Font Size:
Chapter 142: Starting Construction on the House
The next morning, Lu Chang Qing showed up with a black eye, earning immediate attention from everyone.
Ye Xin Ran lowered her head.
Thinking she was feeling guilty, Lu Chang Qing quickly tried to reassure her. “Sis, it’s okay.”
But before he could finish, Ye Xin Ran burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
“Sis!”
“You look absolutely hilarious!” Ye Xin Ran pointed at his bruised eye, still laughing.
Lu Chang Qing was speechless.
Ye Xin Ran added, “You look exactly like I did back then!”
Only then did Lu Chang Qing manage to feel slightly better.
“You got hit like this before too?”
Chang An stood hesitantly at the doorway, looking nervous.
Ye Xin Ran waved him over. “Chang An, come here. It’s not like you did it on purpose.”
“I’m sorry!”
Chang An bent over, apologizing earnestly.
Lu Chang Qing sighed and patted his head.
“It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean to.”
“I promise I’ll sleep properly tonight!”
With that, Chang An dashed off toward the kitchen.
Watching his retreating figure, Ye Xin Ran turned to Lu Chang Qing and said, “Chang An’s had a tough life. He has the same condition you do, but he started taking medicine earlier, so he’s almost fully recovered now.”
“He has the same illness?”
Lu Chang Qing felt even more sympathy for the boy.
“But,” he said, turning back to Ye Xin Ran, “we’re both lucky to have you. I heard the former crown prince’s child died because of a heart condition. Even with their noble status, they didn’t have the luck we did.”
“There are so many patients in the world. It’s impossible to save them all,” Ye Xin Ran replied with a sigh.
Life in the village remained simple and peaceful.
People worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.
Three days later, after the villagers finished harvesting the rice from their fields, they began heading up the mountain to help.
In just one day, they managed to plant all the remaining “Ice Spirit Flowers”.
Finally, the Xiao family could start building their house.
The village chief had already arranged for workers.
The village had skilled carpenters and roofers who would farm during the busy seasons and seek work elsewhere during quieter times.
Now that the villagers had finished their harvest, they no longer needed to rush out for work elsewhere.
Right at their doorstep, they had the chance to earn money while helping out their families, a rare opportunity indeed.
The village chief had memorized Ye Xin Ran’s blue prints by heart. He first led everyone to inspect the foundation, marking out the area for each room.
They used wood ash to mark the spots where walls would be built.
Two days later, they began hiring workers to dig the foundation.
Ye Xin Ran was generous with her wages:
This pay was considered high no matter where you went, leaving the villagers delighted and motivated.
“The Xiao family sure turned their luck around fast,” someone commented. “In just half a year, they’re already building a new house!”
“Not just for themselves, didn’t we all earn a lot from them too? I’ve made over 200 wen just digging Ice Spirit Flowers.”
“I made over 100 wen cutting bamboo for their farm.”
“Exactly! I just hope the Xiao family keeps doing well. If they start more businesses, we’ll all benefit.”
“Who wouldn’t want that? If it’s big enough, we might not even have to leave the village for work anymore!”
The villagers chatted enthusiastically as they worked, their spirits high.
Lu Chang Qing listened to these conversations carefully.
It turned out that his sister’s family wasn’t as poor as he had assumed.
Not only were they doing well financially, but they were also helping the entire village make money.
In contrast, despite his many years of studying, Lu Chang Qing had only been spending his family’s money and never contributed to anyone else’s livelihood.
Ye Xin Ran’s popularity in the village was clear, though she wasn’t friendly with everyone.
That morning, an elderly woman named Granny Zhang came to pick up her work badge but was stopped by Ye Xin Ran, who held down Lu Chang Qing’s hand just as he was about to issue it.
“My house is valuable,” Ye Xin Ran said coldly. “I won’t trouble you to work on it.”
Granny Zhang’s face turned purple with embarrassment.
Feigning indifference, she muttered, “Hmph, acting so high and mighty. I only came to help because we’re neighbors. Who cares about your measly 15 wen!”
She spat on the ground in annoyance.
The other women overheard and weren’t having it.
“If you don’t care, that’s fine! We do! Fifteen wen is almost enough for a whole Dou of rice. Who doesn’t want to earn money? Some people just can’t handle the truth!”
“Exactly! Do bad things, and karma will catch up with you!”
Granny Zhang, silenced by the women’s scolding, slunk back to her house in shame.
As soon as Granny Zhang locked her door, she began cursing loudly.
“A bunch of paupers! Dirt-poor fools, acting like finding a sesame seed is a big deal!
Idiots, falling over themselves to be someone’s lackey…”
Those who overheard her treated it as an amusing spectacle.
This old woman was just bitter and envious, serves her right for how she mistreated other people’s children in the past.
On the first day of digging the foundation, more than fifty people showed up. By evening, Xiao Huai’an assessed their progress and estimated, “Another two days, and the foundation should be fully dug.”
“Tomorrow, let’s see who’s heading to town. Have them pass a message to the stone supplier, asking him to deliver the bricks and slabs I ordered.”
“Got it,” Xiao Huai’an nodded.
That evening, back home, the children had already prepared dinner. Ye Xin Ran quickly whipped up a simple meal of scrambled eggs with chives and bamboo shoots braised with pork. After eating, everyone prepared to rest.
However, just before bed, Ye Xin Ran heard faint thudding noises from the neighboring house.
At this hour, the Zhang family usually would’ve gone to bed long ago.
What could they be up to?
Peeking over the wall, Ye Xin Ran saw the Zhang family hard at work under the moonlight.
“Brother Zhang, what are you doing?”
In the middle of their courtyard, Zhang Da Li and his family had laid out a large piece of cloth. They all sat around it, each holding a stalk of rice and striking it against stones to thresh the grains.
“Threshing,” Zhang Da Shan replied, looking up at her.
“We’re worried it might rain in the coming days. If we hurry and get the grains off the stalks, we can dry them and store them.”
It was clear they’d been at it for some time.
Zhang Da Li and Zhang Quan Xi were faring better, but Madam Chen and the two daughters were utterly exhausted, barely able to lift their arms to swing the stalks.
“You’re working so hard. If you’re in a rush, you don’t have to help with my house,” Ye Xin Ran said kindly.
But Zhang Da Li quickly shook his head, “This isn’t tough work. It won’t affect helping out during the day!”
Earning 20 wen a day from digging the foundation was a deal Zhang Da Li wasn’t about to pass up.
“Alright, but don’t stay up too late,” Ye Xin Ran advised. She knew there wasn’t much she could do to help, farmers made their living with hard physical labor.
Still, as she lay in bed, Ye Xin Ran was already thinking about how to create a threshing machine to ease the villagers’ burdens.
The next day, the foundation digging continued.
The stone supplier received the message and delivered all the bricks Ye Xin Ran had ordered, piling them neatly in an open space.
That same day, news finally arrived from Wei Jing Yi’s side.