With so many people around today, Jiang Yuwei stir-fried a large pot of vegetables with bamboo shoots and pork, and also stir-fried two kinds of green vegetables. Then she took out half a rack of spare ribs and made a sweet and sour spare rib dish. Before it was even lunchtime, the workers were already staring at Jiang Yuwei's stove, itching to get started.

They were all farmers who couldn't afford meat dishes for ten days or half a month. Now that they were working here, they could eat two meat dishes in one meal. Everyone secretly resolved that even without the daily wage of twenty coins, they would still come to help every day. They didn't care about anything else, just being able to have a full meal here would be great.

Seeing that it was already noon and the food was ready, Jiang Yuwei took out the willow leaf buns she had made earlier, heated them up in the pot, and then invited everyone to eat first.

When everyone heard that it was time to eat, they rushed over and sat down. Because there were so many people, Jiang Yuwei arranged for them to sit at two tables. Once everyone was seated, Ning Zhao and Ning Wan busied themselves serving the dishes.

Since they were all farmers, they didn't pretend at this time. They picked up their chopsticks and began to wolf down their food. Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei was glad that she had cooked more, otherwise she was really afraid that there wouldn't be enough to eat.

While everyone was eating, Jiang Yuwei called the village head aside and whispered:

“Village head, as you know, my house caught fire yesterday. Now we live at the east end of the village, which is quite far from the village center. So, for safety reasons, I still want to build a brick house. However, I don’t have enough money right now, so I’ll just build a high stone wall for the backyard first. We can repair it later when we have more money. But we must build the front yard and these six rooms as a brick house.”

The village head nodded worriedly when he heard Jiang Yuwei say this:

"Qiu'er told me everything about your family's situation yesterday when she went back. Now your family is busy repairing the house and can't find the arsonist. It's good that you want to build a brick house. How about this, I'll go to town this afternoon to buy bricks and tiles for you."

Jiang Yuwei had the same idea, so she quickly took out five taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to the village head, smiling as she said:

"Then thank you very much, Village Head. There are many things I can't take care of properly now that we're building a house. I hope you can give me some pointers. Now that the house is finished, we don't plan to move elsewhere. We also want to get the land deed for the house as soon as possible. Please help me calculate the area and price so I can set aside some money."

The village head laughed:

"That's alright. I'll go back and draft the land deed in a bit. I'll go to town this afternoon and we can do it all at once. The land behind this house was originally passed down from your Ning family. Two taels of silver will be enough for the six rooms and the front yard."

Jiang Yuwei was relieved upon hearing this. She then took two taels of silver and handed it to the village head before busying herself with eating with Ning Huaizhi and the others.

As soon as Jiang Yuwei walked to the dining table, everyone praised her:

"The eldest son's wife's cooking skills are amazing."

“That’s right, that’s right. I ate at a restaurant in the city last year, and it couldn’t even compare to the eldest son’s wife’s cooking.”

"The boss is in for a treat."

"Yes, this is absolutely delicious!"

Just then, Chen Guixiang and Old Man Ning, who had just returned from the fields, walked over. Smelling the aroma of meat in the yard, both of them couldn't help but swallow. Hearing everyone noisily praising Jiang Yuwei's cooking, Chen Guixiang couldn't resist and stepped into the yard.

Old Man Ning still retained a sliver of reason. Seeing Chen Guixiang's actions, he grabbed her and whispered:

“You may be shameless, but I still have a sense of shame. Our son built his house, and not a single member of the Ning family helped. How can we possibly have the nerve to go in for a meal now?”

Chen Guixiang turned around and glared fiercely at Old Man Ning before cursing:

"I get angry just looking at your pathetic state. I am Ning Huaizhi's parents. I raised him with great difficulty and helped him raise two little bastards. Now I can't even have a meal at his house?"

Chen Guixiang shook off Old Man Ning's hand and walked into the yard without looking back. Old Man Ning looked helpless and had no choice but to hurry after her, since the aroma of meat in the yard was really irresistible.

Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to sit down, she saw Chen Guixiang walk in with an angry look on her face, and immediately stood up and stared at her.

Feeling a little uneasy under Jiang Yuwei's gaze, Chen Guixiang went straight over to greet the villagers who were eating, smiling as she said:

"You all worked so hard today building a house for the Ning family. Now that you've eaten, get back to work. I'll clear the table."

Hearing Chen Guixiang's words, which seemed to urge them to eat faster, everyone's faces showed some displeasure. Someone spoke up:

"Oh, Granny Chen, didn't you and the eldest son separate the family? Are you here to help out today?"

"I don't think so. Who would come to help during mealtimes?"

"That's right, that's right. If I were the host, I would definitely grab a broom and chase them out."

Hearing the taunts from the crowd, Chen Guixiang's face flushed red and then turned pale. Old Man Ning, who was following behind her, also felt ashamed and started pulling on Chen Guixiang from behind, trying to take her away.

Chen Guixiang steeled her heart, ignoring what others said about her. She hadn't eaten meat for over a month, and the little money left in the house had been stolen by her second son to gamble. Now that she saw meat, how could she possibly leave?

Chen Guixiang plopped down on the bench, pushing everyone aside, and snatched a pair of chopsticks from someone next to her, reaching out to chop the meat.

Jiang Yuwei suddenly remembered the day she married into the family, when she wanted to eat some meat but was bullied by Chen Guixiang and Sun Shi. Now she would definitely not let Chen Guixiang eat any of her family's meat.

Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei reached out and snatched the chopsticks from Chen Guixiang's hand, handing them back to the person who had given them to her. Then, she pulled Chen Guixiang up and laughed:

“Mother-in-law, there’s no need for you to come to my house and trouble yourself. Now that we’ve separated our households, we won’t trouble you with everything.”

Chen Guixiang glared at Jiang Yuwei, trying to break free from her grasp, while repeatedly shouting:

“I didn’t want to work hard either, but how can you live like this? Hiring people to do things and feeding them such good food. Our boss is unlucky. He was already injured, and then he married a spendthrift jinx like you. Now, the house is probably not even built yet, and you’ve squandered all the money.”

Seeing his mother scolding Jiang Yuwei like that, Ning Huaizhi's face turned cold, and he said in a deep voice:

"Mother, please stop making a fuss. Yuwei is the one who holds up this family. She arranges all the big and small matters in the family. We have already separated our households, so please don't interfere in our family affairs anymore."

Seeing her son defend Jiang Yuwei in front of everyone, Chen Guixiang became furious and started yelling at Ning Huaizhi again, pointing her finger at him:

"Fine, fine, you've forgotten your mother now that you have a wife. How could I have raised such an ingrate? I should have thrown you into the mountains to feed the wild animals back then, rather than raising you for nothing!"

Seeing Chen Guixiang continuing to make a scene, Jiang Yuwei decided not to tolerate it any longer and whispered in her ear:

“If you don’t want to take yesterday’s events to the authorities, then go home quietly and don’t try to take advantage of our eldest son’s family again. Otherwise, I will make sure you and Madam Sun spend the rest of your lives in jail.”