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Liang Fu replied, “Fourth Brother Shen and Sister Zhao are both intelligent and kind-hearted people. Although they come from rural households, they are worth befriending, especially considering they have the Sacred Beast in their home.”
Qian Guang nodded in agreement, also considering the presence of the Sacred Beast. Keeping the Sacred Beast in one’s home and earning its affection was a sign of great fortune.
“Cousin, regarding the matter of the Sacred Beast, we can inform Uncle, but let’s not make too much of a fuss about it.”
“Understood,” Qian Guang nodded. He thought about today’s journey and realized it had been immensely fruitful. Meeting the Sacred Beast, which he had only heard about, was remarkable. He could imagine the significance of having a Sacred Beast in their midst, especially one that could be kept at home without posing a threat to people. He pondered how to reap the greatest benefits from this situation.
After Shen Zi’an’s family dug a pond and discovered a spring, news of the incident spread throughout the village by evening. Everyone was talking about it, marveling at the good fortune of Shen Zi’an’s family. They had purchased a piece of low-lying land that couldn’t be cultivated, but it turned out there was a spring underneath it. Now they wouldn’t have to worry about fetching water from elsewhere.
In the countryside, water was highly valued as wealth. Having a well at home was considered a valuable asset. Initially, some people wondered how Shen Zi’an’s family would manage to irrigate their land or if they would have to dig a well, which was no easy task. Some even thought they might face difficulties in the future, having to fetch water to irrigate their fields. However, instead of a well, a pond was discovered on their property. This turn of events left others feeling both envious and awestruck.
Dazhu’s wife complained to Li Zheng, saying he had sold the land too cheaply. She argued that such good land should have fetched a higher price. Li Zheng retorted that if she had had the money at the time, he would have sold it to her for that price too.
The envious onlookers had nothing more to say. Initially, that piece of land wasn’t worth much. Shen Zi’an’s family had bought it for a few taels of silver per mu. If those people had been given the opportunity to buy it, they wouldn’t have been interested, let alone have the inclination to dig a pond. To them, it would have remained just a low-lying piece of land.
Li Zheng looked at the spring and couldn’t help but feel that selling the land for four taels of silver had indeed been a great deal for Shen Zi’an’s family. However, he didn’t feel personally cheated; after all, the land didn’t belong to him. He thought about how it was Su Zhi who had suggested digging the pond. He now considered her a fortunate person. That evening, he told his wife and daughters-in-law to get closer to Su Zhi in the future, hoping to share in her good fortune.
Aunt Jinhua and Zhao Feng naturally agreed wholeheartedly. Their relationship with Su Zhi had always been good, although not as close as Shugen’s wife and the others. Now that the head of the household had suggested it, both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law thought it would be wise to get closer to Su Zhi in the future.
The next day, Aunt Jinhua and Zhao Feng took their tools and went to Shen Zi’an’s house.
After the spring was discovered, even more people came to Su Zhi’s house to help out. They were all bustling with activity, and Su Zhi couldn’t stop them. People insisted on working without pay, but Su Zhi couldn’t let them work for free. In the end, she had to pay them. As a result, more and more people came to help.
But Shen Zi’an and his wife didn’t object anymore. As long as people came to work, they were paid. With the help of so many people, the garden was tidied up quickly, and everything became peaceful again.
While there was bustling activity at Shen Zi’an’s house, the atmosphere at Zhao Daliang’s house was much quieter.
This time, Zhao Daliang’s family renovated their house thoroughly and expanded it onto the empty land beside and behind it. The newly built courtyard was quite impressive.
Zhao Xiaohua and Aunt Li (formerly called granny Zhao) were quite satisfied with the new house. They felt it was comparable to the one at Shen Zi’an’s place. However, when they heard about the pond discovered in Shen Zi’an’s garden, they felt their own property paled in comparison.
“Sister-in-law, why don’t we also build a large garden at our house? We could dig a pond and plant lotus flowers inside, with osmanthus trees surrounding it. We could admire the lotus flowers while enjoying the moonlight and the fragrance of osmanthus. It would be so elegant,” Zhao Xiaohua said dreamily, envisioning the picturesque scene of moonlight shining on the lotus flowers.
Zhang Qingniang raised the tea bowl to her lips, hiding a smirk behind it. She thought to herself that her younger sister-in-law was indeed insatiable. Despite spending money to build a large house for the family, she still found it inadequate. Zhang Qingniang couldn’t help but wonder why her sister-in-law didn’t mention that all the money spent came from her own pocket; the Zhao family hadn’t contributed any funds.
“Sister, I also want such a garden, but look around our house—there’s no space left,” Zhang Qingniang said calmly, setting down the tea bowl.
To the west of the Zhao family’s house was the river, while the front, east, and back were surrounded by neighboring households. Most importantly, the road leading to the bridge on the east side of the river passed by their house. There was simply no available land.
