Zhou Yu placed the candy from her purse into her son’s hand. “Both families are doing well. When I arrived, the yard was almost ready. Brother Wu invited us to have a warm-house meal in two days.”

Yang Xi pondered, “Brother Wu’s family lacks everything. Shall we send two large vats and four jars over?”

Zhou Yu replied, “Okay.”

The Yè family did not compete with the Wú family over the date for the warm-house banquet, so the house-warming feast was set for four days later.

The two large pots of noodles were eaten in one meal. After dinner, Ye Shi secretly muttered to Yang Xi, “These half-grown boys eat too much.”

Yang Xi was also astonished. This was even with oil in the dishes; without oil, they would eat even more. It seemed they needed to buy more grain to store.

It was time for Zhou Yu’s lecture, and this time Zhou Bing joined them.

Yang Xi didn’t stay to listen in today; her mother-in-law wanted to chat for a while.

Ye Shi wasn’t used to the damp cold of Ruizhou and wrapped herself up tightly. She gestured for Yang Xi to sit by the fire to warm herself. “Here in winter, we don’t dare take off our cotton-padded coats in the house. The houses in the north are much warmer.”

“The north has heated floors and kang beds, so it’s warm. Our new house also has heated floors and kang beds, so we won’t suffer this winter.”

Ye Shi pulled the quilt tighter, noticing her daughter still embroidering a handkerchief. “Look at your hands; they’re all red from the cold. Stop embroidering.”

Zhou Xiaomei continued, “Just a little more to finish, Mother. Handkerchiefs are two coins more expensive here in Ruizhou than in the north!”

Ye Shi: “I didn’t go to the embroidery shop with you, but I know the standards for handkerchiefs are stricter here than in the north. At your usual pace, you would have finished long ago. The extra two coins are for the extra effort you put in.”

Yang Xi had many things to do. Now that she was safe in Ruizhou, she hadn’t been keeping a close eye on her mother-in-law and Xiaomei. “When did Xiaomei go to the embroidery shop?”

Zhou Xiaomei asked. Holding the handkerchief in her hand, she said, “Yesterday I went with the second daughter of the Zhao family.”

Yang Xi didn’t know much about the Zhao family girls; on her journey south, she had only interacted with the women of the Wu family. “You and the second daughter of the Zhao family got along well?”

Zhou Xiaomei had seen the infighting among the young ladies of different families and had a keen eye. She smiled faintly. “She tried to please me at every turn. Of the four Zhao family girls, she’s the most scheming.”

Yang Xi wasn’t worried about Xiaomei being taken advantage of. She looked at the embroidery thread beside Xiaomei’s hand. “She wants to learn embroidery?”

Zhou Xiaomei nodded, “Yes, she had designs on the handkerchiefs I embroidered. It wasn’t the Zhao family’s idea.”

Yang Xi nodded. Old Man Zhao was a man of principle; it was normal for a family to have different personalities and different thoughts.

Looking at the sky, Ye Shi said, “Ran’er, go boil some water to soak your hands later.”

Zhou Ran stood up. “I’ll boil a lot; we’ll soak our feet too.”

Yáng Xī waited until Xiǎomèi went out before speaking. “Mother, Xiǎomèi is too sensible.”

Ye Shi said softly, “It’s such a pity, I’ve been observing Yan Bing for a long time.”

Yang Xi understood immediately; she had already heard from Third Yang that Yan Bing had someone he loved, so she didn’t want to discuss Yan Bing’s private affairs too much. “Mother, Yan Bing has a deep-seated hatred; he’s not suitable for my Xiomei. “

Ye Shi muttered, “We have one too.”

Yang Xi understood her mother-in-law’s thoughts; her mother-in-law wanted to find a suitable match for her little sister in terms of family background and education, so she changed the subject. “Mother, you should be happy to have another son.”

Yè shì merely muttered a sentence to her daughter-in-law: “That’s right, we’ve gained another son.”

After her xiomei returned with the boiled water, Yang Xi chatted with her for a while before getting up to go back to her room.

