Shi Lei raised the rabbits he brought back in the collapsed pit, turning the pit into a rabbit house, and put the chickens, ducks, and geese back in their original places.

When he returned at noon, he caught two pheasants and handed them to Shi Lei, who was feeding rabbits. Unlike usual, Shi Lei didn't simply take the pheasants and go back to his own business.

Instead, he looked hesitant and uncertain, his eyes darting around. The pheasant he was holding fluttered in his hand, but he didn't react. All signs indicated that something was wrong with Shi Lei.

Xiaoyue watched Shi Lei with great interest, but Shi Lei didn't say anything in the end. After a while, he picked up the pheasant, turned around, and ran away.

Li Qianqian saw her brother and Xiaoyue through the window. She knocked on the window frame, and Xiaoyue looked into the room. She then saw Li Qianqian waving to her.

Li Qianqian pulled Xiaoyue to a secluded spot in the vestibule and whispered mysteriously in her ear, "You're probably going to have to spend some money."

Xiaoyue looked at Li Qianqian with suspicion.

Li Qianqian held Xiaoyue's hand and said with a smile, "My brother and Lu Xiaomei."

"Um?"

"Yes, that's what I mean. My brother wants to talk to you about his marriage, but he can't bring himself to say it." Li Qianqian smiled like a busybody.

"That's your brother! You're just laughing at him and not even trying to help him?"

"I've helped him with everything I could. He'll have to handle the rest himself. I can't expect him to tell me how to live after we're married!" Li Qianqian said nonchalantly.

Xiaoyue smiled and tapped Li Qianqian's forehead, saying, "Okay, you're right."

It's no wonder Li Lei couldn't bring himself to say it. Xiao Yue looked around the house; there were too many people and not enough rooms. Li Lei didn't even have a house to live in if he wanted to get married. If Li Lei and Lu Xiaomei lived together, she couldn't even provide a house for both of them.

Xiaoyue thought for a moment and then asked Li Qianqian, "Is your house still habitable?"

When asked about Li Qianqian's home, Li Qianqian immediately stopped smiling and hesitated before saying, "Yes, it's possible, but let's not even talk about how the house is in disrepair. Once my father goes back, he'll have to put on a show. My brother can't really beat my father to death."

Xiaoyue patted Li Qianqian and said thoughtfully, "Let me handle this. Don't worry, I'll definitely be able to prepare a home for your brother."

After washing her hands in the kitchen and changing into a new outfit, Xiaoyue said to Li Qianqian, "I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back for dinner tonight."

Xiaoyue arrived at Gao Sheng's house. As soon as she reached the courtyard, Aunt Gao came out to greet her from afar, much more enthusiastic than the last time she visited. She pulled Xiaoyue into the house; the antique display shelves were gone, and the grand chair had been replaced by a square stool.

Gao Lei and Gao Yu were also at home. When they saw Xiao Yue arrive, they came out as well. Gao Lei brewed Xiao Yue a cup of coarse-leaf Longjing tea. Only Gao Sheng wasn't home. Xiao Yue smiled and asked, "Isn't Uncle Gao home?"

"Yes, yes," Aunt Gao hurriedly stood up. "I'll go and call your uncle over right away."

Gao Lei sat opposite Xiaoyue, twirling his teacup in his hand, and asked, trying to make conversation, "Do you need something from my father?"

Xiaoyue looked at Gao Lei frankly and asked, "What are your plans? Can you still go to that academy?"

"I don't know. We still don't know which group went to that academy. It's definitely not the group that went to Seven Star Mountain. The soldiers who went to Seven Star Mountain didn't disturb the people at all. They're completely different from the group that went to the academy." Realizing that she had said too much, she smiled apologetically at Xiaoyue.

At this moment, Gao Yu leaned on Gao Lei's shoulder and asked Xiao Yue, "Can you still do your sewing work?"

