Chapter 302

In the following days, Sun Jinhua and Fan Qian’s family felt that the excitement in the village had gone overboard.

Everyone seemed to have endless energy, working harder on building others’ houses than on their own!

This didn’t make sense.

They weren’t even getting paid. Even when they were paid before, they hadn’t worked this hard. Plus, this work was done in exchange for labor days. The sooner they finished, the fewer days they owed. Didn’t these people know how to do the math?

As Fan Qian dug the foundation, he angrily observed the men around him sweating and toiling.

He signaled his son, and the father and sons went to drink tea in the shade.

Nearby, Fan Xiaoliu muttered to someone, “I don’t even want to admit they’re my cousins and nephews. They always find ways to slack off. We’re all working hard, but his family is either drinking water, going to the toilet, complaining about the sun, or saying their shoulders hurt. I don’t believe their borrowed ox works like this!”

Next to him, Boss Xu coughed, trying to smooth things over, “Let it go. His family is always like this. Just focus on doing our work well. Finishing the house early means we can get back to our fields, and that’s what matters.”

His daughter, Tingting, worked in the herb workshop. The sooner it was built, the sooner she could move in. The better the herb workshop, the better it would be for Tingting.

Tingting had told him about Fan Qian’s mother causing trouble, trying to get her eldest son’s family into the workshop. If they were all placed there, wouldn’t some people have to be kicked out? His family had no ties to Fan Jin or Shuiqing, so they had to work hard and stay out of it.

A few days ago, Tingting also mentioned the Polygonum multiflorum planting. That was even more important. They were all focused on finishing the house quickly to start planting.

The other men, disapproving of Fan Qian’s family taking advantage, thought that if they had just a bit more ambition, their lives wouldn’t be this way. Even without ambition, as long as they weren’t greedy, Fan Jin and Shuiqing would surely help them earn a living.

But some people were like mud that couldn’t stick to a wall, dragging others down with them.

Drinking water in the shade, Fan Qian looked at the hardworking men and felt a surge of anger, “It seems like everyone in this village is a fool, working so hard! It’s not even for their own houses.”

Fan Dazhu thought to himself: even for his own house, he wouldn’t work this hard.

Fan Erzhu drank a big bowl of cold water and said, “Dad, I think there’s something strange in our village. Everyone’s working too diligently!”

“Is it just recently? It’s been like this since last year,” Fan Sizhu whispered.

Last year, during mushroom picking and water caltrop harvesting, everyone worked day and night, the whole family involved. They were incredibly diligent then too.

Fan Sanzhu thought his second brother was stating the obvious. He also drank a big bowl of cold water.

Their second uncle and aunt were so stingy they didn’t even provide lunch. Last year, when they built the new house, they paid and provided a meal. The food was said to be great, but they hadn’t helped then, thinking their uncle and aunt couldn’t afford the labor. They missed out on the feast.

Now, finally working, the old village head said labor days didn’t include meals, so their uncle and aunt didn’t provide any. They were really stingy.

They had to go home for meals. He, doing manual labor, wasn’t valued like the women in the herb workshop, who at least got lunch.

Maybe those women ate poorly, and he was better off going home for dry black bread.

Fan Erzhu glanced at Sizhu and Sanzhu’s expressions, one simple and stupid, the other disdainful. He scoffed and coldly analyzed, “You haven’t noticed the difference?

Except for Zhang Tuzi’s family, even ours is building the herb workshop. The women at home, doing nothing but cooking, look at the village women—they’re all working in the fields!

The land being dug up is only three or four mu, the soil is soft and doesn’t need tilling. The wheat seeds just need to be scattered. There’s plenty of time, so why the rush?”

Fan Sizhu still stared blankly, not understanding what his second brother was trying to say. Was he implying that their mother and grandmother weren’t diligent? They never had been. Before the family split, it was their second aunt who did most of the work, and after the split, it was mostly Zhaodi. Since Zhaodi left, their mother and grandmother had fought countless times over who would cook and do laundry. Comparing them to the hardworking village women was futile.

The village women were used to rising earlier than the chickens and sleeping later than the dogs. It wasn’t surprising they were always busy in the fields.

Fan Sanzhu showed even more disdain, “Second Brother, why do you care about the village people? They work hard because they want to. Are you suggesting we should start working hard too? Let me make it clear, if we’re going to be diligent, everyone has to be diligent together. Don’t expect me to do all the hard work!”

Fan Erzhu was furious. His younger brothers were as dense as pigs, impervious to reason! They were completely oblivious to the village’s dynamics.

He turned to his father and eldest brother, “Dad, Big Brother, I think the villagers are hiding something from us. Shouldn’t we try to find out?”

Fan Qian didn’t want to be bothered with this and waved him off, “Go ahead and find out if you want.”

Fan Dazhu believed that the villagers couldn’t keep secrets. If something significant was happening, they’d know eventually. His brother was worrying needlessly, focusing on useless matters.

“In my opinion, you should be thinking more about Ding Jiajia. Didn’t Grandma say that with her, the herb workshop would be ours? There’s no need to bother Uncle.”

Fan Erzhu kept his head down and said nothing. If he married Ding Jiajia, the herb workshop would be his alone, with no need to share it with his father or brothers.

Fan Sanzhu also remained silent. If the family estate didn’t include him, why would the herb workshop belong to everyone? That was impossible. He had to operate secretly and catch them off guard when the time came.

Each of the five had their own thoughts, looking towards the herb workshop with envy. If only it were theirs…

Suddenly, there was an uproar. “Something’s wrong with the water source!” Li Wu shouted as he hurried over, catching everyone’s attention.

Following behind him were Feng Da, Feng Er, and Hong Daniu, all with slumped shoulders, looking like they were about to cry.

Fan Xiaoliu was anxious and asked first, “What happened? What’s wrong?”