Xiao Yishan thought for a moment, “Aunt Zhang, you’re being too polite. Master Zhang Youlai has been building houses for people for more than twenty years; he’s 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 haven’t been removed from the land we bought, so it will take some time before we can start building.”
Yuchuan added, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll focus on clearing the earth slopes and moving the stones to clear the foundation as soon as possible.”
Su Qingyue said, “Third brother, second brother’s legs are not convenient. Doing the cleaning alone will be too hard on you. You should call for a few more part-time workers instead…”
“It’s fine, I can manage by myself…”
“No, you just recovered, you shouldn’t overwork yourself. Plus, the more people, the faster the work’s done.” She thought for a moment, “At least four more people should be called to help you. Don’t skimp on necessary expenses because you can always earn the money back later.”
“Alright then,” Xiao Yuchuan nodded.
“Youlai and Ping’an are both hard workers, and they often do part-time work in other villages and towns. They can handle any rough or heavy labor,” said Aunt Zhang. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll ask them to help Chuan clean up the foundation.”
“The Fuquan Family’s parents are good at cutting bamboo and weaving baskets; I can call them over…” Xiao Yuchuan said, “We still need one more person… Who should we ask…”
“Don’t bother calling anyone else,” Xiao Yishan said. “I’ll do it.”
Yuchuan glanced at his leg, “But, second brother, your leg hasn’t healed yet…”
“It’s fine. At worst, I’ll do the digging work, and you guys can carry the loads. This way, I won’t put too much strain on my leg…”
“Alright. We’ve decided then.” Yuchuan nodded in agreement.
Su Qingyue brought a glass of water from the kitchen for Aunt Zhang, “Aunt, tomorrow, please tell Youlai and Ping’an to come over without any worries. We will pay them the same wages as other families.”
“Of course, I trust Qingyue and her family.” Aunt Zhang took a sip of water and handed the cup back to her, “Alright then, it’s settled. I’ll be going now.”
“Aunt Zhang, please wait a moment.” 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, “Aunt, I’ve borrowed your back basket for many days now, and I’m only returning it now.”
Aunt Zhang carried the back basket on her back, “It’s just an old basket; you can borrow it for as long as you like.”
“Here’s a bowl of duck meat for you. It’s my treat for Old Zhang.” She handed her a big bowl full of duck meat.
Aunt Zhang quickly waved her hands, “Oh no, I can’t take this. The meat is too valuable.”
“Today, we bought the paddy field and got a foundation. Adding some vegetables, it’s sort of a celebration,” she said. “Since you didn’t 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.”
“It was nothing, really. In fact, it should be just as convenient for your family to find someone. It’s said that I helped find others, but in turn, it seems like I’ve gained some favors.”
“Don’t say such distant things.” Qingyue forcefully handed her the bowl, “Take it.”
Xiao Yishan chimed in, “Aunt Zhang, if you don’t accept it, you’ll be an outsider.”
“Yeah,” Yuchuan also said, “Please take it.”
Aunt Zhang sniffed the aroma of the stir-fried duck meat, her saliva almost flowing out, “This stir-fried duck meat looks delicious. Thank you then. Tomorrow, I’ll have Ping’an bring the bowl back when he comes.”
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.