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The order for labor service came down, and the sky over Xiaqiao Village was filled with dark clouds. The joy of harvest was gone, and everyone was worried about whether to send a person or pay in Silver. Families that could afford to pay in Silver did so, while those who couldn't bear to let their men go were borrowing money everywhere. Some who were reluctant to part with their Silver gritted their teeth and decided to send someone.
In the past few days, many people were borrowing Silver, but this time every family had to send a male member, and every family faced financial loss. Who would be willing to lend Silver to others when they themselves needed it? There was no Silver left to lend.
The Xie Youshun family had few visitors; everyone knew he had come into a windfall but also knew that all his Silver had been spent on cattle, sheep, and land. To avoid attracting attention, he had claimed early on that he was out of Silver. Later, when Xie Qingfeng mentioned that Xie Youshun had lent all his Silver to him, no one dared to ask for help.
Xiao Lihua thought her brother had Silver and would be fine, but she still asked Xie Youshun to go to Caotou Village again and sent some Silver with him.
Three days later, someone from the county office came to register names. Those who were paying in Silver received their payments, while those preparing to send someone had their names recorded. That same day, the person would have to leave with them.
Xiao Lihua did not go there; Xie Youshun did. When he returned, his face was heavy. He saw the men looking troubled, while the ones seeing them off were all elderly women and children, crying all around. He felt bad inside as well. Xie Youshun said he was going to work in the fields and then left.
Zhang Lianxiang came over with Yumiang and sat down with Xiao Lihua to chat about the situation at that time. Both sighed deeply. They were relieved that their men did not have to go; otherwise, they would have been extremely worried.
Xiao Lihua felt even heavier in her heart; she could imagine that scene. That's why she didn't want to go see it herself. Sometimes, it's not enough for one person to be well-off; she didn't want to see those around her living in pain, especially when those people included some simple and kind-hearted individuals.
This heavy atmosphere lightened somewhat after several days of the men being gone. The village became lively again because during this labor service, several families had disputes over whether to send someone or pay in Silver. In families like Yumiang's, arguments arose over who should go and who shouldn't. Ultimately, five families ended up splitting apart over it. Once they split up, they needed new houses; not everyone was as fortunate as Xie Youshun's family to buy an old house. They could only build new ones, even knowing that summer would be hot and rainy.
With more than half of the village's men gone, those remaining became highly sought after. Friends used their connections; others paid wages. The men of the village all found work.
Xie Qingfeng requested a piece of land from the village chief right in front of Xie Youshun's house, next to Xie Youtai's property. They initially wanted land beside Xie Youshun's house, but since he had already claimed that area and beyond it was a bamboo grove, they could only build in front of it. As they occupied that piece of land in front, more families moved into the area in front of Xie Youshun's house.
Xiao Lihua was very satisfied with her family's plot of land; it was right on the edge of the village with neighbors on one side and bamboo forest on the other. In front were familiar families, and behind was the home of the village chief's uncle. The front led out to fields while the back led toward sandy areas of the village and then toward the mountains—truly convenient and peaceful.
Xie Qingfeng's division of property wasn't much stronger than Xie Youshun's; aside from some odds and ends and furniture inside the house, they only had three taels of Silver. The money for building houses was borrowed: five taels from Xie Youshun, five from Wang Dashan, and another five from Yang Cao and her husband Li Xing. They planned to build two brick houses first and then a few thatched cottages afterward. Initially, they didn't want brick houses because they were expensive; however, Xie Youshun suggested that since they were building anyway, they might as well make them good quality so they wouldn't have to rebuild in a couple of years when they had money—wasting even more money.
"Thank you all so much! I will work hard and pay you back as soon as I can," Xie Qingfeng said gratefully. Although his family members hurt his feelings, he felt very thankful for his wife and friends. He held tightly onto the Silver given by the three families.
Yumiang was also very touched, thanking Xiao Lihua and then Zhang Lianxiang, and then Yang Cao again.
The matter of building the house could not be delayed any longer. After a discussion among the men, they immediately took action. Xie Youshun went to find Second Brother, thinking that five people would be enough. They were all capable, and as long as they worked quickly, the house would be built in no time.
During these days, Xiao Lihua helped with cooking. Since she lived nearby, they cooked at her house. She was good at cooking, so naturally, she took charge of the kitchen.
The thatched house needed earthen walls, so they first made the earthen walls and set them aside to dry. They also prepared the thatch and then started building the brick houses. Once the two brick houses were completed, they could use the earthen walls for the thatched house.
The five strong men worked hard, starting at dawn and continuing until dark, fearing rain. The women also helped out, and soon the houses were built. Just as they finished, it started to rain.
It wasn't a heavy downpour but rather a gentle rain that one could sit back and enjoy. However, it kept falling steadily throughout the night without stopping.
"This rain is really timely; just as Qingfeng Brothers' house was finished, it started to rain. If it had come a couple of days earlier, they wouldn't have had a roof on yet," Xie Youshun said while standing by the door watching the rain outside.
Xiao Lihua was teaching her two sons to play Gomoku when she heard him speak. She looked up and smiled, saying, "Heaven is helping honest people. By the way, have all those families in the Village finished building their houses?"
"One family hasn't put up their courtyard wall yet, and another's house isn't finished. But I think once this rain passes, it will be sunny again, and they can continue building."
