Xiao Yishan thought for a moment, âAunt Zhang, youâre being too polite. Master Zhang Youlai has been building houses for people for more than twenty years; heâs an old craftsman. Having him build a house for our family would put our minds at ease. However, there are still some small earth slopes and large stones that havenât been removed from the land we bought, so it will take some time before we can start building.â
Yuchuan added, âStarting tomorrow, Iâll focus on clearing the earth slopes and moving the stones to clear the foundation as soon as possible.â
Su Qingyue said, âThird brother, second brotherâs legs are not convenient. Doing the cleaning alone will be too hard on you. You should call for a few more part-time workers insteadâ¦â
âItâs fine, I can manage by myselfâ¦â
âNo, you just recovered, you shouldnât overwork yourself. Plus, the more people, the faster the workâs done.â She thought for a moment, âAt least four more people should be called to help you. Donât skimp on necessary expenses because you can always earn the money back later.â
âAlright then,â Xiao Yuchuan nodded.
âYoulai and Pingâan are both hard workers, and they often do part-time work in other villages and towns. They can handle any rough or heavy labor,â said Aunt Zhang. âTomorrow morning, Iâll ask them to help Chuan clean up the foundation.â
âThe Fuquan Familyâs parents are good at cutting bamboo and weaving baskets; I can call them overâ¦â Xiao Yuchuan said, âWe still need one more person⦠Who should we askâ¦â
âDonât bother calling anyone else,â Xiao Yishan said. âIâll do it.â
Yuchuan glanced at his leg, âBut, second brother, your leg hasnât healed yetâ¦â
âItâs fine. At worst, Iâll do the digging work, and you guys can carry the loads. This way, I wonât put too much strain on my legâ¦â
âAlright. Weâve decided then.â Yuchuan nodded in agreement.
Su Qingyue brought a glass of water from the kitchen for Aunt Zhang, âAunt, tomorrow, please tell Youlai and Pingâan to come over without any worries. We will pay them the same wages as other families.â
âOf course, I trust Qingyue and her family.â Aunt Zhang took a sip of water and handed the cup back to her, âAlright then, itâs settled. Iâll be going now.â
âAunt Zhang, please wait a moment.â Su Qingyue went to the storage room to grab a back basket and then went to the kitchen to fetch a bowl of cooked duck meat, âAunt, Iâve borrowed your back basket for many days now, and Iâm only returning it now.â
Aunt Zhang carried the back basket on her back, âItâs just an old basket; you can borrow it for as long as you like.â
âHereâs a bowl of duck meat for you. Itâs my treat for Old Zhang.â She handed her a big bowl full of duck meat.
Aunt Zhang quickly waved her hands, âOh no, I canât take this. The meat is too valuable.â
âToday, we bought the paddy field and got a foundation. Adding some vegetables, itâs sort of a celebration,â she said. âSince you didnât want to stay for dinner, you should at least take some food home. It was all thanks to your help in finding someone to help with drying the fern.â
âIt was nothing, really. In fact, it should be just as convenient for your family to find someone. Itâs said that I helped find others, but in turn, it seems like Iâve gained some favors.â
âDonât say such distant things.â Qingyue forcefully handed her the bowl, âTake it.â
Xiao Yishan chimed in, âAunt Zhang, if you donât accept it, youâll be an outsider.â
âYeah,â Yuchuan also said, âPlease take it.â
Aunt Zhang sniffed the aroma of the stir-fried duck meat, her saliva almost flowing out, âThis stir-fried duck meat looks delicious. Thank you then. Tomorrow, Iâll have Pingâan bring the bowl back when he comes.â
After seeing off Aunt Zhang, the Xiao Family had their dinner.
There was stir-fried duck meat for dinner, a bowl of fried pork, and a bowl of wild vegetables that the third brother had picked while cutting bamboo on the mountain.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om