Xiaoyue raised her gaze a little higher, looking at Gao Yu, and said while thinking, "It's hard to say. If that Wanghuitou clothing shop can still buy clothes, then it can work. But after being disturbed by that soldier, it's hard to say. We'll have to go to the county to check it out tomorrow or the day after."

"If you're going to the county, just let me know, and I'll go with you to see how things are being handled at the academy," Gao Lei said quietly, putting down his cup.

"OK."

The three of them were silent for a while, and then Aunt Ge finally brought Gao Sheng back.

Xiaoyue stood up and asked Gao Sheng, "Uncle Gao, are you busy?"

Gao Lei offered his seat to Gao Sheng, who said as he sat down, "I'm not in a hurry, do you have something to do?"

"I also want to build a house."

“Sure, tell me where you want to build it and what kind you want to build it. The price is the same as before: a thatched hut is four taels of silver, a brick house is ten taels of silver, and a house with a brick wall covering the entire courtyard is thirty taels of silver.”

Xiaoyue smiled and said, "This time I want to build a house with a green roof, one with three rooms and one with five rooms."

Gao Sheng stared intently at Xiaoyue for a moment, then suddenly felt something was amiss and quickly looked away from Xiaoyue's face. "A three-room house with a green roof costs ten taels of silver, while a five-room house with two side rooms costs thirty-five taels."

Xiaoyue wanted to tell Gaosheng that she didn't need a side room, but when she thought about having a side room so that she would have a place to work if there was any work to do in the future, she didn't object.

"Okay, I'll pay a deposit of twenty taels first. When can we start building the house?"

Gao Sheng said, "It will take another half month. Although it is already the beginning of spring, the frozen soil in the ground has not thawed yet. It will be at least until the awakening of insects. It will be another half month before we can build houses."

Xiaoyue took out twenty taels of silver from her purse, handed it to Aunt Gao, and then went to Xu Fanyuan's house.

After Xu Fanyuan returned home from Qixing Mountain, he did not go to Xiaoyue's house. Xiaoyue happened to want to ask about the village chief's homestead, so she took the initiative to come to Xu Fanyuan's house.

As soon as Xiaoyue entered the Xu family's gate, she saw Xu Fanyuan tidying up the trellises in the yard, picking out the bad ones one by one and putting the good ones out to dry. He then saw Xiaoyue arrive.

He greeted her happily and invited Xiaoyue into the house.

While Xu's mother was picking beans with Bai Hongmei, Village Chief Xu used a winnowing basket to put the picked beans into a sack. Xu Fanyuan led Xiaoyue into the house. Village Chief Xu put down his work and asked Xiaoyue, "You're not one to sit idle. Tell me, what's the matter?"

Xiaoyue smiled and came over to Bai Hongmei's side, where she and Xu's mother picked beans together. As they picked, she said, "I also want to build two houses. One is planned to be built near Little Tiger Head's place."

The house faces the water and backs to the mountains. In the summer, we can catch some chicks to raise, which will earn us some money. We also need to see if the town has any regulations regarding whether there are any restrictions on building a house there if we register our household there.”

Village Chief Xu picked up the winnowing basket again and said with a smile, "Who knows? Let Xu Fanyuan go to town to ask tomorrow. We haven't been to town since the New Year."

Xiaoyue said, "I also want to go to town to take a look. I'll come pick up Brother Xu tomorrow."

"Sure!"

Xiaoyue followed Xu's mother and Bai Hongmei to finish picking up the remaining half bag of beans before returning home.

Xiaoyue pushed open the door, and there were several people sitting inside. Xiaoyue didn't recognize any of them. She looked at Li Qianqian suspiciously, and Li Qianqian put on a half-crying, half-laughing expression and whispered in Xiaoyue's ear, "They're here to propose marriage."

Xiaoyue looked at the strangers inside the house and asked, "Where did you come from?"

A short, plump woman said, "We are from the village next to Ge Dalin's wife."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue felt relieved and sat down on the stool. "Where's Lu Xiaomei? Why are you the only one entertaining guests in the room?" Her question made Li Qianqian blush.