Four people jumped down from the vehicle, all young men with shiny black skin, each with a shaved head and a fierce look.

Samuel Young wasn’t intimidated by them and asked, “Who’s in charge here?”

The tallest young man said, “That’s me, sir. I’m the engineer for this project. Where do you plan to build the house?”

Samuel Young didn’t want to be too far from the Tree of Life, so he pointed out a spot twenty meters away and said, “Let’s build it right here. Oh, did you bring all the materials? Let me see the quality assurance certificate for the steel structure and the factory certificate of conformity for the structural components.”

The four young men looked at each other. The engineer shrugged and said, “What are those?”

“Then the color steel, aluminum alloy, expansion bolts—these connecting materials must have quality certificates, right? At least the sandwich panels should have the manufacturer’s name, specifications, and production date, right? Don’t tell me you don’t have those either!”

“I’ve never even heard of what you’re talking about.” The engineer grinned. He had thick lips and big eyes, and his smile looked honest enough.

Samuel Young was speechless. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: “Don’t tell me you don’t even have construction blueprints.”

The engineer pulled a blueprint out of his bag and said, “Oh, we have this. Don’t worry, we’re professionals.”

After confirming there was nothing wrong with the blueprint, Samuel Young nodded and let them get to work.

The engineer waved his hand and said, “Guys, let’s go!”

After unloading the color steel, cement, sand, gravel, and various tools, the four officially started work. Samuel Young waved the blueprint and said, “Aren’t you going to follow the blueprint while you work?”

“No need. We’ve already memorized how to build it. Don’t worry, we’re professionals,” the engineer said confidently.

Samuel Young was stunned. “How am I supposed to feel at ease with you working like this?”

Building a house on wasteland can be simple or complicated. If you just want a house to shelter from the wind and rain, it’s simple—don’t expect comfort. But if you want comfort, it gets complicated: electricity, water supply, sewage pipes—all of these are hard to set up from scratch.

Old Young didn’t ask for comfort, nor did he have the means to enjoy it.

Chapter 13: Planting Grass

Although building a color steel tile house doesn’t require a foundation, you do need to lay a fine stone concrete floor, which is essential for moisture and pest prevention.

The construction crew brought concrete but no water. Samuel Young said to the engineer, “Bro, I already told your boss this is a wilderness—there’s nothing here, no well, no tap water.”

The engineer replied, “Don’t worry, we’re professionals.”

There it was again!

Samuel Young couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. He was curious to see how they would mix fine stone concrete without water.

The workers didn’t start with the concrete, but began by clearing the weeds.

Here, Old Young witnessed the astonishing work efficiency of the black brothers: one worker used a mower to cut the wild grass, another followed behind to sweep it up, a third used a shovel to remove the topsoil, and finally, the engineer gathered the sod together.

Samuel Young went up and offered a friendly suggestion: “This is a waste of manpower. There’s no need to sweep the grass—the mower will blow it aside. When the person behind shovels the topsoil, they can just collect it all together. That way, you can save two people.”

The engineer replied seriously, “That would be too tiring.”

Samuel Young was at a loss for words.

He needed the job done quickly—not because he wanted to move in sooner, but because the Tree of Life was growing fast. He was afraid that if the construction took too long, the workers would notice something strange.

After all, if a tree shot up a meter tall in the time it took to build a color steel house, even a fool would realize something was off.

So he pulled out some cash and said, “Work faster, and I’ll give each of you a 100-yuan tip.”

The engineer immediately threw down his shovel and said, “Let’s speed it up, let’s speed it up.”

The situation changed dramatically. Clearing the weeds and removing the topsoil didn’t even require two people—one person with a rotary mower, skimming the ground, finished the work of four.

Samuel Young understood now—these guys just wanted to make some extra money.

Around 4:30, the weather suddenly changed as well. A patch of dark clouds was quickly blown in by the sea breeze.

The workers dropped their tools and shouted, “Sir, let’s take shelter from the rain!”

Samuel Young said, “Come with me to town.”

The engineer replied, “No need. Aren’t there a few houses over there? Let’s just take shelter there for a bit. This rain will last at most half an hour.”

He was referring to the four houses Samuel Young had seen when he first arrived on the grassland. These houses were a bit old, surrounded by fences, with corn and fruit trees planted inside—like a small farm.

During the rainy season, the weather changes rapidly. When it rains, it pours, and it doesn’t follow any pattern. But the rain also stops quickly—swift as the wind.

The five of them ran quickly toward the small farm. Then Samuel Young grabbed the fence and shouted at the nearest house:

“Hello, is anyone there?”

“Hello? Anybody?”

“Yī kù yī kù ā bù, me xi me xi?”

“Yōu mèi yōu rèn sī mǐ dá?”

He tried several languages at the top of his lungs. A shadow flickered behind the window, but no one came out to greet him.

Seeing this, he could only shake his head at the four young men behind him. “People are so indifferent these days. The world is cold. They don’t want to let us take shelter from the rain.”