt off her clothes and walked to the water pump to wash her hands, saying, "Your father went to the machinery factory to look for me at noon today."

"What did he want with you at the factory?"

As an ex-husband who was already divorced, Leng Hui couldn't imagine why he would look for his ex-wife unless it concerned her.

After a day of labor, her back ached from exhaustion. Leng Hui sat by the well and, after washing her hands, didn't want to move at all.

Tang Lin brought over the lunch box she had brought back from the factory. The mother and daughter sat in the courtyard, eating and chatting under the last glow of the sunset.

"Your father wants you to go back tomorrow. There might be some relatives visiting, and he wants you to come over for lunch tomorrow at noon."

"Relatives from the Leng family?" Leng Hui thought for a moment and shook her head. "I'm not going!"

The Leng family relatives were either the old man's clan members or her mother's side of the family; she had no desire to be close to either.

"The basic construction in the courtyard is mostly done. You can use tomorrow morning to make the courtyard gate, install a lock, and then you won't have to worry about anyone stealing things even if you leave."

As Tang Lin spoke, she pulled a lock from her pocket. "Since you'll be home alone at noon anyway, you might as well go to the Leng house and grab a free meal."

Leng Hui rubbed her nose; her cooking was barely edible, which made her feel a bit ashamed.

For the sake of her appetite, she might as well go.

"Fine. I'll see what kind of nonsense the Leng family is up to tomorrow."

The labor intensity had been quite high over the past few days. Waking up with a body full of aches, Leng Hui got up to stretch in the courtyard before starting to build the septic tank.

She built the brick walls around it and then coated them with cement.

After breakfast, once Tang Lin had left for work, she took out the wooden planks she had collected previously from her space and began DIY-ing a rustic, anti-theft wooden courtyard gate.

The original gate had been taken away, but the frame was still there and quite sturdy.

Leng Hui didn't want to replace the frame; she only needed to saw the planks to the required lengths and then secure them with a nail gun.

It didn't need to be beautiful; it just needed to prevent theft and prying eyes.

Once the gate was installed, it looked a bit mismatched with the color of the frame, but Leng Hui didn't care; utility was what mattered.

Leng Hui put her tools back into the space, tidied herself up, locked the courtyard gate, and headed toward the Leng house.

Compared to usual, the Leng house seemed exceptionally lively today.

Especially Old Lady Leng, who had a smile plastered on her face all day, chatting and laughing with the guests.

Sometimes, when she reached a funny part of a story, she would laugh heartily.

This was an emotion she rarely showed in front of the Leng family.

Leng Hui ran into Leng Yongkang, who had just returned on his bicycle, at the bottom of the apartment building.

"Did you just get here?"

"Didn't you say I was coming for lunch? I shouldn't be considered late at this hour, should I?"

Leng Hui stood at the stairwell waiting for Leng Yongkang to lock his bicycle.

Leng Yongkang put the key in his pocket and shook his head. "You're not late for the meal, but what I meant was that if you weren't busy, you would have come earlier to help host the guests."

"How do you know I'm not busy?" Leng Hui snorted. "I have a lot of repairs to do in my courtyard. I'm not as idle as your mother."

Seeing Leng Hui's unfriendly tone, Leng Yongkang felt a headache coming on and compromised, "Fine, fine, you're busy. Just don't mention my divorce from your mother in front of the guests later. It's embarrassing!"

"Divorce isn't like adultery; what's there to be embarrassed about?"

Leng Hui couldn't understand Leng Yongkang's logic; once divorced, everyone should live their own lives. What was the shame in that?

"What does a kid like you know? Just remember what I said later: don't mention the divorce."

As they spoke, they reached the second-floor corridor.

The laughter and chatter of the Leng family could be heard clearly from the hallway.

Auntie Li was standing in the corridor cracking melon seeds, but she was actually eavesdropping on the Leng family.

Seeing Leng Yongkang and Leng Hui approaching, she asked with a smile, "Yongkang, your house is quite lively today; many guests have come. Huihui is back too. How have you and your mother been living out there?"

Looking at Auntie Li's fake smile made Leng Hui feel tired, so she ignored her.

Leng Yongkang merely gave a polite nod and pulled Leng Hui past her, heading straight into the house.

