Hearing the faint laughter of his wife and Aunt Five coming from the kitchen, Yang Ming felt a proud satisfaction. His wife could always make people happy wherever she went.
Unconsciously, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile, even he himself hadn’t noticed it.
Yang Wuzhu watched his nephew’s beaming face, noting that it had been a long time since they last met, and his nephew seemed much more cheerful now, likely thanks to his wife.
"Yang Ming, what brings you here today?"
He thought that Yang Ming wouldn’t visit with his wife without a reason; there must be something they needed, but he had been too excited to see them and had started catching up on family matters without asking.
"Well, Uncle Wu, there is indeed something. I need to hire fifty laborers from Xiawa Village to help me dig the land."
"Dig land?" Yang Wuzhu was shocked. He had heard that they had bought some land, but even if it was thirty acres, they surely didn’t need so many people.
Moreover, that land was far inferior to the land in Xiawa Village; it was practically deserted wasteland that no one wanted.
"Yes, Uncle Wu, perhaps you’ve heard. We bought that swampy land next to your village. While digging, we discovered a water source, and we’re thinking of building a pond there to raise fish in the future, so we’re rushing to hire people to help dig."
When Yang Wuzhu heard this, the idea of building a pond for fish farming seemed like a significant undertaking. His grandnephew had come to him for help, and he definitely needed to handle it properly.
"Leave the hiring to me; Xiawa Village has no shortage of strong laborers. But how much are you planning to pay them?"
"Twenty-five wen a day, without meals. They need to bring their own dry food."
Frowning at the wage, Yang Wuzhu said, "That’s too much pay. Just make it twenty wen per day, which is the going rate elsewhere."
"In other places, they provide meals; we don’t, so we thought of giving a bit more."
"What’s so difficult about cooking? We’ll provide meals as well."
Seeing Yang Ming hesitating as if he wanted to say more, Yang Wuzhu guessed the reason. Was it too troublesome?
"We’ll set up a temporary cook shack on the site. Don’t worry about the trouble. Bring the supplies to my house in the evening. Consider it settled."
Given Uncle Wu’s assurance, Yang Ming agreed. Soon after, Aunt Five and Xiaoxiao also had dinner ready.
Later, Xiaoxiao also came to understand the household better. There were four people in Aunt Five’s family: Aunt Five’s parents, Aunt Five, and Uncle Wu.
Aunt Five’s brother, being ill, had never married and thus had no children. The sisters were all married off.
Aunt Five’s father was a blacksmith in the village, making and selling agricultural tools, which made their living quite adequate.
Uncle Wu didn’t want to depend solely on others, so he always did accounting work for people to supplement the household income. It was quite the perfect family, truly just missing a child of their own.
Later, the family had a meal together. Yang Ming even shared a little drink with Uncle Wu and his father-in-law. Everything was agreed upon, and that evening Uncle Wu went out to look for people. They planned to bring the laborers and start digging the next morning, providing their own tools initially.
After the meal, Xiaoxiao and Yang Ming prepared to return home.
"Daughter-in-law, this is for you as a meeting gift. Don’t disdain it."
"This..." Xiaoxiao truly hadn’t expected Aunt Five to prepare a meeting gift for her, unsure of what to do, she turned to look at Yang Ming.
With an affirming glance from Yang Ming, Xiaoxiao finally accepted it, "Thank you, Aunt Five."
Yang Wuzhu’s wife smiled softly, then turned to Yang Ming and said, "In the future, bring your wife here more often."
Yang Ming and Xiaoxiao left the house. Uncle Wu and Aunt Five actually walked them all the way to the village entrance before heading back.