"Big sister, what are we having for breakfast?" Xia Qiumei interrupted Xia Chunmei's thoughts.

"Let's cook some white rice porridge and boil four eggs. Let's have a good breakfast this morning."

"Sis, are you killing a chicken for lunch?"

"kill."

"Okay."

Upon hearing that there would be chicken for lunch, Xia Qiumei worked more enthusiastically than anyone else.

Xia Chunmei went to Xia Qiang's house next door to discuss building a house with him.

Xia Chunmei plans to build the house into a courtyard with greater privacy and security.

As a result, her current floor space is not enough.

Xia Chunmei bought half of Xia Shuiniu's vacant land for 100 wen more than the market price.

This plot of land is next to Xia Chunmei's back door, and it's about fifty square meters.

Xia Shuiniu's family never actually considered selling the land. Unlike in later generations, when everyone flocked to the city, rural land was worthless.

But times have changed. People generally don't sell land anymore. Xia Chunmei didn't raise the price or try to persuade Xia Shuiniu, but he still wouldn't sell.

"Chunmei, if you build such a big house with a tiled roof, the bricks and tiles alone will probably cost eleven or twelve taels of silver," Xia Qiang said. "How about considering a thatched roof?"

Xia Chunmei took out ten taels of silver and handed it to Xia Qiang: "Uncle, I'm entrusting this matter entirely to you. I want a tiled roof, not a thatched roof."

It's going to start snowing in November, so I'm thinking of finishing the construction within two months. Please put in a lot of effort and help me find a few trustworthy people to help. The pay is fifteen yuan a day, plus one meal.

However, I don't have time to cook for the workers. I wonder if Sister-in-law Xiaoli and Guixiang could help prepare a meal. Afterwards, I'll give each of them a piece of clothing.

Jiang Xiaoli is Xia Qiang's daughter-in-law. She is quite hardworking, but in this day and age, there aren't many lazy people in the countryside.

"Sister Chunmei, you really gave me clothes? Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Xia Guixiang was very happy to have new clothes to wear; she hadn't worn new clothes for several years.

"I keep my word. I'll go to the Wang family's house and buy some grain to deliver to your house in a bit."

"Chunmei, since you trust me so much, I won't let you down. Don't worry, I'll go find someone with you right away."

Xia Qiang acted quickly, soon finding ten people. After finding them, he immediately ordered bricks and tiles and bought roof beams, spending all ten taels of silver.

Xia Qiang was also cunning; he told others that Xia Chunmei had spent all the money she had spent on ordering materials.

This will at least deter some people from having bad intentions.

The house was demolished and rebuilt, and Xia Chunmei moved into Xia Mingshi's house. Their family was small, and they were the only family that could spare a room.

Soon the news that Xia Chunmei was going to build a tiled house spread throughout the village.

“A bunch of immature girls are living in tiled houses, while we adults are still crammed into thatched huts.”

"They've turned misfortune into a blessing in disguise."

"If you don't spend the money, you probably won't be able to hold onto it. Chunmei, you're quite shrewd."

"If she weren't skilled, she wouldn't have been able to make so much money. She couldn't have run a restaurant and made money at such a young age. All the girls in our family combined can't compare to Chunmei alone."

...

The villagers couldn't help but feel envious, thinking that Xia Chunmei was able to live in a new, big house.

Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua's family were seething with hatred.

The new house was "contributed" by them!

While Xia Chunmei was busy moving, her family hid at home and cursed her, wishing her to fall to her death while walking, choke to death while drinking water, and that she would accidentally burn herself to death while cooking!

"Chunmei, what are you doing?"

"Aunt, what brings you here?" Xia Chunmei quickly invited Xia Hongfen into the house.

"I was worried about you, so I came to check on you and brought you some food."

Xia Hongfen still brought that bag of sorghum rice.

Xia Chunmei was deeply moved that someone had walked for four hours just to deliver food to her.

"Chunmei, are you moving?"

"Yes, I'll tear down and rebuild this house, and temporarily move in with Grandma Ming."

"Demolish and rebuild!" Xia Hongfen reacted as if she had heard some earth-shattering secret. "Where did you get the money?"

"We have to thank Xia Changjiang and Xia Honghua for this; otherwise, Chunmei wouldn't have been able to make such a fortune," a villager said enviously.

"What's the meaning"

The villager then told Xia Hongfen what had happened the day before.

"Chunmei, is this all true?" Xia Hongfen could hardly believe it. They were relatives with the same surname; how could they be so wicked?

“It’s all true. Luckily, Chunmei was fortunate to have Ping’an protecting her from below, otherwise Chunmei might have jumped into the river by now,” Xia Mingshi said.

"You inhuman beast!" Xia Hongfen jumped up and rushed to Xia Changjiang's house, kicking the door open with a bang.

"Xia Changjiang, Chen Sanhua, you two sons of bitches, get out here! Are you bullying Chunmei because she has no one to back her up? Do you think our whole family is dead?"

Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua were beaten yesterday, and their whole bodies ached today. This morning, Chen Sanhua went to Fanjia Gou early in the morning despite the pain. Now, their bodies feel like they've fallen apart, and the couple are both lying in bed recovering from their injuries.

Xia Hongfen rushed over and, without saying a word, started scratching, biting, and pinching the two of them.

There happened to be a broom nearby, so Xia Hongfen swung it around and started hitting them with all her might. They were already injured, and now they were completely defenseless.

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!" Xia Xiumei rushed over to block them.

Xia Hongfen slapped Xia Xiumei across the face: "Shameless slut, you even stole your cousin's fiancé, you don't even deserve the surname Xia! You piece of trash, get out of here!"

"Waaah..." Xia Xiumei burst into tears.

After beating Xia Xiumei, they then beat Xia Changjiang and Chen Sanhua, making them scream in agony.

Seeing that it was enough, Xia Chunmei pulled away the furious Xia Hongfen: "Aunt, that's enough. If you keep hitting her, she'll kill you, and then we'll have to pay with our lives."

"Pah! You heartless, shameless old beasts! My brother should have taken you all away! You black-hearted, rotten-lung, rotten-bellied beasts..."

Xia Hongfen stood in front of Xia Changjiang's house, hands on her hips, and cursed for half an hour, which Xia Chunmei could not stop.

"Auntie, have some water to soothe your throat." Xia Dongmei poured Xia Hongfen a glass of cooled boiled water with a little brown sugar added.

"At my age, I don't need to drink sugar water. You all drink it, I'll just have well water." Xia Hongfen was very happy that her niece was so generous in pouring her a cup of brown sugar water.

"Auntie, please drink it. It's a rare occasion for you to come. If you don't drink it, I'll have my sister throw it away. Don't feel bad if it's wasted," Xia Chunmei said with a smile.

"You child..."

"Auntie, I mean what I say. If you don't drink it, I really will pour it out."

"Alright, alright, Auntie, drink up."

After drinking a cup of brown sugar water, Xia Hongfen suddenly felt full of energy. It was so sweet; she hadn't eaten sugar in years.

"Chunmei, did they really compensate you with two mu of land and fifteen taels of silver?" Xia Hongfen pulled Xia Chunmei aside and asked in a low voice.

"It's true, but I used all the money to buy materials for Uncle Qiang."

Xia Hongfen's eyes widened: "You used all that money to build a house?"

"Aunt, don't get excited, listen to me first. My father doesn't have a son, so I want to build a better and bigger house, all in one go. First, it will be safer, and second, since my father doesn't have a son, I'm thinking that my little sister can stay at home and marry someone to continue the Xia family line."

"That's a good idea." Upon hearing the words "to continue the family line," Xia Hongfen stopped worrying about the house.