Watching the backs of the father and daughter, Auntie Li spat on the ground. "None of them are good stock."

The moment she stepped through the door of the Leng house, Leng Hui clearly felt Old Lady Leng's laughter falter slightly.

Immediately after, the old woman smiled and said to the woman sitting beside her, "This is the eldest's Huihui. She graduated high school last year and has been looking for a job recently."

"Oh, so this is Huihui! Girls change so much as they grow up; I almost didn't recognize her."

The woman looked pleasantly surprised and tried to reach out to take Leng Hui's hand enthusiastically, but Leng Hui dodged her.

Leng Hui scanned the room. In the corner sat a young man and a young woman she didn't recognize, with Leng Mei accompanying them in conversation.

Leng Yongxing was pouring tea for everyone.

Finally, Leng Hui's gaze landed on the woman sitting next to Old Lady Leng.

She was dressed in typical rural fashion, wearing a diagonal-collar blue cloth outfit. Her hair was graying, making her look at least fifty.

However, Leng Yongkang had told her that this woman was his cousin's wife and was only about forty.

The "cousin" Leng Yongkang mentioned was the son of Old Lady Leng's maternal brother. They rarely interacted; they used to visit during the New Year when her eldest brother was still alive.

After the brother passed away, contact was lost.

Why would relatives who hadn't visited in years come to the city in the middle of nowhere?

Fearing Leng Hui would be impolite, Leng Yongkang pulled her down to sit beside him, then greeted Wang Hehua, "Sister-in-law is right. Children grow so fast; after a few years, they look completely different. Xiaojun and the others are getting more and more handsome. If I saw them on the street, I wouldn't recognize them either."

Wang Hehua glanced at Zhang Xiaojun sitting in the corner and smiled proudly. "Isn't that the truth? Not to boast, but with Xiaojun's looks, he's among the best in our whole district. Anyone who sees him praises how handsome he is."

Hearing this, Leng Yongkang's mouth twitched slightly, and he nodded awkwardly.

Old Lady Leng patted Wang Hehua's hand. "Knowing you were coming, I told those two brothers to rush back from the factory so our whole big family could have a good gathering at lunch."

"Alright. It's been many years since the niece-in-law came to visit her aunt; it really wasn't right. Our family will take the liberty of disturbing you today."

Wang Hehua smiled and looked at Leng Hui, who was sitting next to Leng Yongkang. "Eh, Huihui, why are you sitting next to your father without saying anything?"

Old Lady Leng laughed. "Perhaps she doesn't have much to talk about with us adults. Let her chat with Xiaojun and the others. Young people need to talk to their peers to get along."

With that, Old Lady Leng beckoned to Zhang Xiaojun. "Xiaojun, come sit here with your sister and let Huihui keep you company."

Zhang Xiaojun and his sister, Zhang Xiaocao, obediently sat around the table, and Leng Mei, who had been accompanying them, moved closer as well.

Leng Hui lowered her head, focused on peeling the pumpkin seeds in her hand. With senses sharper than an average person's, she naturally felt Zhang Xiaojun's gaze occasionally drifting toward her.

She nudged Leng Yongkang beside her.

Leng Yongkang was suddenly poked in the side and turned back with a frown. "What is it?"

Leng Hui jerked her chin toward the opposite side, signaling him to look.

Leng Yongkang followed her gaze and happened to meet Zhang Xiaojun's nervous, staring eyes. "?"

Leng Hui loathed being scrutinized by men with that kind of look. She warned aloud, "Stop staring at me with those disgusting eyes, or I'll poke your eyes out!"

"I... I..." Zhang Xiaojun's palms were sweaty with nervousness. He wanted to explain, but he was even stuttering.

At this moment, Leng Mei, who loved to stir up trouble, chimed in to help explain, "Sister, you've misunderstood. Today is a good day for a matchmaking meeting. Isn't it normal for Brother Xiaojun to look at you a few more times?"

"Matchmaking?"

Leng Yongkang's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Old Lady Leng.

Old Lady Leng felt guilty and didn't dare meet his eyes.

"Is that so?" Leng Hui sneered. Ignoring the old woman and the others, she looked at Leng Yongkang and asked, "You were the one who called me back for lunch. Did you know about this beforehand?"

