Chapter 26: Good Days

Xiang He carried the water back home. Mrs. Su was changing Xiang Daqiang’s bandages, Xiang Yun was obediently working by the stove, and Xiang Yang was helping move firewood inside.

The thatched cottage, already worn down, now didn’t even have a front door—it truly looked dilapidated.

Xiang He set the water down and took out the miscellaneous items she bought today—pots, bowls, and pans—everything they would need. None of it could be skipped.

“Xiao Yang, come help wash the vegetables. I’m going to cut the meat.”

“Coming!”

Xiang He pulled out the wooden cutting board she bought today and placed it on the table. A new kitchen knife spun once in her hand before she started slicing the large slab of pork into strips. They would only eat a small portion tonight, the rest Mrs. Su would take care of tomorrow.

Her chopping was swift and practiced—so much so that Xiang Yang was stunned. “Sister, when did you learn all this…”

Xiang He paused for a moment. Mrs. Su and Xiang Dayong also froze slightly. Then she set down the knife and rubbed Xiang Yang’s head. “This is what they call practice makes perfect. Your sister cuts vegetables every day—how could I not be good at it?”

“That’s true!”

As Xiang Yang lowered his head and carefully washed the veggies, the side of his face showed some bruises. Xiang He’s gaze deepened.

“Xiao Yang, in a few days, big brother will go to the private school. You and Yun girl will go too—I’ve already spoken to the teacher.”

She thought he would be happy to hear that he could study, but instead, he kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

Xiang He nudged him with her elbow. “What, you don’t want to go to school?”

“It’s not that…”

Seeing him hesitate, Xiang He didn’t press him. But just then, Xiang Yun ran out from the house and shouted, “Big brother wants to be a great general!”

“Keep your voice down!”

Xiang Yang’s face flushed bright red, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Xiang He gave his blushing cheek a gentle pinch. “Even if you want to become a great general, you need to be able to read first. If you can’t understand military texts, how are you going to lead an army, hmm?”

“Mm…” Xiang Yang rubbed his face. “Then I’ll go to school, and when I grow up, I’ll join the army!”

With the topic opened up, the family continued chatting and laughing. It wasn’t until after dinner that the laughter finally subsided.

As night deepened, the two younger ones had already gone to bed. Mrs. Su came out wiping her hands and saw Xiang He sitting outside. She walked over and sat beside her. “He girl, come inside and sleep.”

Xiang He stared off into the distance. “No need. Master Huang is coming tomorrow to repair the house. We should be able to sleep in proper beds by tomorrow night. I can make do for one more night.”

Besides, she really didn’t feel like squeezing in with everyone. Sitting outside and meditating was much better.

“Thank you… you’ve made all our hopes come true…”

Xiang He paused, then turned to her and smiled softly. “No need to thank me. I think this kind of life is pretty nice. Oh, right—” Xiang He took out a pouch. “This is the deposit slip for Wande Moneyhouse. There’s still ninety taels of silver inside. You keep it safe, Mother.”

The moment Mrs. Su heard there was that much silver, she hurriedly pushed the pouch back. “You earned that money. You keep it. If I hold on to it, that old hag will end up snatching it.”

Xiang He didn’t argue. She pulled out the slip and handed just the pouch back. “I’ve got my own coin purse. You keep this one—it’s good for holding the dozens of copper coins.”

“This pouch is really pretty.”

As the two chatted, Xiang He suddenly raised her index finger to her lips, signaling for silence, then pointed toward Old Fourth Xiang’s house in the distance.

“Mother, listen carefully now.”

Mrs. Su followed her daughter’s gesture. Moments later, a loud scream broke through the night—

“A ghost!!!”

That panicked shout was quickly followed by Old Fourth Xiang’s furious yelling. Then, other nearby houses joined in the scolding. In the dead of night, a sudden uproar broke out.

Xiang He and Mrs. Su were grinning from ear to ear, while Xiang Dayong leaned on his wooden crutch watching the two of them. A rarely seen smile crept into his eyes, and his injured hand slowly clenched, as if he had made up his mind about something.

—

—

The night passed dreamlessly, and before dawn broke, Xiang He was already at the riverside fetching water.

