The wages were exceptionally high, indicating that the Song family was intentionally taking care of the villagers of Yegou Village. Once the villagers received the wages from the Song family, they wouldn't be able to say anything later, and the Song family was clearly trying to maintain good relations with the villagers.
"But the mountain road into our village is difficult to travel. How did the Song family manage to transport the building materials in?" Old Zhou asked curiously.
The village chief gave him a complicated look. "The steward of the Song family told me about this. They seem to want to widen the road so that oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages can come in."
The road construction is a good thing, as it will make transportation much more convenient. However, if another disaster occurs in the future, refugees will be able to enter more easily, so the village chief has mixed feelings.
"Why think so much? Since Master Song is willing to pay for the road repairs, we've benefited. As for whether there will be another disaster, that depends on God's will. We can't say for sure." Old Zhou was optimistic.
After the Lantern Festival, the Song family began digging the foundation. Zhou Laoda, like other villagers, registered with the village chief on the sixth day of the first lunar month and started work on the sixteenth.
The men all went to help the Song family build their house, leaving the women to do the work in the fields. Zhao Guihua took her five sons to the fields to turn the soil, and Zhao Guizhi, having recovered, also helped out.
Xingxing and Ruru sat on the edge of the field, eating dried fruit and watching them work.
Spring is rainy and the weather is damp and cold, so everyone only goes out to work on sunny days, since there are still more than two months until sowing.
When it rains, Zhao Guihua learns embroidery from Zhao Guizhi. This work is hard on the eyes and not easy, but the thought of earning money makes Zhao Guihua very motivated.
However, her skills were mediocre, and the handkerchiefs she embroidered didn't fetch a good price. After working for most of the month, she could only earn thirty coins at most, but it was better than nothing.
The construction of the house by Zhou Laoda has been going on for a while, and recently there has been a lot of light dust and rain, so they have been working hard in the rain. Zhao Guihua is worried that he will get rheumatism or arthritis from getting too wet, so she cooks ginger soup for him and sends it to him every morning and evening.
When the weather cleared up, the Song family notified the road to be opened. Although the Song family paid for people to repair the road, the villagers of Yegou Village also needed to use this road, so they felt embarrassed to abandon the project.
Zhao Guihua and other women in the village took hoes and sickles to help, and after a month of hard work, they finally managed to build a two-meter-wide road.
The oxcart carrying materials from the Song family entered the village the next day. From then on, horse-drawn carriages frequently came and went in the village. Many of the village children had never seen a horse-drawn carriage before, and they all flocked over to watch the excitement.
Xingxing and Ruru also ran over hand in hand to see the carriage. The two were just there to join in the fun and weren't particularly excited about the carriage.
Today, Master Song came to the village and saw all the children of Yegou Village gathered around. He then ordered the steward to scatter copper coins, showing his great wealth and power.
Xingxing was quick and soon picked up ten coins, while Ruru picked up two.
"This Master Song must have a lot of money, otherwise why would he be willing to throw away copper coins?" Xingxing said this, but in her heart she thought that Master Song was really stupid, throwing away money wherever he wanted.
Master Song happened to hear what the little girl said, and looked over following the baby voice, but when he saw the faces of the two little girls, he was stunned.
Although the two little girls were dressed simply, they were both exceptionally beautiful, especially the older one, who had two little pigtails tied with red ribbons on her head, wore a light-colored cotton jacket, and had bright, mischievous eyes.
Her nose was small and straight, her lips were cherry red, and her face was pink and tender. She was well-fed and plump, and even more delicate and beautiful than his pampered granddaughter. She looked just like a chubby baby who had stepped out of a New Year's painting.
"Go, call that little girl over. I have something to say to her." Master Song pointed to the stars, signaling the steward to bring the girl over.
The steward ran up to Xingxing and said with a smile, "Little girl, our master wants to talk to you. Come with me, and I'll give you another copper coin, okay?"
Xingxing showed him the ten copper coins in her hand, her little face full of pride, and said, "Xingxing already has ten copper coins, and why do I have to come over to talk? Can't you let your master come over here to talk to me?"
"Hey, you child, you're so ignorant. Who do you think you are? And who do our master think you are? You're such a stupid and ignorant country bumpkin." The steward felt humiliated and was displeased, so his words were inevitably unpleasant.
Although the manager spoke his last sentence very softly, Xingxing still heard it.
"You're the stupid and ignorant one, your whole family is stupid." Xingxing put her hands on her hips, pouted and stared at the steward, not afraid of him at all.
"Sister, this person is so fierce, Ruru is scared." Seeing the steward's stern face, Ruru was so frightened that she shrank behind Xingxing and almost cried.
"Don't be afraid, Ruru, your sister will protect you," Xingxing quickly comforted her.
The person in charge thought Chen Yueru's reaction was normal. This older, prettier little girl was incredibly audacious. She was a peasant girl raised in a mountain valley who didn't know anything. Did she know that she was pretty and cute, so she was so arrogant?
Seeing that the manager's expression was getting increasingly gloomy, Xingxing put her hands on her hips and said in a cute but fierce way, "You scared my sister. I'm going to tell my second brother and have him beat you to death."
The person in charge was so angry he laughed. "You little brat, don't think I won't punish you just because you're pretty. You deserve a beating."
"You're the one who deserves a beating. You can't beat my second brother, but my fourth brother can." Xingxing was fearless, firmly believing that no one could beat her two brothers.
The silly girl was so busy arguing with people that she didn't realize that the Zhou family was just a poor family and had no power to fight back if they really offended the Song family.
"Manager Zhang, don't argue with a child." Master Song strolled over, squatted down in front of Xingxing, and examined her closely. The more he looked at her, the more he liked her.
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