Leng Yongkang felt like a massive blame was being heaped upon him. He shook his head. "I didn't know. I didn't know about this. I just thought since relatives were visiting, I should have you come back to eat a meal together. It was that simple."

Leng Hui asked expressionlessly, "Then what do you have to say about this matchmaking?"

"What opinion could I have? No matter how much of a scoundrel I am, I wouldn't let you marry into the countryside."

Leng Yongkang felt deeply wronged; he had just called Man Nu back for a meal and ended up causing a misunderstanding.

Old Lady Leng's face darkened as she corrected him, "Xiaojun has a job now; he works at the town's livestock station. Pairing him with an unemployed city girl is a perfect match. As the old saying goes, it's a case of complementing each other's strengths and matching social status."

Hearing Old Lady Leng's words, Leng Mei almost couldn't help but burst out laughing. Did she even know what "matching social status" meant?

And "complementing strengths"?

She didn't even know what strength was being complemented or what weakness was being supplemented.

Leng Yongkang had a headache. "Mom, Xiaojun is only a temporary worker, but his household registration is still in the countryside."

Old Lady Leng, siding with her maternal family, argued stubbornly, "Temporary is just temporary. After working for a few years, he'll have a chance to become permanent. For a lazy, good-for-nothing girl like yours, you should be thanking the heavens if someone wants her. Don't you dare be picky, or you might end up never marrying and rotting away on your own."

Leng Hui's face turned black upon hearing this. "Only your impoverished maternal relatives would find me acceptable. But don't use me to settle your social debts; you have no say in my marriage."

"Oh my! How did my family produce such a sharp-tongued girl? What a sin!" Old Lady Leng clutched her chest, looking as if she were genuinely infuriated.

Leng Hui retorted unceremoniously, "If you want to talk about sin, you're the one who created it. You haven't accumulated any virtue in your life, so Heaven sent me specifically to punish you!"

This time, Old Lady Leng truly felt chest pains from anger.

Wang Hehua and her son were shocked, their mouths agape. They hadn't expected Leng Hui to treat Old Lady Leng with such an attitude.

It was terrifying!

Especially Zhang Xiaocao; her family was heavily biased toward males. If she dared to talk back to her grandmother like that, her grandmother would likely slap her so hard she'd be embedded into the wall.

Coming out of her shock, Wang Hehua turned to Leng Yongkang and said, "Yongkang, your girl's personality is too aggressive. A woman should be gentle and virtuous."

Leng Yongkang was breaking into a cold sweat. "Huihui is usually very well-behaved..."

"That's only because you think you can't handle me, so you think I'm aggressive. What? Is it 'aggressive' just because I don't look down on your son?"

A mocking smile curled on Leng Hui's lips. If she hadn't been hungry, she wouldn't have minded going all out.

Wang Hehua put on a look of heartbroken disappointment. "Yongkang, look at your daughter. She dares to speak to her elders like that. She's so poorly raised!"

Leng Hui hated it most when people said she was poorly raised; usually, people who said such things were the type to be unreasonable even when they were wrong.

"And you weren't poorly raised to be shouting in other people's houses? Also, if you can't stand it, don't call me 'Dad.' Anyone else would think you have feelings for him."

The implication was that she was a loose woman. Wang Hehua trembled with rage, her vision blurring. If these words spread back to the village, how could she ever show her face again?

Wang Hehua screamed and lunged forward, wanting to fight Leng Hui!

"Today, I'll discipline you on behalf of my aunt and your father, to teach you respect for your elders and to stop your reckless mouth. Being so picky—if people didn't know better, they'd think you were a celestial beauty, but those who know the truth know you're just a pile of dog shit!"

Leng Yongkang rushed to stop her.

Suddenly, Leng Hui leaned forward and, with lightning speed, swung her hand and slapped Zhang Xiaojun across the face.

Zhang Xiaojun clutched his numbing cheek, staring at Leng Hui in bewilderment.

Why was he the one getting hurt?

He hadn't said anything, nor had he even been looking at her.

He was already being treated like a coward, and now he got slapped? Was he not wronged?!

Leng Hui blew on her reddened palm. "The sins of the parents are visited upon the children!"

If you can't hit the old, hit the young.