Chapter 129: Chapter 128 In the Midst of Factory Construction
Grandpa, upon seeing Father put the broken wood inside the room, curiously asked, “Hongji, these are no longer useful, why not put them in the kitchen?”
“Dad, no need to ask further, I have my plans.”
Ye Shiqi, without any hesitation, took that bag of wood shavings into the space.
Day by day she went about her work, time passing in the life of the small child, not particularly dazzling, but very fulfilling.
A few days later, she heard the family discussing how in the land sold by the village, Housekeeper Tang had hired people to start construction, and what caused even more discussion was that to build such a large factory, some laborers were hired from inside the village.
Her uncle Ye Senhai had also become one of the construction workers. Although he didn’t get the contract to build the factory, he became the foreman among the construction workers.
At the entrance to Bushen Village, someone was building a house and had hired so many people to work, which made the people from neighboring villages envious. Both skilled and unskilled people from elsewhere were coming to ask if there was a need for workers.
As the foreman of the construction workers, Ye Senhai had no authority to hire people, but deep down, he hoped that Housekeeper Tang wouldn’t hire these outsiders, only villagers from their own village.
A foreman managing all the villagers working here, his wages were somewhat higher than the others’, and he felt quite prestigious. In the envious looks of others, his heart swelled with pride and joy. Who could blame them for not having connections?
Back then, he had such foresight, setting his sights on Ye Shuying, and out of many suitors, he married this woman who was said to bring luck to her husband.
Some young men in the village hoped that Hongji would take on apprentices. Now that the factory wasn’t yet built, the factory site had laborers competing to work there—both middle-aged and younger men without any skills.
Housekeeper Tang, wanting to build the factory quickly, considered the more workers the better, and wanted to hire the best craftsmen, too.
Ye Senhai was able to become the foreman, of course, because of Hongji’s influence.
He had always wanted to buy honey from Hongji but upon inquiring in the surrounding villages, although he found other beekeepers and tried some of their honey, even buying a little, it wasn’t as good as the honey Wuwa had given him.
He always wanted to uncover the secret to good honey from Hongji, but to no avail.
Under Housekeeper Tang’s repeated inquiries, what could he possibly say?
Where did his little daughter’s honey come from? How would he know?
A child who couldn’t speak, how could he ask her?
Ye Shiqi was not unaware of the numerous times the housekeeper had asked her father about honey. She was frustrated that she still couldn’t speak, and the wooden bottles she was making weren’t finished.
When family members saw the toys she used to make, now turned into making vases, they thought she was messing around.
Her father, who had always been understanding of her thoughts, was too busy carving to have more time to help her with the vases.
If she wanted to buy smaller earthen jars, the problem was she had no opportunity to go out yet.
Hongji was busy with carving and almost forgot about his father-in-law’s birthday. The day before his father-in-law’s birthday, when Housekeeper Tang came over and mentioned that the construction that had been going on for over ten days was nearly at the stage to raise the roof beams, he said tomorrow would be an auspicious day, the eighth day of the eleventh lunar month.
“Eighth day, the eighth day of the eleventh month already?” Hongji, hearing the date, suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the eighth of November, his father-in-law’s birthday.
“Yes, small boss, you asking about this, is there something going on?”
“Housekeeper Tang, to be honest, I’m ashamed to say that if you hadn’t mentioned this date, I would have forgotten my father-in-law’s birthday. Tomorrow, as the house gets its roof beams, it happens to be my father-in-law’s birthday. I regret that my wife is busy working at the Tang Family, so tomorrow’s beam-raising will have to proceed with you there.”
Housekeeper Tang listened to Hongji’s words and already had some ideas in mind, but he kept them to himself; he needed to ask for permission before making arrangements.
“Ah, it’s that matter; with me present, it’s enough. I’ve already arranged for the ritual to be conducted. Small boss, please go ahead and offer your congratulations with peace of mind. As for the congratulatory gift, I will help you prepare it.”
“There’s no need, as a son-in-law, I’m actually quite useless. I couldn’t present a decent gift before, and now that I earn money, I still can’t afford it. I want to thank Housekeeper Tang in advance, but I will figure something out for the gift myself.”
Housekeeper Tang had been dealing with this honest man for many days and knew that he did not want to trouble others; he wasn’t the type who was greedy or wanted to take advantage. If he were that kind of person, Housekeeper Tang wouldn’t bother helping him.
“Small boss, there’s no need to be polite. When you go to your father-in-law’s house, you should take these kids, right? What kind of transport will you use? Tomorrow, I’ll arrange a horse carriage for you to visit relatives.”
Hongji still shook his head, expressing there was no need to trouble Housekeeper Tang; the village’s ox cart would suffice for him and the children.
Seeing Hongji so insistent, Housekeeper Tang didn’t push the issue. They chatted about the construction of the factory and how Hongji could choose the apprentices himself.
Hongji agreed to this idea. Although having relatives working closely in the same factory wasn’t ideal, he still wanted to look out for them when good opportunities arose.
That night, before going to sleep, Hongji had already finished his day’s work. He returned to his room to find his eldest daughter and the younger ones drawing and writing at the table, using the charcoal pencils he had made himself.
After observing the handwriting of his five daughters, he noted that only the youngest one had the best handwriting. Upon realizing that she could draw and had a talent for it, he knew this daughter might also be able to write.
From that moment on, he thought to himself what a pity it was that she was a girl; how wonderful it would have been if she were a boy!
She showed such talent despite being a girl – was this gift something she was born with?
Or did Meng Po fail to give his daughter the soup that makes one forget their past life, so she remembered the skills from her previous existence?
If so, his daughter must have been a talented lady in her past life. It seemed a shame for such a lady to be reborn into their farmer family; regardless, he was determined to nurture her talents.
“Heh, you write very well.”
Daya looked up and said to her father with a smile, “Among us five sisters, Wuwa has the best handwriting.”
The other three sisters all nodded in agreement, while Ye Shiqi just smiled quietly. At that moment, even if she wanted to speak, she could only say “ah ya ya”!
“It’s getting late today; let’s rest early. I’ve got good news to tell you – tomorrow is your grandfather’s birthday.”
No sooner had Hongji’s words fallen than his daughters, except for Ye Shiqi, all started laughing, jumping, and clapping their hands in excitement.
“Great, great, we can go to grandfather’s house tomorrow.”
While the people in their room were laughing and making noise, they suddenly heard Mrs. Lai outside scolding them: “What’s all this noise for? Can’t you see what hour it is?”
In her own room, Mrs. Lai had overheard Housekeeper Tang’s conversation with her son, and she was actually more worried that her son would ask her for money to buy a birthday gift.
Ever since she secretly listened to Housekeeper Tang and her son earlier that day, every time her son opened his mouth to ask for money, she would find an excuse to leave, avoiding giving him the chance to ask her for it.
“Big brother, we’re so sleepy; stop making noise.”
Ye Shuzhen seemed to join the commotion, but in reality, she was envious that only the kids went with her big brother to enjoy the birthday feast. She wanted to go too but at her age of 13, it was inconvenient as a young lady to be seen out in public.