Chapter 160: Building a House

After leaving Wanyang Town, Zhang Xuan organized an inventory of the newly purchased goods. Once the counting was complete, he distributed the items to everyone and assigned a task, making each person strictly responsible for the safekeeping of their allotted belongings. Of course, this applied to everyone—including Old Man Tong, Uncle Yang, the mentor's wife, and the Yan family guards, with Zhang Xuan himself, Yang Zaixing, and the others being no exception. He explicitly stated in advance that if anyone lost or damaged the items in their custody—excluding acts of God—they would face severe punishment. As a minor deterrent, he briefly cited a penalty of running twenty kilometers, and failing to finish within the time limit would result in being banned from eating for two days. Along the way, he also briefly explained to the group what an "act of God" meant.

More than ten days after departing from Wanyang Town, Zhang Xuan and his entourage finally arrived at the sect of which Old Man Tong had so often spoken. Zhang Xuan looked around and saw a few scattered houses nestled among the mountain forests, with a gentle stream meandering down from the hills and a vast expanse of barren land at the foot of the mountain. Overall, it was a picturesque place of emerald peaks and clear waters, with fresh air—an absolute paradise for leisure and health preservation.

"Old Man Tong, there are only these few houses here! They don't look like they can hold many people at all!"

"Nonsense. Usually, only five or six people live here, and at most no more than ten. Who would have thought so many people would come along this time? Little Xuan, you're the one who proposed bringing them, so you figure out the accommodation problem for these children yourself. Surely you wouldn't have the heart to watch them use the earth as a bed and the sky as a blanket? That would be far too pitiful. I'm going to go check those houses and see if there is any surplus grain." With that, Old Man Tong called out to his wife and children and walked toward the buildings.

Watching the retreating figures of Old Man Tong and the others, Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought. Although they had been sleeping in the open and eating in the wind all these days, now that they had reached their destination, they certainly couldn't continue living with the sky as their quilt and the earth as their mattress.

The children clutched their belongings and looked at Zhang Xuan, waiting for him to make a decision. "Little Xuan, what should we do? There are so many children, and it's so cold. We can't possibly let them sleep in the wilderness again."

"What can we do? We'll just have to deal with it. To work! Cut down wood and build houses. It's the depth of winter; we can barely tolerate sleeping in the wild for a few nights, but we certainly can't spend the whole winter out in the open," Zhang Xuan replied calmly. He then gathered all the children together. "Listen up, everyone. You can all see the current situation—there are no ready-made places to live, so we can only rely on our own hands. Furthermore, for the next two days, before the houses are built, everyone will still have to hardship it out and sleep in the wilderness. Alright, let me assign the tasks now. Do you all remember the wooden cabins in the stronghold where you were previously detained? We'll build a few following that exact structure! Is there anyone present who has ever helped build a wooden cabin, or anyone who knows how to be a carpenter? The requirements aren't high—just knowing how is enough. Don't hold back now; please raise your hand. We really need you."

Zhang Xuan looked over and saw that five children raised their hands, including Nie Rong. "Uncle Yang, and you guards of the Yan family, you all know how to build houses, right?" The men nodded; constructing simple houses was not a problem for them.

"Uncle Yang, the Yan family guards, Big Brother, and Tiger, you take the older children along with Nie Rong and the other four to cut down trees in the mountains! Uncle Yang will serve as the general commander. If you don't understand anything, consult Uncle Yang. When building the houses, remember one thing: they must be livable first, and we can consider other things later. Therefore, you must be selective when choosing timber. Understand?"

Yang Zaixing and the others nodded. Then, carrying all the saws and machetes, they headed into the mountain forest, where they enthusiastically began sawing down trees under the direction of Uncle Yang and the others.

"The rest of you, divide into three groups. The first group will move the daily necessities and grain we purchased into those houses first, so they don't get damp and ruined later. Second Brother, you will lead this group! Make sure to coordinate well with Old Man Tong, since this is his territory after all. The rest of you, take the remaining tools and follow me. We're going to build nests for these chickens, little sheep, little pigs, and little calves. After all, these are our future rations, so we need to give them a decent place to settle. The final group will take sickles and other tools to harvest thatch grass—the more, the better. It can be used both to feed the animals and to thatch the roofs."

The remaining children divided into three groups according to Zhang Xuan's instructions. "Go, go, go! Let's get moving, everyone! For our shelter, and for our future feasts, let's get to work!"

Building wooden cabins, hauling supplies, constructing animal shelters, and setting off to harvest thatch grass—all these tasks proceeded methodically through everyone's cooperation. Once Yuwen Chengdu and the others finished moving the supplies, they immediately joined the teams building shelters and houses.

Working overtime, the group finally completed the construction of the first wooden cabin by noon the next day. It was the result of everyone's collaboration and joint effort, and Zhang Xuan was even preparing to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of the cabin.

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to prepare for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the unexpected happened!