Chapter 64 Using a Shield
Xie Wanniang suddenly remembered that the Chen family was going to separate after the New Year, so she asked Wang Xiaozhi, "You and your brother-in-law were planning to move out and live on your own, when are you planning to build the house?"
"After the spring planting is over," Wang Xiaozhi sighed and said to Xie Wanniang, "I want to renovate the house to make it better, but Chen Zhao has many brothers, and we won't get much money when the family is divided."
As for her, although she received almost all of her parents' inheritance from Jiang Yuan after her father passed away, she didn't dare to openly spend the money because of her uncles and aunts in the Wang family.
Her mother and father both passed away from illness. Her mother had spent all the family's money, and when her father was being treated, her younger brother had to persuade him to sell the family's house and land.
Her father initially refused, preferring to suffer from illness himself rather than leave anything for Jiang Yuan.
It was the Wang family's eagerness to cause trouble that made him realize that if he didn't sell his land and house, everything he left behind would eventually be divided up by his brothers and nephews, and his two children wouldn't inherit a single blade of grass from him.
Rather than that, he felt he might as well use the pretext of seeking medical treatment to sell all the things in his house, and then secretly leave the money to Jiang Yuan and Wang Xiaozhi.
He had a good plan, but in the process of executing it, he was unknowingly led astray by Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan used most of the money from selling the house and land to buy medicine for him, while he secretly sent a small portion to Wang Xiaozhi.
The Wang family was struggling financially. The money left over from treating Wang's father's illness wasn't much, but it was enough for Chen Zhao and Wang Xiaozhi to buy a plot of land that wasn't too big or too small, and then build a few sturdy mud-brick houses.
Unfortunately, this money was given to Wang Xiaozhi privately by Jiang Yuan. If Chen Zhao and Wang Xiaozhi were to use this money, the Wang family, as well as Chen Zhao's brother and sister-in-law, and brother and sister-in-law, would inevitably suspect the source of the money they used to build the house.
The couple didn't want the Wang family to cause trouble, nor did they want the other members of the Chen family to accuse the elderly couple of favoritism and secretly subsidizing them. So they were torn between building a slightly worse house or announcing to the outside world that Jiang Yuan had lent them some money.
Upon hearing what Wang Xiaozhi said, Xie Wanniang immediately understood what Wang Xiaozhi was worried about.
If the house isn't built sturdily, Wang Xiaozhi and her family will likely have to tear down the old house and rebuild it before Chen Fang can even arrange a marriage proposal. This is obviously not cost-effective, and the safety risks will be much greater during their stay.
But if they claim to the outside world that they borrowed money from Jiang Yuan, then the Wang family will almost certainly, without a doubt, insist that Jiang Yuan secretly hid the savings left by Wang's father.
They were just looking for an excuse to leech off Jiang Yuan. If Jiang Yuan not only had the money to build a big brick house, but also had the money to lend to Wang Xiaozhi, it would be strange if the Wang family, who were jealous, would let Jiang Yuan go.
She thought for a moment, "You could say my sister borrowed it from me."
Wang Xiaozhi was taken aback.
Xie Wanniang said, "As for where my money came from, no one in this village should have the right to ask, right?"
Compared to the villagers, she spent money extravagantly, but she was capable. Even without considering the two hundred taels of silver she earned for embroidery (which included a hush money fee), she could still save at least three and a half taels of silver every month.
She kept thirty taels for herself to build a house because the house she wanted to build would not only have a main house, an east wing, a storeroom, and a kitchen, but also a side room and a rear room.
With so many rooms, the amount of bricks and tiles used is already considerable.
Not to mention, she also plans to take an unconventional approach and make some modifications to her future home.
Unlike her, Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Zhao only planned to build three main rooms, three east wing rooms, two storerooms, and one kitchen using adobe bricks.
Mud-brick houses, also known as adobe houses, are the most common and inexpensive housing option for ordinary people who cannot afford or are unwilling to buy bricks and tiles.
The main material for the walls of this type of house is adobe bricks (mud bricks) made from a mixture of soil, water, and straw.
Mud bricks do not need to be fired; they are simply dried, stacked to form walls, and then the gaps are filled with mortar. Families wishing to build a house can make them themselves, greatly reducing construction costs.
Including the cost of buying the land from the village, Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Zhao will only spend six or seven taels of silver at most to build this house.
When the Chen family divided their assets, they would at least receive two or three taels of silver. After being married for many years, they would have saved at least one or two taels of silver in private savings. So, at most, they could only claim to have borrowed three taels of silver from her.
As for Jiang Yuan, Xie Wanniang knew him well enough to know that he wasn't afraid of the Wang family. Even if they came to cause trouble, he could make them come in a huff and then slink away with their tails between their legs.
He wouldn't fall into the trap of having to explain to the Wang family and other villagers where his money came from. He would only use ruthless methods to make the Wang family fear him.
Of course, Xie Wanniang wouldn't tell Wang Xiaozhi this. She didn't want anyone to know yet, but she actually knew Jiang Yuan, this cold-faced young man, very well.
After discussing building the house, the two chatted for a while about the latest gossip in the village.
Xie Wanniang didn't like villagers coming to her place because if too many people came, her embroidery time would be greatly reduced, which would prevent her from working at full capacity to earn money.
However, Xie Wanniang still enjoyed the occasional casual chats to relax, especially since it was Wang Xiaozhi, with whom she had a good relationship, who came over to chat with her.
The two chatted until almost noon before Wang Xiaozhi reluctantly stood up, saying, "I have to go back now; it's my turn to cook at my house today."
After she said that, Xie Wanniang felt it was inappropriate to keep her there for dinner any longer. She saw Wang Xiaozhi to the door and said, "Don't tell anyone else that I'm going to teach Yuanyuan embroidery. After you separate your households, you can send Yuanyuan to my place."
The Chen family has more than just Chen Yuan as a girl, not to mention that they have a large family and many relatives. She didn't want Wang Xiaozhi to go back excitedly, and then the news would spread and a large group of women and children who wanted to learn embroidery would suddenly flock to her place.
She's too busy to have the time and energy to teach others step by step, let alone the fact that they're following a group theory approach.
Anyway, Chen Yuan is only four years old now, so it's not too late for her to start learning needlework next year.
Upon hearing Xie Wanniang's words, Wang Xiaozhi nodded vigorously to assure her, "Don't worry, I will definitely keep my mouth shut."
She left in a hurry, while Xie Wanniang locked the courtyard gate and went to the kitchen with Xiao Yang to prepare lunch.
It's cold now, and eating on the mountain can easily upset your stomach. Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan will be back at noon, so she prepared a simple lunch for four people.
Hand-pulled noodles, braised with pickled cabbage and minced meat, served with some pickled vegetables.
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