Lu Ao politely declined. "Give me the money after the tiles are back. I don't know how much they cost either."
The old man laboriously pulled his hand back from his waistband, panting as he patted Lu Ao's arm. "Then I'll have to trouble you. Qi Yan isn't home. If you didn't help, I wouldn't know what to do."
"It's nothing, no trouble." Holding the broken tile, Lu Ao asked, "Is there still gas at home? What about rice and cooking oil?"
"There's plenty. Come in and have some tea first."
"I'll skip the tea for now. I'll ask if anyone's in town and can bring us some tiles back."
Lu Ao pulled out his phone one-handed and asked in the fishing group whether anyone was in town and could bring him some tiles.
Lin Gongshang messaged him privately: What do you need tiles for?
Lu Ao: Qi Yan's roof is leaking a little. I'm replacing a few tiles.
Lin Gongshang: No need to go to town. I have some at home. I'll bring them over later.
Lu Ao: That works. About twenty tiles should be enough.
Lin Gongshang: Okay, wait for me. I'll bring them over at noon.
At noon, Lin Gongshang indeed rode over on his motorcycle with the tiles.
Lu Ao stood at the door chatting with him. "Why do you have extra tiles at home?"
"There were leftovers from when we built the house. They've been piled behind the house ever since."
Lu Ao asked, "Your new house should be getting built soon too, right?"
"We'll start once winter comes." At the mention of the new house, Lin Gongshang beamed. "My wife said we should hire more people during the winter slack season and finish it as soon as possible."
"You're not hiring a construction crew?"