She planned to make several trips early to fill the large vat completely, so she wouldn’t have to fetch water in a rush later.

Life in the countryside was quite nice, though it lacked the variety of seasonings available in modern times. She was planning to experiment and make her own — after all, good food was her weakness.

Thinking about the good life to come, she moved more briskly. By the time the vat was full, her family had woken up and started cooking breakfast right away.

After eating, Xiang He grabbed a hoe and headed behind the house. She wanted to expand the area to build a bigger house, and that meant clearing the land.

“Ah! He girl, you’re already up and working so early!”

Xiang He paused mid-swing and looked up. “Fourth Aunt, you’re here already? So early?”

Smiling, Fourth Aunt squinted and pointed downhill. “I came to guide someone—Master Huang is here! He even brought a bunch of people pushing bricks. The scene was so impressive that even the village head was stunned!”

Xiang He quickly ran to the edge to look down. Sure enough, it was Sixth Uncle Huang, whom she had met yesterday, leading the group. Behind him were about ten people in pairs, pushing carts loaded with neatly stacked earthen bricks.

Originally, Sixth Uncle Huang had suggested mixing and drying clay bricks on site, but that would take days to cure. Xiang He didn’t want to wait. She was worried that if the house was only half-built, Mrs. Li’s side might come causing trouble again. So she decided to spend a bit more money to have bricks delivered instead.

All the bricks had already been sun-dried at Sixth Uncle Huang’s home. As long as the ground was cleared and the current house dismantled, construction could begin immediately.

Xiang He waved and called out, “Sixth Uncle Huang, come up and start dismantling the house! I want to clear more land out back to make a bigger one!”

“Coming!”

They had already agreed on the wages: the workers delivering the bricks would make four round trips, and each would be paid by Sixth Uncle Huang. He would personally dismantle the house himself, for a separate fee.

Xiang He looked at the mountainside behind the house — the work ahead was quite a task. “Fourth Aunt, is Fourth Uncle at home? Could you have him bring two men to help out? I’ll pay the wages — whatever you think is fair.”

“We’re all neighbors here,” Fourth Aunt said with a light shove on her shoulder. “He’s in the fields. I’ll go call him up to lend a hand. No need to talk about wages or anything!”

She leaned closer to Xiang He’s shoulder and whispered, “That pork you gave me yesterday? My husband’s been urging me to come help ever since! Now’s the perfect time — I’ll have him come do the work, and I’ll supervise!”

Xiang He didn’t argue and simply asked her to call the men quickly — they were about to begin and couldn’t afford delays.

Fourth Aunt stood at the top of the slope and shouted, “Hey, husband! Come help out! And bring two guys with hoes!”

Efficiency was key. Fourth Aunt went to help Mrs. Su pack up the things in the house. Xiang He had somehow managed to push a cart up the slope earlier — everything was loaded into it and pushed far away to avoid the dust. The large vat was set aside as well, with the lid firmly covered.

When the workers arrived, Xiang He quickly walked over to greet Sixth Uncle Huang and his group.
“Sixth Uncle Huang, uncles — thank you for your help today.”

Sixth Uncle Huang waved it off. “Ah, don’t mention it. We’re getting paid to do the work. Say, did you consult anyone about the timing?”

“Don’t worry, no taboos today,” Xiang He replied, glancing at the dilapidated thatched house. “Uncle Huang, just go ahead with the work — there’s nothing to worry about.”

Sixth Uncle Huang looked at the structure and nodded. “Looks like this house has been around for quite a while. It’s shaded at the back but well exposed to the sun up front. There’s really nothing to worry about. Alright, I’ll begin.”

“Please go ahead.”

People in his trade usually knew a bit about such things. As for Xiang He, she had already thoroughly assessed the place when she first arrived. Even if there were any issues, as long as she was around, there wouldn’t be a problem.

As Sixth Uncle Huang started dismantling the wooden frame, Xiang He didn’t stay idle either — she picked up a hoe and helped.

Suddenly, someone came rushing up from below, shouting for them to stop.

Everyone looked down. A woman in a dark brown outfit was pushing her way past the brick-delivery workers.

“Don’t put those down! None of you are allowed to put them down!”