Chapter 27: Time to Build a House!

“This really is a nonstop headache…” Xiang He muttered a few complaints, took a few steps forward, raised her hand and waved downward. “Don’t listen to her. I’m the boss here. Unload the bricks!”

Since the employer had spoken, the workers naturally obeyed her. Ignoring the woman’s protests, they carefully placed the mud bricks on the ground.

“Xiang He! Who does things like this!”

Xiang He stood with her hands on her hips. Mrs. Su hurried over. “What wind blew Second Sister-in-law over here?”

The woman coming up from below was none other than Mrs. Zhang, whom they had seen yesterday. She had rushed over in a flurry, hair messy, panting from pushing her way up.

“You—you’re building a house, why didn’t you have your second brother hire people for you? How can you let outsiders handle your own family’s business?”

It was obvious she had come to snatch the job. Xiang He smiled and spread her hands. “It slipped my mind for a moment, but I’ve already paid and hired workers. I guess we’ll just have to ask Second Uncle for help the next time we build.”

“Get the money back!” Mrs. Zhang snapped, shooting her a glare. “Handing off your own family’s work to outsiders is just throwing silver away! Tell him to return the money, I’ll go get your Second Uncle to find some workers — it’ll be cheaper and more reliable!”

Xiang He’s second uncle was a broker — a relatively decent one — who ran a shop in town specifically for arranging jobs like this. In modern terms, he’d be considered an agent or middleman. Because of this business, he was acquainted with all sorts of people, both decent and shady.

Xiang He had known all along, which was precisely why she avoided hiring anyone from their side and instead secretly asked the owner of a miscellaneous goods shop.

“Second Auntie, anyone who does business knows this: once money has been paid and goods delivered, there’s no taking it back. As a shopkeeper’s wife, you shouldn’t be unaware of that.”

In business, the biggest taboo was going back on a deal. Mrs. Zhang knew the rules, but still wanted to profit off the Third Family — she really wasn’t thinking straight.

Xiang He couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. She turned to look at Sixth Uncle Huang, who wasn’t fazed in the slightest and was already pulling down the thatched roof.

“Boss, do you want to keep this thatch? If not, I’ll have them haul it back to burn for making bricks.”

“Up to you,” Xiang He said casually.

“No way!” Mrs. Zhang suddenly yelled.

When Mrs. Zhang arrived, she saw the scene and heard them say that the house was going to be quite large and would definitely cost a lot of silver. How could she let others earn money from her own family’s funds?

She hurried forward to grab Sixth Uncle Huang, but he wasn’t someone to be easily pushed around. With a swift motion, he tore down the thatch, kicking up a cloud of dust and forcing Mrs. Zhang to back off.

“Ah, madam, we’re tearing down the house now. You’d better step back a bit. If you disturb anything bad, it’ll be trouble for sure.”

Mrs. Zhang was startled, in her rush, she had completely forgotten this point!

Turning around, she tried to grab Xiang He again, but Xiang He skillfully dodged and went on to confront Mrs. Su.

“I say, sister-in-law, how can you let outsiders make money off our own family’s funds? Tell them to leave at once!”

Mrs. Su pushed her hand away with strength, her eyes calm and serene — none of yesterday’s chatty intimacy remained.

“Second sister-in-law, we’ve already split the family. And this is money from our Third Family, not what you call ‘our own family’s money.’“

These people were shameless, coming forward claiming it was their money. Mrs. Su herself doubted how she had endured this family for so many years.

At that moment, Xiang Dayong came limping over. Mrs. Zhang was surprised, “Third uncle, what happened to you?”

Mrs. Su hurried to support him, complaining casually, “He fell off the mountain and they didn’t even give him money for treatment. He’s been limping ever since.”

“What? Injured like that and they won’t give money for treatment?!”

Looking at the severe injury, Mrs. Zhang was astonished. If it were her own husband, Mrs. Li would have surely forced him to divorce!

The more she thought about it, the scarier it seemed. The reason she rushed here today was about the family split. Everyone knew Mrs. Li favored the First Family, even though the Second Family had a scholar, it couldn’t compare to how favored Fu Sheng of the First Family was.

Mrs. Zhang furrowed her brows, thinking deeply. Xiang Dayong recalled what Mrs. Su said last night about the city, his dark face was very calm.

“Second sister-in-law, the money’s been given… it can’t be taken back. You also have things to do today, go home.”

Mrs. Zhang couldn’t believe her ears — the Third Uncle, who had been mute for half his life, actually spoke!

