Without any outsiders interfering, Uncle Ding and his crew worked with remarkable speed—by noon, all three doors had been installed.

Only the drainage for the kitchen and latrine remained unfinished, but that wouldn’t take long.

After all, with many hands, the work goes quickly.

The kitchen’s drainage simply connected to the open ditch outside—an easy fix.

The main challenge was the latrine.

Per Qian Chunhua’s request, there would be no cesspit under the latrine, and waste had to be flushed directly into the Zhao family’s cesspit.

Uncle Ding looked pained—such valuable fertilizer, and Qian Chunhua didn’t want it!

All of it would benefit the Zhao family.

They’re probably over the moon about this.

Fortunately, the cesspit was only three meters away.

All they needed to do was dig a sloped trench.

After about one hour of grunting labor, everything was done.

Uncle Ding covered the trench with pre-cut bluestone slabs, and the east wing’s renovation was finally complete.

All that was left was to install the flue and chimney for the heated kang bed in the afternoon, and after a final cleanup, Uncle Ding and his crew could leave.

The workers went home for lunch, while Qian Chunhua happily led Qingfeng back to the Qian home.

The three students had long since returned from school and were excitedly chirping to Qian Mother about everything they’d learned that morning.

When they saw Qian Chunhua, they beamed and shouted:

“Mom—!”
“Big Sis—!”

Qian Chunhua smiled brightly. “You’re back from school?”

Little Qingfeng rushed toward his siblings with delight, squealing with excitement.

From his little backpack—which he’d refused to take off even for a second—he pulled out two candies to share with his brother and sister.

This was Qingfeng’s first time being apart from his older siblings all morning.

He had always been inseparable from his sister, Zhao Xiaoling.

Qingsong gently returned the candies to Qingfeng’s bag. Such precious sweets—better to save them for little brother. Besides, it’s almost lunchtime.

With Qian Xingshan’s help, Qian Mother brought out the lunch she had prepared.

To celebrate the three children starting school, she had specially cooked white rice, served with the leftover braised pork ribs and potatoes, and stir-fried a dish of cabbage.

There weren’t many ribs left, so she added more potatoes to the remaining sauce.

Still, the meaty flavor in the potatoes had everyone eating with great gusto.

Qian Chunhua sighed inwardly. So much meat in the space, but still no proper excuse to bring it out. She could only wait for the right time.

After lunch, Qian Xingshan voluntarily did the dishes.

In the Qian household, there was no rule against boys doing housework. Qian Mother believed boys should help within their means.

Qian Chunhua thought the same.

Sitting in class all morning—washing dishes counted as light exercise.

Zhao Xiaoling was still excited. “Mom, I studied so hard today! I was thinking, once I learn, I can come home and teach you—and teach my little brother too!”

Qian Chunhua played along. “That’s wonderful! Then we’ll call you Master Zhao—you’ll be Huanghualing’s first female teacher.”

Xiaoling blushed with pride, her eyes shining even brighter.

Compared to his sister, Qingsong was more reserved. “Mom, after school, I’ll still go up to Lion Mountain to gather firewood.”

Sitting in a warm classroom—such comfort had been unimaginable for him before.

His mother gave him everything.

He also wanted to do something in return.

But Qian Chunhua immediately vetoed the idea. “No. After school, you have to do your assignments. I’ll take care of the firewood.”

Besides, this child had carried heavy loads for so long that he was noticeably shorter than Zhao Qingyun. Qian Chunhua worried he wouldn’t grow properly.

Qingsong gave in.

He couldn’t disobey Mom.

Qian Chunhua knew the child meant well.

Although she turned down his offer, she still made sure to praise him.

“Thank you, Qingsong, for wanting to help Mom. But in this house, everyone has their own role. As long as we all do our part well, that’s what matters most.”

This caught Qingfeng’s attention. “Mom, what’s my job?”

Qian Chunhua replied, “Your job is to keep yourself safe. You mustn’t put yourself in danger or risk your health.”

Zhao Xiaoling asked, “Mom, what about me?”

“You too. Keep yourself safe first, then protect yourself. Only then comes studying hard.”

Qingsong asked, “Mom, shouldn’t learning be the most important?”

Qian Chunhua shook her head and seriously said to the three children:

“Remember this. In Mom’s heart, you are the most important—each of you is irreplaceable. First comes safety, Second is health, Third is education. If your body isn’t healthy, even the best learning is useless.”

The three children only half understood, but one thing stuck deeply in their young hearts: In Mom’s heart, they were the most important.

No matter how hard life got or how many obstacles they faced, they would never give up their lives easily.

At the side, Qian Xingshan understood completely.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense.

He silently abandoned his plan to burn the midnight oil studying—it would only harm his health.

As a mother, Qian Mother deeply related to her daughter’s words.

Maybe this is the shared wish of every mother in the world.

She smiled as she watched her daughter educate the kids.

—

The afternoon was much less hectic.

The three children returned to school.

Qian Chunhua left Qingfeng in her mother’s care and went alone to the Zhao family’s east courtyard.

This afternoon, she would join in the final cleaning effort, determined to start using her own kitchen, latrine, and heated bed soon.

By the time the sun had set, and Qingsong came to fetch her, the entire east courtyard had been cleaned up.

Qian Chunhua paid Uncle Ding the remaining five taels of silver and scheduled him to return in three days to build her teahouse.

The teahouse wouldn’t be large—only around 100 square meters.

According to her original design, it would include: one kitchen, one storage room, one rest area, and one main hall to host customers.

The kitchen would be 10 square meters, the storage 15, the rest area 10, leaving 65 square meters for the main hall—just right.

Given that she didn’t have much silver left, she followed Uncle Ding’s advice and opted for the cheapest type of house: mud-and-thatch.

The structure would be made of wood, which could be cut from Lion Mountain—no cost there, only labor.

The walls would be made of woven bamboo, like a fence, then plastered with yellow clay.

Once dry, they’d be strong and windproof.

The roof would be thatched, secured with mud.

All in all, the entire build would cost only 8 taels of silver and take 15 days to complete.

After discussing the plan, Qian Chunhua paid a three-tael deposit, and Uncle Ding left happily.

Thanks to this unexpected income, she now had some spare silver again—enough to stock up more grain.