Wang Wu let out a sigh of relief only after Yang Ruxin had walked far away. But just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly saw a green light shooting towards his face. He uttered a shocked yelp, falling back to the ground, but the green light passed over his head and then disappeared. Patting his chest, he figured the little snake was probably just a scare; however, his brow furrowed in confusion. Not even minding the pain on his face, he suddenly sprung up, "Ah..." and dashed away. On his buttocks, quite obviously, was a curled-up hedgehog, which fell off as he ran and skipped away. The hedgehog quickly uncurled, showing a pair of small eyes, took a few sniffs around, and then scurried out of sight with a rustle.
Yang Ruxin turned to look back upon hearing the commotion, then laughed mischievously, tapping Xiaolun already wrapped around her wrist: "You little imp."
Xiaolun flicked its tongue.
The construction site was bustling with activity. This time, building the house was overseen by Uncle Daliang’s father, an old man who never parted with his smoking pipe, earning him the nickname "Old Smokey." The children called him "Grandpa Smokey," and few actually knew his real name.
In his youth, the old man traveled far and wide building houses for others, a master of his craft. But due to the hard work of his younger days, his legs were not very good in old age. He usually lived with his eldest son in Xiaobudong Village. This time, he had volunteered to help Yang Ruxin with the construction of her house. He had also been in charge of the previous furniture workshop, and after Ruxin’s, he was to build wedding houses for his grandchildren.
"Grandpa Smokey, be careful not to overexert yourself," said Yang Ruxin, deeply moved by the sight of the old man from dawn to dusk at the construction site. "There is no rush to finish this a day earlier or later."
"Oh no, that won’t do. Delaying even by a day would cost an extra day’s Silver Coin," the old man said seriously. "Besides, you’ve been feeding everyone meat at every meal; how could that be tiring?"
"You all work so hard, eating some meat is only right. Please don’t hold back; only by having a full meal each time can you do good work..."
The people around joined in with laughter, saying that they’d even gained weight these days.
Yang Ruxin felt a warm gratitude in her heart. The villagers were still simple and honest. With such neighbors, she was willing to lead them to prosperity.
"Girl, the herbal tea you gave me last time, my legs feel much more comfortable after drinking it..." Liang Smokey took a puff from his pipe, then put it away, tucking it at his waist. "Made me much more agile at work."
"Once you finish what you have, come to me again. I’ll have my master take another look and adjust the prescription for you," Yang Ruxin nodded. The old man was suffering from rheumatism, a particularly troublesome disease that was equally difficult to cure now as it would be a thousand years later. Thus, all that could be done was to provide relief.
"Ah!" exclaimed the old man, even happier now.
Yang Ruxin then discussed the layout of the house with everyone and asked them to build an additional pen for the livestock next to the house, designed to accommodate twenty animals. She also had plans to pave the road from there to the main road and all the way to the riverbank with stones...
The crowd naturally preferred Yang Ruxin to have more tasks for them; the more work she had, the more money they could earn.
Coming back from the construction site, Yang Ruxin hadn’t even reached the main gate when she saw Yang Ruyu stepping out of her own front door. Ruyu was waving to someone behind her: "Auntie, you can go back now. If your eldest daughter sees you, she’ll be upset again..."
Yang Ruxin snickered and moved forward a few steps: "I’ve already seen you."