Supporting him, Mrs. Su was slightly surprised but couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Yes, second sister-in-law, this is the decision of our He girl, and also my husband’s decision. Don’t you have things to do today?”

So many years had passed, he had been mute for so long, and Mrs. Su had endured alongside him all these years. Now that he finally spoke, siding with his own family, how could she not be happy?

Xiang He deliberately walked off to the side, lowered her eyes, and smiled softly. As long as the head of the household was willing to lift his head, he would no longer be so easily bullied.

She had already made up her mind — once her family settled down, she would start looking for a way to return. Although this place had beautiful mountains, clear water, and plenty of wild game, she still had her master and senior brothers to take care of.

For now, she only needed to quietly watch from the side and intervene with force if it came to that.

Given Mrs. Li’s usual temperament, now that Mrs. Zhang had come and seen the impressive sight of people hauling bricks outside, she would definitely rush over again.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, someone below started yelling. At that moment, behind Fourth Aunt were four sturdy men. Xiang He recognized them — they were villagers.

As Fourth Aunt passed by her, she jerked her chin toward the path down the hill. “That old hag is here again. What did you guys stir up last night? The second branch was actually holding her back to stop her from coming up.”

“That must mean it’s something good for me,” Xiang He slung the hoe onto her shoulder. “Auntie, go on and keep working. Try to clear a bigger area — there are five of us in the family, so we’ll need five rooms.”

“Don’t worry, got it. Just don’t overexert yourself.”

“Alright.”

Their conversation carried clearly to Mrs. Zhang’s ears, and only then did she realize she’d been steered away from the main topic. She hurriedly resumed tugging on Mrs. Su, urging her to take the money back and let their own family handle the job.

“Third branch, this just isn’t right! We’re sisters-in-law — your second uncle definitely wouldn’t charge you like this. He’d give you the best price!”

Sixth Uncle Huang, who had been working quietly, shifted his gaze toward them. They talked nicely, claiming to be one family, but based on the client’s attitude, it was obvious she had deliberately avoided hiring their side. He understood there were some complicated dynamics here.

As Mrs. Zhang kept trying to persuade them to take the silver back, Mrs. Su grew more and more impatient internally, though her expression stayed calm. She pushed Mrs. Zhang’s hand away again. “Second sister-in-law, really, it won’t work. Maybe next time.”

This refusal, no matter what she said, finally brought a trace of anger to Mrs. Zhang’s face. Just as she was about to speak again, a familiar voice shouted from below. Annoyed, she clicked her tongue and looked down the slope, only to see Mrs. Yu dragging Mrs. Li, trying to stop her from coming up. But Mrs. Li was strong and ended up pulling Mrs. Yu along as she stormed up the muddy steps.

All the while, she was cursing loudly, “You heartless little brat! Got some silver and didn’t even think to honor your grandma!” She kept shouting as she climbed.

Xiang He leisurely walked down with the hoe slung over her shoulder, a look of disdain in her eyes. “What’s this? Judging by your face, had a nightmare last night? I heard Eldest Brother shout — turns out I didn’t mishear.”

As if her guilty conscience had been exposed, Mrs. Yu’s already haggard face turned even paler. She was still holding on to Mrs. Li, not wanting her to go any farther up.

But how could Mrs. Li possibly comply?

She had seen cart after cart of clay bricks being delivered here first thing in the morning — clearly, they had earned quite a bit of silver yesterday and were now using it to build a new house!

That was cold, hard silver! Just buying all those bricks must’ve cost a fortune!

The more she thought about how that big cat yesterday had turned into silver and been carted off right in front of her — as if someone had dangled money before her eyes and she hadn’t seized it — the more furious and regretful she became.

The anger built up until she smacked Mrs. Yu across the face. “Let go of me! Useless wretch!”

Mrs. Yu was stunned by the pain, immediately letting go and clutching her cheek. She turned and walked down to the lowest step on her own. Her face stung terribly, and having been slapped in front of so many onlookers — who would feel okay about that? She gave up trying to stop things and decided she might as well enjoy the show.

Mrs. Li, ignoring everything, stormed upward. Xiang He sighed helplessly and gripped the hoe in her hands as a warning. “Grandma, you’d best behave and stay down there. Otherwise…”

She tapped the handle of the hoe pointedly.

But Mrs. Li couldn’t care less about the threat — her mind was full of glittering silver. As long as she could get rid of this wretched girl, all of it could be hers!