Yang Xi walked to Li Shi’s side and followed her into the courtyard. The courtyard wasn’t large; the front yard was about 300 square meters, with houses built in a U-shape, and a small vegetable garden in the back yard.

The main house had two rooms, and there were two rooms on each side. In addition, there was a cowshed and a firewood shed near the gate, making the entire courtyard easily visible.

The houses were built of mud bricks, with a tiled roof for the main house and straw on the sides. The Wu family had replaced the straw with new ones, paved the courtyard with stone slabs, and replaced the window paper, making the courtyard clean and bright.

Yang Xi observed for a moment and nodded secretly. The Wu family was really efficient. “This courtyard is nice.”

Li Shi felt that her hard work over the past few days was worthwhile. “Although it’s not as big as our house in the north, I’m very content to have a home to settle down in the south.”

Yang Xi said, “Life will only get better and better.”

Li Shi was happy to hear this. With a home to settle down in, she had hope for the future. “Let’s go inside. It’s too cold outside.”

Yang Xi followed her inside. The door was newly replaced, and the tables and chairs had been repaired. Unlike the north, the south doesn’t have large kang beds to sit on. There were six chairs in the room.

Li Shi took a cushion and placed it on the chair. “Sit on this cushion.”

Yáng Xī looked at the cushion. “Did Sǎozi make this recently?”

Li Shi also took a cushion before sitting down. “Thanks to you for thinking of us all the way. We’ve gotten new clothes for the whole trip. I took apart these old clothes that we couldn’t wear anymore and made eight cushions, and a few pairs of shoes with multi-layered soles.”

Mentioning the shoes, Li Shi got up and took out four pairs of shoes from a box. “Multi-layered soles are more comfortable for your feet. These are for you and Ziheng. See if they fit.”

Yang Xi knew at a glance that they fit. “They’ll fit. Sǎozi is very observant.”

Li Shi smiled. “That’s good.”

Yang Xi thanked her and took the shoes, then asked about life in the village. “Has anyone bullied you?”

Seeing her daughter bring over hot water, Li Shi poured Yang Xi a cup of hot water herself before sitting down again and replying, “Several families came to settle down together. Third Yang often comes by in his horse-drawn cart.”

“Many villagers were curious about us, but no one came to bully us. The neighbors were all friendly.”

Yang Xi looked at Li Shi’s nearly 1.7-meter height and couldn’t help but smile. The Wu family didn’t look like someone to be trifled with, so the neighbors wouldn’t dare to mess with them. “That’s good. Once the house is built, we’ll have someone to look after us when we come to live in the village.”

Li Shi couldn’t wait for the house to be built. She went to check the size of the foundation and thought of this. “I heard from Third Yang that you drew the house plans?”

Yang Xi nodded. “Yes, I’ll design the house for you when you rebuild it in the future.”

Lǐ shì raised a thumbs-up. “People who can read and write really are impressive. Zhōu Xiānsheng and you both have truly great abilities.”

Li Shi’s two daughters sat to the side. They had also learned a few characters and looked at Yang Xi with bright eyes. Yang Xi liked the Wu family girls quite a bit. The eldest daughter of the Wu family had a carefree and straightforward personality, while the second daughter of the Wu family was both rough and meticulous and had her own opinions.

Yang Xi smiled, “Once the house is built, I’ll continue teaching you accounting and literacy.”

The two girls were very excited. After calming down, Wu Er asked, “Won’t that disturb your rest?”

Eldest daughter Wu noticed her pregnant belly and thought for a moment, “You need to rest, so we won’t bother you.”

The two girls respected Yáng Xī immensely. In their hearts, Yáng Shěnshen was their xiānsheng.

Yang Xi thought to herself that this was why she liked the two Wu girls. “Half an hour a day won’t be a problem; it’ll be good for you to keep my xiomei and me company.”

Li Shi knew this was a rare opportunity, “They’re both strong and quick; just ask them for help when you need it.”

In the main room outside, Zhou Yu asked, “When will you start clearing the land, Dàgē?”

