Chapter 224: The surrender of "Yangshi Lei"
For Liu Zhiye, this courtyard is not only a residence, but also a place to place his emotions, carrying his countless efforts and dedication.

As a person who traveled from the future to this world, he had always hated living in a house of dozens of square meters, which made him extremely obsessed with living in a large, luxurious courtyard.

Although the courtyard house is nominally the collective property of the village, Liu Zhiye is only a lessee. However, when conditions are right in the future, he will buy the courtyard house at an "appropriate" price.

"Brother, this yard is really big, much bigger than the one we live in in Nanluoguxiang. It's the first time I've seen such a large private courtyard, I'm really surprised." Liu Zhitai exclaimed as he looked at the courtyard under construction.

"Well, it is indeed very big, and the architectural style here is more simple and elegant, giving people a feeling of tranquility and peace." Liu Jingzhai responded with a smile.

"And this will be our home in the future. I'm really looking forward to living here in the future." Liu Zhitai continued to say with anticipation.

Liu Zhiruo hugged Liu Zhiye's arm and asked coquettishly, "Brother, will you leave a room here for me in the future?"

Liu Zhiye patted his sister's arm gently and replied with a smile: "Sister, you can come back and live here anytime. There will be a room reserved for you and everything can be prepared for you." His words were full of warmth and care.

"Great! Thank you, brother!" Liu Zhiruo cheered happily. She looked around excitedly, with anticipation shining in her eyes.

Liu Jingzhai smiled as he watched his three children grow up. He hoped that after the two younger ones got married and started their own families, he could return to his hometown, serve his old father, and return to the countryside.

He knew in his heart that his hometown was always the best, no matter where he was. He would spend the rest of his life here, enjoying the quiet countryside life, while his children's lives settled down.

Liu Jingzhai looked forward to a leisurely life in the future, looked into the distance, and improvised a poem:
"Call for the hoes to come and start building the garden.

Children sleep on the fallen leaves, and birds chirp in the setting sun.

The sounds of fireworks from the village are far away, and the wild forest is fragrant.

How happy I am this year, the rice clouds at the end of the sky are turning yellow. "

In fact, deep down in his heart, Liu Zhiye also longs for this peaceful rural life.

Although the real rural life is not as beautiful as imagined, although life is poor, it is simple and plain, just like a moving folk song sings: "A four-pocket Zhongshan suit, millet and sorghum are delicious, several families live in one village, and visiting relatives and friends depends on walking."

"Transportation basically relies on walking, communication basically relies on shouting, heating basically relies on shivering, and public security basically relies on dogs"

In this era, material life is relatively simple; there are no modern fancy clothes, no big fish, meat and fresh seafood, no convenient means of transportation such as modern electric cars, cars, airplanes, highways and high-speed railways; there are no entertainment projects such as the Internet, smart phones, televisions and computers.

But people's lives are very simple. They work from sunrise to sunset and rest at sunset, enjoying simple happiness.

In this era, people's minds are simple, without too much intrigue, and society advocates "serving the people."

In the fifties and sixties, people were full of revolutionary passion, and the ideals in their hearts were like bright lights, illuminating their lives.

In this era, people are busy and messy at work, but they have no complaints; they live a hard life but they do not grumble; they are not discouraged when faced with difficulties. All this is because people nowadays have ideals and beliefs!
When Lei Laoliu saw Liu Zhiye coming, he put down his work, washed his hands, and took the initiative to greet him. He was tall, dark-skinned, and his eyes revealed enthusiasm and simplicity.

Liu Zhiye responded with a smile. After a few pleasantries, Lei Laoliu took the initiative to introduce the construction situation.

"The main building has been basically completed, and follow-up work such as interior decoration is underway. It is expected that most of the construction will be completed in half a month to ten days. As for the remaining work, it will be gradually completed after the weather warms up next year."

Liu Zhiye nodded, handed him a cigarette, and then said, "Don't worry, slow work produces fine work. We have plenty of time, and we must keep striving for perfection."

Lei Laoliu was overjoyed when he heard this, and patted his chest and said, "Since you are not in a hurry, let's take our time. To be honest, since the end of the Qing Dynasty, our family has not been involved in such a large-scale project for many years. I am eager to see the opportunity, and I promise to do it beautifully for you."

Lei Laoliu is a skilled craftsman who particularly appreciates clients who are generous and don't push him, such as owners like Liu Zhiye.

