He couldn't help but suspect she had planned this all along.
Su Jiaojiao asked somewhat uncertainly, "Village Chief, is that right? After people come, how much money per person per day? Do you also need to provide meals? You also know the Educated Youth Dormitory's path isn't good for cooking. I'll add more hardship money later. Is that okay?"
"Done." This wasn't a difficult matter! So he agreed immediately. "How should we build it?"
"I want to build a blue brick and tile house with glass, at least two bedrooms. After that, if my family comes, there's a place to stay. Also, a storage room, a toilet, and... a kitchen?" This kitchen should be unnecessary since she couldn't cook. She would call Little Stone to make it in her Soul Space, but it couldn't be without one.
"Chew!"
Little Stone's body couldn't come out. Earlier, when it first emerged, it was chopped. It hid in the Spirit Beast Bag, and even that wasn't allowed.
So it remained in its Soul Space. Although she had purified the space with her soul, it was still an independent space. She couldn't even communicate with Little Stone.
What?
Will it be that she doesn't want a kitchen? Does she not want a kitchen at all?
Village Chief looked at his half-finished mud wall house and felt a bit uneasy.
"Done. Blue bricks are fine. You'll need to find glass yourself; there's no glass factory here."
Su Jiaojiao nodded, indicating she understood. She glanced sideways and saw Little Stone staring at White Rabbit Candy with drool, but it just held it without eating. She almost wanted to touch its head, but since she and it weren't close yet, she decided against it.
Instead, she took another White Rabbit Candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and stuffed it directly into Little Stone's mouth.
Little Stone was stunned at first, but after tasting the sweet milk flavor, it smiled with its eyes wide open and said to Su Jiaojiao, "Thank you, Su Zhiqing."
Little Stone's stupid and cute appearance made Su Jiaojiao very happy too.
"That's it, Village Chief. I'll leave now to find Uncle Laogen for cabinets and furniture later." She stood up, adjusted her clothes, and prepared to leave.
"Whew~ Little Su Zhiqing, eat dinner here before you go." Aunt Guihua appeared from the inner room.
"Not needed, Aunt. I'm new here. I need to get familiar with the Educated Youth Dormitory." She looked at Little Stone, whose small mouth couldn't handle a whole candy, making her smile wider.
"Also." Aunt Guihua understood and nodded. "Then I won't keep you. You can come back later; I'll make you something good." She escorted Su Jiaojiao to the door.
"Village Chief, you go back too." Su Jiaojiao smiled and waved her hand. She turned in another direction.
This was to go to Uncle Laogen's place. She took some items from her Soul Space and placed them in her bag before patting it satisfied.
Walking on the rice field dikes, she saw only endless rows of sharp rice leaves and golden rice ears.
"Chew~ Double Harvest would be great if Uncle Zhou participated. I doubt he can't lose weight." She imagined the crowded scene ten days later.
Su Jiaojiao noticed someone squatting on the dike ahead. He seemed to be observing the rice shoots.
He noticed her too and stood up, turning to look at her.
Huh? A little girl she didn't recognize, sullen, not like someone who could work on the farm.
"Big Uncle! What are you doing here?" She took three White Rabbit Candies from her pocket and offered, "Here, give this to your children."
The big uncle hesitated but took it and put it in his pocket before turning back to the rice and saying, "I'm watching if the rice shoots have pests. It's almost harvest time; no point in losing yield."
"Oh~" Su Jiaojiao seemed to understand but not quite.
He stared at the grain. She didn't know much about this; she only grew a few Spirit Medicines, but they were handled by others, so she didn't need to touch them.
He picked a grain from a bundle and put it in his mouth, biting it, then asked, "You're a new Educated Youth, right? Where are you going?"
Su Jiaojiao returned her gaze from the grain and smiled, answering, "Yes, I'm Su Jiaojiao. I'm new. I'm going to find Uncle Laogen. Do you know if he's home?"
The big uncle nodded and smiled back, "Then go quickly. I saw him just now returning from his private plot; he should be home soon."
He leaned aside to let her pass.
Su Jiaojiao also turned sideways and walked past quickly.
"Thank you, Big Uncle."
The big uncle only nodded in response. He crouched down again to watch his rice.
Su Jiaojiao reached Uncle Laogen's door and heard "Praise eat, praise eat~" as she knocked.
Not locked, she peeked inside and saw a man in his forties pushing a long wooden box with ear handles, pushing it forward. Each push released a long trail of wood shavings.
"Uncle Laogen?" She called tentatively.
The man, writing on the box, looked up and asked, "Who is it?"
"I'm Su Jiaojiao. I'm new here. I want to buy cabinets and wardrobes."
The man nodded, no surprise, as new Educated Youth always came to buy. He led her inside a side room filled with cabinets, wardrobes, and tables—some painted, some not.
He patted one cabinet and smiled, "You choose. Good wood, you can paint it yourself and do the anti-corrosion work. It'll last years."
Su Jiaojiao glanced at the furniture but only nodded. She turned to Uncle Laogen, "Uncle Laogen, the dormitory is too crowded. I plan to build a house behind the dormitory after Double Harvest. I'll need cabinets, wardrobes, and tables then."
Uncle Laogen's smile widened, "Little Su Zhiqing wants to build a house? That's good news! How many rooms? If it's one room, buying now would be unnecessary."