Lu Chuan replied, "So-so."

After saying that, she handed the rabbit to Han Qi, indicating that he should take it inside to deal with it. She then picked up a broom and swept up the dead branches and leaves that Xu Han had just cleared out and the pruned branches into a pile.

Working together, the two finally finished pruning all the flowers outside the yard as it was getting dark.

I'll find some time tomorrow when the weather is cooler to trim the flowers in the front and back yards.

We also need to fertilize all these flowers and plants once to ensure they bloom later. Otherwise, they won't get enough nutrients and the flowers won't grow well; they'll be sparse and unsightly.

After finishing all that, the two were about to go home when they saw a large group of people approaching from afar. There were people of all ages and backgrounds, and it turned out that the people who had been clearing the foundation on the other side of the valley had returned.

It has to be said that it's quite a sight to see these people walking together. There's something good about having a large group; they all have a different kind of presence.

Zhu Chunfeng walked at the front and spoke as soon as he approached the two, "Master and Madam, this afternoon we have cleared out about ten rooms, but some details still need to be handled and improved. It's getting dark and we can't see very clearly, so I brought everyone back first."

Lu Chuan replied, "Yes, you did a great job. Go back and wash your face and rest for a while. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay, we'll go right away."

After everyone finished speaking, they all entered the courtyard. As everyone walked in, the originally large courtyard instantly became crowded with people.

People were scattered in various corners of the courtyard, some squatting and some sitting, making it particularly lively.

Xu Han felt a little uncomfortable at first, thinking it was too chaotic, but then she thought that it was only temporary, so she didn't say anything more.

Tonight's dinner was cooked by Dan Niang again, with Sister-in-law Li helping out and Granny Ma in charge of tending the fire.

Dinner was prepared quickly, with six dishes, each in a very large portion. The most eye-catching dish was a huge bowl of braised rabbit meat, made from six rabbits. It was all cooked in one go, but there were too many people, so each person couldn't get much. Fortunately, there were other dishes, so everyone was able to eat their fill.

The servants ate dinner in the backyard. There was no table, and each person was served a full bowl of vegetables and rice. After finishing their meal, they would have a bowl of soup to finish the last bite.

Xu Han's family, as always, neatly arranged their food on plates and ate their dinner in the main room.

During the meal, Xu Han picked up a piece of braised rabbit meat and praised, "Dan Niang's cooking skills are quite good. This braised rabbit tastes delicious. The other dishes she has made in the past two days have also tasted pretty good. It seems that I can relax a bit in the future. If you want to eat anything, just ask her to make it."

Lu Chuan chewed the food in his mouth and said indifferently, "It's not as good as yours. I still like your cooking the most. But it must be tiring for you to cook every day. You can only cook occasionally in the future. You must not overwork yourself."

Upon hearing this, the others glared at Lu Chuan with displeasure, while Mu'er pouted angrily, wanting to retort.

She thought to herself, "Waaah, what should I do? I still want to eat my mother's cooking more; it's so delicious. But I don't want her to work too hard, and I can't bear to do that for her. It's such a difficult choice!"

But thinking of her father's fists, she chose to keep quiet. If she said she wanted to eat her mother's cooking, her mother would definitely continue to cook. But her father felt sorry for her mother, and she would inevitably get a beating. So she should just keep quiet. Besides, it's not like she won't be able to eat it anymore. Didn't her father say that her mother would only cook occasionally in the future?

However, Ze'er didn't think as much as Mu'er did, and blurted out, "I still prefer Mother's cooking. Mother's cooking is delicious. Dan Niang's cooking is not as good as Mother's."

Before Ze'er could finish speaking, Lu Chuan's piercing gaze, as if he wanted to devour her, shot over. Ze'er shrank back in fear and dared not continue speaking.

The Taoist priest standing to the side wasn't afraid of Lu Chuan and immediately said, "I disagree, I protest."

Seeing that the sparks between the group were getting more and more intense, Xu Han stepped in to defuse the situation, saying, "Alright, alright, stop arguing. After this period, I'll still be cooking. Anyway, at worst, I'll just have them prepare the ingredients and I'll just stir-fry them myself. It's not much trouble."

And I don't need to wash dishes or pots or anything, it's very easy.

Or I could cook one or two dishes to satisfy your cravings, or I could teach Danniang a bit while I'm cooking, so she can improve her culinary skills.”

Upon hearing this, everyone thought it was a great idea and nodded in approval.

"I have no objection, that's fine."

"I agree, let's do it this way."

The group quickly made a decision, one sentence at a time.

Xu Han actually enjoys cooking for everyone, and seeing everyone eat so heartily gives her a great sense of accomplishment.

Once this was settled, Xu Han immediately changed the subject and instructed her youngest son to fetch the design drawings she had placed on her desk.

After receiving the order, Ze'er ran into the room eagerly and fawned over her to get the design drawings.

"Mother, here you go."

Xu Han took the design drawings from Ze'er, unfolded them, and placed them on a clean table. She then began to introduce her design to everyone.

"Take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be changed. If you have any suggestions, please let us all brainstorm and work together to make this house even better."

The Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao carefully examined the blueprints spread out on the table and pondered them intently.

Grandpa Zhao said, "I think this design is very good, but the warehouse could be bigger so that it can hold more grain in the future."

“Yes, didn’t you say you were going to build a workshop in the future? Why don’t we just leave this space empty and build it whenever we need it?”

Xu Han thought about it and agreed, but something seemed off. "I think it would be better to put the workshop next to the house. Let's use this place as their resting area. Otherwise, it would be inconvenient for them to live if the workshop is also placed in this courtyard."

"That works too, let's build it like this! The yard is big enough to dry grain, and the warehouse is big enough to store things, it's great."

"Yes, leave space next to the house so that if a workshop is built in the future, it can be built next to it."

Xu Han said, "Well, the valley there is quite large, so we can build a few more houses. Right now, let's build the most important ones first. We can build more later if needed."

I think the bricks and tiles we bought this time won't be enough to build all these houses; we might need to buy some more.