As long as the owner is generous and does not interfere, he will have enough time to carve each piece according to his own ideas.

Liu Zhiye nodded gently and said, "Is the funding sufficient? Please let me know what other materials you need and I will prepare them."

Lei Laoliu silently estimated the remaining funds, and then said: "Except for cement, the materials we have on hand are enough for a period of time. When you go back, please bring more cement back." Liu Zhiye nodded. Considering that cement might not be enough, it was not that he did not want to buy more cement before, but it was difficult to buy too much. Even if he had connections, it would be difficult to solve this problem. The supply of cement is very tight now, and ordinary people cannot buy it.

As early as the end of 1949, there were only 35 cement factories in China, of which 15 were owned by national capital, but they were all small in scale.

That year, the national cement production was only 66 tons. Based on a population of 4.5 million, the per capita cement consumption was only 1.47 kilograms.

In the ten years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, although the country vigorously developed the cement industry, the national cement production reached more than 10 million tons.

However, compared with a country with huge infrastructure needs, this is just a drop in the bucket.

This is why Liu Zhiye strongly supports the village to build its own brick and tile factory, lime factory and traditional cement production. Without building materials, all infrastructure construction is just empty talk.

Liu Zhiye looked at Lei Laoliu doubtfully, and seeing him hesitating, he asked in a somewhat strange tone, "Master Lei, do you have anything else to say?"

Lei Lao Liu looked at Liu Zhiye and said with some embarrassment: "This..."

Liu Zhiye smiled and replied: "It's okay, just tell me, I will definitely help if I can."

Hearing this, Lei Laoliu made up his mind and said his request: "Comrade Liu, I have an unsolicited request, I hope you can agree to it."

"Oh! Tell me about it!" Liu Zhiye said encouragingly.

Lei Laoliu continued, "We, the Lei family, are planning to move some of our clansmen to Liujiazhuang to live. What do you think?"

Liu Zhiye narrowed his eyes and pretended to be puzzled: "Oh! Why is that? Why don't you stay in the imperial city, but choose to live in the countryside?"

Lei Laoliu said calmly: "It must be mentioned that the huge development of the village attracted us. During the time that the Lei brothers were in Liujiazhuang, they found that the living conditions of the villagers were almost the same as those in the city, and even surpassed those in the city in some aspects, so they were envious.

In cities, people's lives often follow a fixed pattern that can be seen at a glance, but Liujiazhuang has huge development potential and is full of infinite possibilities.

So we thought about moving here to make a living.”

He also had another reason that he didn't mention, which was that he was a smart man. He had already seen that something was wrong, so he chose to avoid disaster and seek fortune, and thought of the precious land of Liujiazhuang.

Liu Zhiye didn't express his opinion immediately after hearing this. He just asked again, "Why don't you just go and discuss it with the village? Why did you think of asking me for help?"

Lei Laoliu frowned and said, "The villagers have different opinions. In principle, we do not allow outsiders to join our village, unless they marry in or become a live-in son-in-law." He sighed. As a big family, how could their Lei family abandon their ancestors to become a live-in son-in-law for others?

Liu Zhiye laughed when he saw this. He pretended to say, "What can I do if you come to me? I can't make the decision in the village."

Lei Laoliu was anxious and said, "I don't believe that. We are also aware of your prestige in the village. How about this, let's discuss it. As long as you can help us get this done, we will not only not ask for wages, but also be willing to give you a thank-you gift. How about it?"

Liu Zhiye was also quite surprised and said: "Wow! Such a huge investment, you know the wages are several thousand yuan!"

Although Lei Laoliu's face was full of pain, he still nodded firmly, indicating that he was determined to join Liujiazhuang, even if it was worth paying such a high price. He had already made up his mind and no longer hesitated.

Liu Zhiye waved his hand and said, "I am not short of money. I will not give you a penny less of the wages you deserve."

Hearing this, Lei Laoliu's face was slightly gloomy, and he felt that he was rejected again. He stood there, staring into the distance silently, as if thinking about what to do next.

"However, I am willing to come forward and ask the village to take you in." Liu Zhiye's words were like a spring breeze, which made Lei Laoliu overjoyed. He hurriedly said, "Really? Thank you so much!"

"Otherwise, I'll kowtow to you!"

In fact, even if they didn't come to Liujiazhuang, Liu Zhiye would still pay attention to them. The exquisite architectural skills of "Yangshi Lei" were exactly what he was thinking about.

(End of this chapter)