The village chief laughed and scolded, "Daniu, I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you interrupting me? You are too impatient!"

The other villagers all laughed when they heard this. Xu Daniu chuckled twice and scratched his head embarrassedly.

The village chief continued, "It rained a lot the past few days, and no one could even leave the house. The Xu family came to me and decided to build a road for the village!"

When the villagers heard this, they were all excited and started talking about it.

"Is this true?"

"It must be true. The village chief said so. How could it be false?"

"The Xu family is truly kindhearted. They've been helping the village with their earnings, and now they're helping build roads. This is a big deal!"

"Yes, everyone knows the Xu family's kindness and righteousness. Once this road is built, we will all benefit from it!"

Some elderly people raised their hands excitedly and said, "Everyone should thank the Xu family for making such a great contribution to the village!"

For a moment, the villagers all bowed to the old man to express their gratitude, and words of gratitude could be heard everywhere.

The old man spoke up and said, "Don't be polite, everyone. I should do this. Since my family has the ability, why not do it? This will not only be convenient for everyone, but also for myself. It is also a good deed to do good deeds. I believe that the roads in our village will be easier to travel in the future, and the future development will not be bad. As long as everyone lives well, I will be happy!"

The villagers were deeply moved after hearing this. Some of them pulled their children out and said excitedly, "Quick, thank you, Grandpa Dashan. Kowtow to him."

The other villagers followed suit, and for a while, a group of little kids in the open space were kowtowing to the old man. They didn't understand what he meant, but they knew that Grandpa Dashan wanted to build a road, but since their parents wanted them to kowtow, they just did as they were told.

The old man hurriedly said, "What are you doing? Hurry up and wake up the children. The ground is cold!" Then he helped up the little boy closest to him and brushed the dirt off his knees.

The village chief said, "Brother, you deserve such gratitude from the villagers. In fact, even I have to thank you. As the village chief, this is also my achievement."

The old man smiled and said, "Having a village chief like you who cares about the villagers wholeheartedly is a blessing for Xujia Village!"

The village chief waved his hand and said, "You're joking, brother. A village chief has to shoulder his responsibilities. It's my duty to do these things." He then turned and shouted to the villagers who were still whispering, "There's one more thing I need to make clear to everyone. Don't feel bad! The Xu family plans to pay the road workers 25 wen each, which is a few wen more than the greenhouse workers!"

After hearing this, the villagers were quiet for a moment. The village chief thought that the villagers had some objections and his heart was in his throat.

A man said loudly, "What's the big deal? Working in the greenhouse is much easier than building roads, and we usually have more free time. It's normal for them to get paid more!"

Xu Daniu also said, "Exactly. I work in the greenhouse, and not only have I not lost weight, I've gained a lot of weight. Besides, we do long-term work, so how can we compare?"

"That's right, this road was originally built for our village. If we still care about this, then are we still human?"

For a moment, everyone felt that this was as it should be, and there was no unhappiness on their faces!

The village chief was very pleased and said, "We are all sensible people in this village. What you said is right. We can't be so superficial!"

"That's right, we are not the kind of people who don't know what's good for them!"

The old man heard what the villagers said and said with a smile, "Thank you for your support. I'd like to ask everyone to see if there are any relatives who don't have work to do. If you don't mind, you can come and work."

Some young wives and aunts were delighted because their elder brothers from their mother's side were still resting at home. It was just right that the Xu family was building the road this time, so they could earn some money to go home before the New Year.

At once, the villagers agreed in unison.

The village chief asked everyone to disperse, as he also needed to go and decide on materials like sand. The old man took the village chief home with him, and asked Uncle Xu and the village chief to drive the ox cart towards the town together.

After Uncle Xu and the village chief left, the old man told his family what had just happened in the meeting.

Wang said, "Fortunately, the villagers in our village are sensible. Otherwise, even though we are building this road for our own families, we still feel a little uncomfortable."

Everyone else in the family nodded. Anyone who did good things and was blamed would probably feel aggrieved, but this situation should not occur in Xujia Village.

In the afternoon, Uncle Xu saw that the road was easier to walk on, so he planned to drive the carriage towards the town. It was time for the children to go home.

Uncle Xu had not returned in the afternoon, but Uncle Xu II and the village chief had returned.

The two of them were exhausted from the journey, so Wang quickly asked Zhang to pour two glasses of water.

After they took a sip of water, Uncle Xu Er said, "Dad, the village chief and I went to a place that sells sand and gravel and asked. The owner said that roads paved with rammed earth and stone slabs are sturdy, less likely to break, and smooth. However, the price is higher than those paved with sand and gravel alone."

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then we'll fix it as planned. Then you go talk to the boss tomorrow and ask him to deliver it!"

The village chief said, "Okay, okay, then I'll go with the second son tomorrow. Their supplies are ready, so there's no need to wait. There will definitely be a lot of relatives in the village who need to work, so we'll definitely be able to fix it before the New Year!"

The old man said, "Village Chief, there's one more thing I want to talk about. It's about feeding the workers who are coming to build the road. We may not be able to feed so many people at once!"

The village chief said, "I'll explain it clearly, and then let them bring their own food!"

After everything was discussed, the village chief went back.

Wang and the others planned to cook dinner. The children would be going home today, so they had to make more delicious food.

Not long after, Uncle Xu came back driving a horse-drawn carriage. As soon as he stopped the carriage, the boys in the carriage jumped out one by one.

Xiaowu shouted happily: "Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, we are back!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the kitchen heard the noise and hurried out. Wang's face was so happy that wrinkles appeared on her face. She came forward and hugged Xiaowu in her arms, saying, "I'm glad you're back, I'm glad you're back!"

Zhang pulled Wenwu and Zhiyong over, patted their heads, and said, "How have you been in town these past few days? Have you been taking care of your brothers?"

Xu Wenwu smiled faintly and replied, "Yes, that's great. The owner of the barbecue restaurant is very kind to us and cares about us. My brothers are all very obedient!"

Zhang smiled with relief and asked, "Have you fallen behind in your studies?"

Xu Zhiyong spoke first: "Mom, you don't know, my eldest brother is often praised by the teacher in the academy, and even the dean admires him very much!"

The third brother Xu Zihao said: "Yes, the teacher thinks highly of the eldest brother, and the teacher also said that the most mischievous one is Xiaowu!"

Mrs. Li nodded at Xiaowu and said, "I knew you'd get itchy if you didn't discipline yourself for a day. What did your mother teach you? I told you to listen to your brother and the teacher at the academy, but you ignored them, didn't you?"