Wu Shan replied, “Even if you don’t ask me, I’d still like to ask you: when will you start clearing the land?”

Zhou Yu smiled, “Third Yang will arrange it; I don’t worry about these things.”

Wu Shan said enviously, “If my four sons were half as good as Third Yang, I could go to see my ancestors with peace of mind.”

Zhou Yu looked at Wu Shan, “Don’t say that, I think you’re very lucky, Dàge!”

Wu Shan laughed heartily, “We’re already very lucky to have settled here smoothly. Speaking of clearing land, my wife and I will clear the land tomorrow, and the boys can dig the foundation to earn some money.”

He had heard from Third Yang that building a house requires a lot of manpower, and it would take more than half a month to complete. If his four boys worked, they would earn eighty coins a day, which would be more than one tael of silver in half a month!

The warm-house gift from the Zhou family was very much to the liking of Wu Shan and his wife. Jars and pots were necessities, and jars were particularly expensive, so they could save money as they didn’t have to buy jars.

At mealtime, Third Yang and the other boys returned with the four Wu brothers. Digging the foundation was hard work, and the four Wu brothers were not the type to slack off. Today, they had worked the most, and their hands were even trembling as they held the chopsticks.

Zhou Yu watched without saying a word. This was the Wu family’s way of repaying a debt of gratitude, and he didn’t want to say much. He glanced at Third Yang, then at the four Wu brothers with their heads bowed, and smiled inwardly. Third Yang must have already spoken to them.

The Wu family prepared six dishes: chicken, pork, fish, three main dishes, as well as green vegetables and river shrimp.

Li Shi greeted them, “Ruizhou winters are damp and cold, but that has many advantages. In the north, only the powerful and wealthy can afford green vegetables in winter. In Ruizhou, I dug up enough for two dishes in a short time.”

Because Yang Xi was pregnant, Li Shi didn’t dig up any wild vegetables that were bad for pregnant women; they were all edible ones.

Yang Xi had eaten a lot of cabbage and radishes in the south, and she was very happy to see these wild vegetables. “Sǎozi, you’ve gone to so much trouble.”

Li Shi waved her hand. “Digging wild vegetables isn’t tiring. I’m happy to do it. Even if we lack food, wild vegetables can fill our stomachs. The south is indeed good.”

Especially since Ruizhou could grow two seasons of rice, she could wake up smiling in her dreams at night. She had learned a lot recently.

Li Shi said again, “I’ll go dig for bamboo shoots in a few days. I’ll dig a lot, so you don’t need to buy any.”

Yang Xi shook her head, “Our family has a lot of people, and we eat a lot. How can we let you dig them? If you dig a lot, sell some to us at a discount.”

Li Shi didn’t want money. The Zhou family had already helped them a lot. She didn’t know much, but she knew that kindness should be repaid.

Zhou Yu said, “It’s settled then.”

Wu Shan took a sip of wine, “We’ll listen to you, sir.”

Wu’s two daughters-in-law were happy. The family would have another source of income. The more they saw in Shanghe Village, the more uneasy they felt. Now they felt at ease.

After the meal, Yang Xi didn’t leave in a hurry. The three of them went to check on the house site. It was quite a sight to see more than thirty men digging the foundation. Yang San was preventing anyone from slacking off. Each person was separated from the others. If they didn’t dig a certain number of feet, they didn’t need to come back tomorrow.

Yang Xi looked at the positions of the four Wu brothers. They had already completed their quota for the day, which made it seem like the other villagers were slacking off.

Seeing many people rolling their eyes at the four brothers, Yang Xi chuckled softly, “Luckily, Third Yang is there to protect them.”

Zhou Yu laughed too, “Why don’t you say Third Yang only liked the Wu brothers because they’re straightforward?”

Yang Xi chuckled, “Didn’t you also like the Wu family because they value loyalty?”

Zhou Yu touched his nose. After standing there for a while, realizing they were the center of attention, the couple decided to go back.

Just as Yang Xi was about to get into the carriage, she heard someone call Zhou Yu from behind.

(End of Chapter)

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