“Sister-in-law, why don’t you offer some money to the family in front and ask them to move?”
Zhao Xiaohua pondered for a moment and came up with an idea. She knew they couldn’t block the road behind their house, and having a larger area in the front would be ideal for the garden. So, she suggested asking the families in front and to the east to move out, freeing up space for them to renovate their garden. In her mind, these neighbors were all poor, and their houses were on the verge of collapse, hardly worth a few ounces of silver. Giving them a small sum to relocate seemed like a simple solution.
Zhang Qingniang couldn’t help but think that her sister-in-law was fixated on marrying into a wealthy family. The ideas in her mind seemed to revolve around matters only wealthy families could afford. She wondered if it was really so easy to ask people to move out.
Aunt Li, who had been listening on the side, chimed in at this moment. “Qingniang, your sister’s idea is good. Let them move out, buy their land, and expand the garden. We can’t let the Shen family suppress us. You’ve come back in luxury; we have plenty of money. We should be the leaders in our Riverside Village. How can we let those two push us down? They’re just common folk, but you’ve done big deals outside.”
Zhang Qingniang rolled her eyes internally, thinking Aunt Li was quite short-sighted. Did she really consider Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi as ordinary peasants? Even someone like her, who had seen the world outside, didn’t think of the couple as rustic. Setting aside Shen Zi’an’s charismatic presence, which didn’t resemble that of an ordinary farmer, let’s talk about Su Zhi. She had fair skin, spoke with clarity and confidence, and carried herself with grace. She wasn’t much different from some high-born ladies she had encountered outside. Even in simple clothes, Su Zhi exuded an undeniable air of dignity.
Zhang Qingniang couldn’t help but lament that if it weren’t for Liu Siniang’s involvement, she would have liked to get closer to Su Zhi. Unfortunately, Liu Siniang and Su Zhi shared a deep bond, and Liu Siniang was still around when she visited. If she tried to approach Su Zhi, she would likely be met with suspicion. So, she refrained from forcing herself into the situation, hoping to find an opportunity to mend their relationship in the future. She believed in having more friends than enemies.
“Mother, if you can find a way to persuade our neighbors in the front and on the side to move out, I’ll contribute silver to expand the garden.”
Zhang Qingniang expressed her annoyance at her mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law spending her money without hesitation. However, she also acknowledged the need to expand the garden, especially after hearing about the appearance of a water source at Su Zhi’s home. She and Zhao Daliang chose not to buy houses in the town or county because they believed their current location was auspicious. They hoped to accumulate wealth by living there. Now that Shen Zi’an’s family, which had also become wealthy and discovered a water source, resided on the east side of the river, it seemed like their Feng Shui was even better.
Considering that their current property might not be spacious enough, Zhang Qingniang thought expanding the garden would be a good idea. After all, having more land wouldn’t hurt.
Zhao Xiaohua’s face lit up with joy upon hearing this. “Sister-in-law, you’re so kind. Don’t worry, once the garden is expanded, you’ll definitely be satisfied.”
Aunt Li looked at Zhang Qingniang and thought to herself that this daughter-in-law was not only wealthy but also obedient, much better than Liu Siniang. She hadn’t expected her to be so obedient in the beginning like liu Siniang who used to handle all the chores inside and outside the house.
“I’ll go talk to them about buying their land.”
Aunt Li stood up excitedly, calling out loudly, “Where’s Xiqi? If you don’t come out now, I’ll beat you to death and sell you off!”
A young girl hurriedly rushed in, only to be pinched twice by Aunt Li, causing her to cry out in pain. She then helped Aunt Li outside amidst her scolding.
Zhao Xiaohua followed along. She also wanted to help her mother buy those pieces of land because she wanted a large garden too.
Zhang Qingniang watched the mother and daughter leave, shaking her head. She thought Zhao Daliang was somewhat presentable, but his mother and sister were truly laughable. She had married into the Zhao family, built a large house, and even bought servants. They seemed to adapt quickly, but they didn’t resemble the masters of a wealthy household at all. They acted like nouveau riche landlords, which was embarrassing. However, she shrugged it off, thinking that this was the countryside, and a little vulgarity was acceptable.
Returning to her room, Zhang Qingniang sat on the bed, looking at the pillow embroidered with children playing with lotus flowers. She wished she had a child soon. With a child, her life would truly become stable.
Meanwhile, Aunt Li and Zhao Xiaohua happily went to negotiate the purchase of the land under the houses. However, before they could even discuss the price, the owners refused to sell.
The refusal to sell surprised Aunt Li. She couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t agree, especially when they were offering a good price and the opportunity to build a better house on the west side of the village. She suspected they were trying to overcharge them, but the response she received left her taken aback. It seemed there was more to the situation than she had anticipated.