Xu Fanyuan thought Xiaoyue wanted to ask something. He also knew about the land reclamation. Although the village chief was Old Man Xu, Old Man Xu had entrusted Xu Fanyuan with all the big and small errands.

Xu Fanyuan then looked up at Xiaoyue's burning gaze, as if he were that wasteland, and said to Xiaoyue with a smile, "The court of Mu Kingdom originally encouraged land reclamation, especially since our Juli City is the only territory ruled by a different king, Fengyunyi."

At the beginning of this year, the imperial court issued three consecutive edicts encouraging people to reclaim wasteland for farming. For the first three years of land reclamation, no taxes were required. After three years, taxes would be paid according to the land's grade: first-grade land required five dan of grain, second-grade land three dan, and lowest-grade land one dan.

Xu Fanyuan continued, "The land at the foot of Xiao Ma Hu Tou Mountain is all uncultivated, but it's quite far from the village. The villagers are unwilling to go that far to cultivate the land, fearing that they won't be able to take care of it when it's time to harvest, or that it might get lost. If you are cultivating the land, mark the four corners of the land with branches or stones to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Xiaoyue thought about it and realized that clearing the land was a must, and it had to be done quickly. If necessary, she could plant some seeds in the fall, and the cleared land would be hers the following year.

Then Xu Fanyuan said, "You can plant some ramie. It's easy to harvest, and it's easy to dry near the water. You can buy semi-finished products later. It would be even better if you could buy a loom. You can weave cloth, and there are people who come to collect it. You can also sell it in town."

Before Xiaoyue could speak, Ge Erping continued, "Useless at everything, but the best at eating. And you call that land reclamation? It's probably even more desolate then." He pursed his lips, stomped around the small garden for a bit, and left.

When they reached the gate, they turned back and said, "I have to tell my mother and ask her where that money came from."

He then shouted at Gao Lei, "Don't be fooled by her. Where did she get the money to build a house?" He then shouted at Gao Lei again, "Gao Lei, be more careful."

Watching her departing figure, Xiaoyue said again, "I have something else to tell you. You have to include the main gate in the house construction. Make sure you build me a gate that no one else can enter my house without permission." Xiaoyue shouted in the direction Ge Erping had left.

As Gao Lei watched Ge Erping leave, he said to Xiaoyue, "Let's go to my house to discuss the house repairs."

Xiaoyue knew that Gao Lei was doing this for her own good, so she readily agreed, adding, "The money I have comes from selling Ganoderma lucidum."

Xu Fanyuan nodded, "It's good that there's a way to make money. At least no one will starve. Alright, we came here without even having breakfast this morning. Now that the problem is solved, we should go. After you finish eating, don't forget to go to Gao Lei's house and have a good discussion with his father about the construction of your house."

Xiaoyue agreed and saw the two off. When she got to the roadside, she saw Xiaodouding coming.

I took the leftover porridge from yesterday, added a few drops of oil, lit the fire, stir-fried it in a pot, and served two bowls of rice with it.

After Xiaoyue finished eating, she laid a mat on the newly built kang (a heated brick bed), then went to the garden and used a fork to turn over the soil, before pouring on the burnt wood ash.

After tidying up the yard, Xiaoyue arrived at Gao Lei's house. As she entered the Gao family's yard, Aunt Gao, with her slightly plump figure and still charming demeanor, came out to greet her. She wore a slightly worn ginger-yellow upper garment that reached her waist, and a matching eight-blessing skirt, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. She wore embroidered shoes made of blue silk and walked lightly towards Xiaoyue.

With a smile on his face, before Xiaoyue could even get close, he reached out and took her hands, then affectionately led her into the house.

Old Man Ge's house has four rooms. The middle room is the living room, which is actually the dining area. The east room is the main room where the old couple lived, and there is also an inner room inside the east room. The west room is the room where Ge Erping lived.

The Gao family's house was different. Upon entering, there was a living room, and along one wall was a display shelf. Xiaoyue couldn't distinguish the bottles and bowls on it. Two money trees stood on either side of the display shelf.

On the right is a row of wooden sofas and chairs, with a tea table in front of the armchairs.

On the west side is a landscape painting, with two armchairs underneath and a small square table between them, about the same height as the armrests.

Xiaoyue had heard before that Aunt Gao had worked as a head maid in a wealthy family when she was young.

Aunt Gao took a small stool from behind the display shelf and handed it to Xiaoyue, saying, "I'll go to the kitchen to make you some tea," and walked towards the kitchen without stopping.

Xiaoyue went to the door and looked around, and found that Aunt Gao had not gone to the kitchen, but had gone to the garden.

Just as Xiaoyue was at a loss, Gao Lei came out of the west room.

Seeing Xiaoyue alone in his living room, he wanted to be happy, but he also felt he shouldn't get too carried away, so he simply went back to the west room.

Gao Lei came out of the west room somewhat awkwardly, holding a candy in one hand, and said a little embarrassedly, "This is candy for you."

Xiaoyue took the candy, put it in her pocket, and planned to give it to Xiaodouding on her way back.

Gao Lei paced around his living room, feeling lost and helpless. He had always dreamed of being in the same room with Xiao Yue, but now that the day had come, Gao Lei felt that nothing was right.

He didn't even know where to put his hands, or which leg to step with first. Xiaoyue looked at the bewildered Gao Lei and called out softly.

The shout startled Gao Lei, but he quickly calmed down. Once calm, Gao Lei pointed to the armchair under the landscape painting, gesturing for Xiaoyue to sit down.

Xiaoyue glanced almost imperceptibly at the small stool Aunt Ge had prepared for her, smiled, her eyebrows furrowing almost inaudibly, then smiled broadly and said emotionlessly, "I'd better wait outside."

Gao Lei also noticed the small stool and, embarrassed, didn't know how to explain it to Xiaoyue. He scratched his head, eager to get rid of this awkward situation. After racking his brains, he finally found a topic to talk about and said, "My dad is in the backyard. There are wooden doors and windows made by my dad there. There are also cabinets. My dad and Yang Dahua from the backyard are building houses for people."

Xiaoyue looked back at Gao Lei with a puzzled expression, wondering why Aunt Gao pretended to be so hospitable and invited me into the living room when she knew I was looking for someone to fix my house, yet then ignored me.

Xiaoyue kept this question in mind but never asked it aloud. She silently told herself: Not everyone is obligated to like you.

In fact, Xiaoyue and Aunt Gao didn't have much contact even when they were alive. In her previous life, Aunt Gao didn't need to work in the fields at all, and Uncle Gao was very capable, one of the best in Niukou Village.

Xiaoyue couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. Gao Lei walked ahead, and Xiaoyue followed a few steps behind him to the backyard, where Uncle Gao was planing wood.

After planing once, I picked up the wood, adjusted the line with one eye, and then placed it on a flat surface and planed it again.

It wasn't until Gao Lei stood in front of Uncle Gao and pointed to Xiao Yue that Uncle Gao turned to look at Xiao Yue, put down the plane in his hand, and casually took the charcoal pencil that was tucked behind his ear.