Unfortunately, the scorching heat emanating from the person behind her caused Jiang Yimian's back to feel a burning sensation.
She belatedly realized that their posture seemed a bit ambiguous, and just as she was about to distance herself from them, the road continued to bump.
He slammed into the chest of the person behind him, and a muffled groan came from the tip of his ear.
At that moment, a large hand covered his waist, and Lu Cijian's voice was filled with helplessness, "Don't move around, the road is bumpy, be careful not to fall off the horse."
Jiang Yimian paused, gave a perfunctory reply, and didn't dare to move again. She relaxed and casually leaned against the person behind her, finding a comfortable position. After all, the saddle was so uncomfortable that her thighs ached, and any movement would cause pain.
She couldn't be bothered to think about anything else at this moment.
Lu Cijian stared at the person in his arms for a while before slightly raising the corners of his lips, his tense body unconsciously relaxing.
Finally, after traveling for more than two hours on the mountain road, we saw the neat rows of houses in the distance and the wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.
Jiang Yimian breathed a sigh of relief and dismounted early before entering the village.
Several women who were talking at the village entrance rushed to greet Jiang Yimian when they saw her return.
"Oh my, Jiang girl, you're back! I heard you went to do business with the Lin family again. That's amazing!"
"That's impressive! I saw a lot of timber and bricks being transported from the foot of the mountain. It hasn't been long, and you're already living in brick and tile houses. When are you planning to start construction?"
"Yeah, why did they bring in so much? Weren't we just going to build a few rooms? I think the bricks and timber are enough to build two big courtyards."
Several women gathered around Jiang Yimian, asking her questions curiously.
Madam Wen, however, became curious about other things. "Jiang girl, what kind of business do you and that young master Lin do? Didn't I hear you do business with the restaurants in town?"
She had wanted to ask for a long time, but didn't know how to bring it up. Today, seeing that a lot of bricks and tiles had been delivered, she was really curious.
Those bricks and tiles were more than enough to build a large house, yet the Jiang family was still having them transported, clearly indicating they had other plans.
Jiang Yimian just smiled and didn't say anything more. She went straight to the thatched hut at the foot of the mountain with Lu Cijian.
It was just past noon, and Zhao Dashu and the others were about to have lunch after a busy morning when they saw Jiang Yimian and Lu Cijian return, leading a tall horse.
Wang Xiaohei's eyes lit up. He went up and stroked the horse for a while before asking curiously, "Sister Mian, Brother Cijian, come and eat! Why did you all come back together?"
One of them went to the county yesterday, and the other disappeared without a trace. They were worried about each other, but who would have thought that they would both come back today.
Zhao Dashu and Zhao Erhei were also filled with curiosity.
Lu Cijian remained calm and said indifferently, "We ran into each other by chance and came back together."
Jiang Yimian glanced at him but didn't say much. She sat down to eat and asked about her family.
Zhao Dashu just chuckled and said, "Sister Mian, don't worry, everything's fine at home. Uncle Dayong is overseeing the house construction, and everything is going smoothly. The village chief is also a responsible person. He found a bricklayer early this morning, and we plan to start construction tomorrow."
Jiang Yimian nodded and then asked about the villagers' help.
Zhao Dashu just smiled and said, "Sister Mian, don't worry. The village chief and Uncle Dayong have already chosen the men. They're probably going to inform the men in the village now. They're paying forty coins a day, no meals included. Everyone is very satisfied."
Jiang Yimian nodded and said nothing more.
With the help of Liu Dayong and the village chief, she didn't have to worry about building the house.
*
For several days in a row, Qing Shi Village was bustling with activity, mainly focused on building a house for the Jiang family.
Because the house construction and workshop were carried out at the same time, apart from the bricklayers hired from other villages, almost all the men in the village who were at home came to help the Jiang family, except for the Li family.
On her way back from the Jiang family, Wen was humming a little tune with a smile on her face. Before returning to the Sun family, she turned around and went straight to the Li family.
Only Chen Guixiang and Li Chunhua were in the Li family courtyard at this moment. Their hands were red and they were scratching them in discomfort, and it was unclear what they were doing.
She peeked into the courtyard from outside and saw only a few piles of messy firewood and heard some chickens crowing. She didn't find anything to make konjac.
She asked curiously, "Chen Guixiang, weren't you going to make konjac? How did it go? Did you finish making it?"
Upon seeing the person peeking out from the doorway, Chen Guixiang's furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and she said, "Didn't you go to the Jiang family to see them building a house? What do you want with me?"
Madam Wen just smiled and said, "I'm going to see how big the Jiang family's house is, and also to calculate how many copper coins my husband can earn after all this work. As for you, why don't you let your husband come and help?"
The Jiang family offered a high wage, and she hesitated at first. However, her husband was sent to help by Grandma Sun, which she was initially reluctant to do.
To her surprise, she brought back forty copper coins on the very first day, which made her extremely happy.
She found the Jiang family members much more agreeable, and naturally, she treated the "God of Wealth" who had given her copper coins well.
Chen Guixiang scoffed, "My man would never go to the Jiang family to do that exhausting work. The Jiang family is willing to pay you so much, so of course they'll treat you like livestock. My family doesn't need that kind of money."
If her man goes, who knows what trouble the Jiang family will cause!
Besides, she has a lot to do at home, so she doesn't need to earn those few dozen copper coins.
Wen was taken aback. She stared at Chen Guixiang and her daughter for a while before suddenly leaning closer and whispering, "You didn't actually make that konjac, did you?"
She didn't believe Chen Guixiang's words at all, that she didn't lack those few copper coins.
At this time of year, everyone is struggling, so if there's work to do and money to be made, everyone in the village is eager to go.
The Li family must be crazy not to help the Jiang family.
Chen Guixiang glanced at her and said irritably, "How am I supposed to make it? You better ask me for the recipe! Go away, seeing you reminds me of my old copper coins. Give me back those dozens of copper coins."
Upon hearing this, Wen stopped asking questions and turned to go straight back to the Sun family.
Seeing the person leave, Chen Guixiang spat on the ground under her breath, "Pah, what a bunch of idiots, bought off by the Jiang family with just a few copper coins. Just like all the other people in the village, they're all ignorant fools."
Li Chunhua looked at her swollen hands with some dissatisfaction. "Mom, my hands are so itchy. You and Dad can finish the rest."
If she had known that making konjac hands would be painful, she wouldn't have come to help.
Seeing the red marks all over her daughter's once fair hands, Chen Guixiang immediately said with heartache, "My daughter has really worked hard. Come on, rest. Your father and I will finish the rest. Tomorrow morning, you can continue to come with me to sell in other villages."
Li Chunhua nodded obediently, and after thinking for a while, she said, "After we sell everything, Mother, please give me some copper coins to buy some balm in town. My hands have been so sore from making konjac these past few days."
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