The whole scene was deathly silent.
A strange awkwardness had fallen over everyone in an instant.
No one dared to make a sound.
Until…
“What the heck?! Hahahaha, the house freaking fell.”
Qi Qingyao burst out laughing, and the crowd was once more taken aback. Once she caught her breath, Qi Qingyao grinned at the Qi family, who were still frozen in shock. “You guys wanted the house, right? Ten taels in exchange for my life? Why the frick not!”
The Qi family, “…”
Each of them swallowed their saliva in trepidation, staring dazedly at the collapsed hut.
If anyone else in the village had their roof fall down over their heads, the villagers would surely pitch in some help. This time, however, everyone just looked away. Ma Sanye even dragged Qi Qingyao and the others away as fast as possible.
Qi Qingyao gave Si Jin a sideways look. “You just had to jinx it, didn’t you? Once you said that, the house fell apart.”
“…” Si Jin scratched his head a little awkwardly.
Ma Sanye leaped to his defense. “Eleventh Daughter, I don’t think it’s the boy’s fault. Think about it, the house didn’t have very strong foundations to begin with, and they used the cheapest wood too. Maybe your no-good father was even waiting for the day the roof fell on you and your kids, killing you all. He just didn’t think it would last this long without collapsing. The roof was made of straw, and it rained so heavily during the summer. Plus, there’s been so much snow lately too. The summer rain must have eroded the foundations, and the consecutive days of snow took down the roof. It’s perfectly normal for the house to collapse all of a sudden like that.”
Qi Qingyao said, “Village head, you’re taking this really seriously, huh?”
“I’m just analyzing it logically,” Ma Sanye said with a laugh.
The other villagers thought his reasoning made sense too.
It was natural for the house to collapse.
Thank goodness Qi Qingyao and her children had moved out of it.
Otherwise, they would have been killed by the rubble!
Ma Sanye said, “Eleventh Daughter, just work hard for now and earn enough money to raise your three kids. Don’t worry about the money you owe us! You can return it later, now you just gotta focus on keeping yourselves alive.”
Qi Qingyao nodded slightly.
Ma Sanye looked at the three silent children and said suddenly, “Eleventh Daughter, if you really want some land to build a house, I can use my position as village head to invite everyone to a meeting. We can give you some land so you can build your new house!~”
Old Yang’s wife added, “That’s right. The other girls don’t have land because they married into other villages. You’ve always been here, so you’re one of us. It’s only right we give you a piece of land.”
The village rules stated that any man who grew up and started his own family could get some land for him to build a house on. As for the women, most of them married away from the village once they came of age, so they did not get any land. Nevertheless, rules could be changed. If the entire village agreed and the village head put his stamp of approval, she could definitely get her share.
“Thank you for your kindness, village head. But let me focus on paying everyone back first,” Qi Qingyao said.
After she bid the villagers goodbye, she led the triplets, Jiang Yeqian, and Si Jin to the temple fair at the koi temple.
People were already setting up stalls at the marketplace there. If they arrived too late, they might not even get a good spot.
Jiang Yeqian was carrying the pig, his expression stormy the entire way. Inwardly he wondered if he had ever been in such a pathetic state, carrying half a pig carcass on his back… If his subordinates happened to see this, he would never be able to show his face around them again!
Si Jin seemed to notice Jiang Yeqian’s foul mood, so he happily volunteered to take the pig instead.
Jiang Yeqian handed the pig carcass over to Si Jin expressionlessly.
Si Jin looked especially happy to carry the pig, even chatting and laughing with the triplets as they walked.
Jiang Yeqian pulled Qi Qingyao aside and asked her in a low voice, “Why is he following us?”
“I thought he wanted something from me before, but now I have nothing for him to take. In that case, what’s wrong with getting another servant to order around for free?” Qi Qingyao was pleased with herself.
Jiang Yeqian, “…” She already had him to order around, so why would she want another mysterious stranger?! What was this woman thinking?
Qi Qingyao gave him a sideways look and said with a ghost of a smile, “If you still refuse to pay me back, I’ll sell you first once I’ve truly hit rock-bottom. If that happens, I won’t have a servant anymore… so I should prepare a spare, right?”
“I’ll return the money as soon as possible,” Jiang Yeqian said through gritted teeth.
“What?” Qi Qingyao was shocked. “Are you really planning to sell yourself?”
“…”
“Or at least a kidney?”