“Of course not, this was bought by Keke from the supermarket. How is it? Pretty good, right?”

Actually, if she were to draw such a design herself, she could do it too.

Of course, it’s just that the tools available here don’t allow it.

She really didn’t understand—why did people here insist on using calligraphy brushes?

Pencils, erasers, and even fountain pens from the post-apocalyptic world—weren’t they much better?

“It’s indeed pretty good, but are you sure you can actually build it?”

“Of course! This house isn’t anything particularly special. If you have to say what’s unique, it would be the bathroom and shower area. That was my request. If the craftsman doesn’t understand something, I can always give him some pointers.”

“This blueprint looks simple, but in reality, it’s not easy at all,” Zhang Zixuan sighed.

“I know. That’s why I wanted to show it to you first to see if you could understand it. If you can understand it, then the craftsman definitely can.”

“I understand it, but I’m not sure the craftsman will,” Zhang Zixuan said confidently.

“What do you mean?” Jian Xiu asked incredulously.

If she wasn’t mistaken, was he implying that even professional craftsmen weren’t as skilled as he was in building houses?

“Exactly what you’re thinking.”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“Well, that’s lucky! I was just worrying about where to find a skilled craftsman, and I didn’t expect you to know how to do it. That means we can start building the house soon. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the village chief’s house.”

“What for?” Zhang Zixuan asked curiously.

“To find workers, of course! We need people to build the house, and it’s a pretty big project,” Jian Xiu said matter-of-factly.

To her, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

“We do need workers, but you don’t have to go to the village chief. Just tell Zhiyong. He knows a lot of people. And we can call Jian Fuyin to help too.”

“Wait, that means I have to go all the way back to Jianjia Village again?” Jian Xiu’s eyes widened.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Zixuan was momentarily stunned.

This was probably the first time he had seen her like this.

She was always so calm and indifferent, as if nothing ever affected her.

He didn’t know when it started, but she seemed to have become more talkative and cheerful.

Looking at her now, others might think her expression was normal—nothing surprising.

But to Zhang Zixuan, she looked adorable.

Because he no longer saw that cold, emotionless face—she could be surprised, curious, and she seemed to be living more freely than before.

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

Seeing Zhang Zixuan staring at her but not speaking, Jian Xiu couldn’t help but ask.

Snapping out of it, Zhang Zixuan cleared his throat and said, “No need to go to Jianjia Village again. Just go to Aunt Zhao’s house.”

“Oh, right!”

Jian Xiu was quite familiar with Jian Fuyin.

He had once worked as a bodyguard alongside Zhang Zixuan, along with Zhang Zhiyong and Zhang Haifei.

After Zhang Zixuan’s accident, they all gradually retired from such dangerous jobs.

As if remembering something, Jian Xiu continued, “By the way, we need to set up a pigpen soon. The wild boars have been tied up in our yard for two days now. We can’t just keep them like that.”

“Yeah, I already talked to Zhiyong and the others. By the time we get back, they should have built it,” Zhang Zixuan said confidently.

He knew Jian Xiu liked cleanliness. She could tolerate the wild boars in the yard for a day or two, but any longer and she wouldn’t stand it.

And then there were the chickens and ducks—he had to find a way to relocate them too.

Of course, these were just ideas in his head. As long as his legs weren’t fully healed, he couldn’t do much himself.

He always felt guilty asking for help so often.

As they talked, they arrived at the edge of the village.

As soon as they got back, Zhang Zixuan got busy peeling bamboo shoots and washing carxi grass.

Jian Xiu also had her tasks—bringing back the bamboo shoots that Liu Tou and Qi Tou had dug up earlier.

Earlier that morning, the two boys had gone with her to the bamboo forest behind the house to gather shoots before heading to school.

---

Meanwhile, at the Old Zhang Family’s House…

No one knew who started the rumor, but somehow, word spread that Jian Xiu had caught several wild boars.

As the story spread, the number of wild boars grew from five to a whole herd.

“Old man, do you know what I heard when I passed under the banyan tree just now?”

Old Madam Liu, her face dark, asked Old Zhang as soon as she walked in.

“What else could it be? You womenfolk are always gossiping about the same things,” Old Zhang replied impatiently.

“This time you’re wrong! They said that the girl from the village outskirts went into the deep mountains a few days ago and—who knows how—dug a huge pit and caught dozens of wild boars!”

“Seriously? That many?” Old Zhang stood up in shock.

“Of course! Everyone in the village knows about it. We only didn’t hear because we were busy on our land. Otherwise, we’d have known sooner.”

Hearing this, Chen Shi put down his chopsticks and added, “Mother, that’s only half the story. You don’t even know the worst part! I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’m afraid you’ll get too angry if I do.”

Saying this, he put on a “for your own good” expression.

Sure enough, Old Madam Liu was instantly on edge. She put her chopsticks down and asked, “What else did that wretched girl do? Tell me! I’ve been through worse, I can handle it!”

“Mother, just remember, you asked me to say it. If you get too mad, don’t blame me.”

“Stop wasting time and just say it!” Old Madam Liu snapped.