The Zhou family settled in Yangzhen. Zhou Yu, to help Zhou Bing pass the imperial examination, stayed home to teach Zhou Bing, completely leaving the affairs of the house to Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi.

Now that Yang Xi had settled down, she realized she didn’t have time to make clothes for her child while traveling. Now that she was settled, she bought a lot of cotton fabric to make swaddles and blankets for her child.   

Zhou Xiaomei put down her embroidery and came to help.

In two days, Yang Xi got to know the Zhao family girls. The eldest daughter of the first wife was also the eldest granddaughter, managing both household affairs and other responsibilities.

The second daughter of the second wife was quick-witted and thoughtful, always considering her own needs.

The third child of the first wife was the second daughter, raised by the eldest daughter; young and somewhat naive, she was a particularly cheerful girl.

The fourth daughter was from the second family and was the youngest granddaughter but was surprisingly timid, always keeping her head down.

Old Man Zhao’s wife, Sun Shi, rarely visited Yang Xi. Sun Shi managed the household affairs, arranging everything daily; she was extremely busy.

Of the Zhao family’s two daughters-in-law, the eldest was steady and calculating, while the younger was more calculating.

Living in the same courtyard, Yang Xi never saw the two argue.

Before she knew it, it was time to go to Wu’s family’s warm-house dinner. It was Yang Xi’s first time visiting Shanghe Village. Shanghe Village was located by the river, a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters. Even though she didn’t know anything about feng shui, she found the scenery pleasant and refreshing.

Shanghe Village was one of the three major villages near Yang Town. In the past two years, Shanghe Village has received many people who have migrated from the south, making it the village with the largest population.

Yang Xi looked at Shanghe Village and saw many houses built of blue bricks. Pointing to one of them, she asked, “Were they all built by people who migrated south?”

Zhōu Yù shook his head. “Shànghé Village is close to Yáng Town. The village has produced two xiùcái before, so it can be considered a fairly prosperous village. Most of the houses were built by the local commoners themselves.”

Yang Xi was pleased. “That’s good. Our house won’t be so conspicuous.”

Zhou Yu smiled. “Shanghe Village has more than two hundred households.”

Yang Xi did the math. “Ten people per household – wow, that’s almost two thousand people! The South is really densely populated. In the North, a county might not have many xiucai, but a village in the South has produced two.”

“There are more than ten people in one family.”

Yang Xi marveled at how high the birth rate was in ancient times. Excluding those who died young, many survived. Except for those who had particularly difficult times with offspring, most families had at least ten people!

The village road in Shanghe Village was wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side. Their carriage entering the village attracted a lot of attention. Horses were in short supply in the market, and the villagers remembered the carriages that had recently come and gone, knowing that the Zhou family had arrived.

The village seemed large, but it wasn’t actually that big. News traveled incredibly fast, and since Third Yang frequently drove his horse-drawn carriage into the village, the villagers had already found out everything.

The courtyard the Wu family had bought was close to the Zhou family’s homestead, and Yang Xi followed the direction Zhou Yu pointed to and saw her own homestead.

Seeing many men on the land plot, Yang Xi remembered Third Yang saying they were digging the foundation today. “I see over thirty people, isn’t that too many?”

Zhou Yu replied, “This guy offered a good price, twenty coins a day, not including food, that’s why so many people came. Plus, there are relatives and friends in the village; this guy hired thirty-five people at once.”

Yang Xi looked around again, “The Wu brothers are here too.”

“Not just the Wu family, but also some people who came from the south to settle down.”

Yang Xi said, “They spent almost their entire life savings migrating south. Spending money is easy, earning money is hard!”

As they spoke, the carriage arrived at the Wu family’s house. Wu Shan and Li Shi were waiting at the door. Seeing the carriage, Wu Shan smiled, “I knew you were here from the sound of the children playing.”

Zhou Yu helped his wife down from the carriage. Wen Guo and his family of three had arrived first. Zhou Xiaodi and Third Yang were at the land plot and would come over for dinner. Ye Shi and Zhou Xiaomei stayed home and didn’t come.

(End of Chapter)

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