Chapter 206 – House Construction Begins
Knowing his mother was worried about him, Tian Dazhuang braced himself and entered the yard. “Mother, I’m back.”
Hearing her son’s voice, Ms. Wang’s worry instantly turned back into fury. She looked up to look at Tian Dazhuang. “You rascal, you finally remember to come back. Why are you back so late? Tell me, where have you been?”
Ms. Wang roared with anger, and Tian Dazhuang confessed everything honestly. “Mother, don’t be angry. I just went to Big Sister Peak.”
Upon hearing this, Ms. Wang became even angrier. “What were you doing at Big Sister Peak? Were you messing around with that rascal Yan Xiaosi again?”
“Mother, why are you scolding Xiaosi? It was me who was feeling down and went to look for Xiaosi, not the other way around.”
“You’re feeling down? You’re getting to marry the Yan family’s eldest daughter, and you’re still feeling down?”
“Mother, I won’t marry Yan Shujing. She’s the Yan family’s eldest daughter, and I’m just a poor boy; I’m not worthy of her.”
“You don’t want to marry the Yan family’s eldest daughter, then whom do you wish to marry?”
“Mother, I want to marry Sister Shuqin.”
Tian Dazhuang would rather marry Yan Shuqin. With her gentle and gracious nature, life with her would at least not be tiring.
Ms. Wang became furious upon hearing he wanted to marry Yan Shuqin. Before the Ms. Hu came to propose, she had hoped Tian Dazhuang would marry Yan Shuqin. But after Ms. Hu’s proposal and comparing Yan Shujing with Yan Shuqin, she felt it was better for Tian Dazhuang to marry Yan Shujing, who could bring a substantial dowry. What could Yan Shuqin bring?
“You want to marry Yan Shuqin, huh?”
Ms. Wang gritted her teeth and snorted coldly. “Tian Dazhuang, don’t even think about it. Just marry the Yan family’s eldest daughter, Yan Shujing, as your mother wishes.”
Tian Dazhuang was emotionally exhausted and didn’t want to argue further or mention the marriage arranged by Long Yu. “Mother, I’m tired. I’m going to sleep. We can talk more tomorrow.”
Ignoring Ms. Wang’s complaints, he walked heavily towards his room.
After entering his room, Ms. Wang muttered a few more complaints outside before falling silent, feeling it pointless to continue.
The next day, before dawn, Ms. Zhong and the four Yan sisters carried food and cooking tools down the mountain. By the time they reached Shaoyao Village, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Wang Sanbao and the craftsmen hadn’t arrived yet, so the four Yan sisters, along with Ms. Zhong, started moving stones and digging mud to set up a cooking stove.
While they were halfway through building the stove, Yan Xiaosi heard some people talking at the village entrance. She listened carefully with her mental ability and recognized the voices.
“Uncle Sanbao, Auntie Sanbao, you’ve arrived quite early.”
“It’s Dazhuang.”
Tian Dazhuang, leading his family’s old ox to graze outside the village, was at the village entrance when he saw Wang Sanbao, his wife, and a group of craftsmen.
Knowing today was the first day Yan Xiaosi was building their house, he glanced towards the three acres of land designated for Yan Xiaosi’s home and saw five petite figures busily working in the field.
“Uncle Sanbao, Auntie Sanbao, Xiaosi and the others are already waiting in the field. I’ll lead you there.”
“Then we’ll trouble you, nephew Dazhuang.” Wang Sanbao’s wife, Gao Xiaocui, smiled and nodded in response.
Tian Dazhuang then tied the old yellow ox to a tree at the entrance of the village and led Wang Sanbao and his wife, along with the group of craftsmen, to the three acres of land belonging to Yan Xiaosi’s family.
Yan Xiaosi, recognizing the familiar voices, slapped the mud off her hands and said to Ms. Zhong, “Mom, it seems Uncle Sanbao and the others have arrived. I’ll go to the village entrance to welcome them.”
Ms. Zhong was busy applying mud to the stove to prevent smoke from affecting the taste of the food during cooking. She paused and looked up at Yan Xiaosi, “Xiaosi, take your elder sister with you.”
“It’s just greeting people, not a big deal. I can go by myself,” Yan Xiaosi replied, leaving a word behind as she walked towards the village entrance.
Soon, she met Tian Dazhuang and Wang Sanbao’s group. Tian Dazhuang, seeing Yan Xiaosi, waved happily, “Xiaosi, I’ve brought Uncle Sanbao and the others for you.”
“Brother Dazhuang, aren’t you supposed to be tending to the ox?” Yan Xiaosi knew that Tian Dazhuang would usually take the old yellow ox out to graze early in the morning.
Tian Dazhuang smiled honestly, “Yes, but I was worried Uncle Sanbao wouldn’t find you all, so I tied the old yellow ox at the entrance of the village.”
“You’re such a good brother-in-law,” Yan Xiaosi whispered in front of him.
“Brother-in-law, did your mother scold you when you went back last night?” Upon hearing the term “brother-in-law,” Tian Dazhuang’s expression changed slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
After a moment of silence, he raised an eyebrow and told Yan Xiaosi, “Xiaosi, I’ll go tend to the ox now and come back later to help you all.”
“Go ahead. We’re making dumplings this morning. Come quickly.”
“Okay.”
After Tian Dazhuang left, Yan Xiaosi led Wang Sanbao and the others towards the construction site.
“Uncle Sanbao, Auntie Sanbao, uncles, and brothers, thank you all for coming so early. It’s really hard work for everyone.”
“Little Brother Yan, you’re too polite. We’re paid to work; it’s no hardship.”
Yan Xiaosi exchanged pleasantries with Wang Sanbao briefly before reaching the construction site.
“Uncle Sanbao, Auntie Sanbao, these are my mother and my three sisters.”
Seeing Ms. Zhong and the three girls building the cooking stove, Wang Sanbao and his wife felt somewhat embarrassed. Yan Xiaosi had already given them five taels of silver for food expenses, which meant they should not have had to intervene in the matters related to the craftsmen’s meals, including building the cooking stove.
Looking at Ms. Zhong, who was covered in mud, Wang Sanbao said with a guilty face, “Big sister, you’ve already built the stove. That must have been tough on you.”
Ms. Gao then noticed a basket next to the stove, filled with flour and chopped pork. “Big sister, what’s in this basket?”
Ms. Zhong, while applying mud to the stove, looked up at Wang Sanbao and Ms. Gao with a smile, “Today is the start of construction, and I wanted to treat everyone to a meal. The basket contains flour and cabbage pork filling. We’ll make dumplings for everyone later.”
Food on construction sites were generally poor, with craftsmen usually having porridge, steamed buns, and a dish of pickles for breakfast. Lunch usually consisted of white rice with one meat and one vegetable dish, where meat is rarely seen, and dinner was typically noodles. Having dumplings with pork filling was quite uncommon. Hearing Ms. Zhong mention making dumplings for the start of construction meal, the eyes of the twelve craftsmen brought by Wang Sanbao shone brightly.
Seeing the substantial amount of flour and pork filling in the basket, the craftsmen were overjoyed and already had a good impression of the homeowner. “This homeowner is really generous.”
Yan Xiaosi quietly observed the craftsmen’s reactions, her lips curling up in satisfaction.