"I wonder how those who went out are doing. It's raining today; I hope it hasn't rained where they are. If it has, at least it can give them a break." Xiao Lihua thought about those forced to do hard labor and hoped no one would die outside.
Xie Youshun said, "In this kind of weather, those people still have to work."
Xiao Lihua fell silent after hearing this. She looked at Xie Youshun and then at her two sons who had grown a bit chubby. She wanted to earn money and never wanted to feel powerless in her life again. If she had been wealthy in her past life, she wouldn't have repeatedly abandoned her children or ended up as a failure in marriage in such a way. In this life, she believed there would be no such situation again, but she needed to protect this family even more.
Xie Youshun saw Xiao Lihua with her head down and vaguely noticed that her mood seemed to have worsened. He thought to himself, why should he talk to her about this? His wife was no longer the same as before; she had become more compassionate and couldn't bear to see others suffer. He decided it would be better to avoid discussing such matters with her. He quickly asked her what she wanted for lunch to divert her thoughts.
Mu Tou raised his head and blinked his big eyes, saying, "Mom, I'm hungry."
Shi Tou also looked up; he was hungry too.
Xiao Lihua patted their heads and asked, "What do you want to eat? Mom will make it for you."
Shi Tou shouted, "I want noodles! And I want the minced meat sauce that Mom makes!"
Mu Tou nodded and said, "I want noodles too, and I want stir-fried meat."
"Okay, Mom will make it for you."
Xiao Lihua stood up to cook. On a rainy day like this, it was easy to get hungry, and she was feeling hungry herself. Xie Youshun followed her into the kitchen to help. They rushed over quickly and didn't get too wet. Xiao Lihua kneaded the dough while Xie Youshun helped chop the meat. Nowadays, they often bought meat at home, and bones were purchased even more frequently. Xiao Lihua's cooking was delicious, and all the children loved it, even Zhang Lianxiang Yuniang and Yang Cao had learned how to cook.
"Youshun, I want some yellow beans to make sauce. Should we buy them from the village or go to the town? I want to make Zha Jiang Mian; my sauce is really tasty."
While making the minced meat sauce, Xiao Lihua said to Xie Youshun. She remembered mentioning fried sauce when harvesting wheat, and Xie Youshun's reaction seemed like he had never heard of it before. Now she wanted to test him again. If he truly hadn't heard of it, she planned to make the sauce herself this time; she didn't intend to sell it but wanted to find someone to partner with. She didn't want to run the business alone; not only was it hard work for an ordinary family like theirs, but she also preferred a more relaxed life where she could enjoy dividends in silver.
Xie Youshun said, "Is the sauce soy sauce? Soy sauce is also made from yellow beans; can you make soy sauce?"
"No, it's a different kind of sauce. It's not thin like soy sauce; it's thick and can be used for dipping or cooking—it's really delicious. Youshun, haven't you ever tried it? That old lady taught me how to make it. I thought I was the only one who hadn't tried it; turns out you haven't either. It seems like I've never seen anyone eat it before. Is this another thing like pickled eggs? Youshun, what kind of person do you think that old lady is? How does she know so many things?" Xiao Lihua said. In this lifetime, she would never reveal to Xie Youshun that she wasn't the real Xiao Lihua; she wouldn't let him doubt her. She had to play this role convincingly.
Xie Youshun thought for a moment and said, "Maybe you've met someone remarkable. I've heard that there are some people in this world who are very capable but unwilling to teach others their skills. Perhaps that old lady is one of those people; maybe she sees something special in you."
"Maybe, I just helped her a little. I didn't expect that everything she taught me would be so amazing. I should have thanked her back then," Xiao Lihua said.
Xie Youshun went to buy soybeans, and Xiao Lihua knew there was another way to make money, which put her in a good mood.
The rain finally stopped at night, and the next day it cleared up. The weather was nice, and the sun was bright; it was clear that it would get hot soon. After a day and night of rain, the ground was still wet, but the roads in the village had been trampled for many years, so walking on them was just slippery without the deep mud. Xie Youshun went out to buy soybeans from the households that grew them.
After almost an hour, Xie Youshun still hadn't returned. Xiao Lihua checked outside several times, and on the third time, she saw Yang Cao coming over.
"Li Hua, are you waiting for your husband? Don't worry; he will be back in a while. Something happened!"
"What happened?" Xiao Lihua's heart sank at the mention of trouble, and she hurriedly asked.
"Don't be scared; it's not your husband who is in trouble; it's something in our village." Yang Cao took Xiao Lihua's hand and led her into the yard. Standing in a cool spot, she continued, "It rained heavily, right? The bridge broke. There were people crossing it at the time; they were from our village, and both the person and the donkey fell down."
"Is the person okay?" Xiao Lihua quickly asked, thinking that the bridge was old but didn't expect it to break like that.
"The person is fine, and the donkey is fine too; they even pulled the cart up. But there’s something else," Yang Cao said with a frown, clearly indicating this was a serious matter.
Xiao Lihua urged her to continue. Yang Cao finally explained that when Xiao Lihua heard this, she frowned as well. It turned out that since the bridge broke, people from Shangqiao Village came over and said that people from Xiaqiao Village had damaged the bridge and demanded that Xiaqiao Village build a new one!
The author has something to say: It seems like it's getting late; I'm covering my face. I'll try to update earlier tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is a holiday; I'll try to update more!
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