Xiang Chunhua also gradually lowered her head. How could she not see it? She was not stupid.

But... her mother and her brother told her that as long as her brother passed the imperial examination, their family would also benefit, and her brother would personally teach her son to read.

Xiang Chunhua also noticed that her mother treated her son and nephew differently, but she had already given so much for several years. If she didn't give anymore, wouldn't all her previous efforts be wasted?

Xiang Chunhua whispered, "My mother told my brother that after he passes the imperial examination, he will teach Xiaobing himself, which will save him a lot of tuition fees."

Zhang Hulan didn't know what was going on, and she didn't want to ask about Xiang Chunhua's family. Xiang Chunhua's idea of letting Zhang Xiaobing become a scholar in the future was not wrong, but it depended on whether her brother from her family knew how to be grateful.

But based on Xiang Chunhua's mother's attitude towards Zhang Xiaobing, one can imagine how good Xiang Chunhua's brother will be to Zhang Xiaobing after he passes the imperial examination?

Zhang Hulan said, "Chunhua, think carefully. Will you rely on Xiaobing for your retirement or on your nephew from your mother's side? I have the same request. Treat Xiaobing's grandparents the same way you treat your parents."

"Think carefully about what I am going to say."

Zhang Hulan handed the silver to Xiang Chunhua, and then said to Wang and Li, "Mother, sister-in-law, I won't give you any more silver."

Wang said unhappily, "What silver do I need from you?"

Li said, "If you want to give me money, then you don't consider me your sister-in-law."

Wang said to them, "It's getting late, let's go back to bed."

After everyone went back to their rooms, Old Man Zhang sighed and said, "Alas..., the eldest is a simple and honest person. The second is indecisive, and only the eldest daughter is like that, but she is a girl. How much better it would be if she had a son?"

Wang said, "What's wrong with being a girl? What's the difference between a boy and a girl now? Come on, go to sleep."

The next morning, Zhang Hubing accompanied Xiang Chunhua back to her parents' home again.

Zhang Hulan shook her head secretly, but didn't say anything. Everyone has their own choice.

But it was not even noon when the couple came back. Xiang Chunhua's eyes were still red, and she locked herself in her room after coming back.

When Wang saw this, she asked Zhang Hubing, "What happened to your wife?"

Zhang Hubing was also furious, "Chunhua's mother asked Chunhua to borrow money from... from her elder sister."

Wang glared, "Where does she have the nerve to do that?"

Wang said angrily, "Did you give them the silver your sister gave you last night?"

Zhang Hubing shook his head, "No."

Huh? No?

Wang was surprised and asked, "Have you figured it out this time?"

Zhang Hubing scratched his head, "We were originally going to give it to her, but as soon as we got there, Chunhua's mother told her to ask her elder sister to borrow some money."

"I don't know how they knew that my eldest sister had money. Chunhua's mother said that she would lend my eldest sister's money to Huairen for his studies, and when Huairen passed the imperial examination, she would return it to my eldest sister double."

"Chunhua said that her elder sister's money was for building a house, so Chunhua's mother scolded her, saying that she didn't care about Huairen at all. Chunhua's mother drove us out and told Chunhua to borrow the money before going back, otherwise she couldn't go back."

Wang was so angry that her chest heaved, and she cursed: "The Xiang family is not a good thing either..."

Li stroked Wang's chest and said, "Mom, don't be angry. In fact, this is a good thing, so that my sister-in-law can see clearly what kind of people her family is."

Wang glared at Zhang Hubing, "You deserve it..."

Wang then said, "It's a good thing you didn't take the money your sister gave you, otherwise I would have beaten you to death."

During lunch, Li told Zhang Hulan about the matter, and Zhang Hulan also thought it was a good thing.

It would be good if Xiang Chunhua could see through her family and take good care of her own family in the future.

It depends on what Xiang Chunhua thinks in the future.

…

The weather is still hot, the sun is shining every day, and not a drop of rain falls.

Fortunately, all the water-scarce villages in Changning County have dug deep wells, so the villagers can still guarantee drinking water.

Every family received relief food, and they could still find something to eat in the mountains, so the common people could barely get by.

The days passed one by one, and Zhang Hulan's house was built very quickly. Although there were not hundreds of people working every day, the house was changing every day.

Twenty days later, when the last tile was put on the house, Zhang Hulan's house was considered completed.

The tables, chairs, benches and beds are all ready. We just need to buy some pots, pans, bedding sheets and quilts and we can move in.

It cost Zhang Hulan nearly ten taels of silver to build these seven rooms.

For the same seven rooms, I spent at least two or three taels more than others.

The red envelope for the start of work was about 500 wen, the carpenter's wages were about one tael of silver, the lime cost 300 wen, and the tiles cost two taels of silver. The food was the biggest expense, costing more than five taels of silver.

Zhang Hulan thought that since they were not being paid, she would just feed them. They had three meals a day, each with five steamed buns. If they couldn't finish the food, Zhang Hulan asked them to take it home.

Zhang Hulan received a lot of praise from the villagers, who all said she was generous.

Of course, there are also people who are jealous, saying that she is a spendthrift woman.

Zhang Hulan pretended not to hear these words, as long as they were not said to her face.

After the house was built, there was still a lot of garbage in front of and behind the house that needed to be dealt with.

Not long after the last tile on the roof was put on, when the villagers were helping to clean up the garbage in front of and behind the house, the sky suddenly darkened.

The villagers all looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were gathering.

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder...

Zhao Guoliang widened his eyes and shouted, "It's going to rain..."

The villagers all looked up, and a raindrop fell on one of them's face.

The villagers looked excited, "It's raining...it's raining...it's raining..."

More raindrops fell from the sky, and it hurt a little when they hit their faces. But all the villagers raised their heads and greeted the raindrops with their faces.

The bean-sized raindrops fell to the ground with a crackling sound, and disappeared without a trace in an instant, as if they were greedily swallowed by the hungry mouth of the earth.

Each drop of rain was like a tiny bomb, splashing small water droplets, raising the dust on the ground high up, and filling the air with a strong smell of earth.

“Clatter…”

The rain got heavier and heavier, and in less than a quarter of an hour it was already a downpour.

The rain water on the ground began to gather, sweeping the mud on the ground and flowing to lower places.