Yang Chuxia had hoped to send her two younger brothers to school in the following days, but due to the numerous eyes fixated on their home lately, from both outsiders and their old folks, she had to reconsider.
As there were many possessions in the house that needed tending in the absence of anyone, Yang Chuxia negotiated with her two younger brothers. Once the new house was built and they moved in, she would then send them to school. In the meantime, they were tasked with housekeeping and could not leave their posts.
Naturally, her two younger brothers were sensible and agreed enthusiastically. As such, whenever Yang Chuxia was off to Ye Zi’an’s house to process drunken crabs, Ms. Wang and several others would stay at home to guard the house, while Yang Dachuan would supervise the construction of the new home.
After waiting more than twenty days, the new house for Yang Chuxia’s family was finally built. It was a common grey brick and tile bungalow, with three rooms at both ends, inclusive of a yard. Yang Chuxia had a large cellar dug in her house, as generous as half a room, dedicated for storage of drunken crabs.
Though it looked ordinary from the outside, it was already better than many other houses in the village.
Still, she was not satisfied. She had in mind that after a few years, when her stash of silver increased and her brothers grew older, she could gradually make a bigger house, like a large mansion of the wealthy homeowners in the town.
"Mother, our house is ready. When do you and father wish to move?"
"When does Xiaxia wish to move?"
After a thought, Yang Chuxia said, "I plan to move the day after tomorrow. The dwelling has been aired out for several days. We can clean up two rooms to reside in first, and deal with the rest in due course. Once we move, I have important affairs to handle, which are inconvenient at present."
Hearing her words, Yang Dachuan affirmed, "Let’s stick to Xiaxia’s plan. Let’s move in two days. Tomorrow, I’ll fetch your grandfather and Uncle Dayong to prepare for a housewarming party."
Upon hearing the decision to move in two days, not only Yang Chuxia was pleased, others were equally so. Ms. Wang was particularly thrilled, unable to sleep till very late. Since marrying into the Yang family, she had never envisioned that she could move out to live separately while her in-laws were still alive and reside in such a tiled house.
As she thought carefully, it seemed that from the day her daughter woke up, their family’s fortunes had been improving. As for her daughter’s abilities, she was not without suspicion; but, she dared not voice them out, fearful it would harm her instead. With the pronounced changes in her daughter lately, she was simultaneously delighted and anxious. After all, her daughter did indeed lose her breath that day, and the villagers held strong superstitions against such incidents. Any negative rumors could spell trouble.
The more Ms. Wang concerned herself, the more nervous she felt, to the point of jabbing Yang Dachuan beside her. At this late hour, he was snoring away in deep sleep. It took her several prods before he finally woke up.
After Yang Dachuan emerged from sleep, Ms. Wang voiced her worries to him, and he fell silent for a while.
Finally, he spoke in a heavy tone, "If Xiaxia was really breathless that day, you must absolutely not mention it outside. If someone brings up that matter, you must insist that Xiaxia merely fainted but was still breathing. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I know!" Ms. Wang sighed, "I am just worried about what outsiders think of Xiaxia."
"Ignore the outsiders! As long as we, both parents, believe in her, that is enough. Moreover, if there were indeed trouble, your Uncle Tang would back us up too." After finishing his words, Yang Dachuan added after a moment of thought, "We should still save more silver. With silver, we can buy a lot of land. If our family becomes landlords, others would be more careful in their actions against us."