As soon as they entered the wooden door, they heard Zhiwu shout into the house: "They're here! Boss Ye has brought her child."
Dazhuang was patting the snowflakes off Siwang's head, muttering that he couldn't be rude. You could tell from his voice that he was the most clueless one among the four.
Zhiwang, who was squatting in the room, quickly came out to greet them. He looked at Ye Wenxue's five children one by one, and when he stopped in front of Yuanyuan, his eyes softened.
"Brother Ye, your children are all so cute. They're round and chubby, much better looking than we were back then."
Ye Wenxue was taken aback. She saw the children every day and felt that they had gained some weight, but it wasn't that obvious.
After Zhiwang said that, Ye Wenxue took a closer look at the children and found that they were a bit fatter than when she first met them, probably five or six pounds heavier.
Siwang, on the other hand, ate a lot and did little work, and was the most noticeably fat, having gained at least eight pounds.
Ye Wenxue silently withdrew her gaze and told the children hiding behind her to greet the people: "These are Brother Zhiwang and Brother Zhiwu, say hello to them."
Shuangshuang, being the bravest, responded and shouted.
Sanyuan and Siwang followed closely behind.
Da Zhuang didn't call out, but Zhi Wu and Zhi Wang each called him "Brother Da Zhuang".
"???"
Shuangshuang was unconvinced, and before she could ask what was going on, Zhiwang took out several small animal carvings he had made himself and stuffed them into the hands of the children, including Yuanyuan:
"Brother Ye, please don't mind, I carved them all myself. Brother Dazhuang's is a tiger, Little Sister's is a fox, and there are also wild boar, goat and pheasant."
Ye Wenxue chuckled, pulled her hand away and patted Zhiwang's head: "How could I dislike it? It's all from your heart."
Upon hearing this, Zhiwu's eyes lit up slightly, and he reached into his pocket.
Siwang was initially unhappy about being given a small wooden carving of a wild boar, but Sanyuan noticed his disappointment and offered to exchange it for a small wooden carving of a pheasant. Sanyuan then took Siwang to thank the other people.
Zhiwang received four words of thanks, and his face almost lit up with a smile.
As Ye Wenxue led the group of children into the house, she continued to accept the gifts that Zhiwang had brought on behalf of Zhixing, who had gone to the county town, and Zhiwen, who was too busy to attend to anything else.
"Brother Wen brought over a few hot water bottles, saying that adding hot water would keep them warm; before Brother Xing left, he asked me to bring over a few taels of silver so that his younger siblings could keep it to buy things they liked in the future."
Zhixing built up his charcoal business in the surrounding area, and more people came to him to curry favor, often giving him gifts.
He sold the things that were delivered to him, using half to subsidize the counterfeit goods and keeping the other half for himself in case of emergency. The bald man understood the reasoning behind it and never said anything more.
Ye Wenxue frowned. The things she made herself weren't worth much money, but they were the thought that counted, so she accepted them. But hot water bottles weren't cheap, and silver was even more expensive...
If it were Xu Lin or the bald man who gave Ye Wenxue the hot water bottle and money, she would have accepted it with a smile, and might even have made a few teasing remarks.
However, Zhiwen and Zhixing already needed a lot of money traveling around, and they also had to subsidize the mountain stronghold, so they couldn't save much money...
Just as Ye Wenxue was about to refuse, Dazhuang secretly tugged at her sleeve: "Mother, you accept it, and I'll make up for it along with Zhiwu and Zhiwang later."
"...Thank you." Ye Wenxue looked at Zhiwu and Zhiwang's expectant eyes and finally accepted the gift, letting the children thank the person again.
Before entering the house, Zhiwu awkwardly took out a few small items and stuffed them into Dazhuang's hand, then ran away with his ears turning red.
Da Zhuang took a closer look and saw that they were several wooden whistles. It was obvious that Zhi Wu had made them himself. The craftsmanship was average, but the whistles were polished very smoothly and felt exceptionally comfortable to the touch.
He glanced helplessly in the direction Zhiwu had run off to, and then gave one to each of Shuangshuang, Sanyuan, and Siwang, who were standing on tiptoe and clinging to his hands:
“Yuanyuan is still young, so I will keep her safe for now.”
Ye Wenxue hummed in agreement, stepped into the room, and her face lit up with joy: "The kang (heated brick bed) is heated? It looks pretty good."
The last time she came to the bamboo house, she heard Old Madam Xu complain that it was too cold to sleep at night and she couldn't sleep soundly even after burning charcoal. So she borrowed Xu Lin's paper and pen to draw the design of the kang (heated brick bed) and asked a few idle bandit brothers to build it.
Apart from the charcoal carriers, most of the bandit henchmen who came to the bamboo house had been taught charcoal making by Old Master Xu. Although they had not formally become his apprentices, they were actually very grateful to their master who taught them a way to make money, and they worked extra hard.
In less than three days, the kang (heated brick bed) in both rooms was completed.
The room where Xu Lin and Old Master Xu lived had a rather rough-built kang (heated brick bed), but overall there were no major problems. The two male members of the Xu family, including the bald man, were sitting around the kang, which was quite unusual.
Of course, the bald man only moved a stool and sat down under the bed.
Upon seeing Ye Wenxue enter with a litter of children, the bald man exclaimed, "Oh, Boss Ye, you really do have five kids!"
They both glared at him fiercely, and at first glance, they knew this bald man was no good.
Sanyuan, being sensible, dragged over a long bench and invited his mother, older sister, and younger brother to sit down.
After examining each child one by one, Grandpa Xu leaned against the wall and then peeked at Yuanyuan in Ye Wenxue's arms: "Not bad, not bad, they all have the appearance of great talent!"
"Alright, Mr. Xu, you've never studied physiognomy, so how did you see the face of a great talent?" the bald man interrupted.
Old Master Xu snorted: "I can see it with my own two eyes!"
Just as the bald man was about to continue arguing with him, Xu Lin tapped the table: "Alright, stop arguing. Dad, take out the gift, don't let your nephews and nieces laugh at you."
Clearly, Xu Lin had experienced such torment more than once, and his mediation skills had become increasingly adept.
Grandpa Xu chuckled and agreed, but before leaving, he couldn't resist adding insult to injury for the bald man: "It's not that I want to argue, but someone else wants to argue, so I can't let myself lose."
Baldy: "...Hmph."
Ye Wenxue and Xu Lin couldn't help but chuckle. After earning money, Old Master Xu changed from being timid and hesitant to acting boldly and confidently.
The bald man raised his hand and flicked Siwang on the head when no one was paying attention. Siwang, who was still in fear, covered his head and cried out in pain.
Ye Wenxue slapped the bald man on the shoulder with her backhand, making half of his shoulder go numb: "I, I was just joking with the kid, haha, just joking."
Zhiwang, who remained silent, glanced at Elder Nian with pity and sighed inwardly at how he never learned his lesson. Knowing that he couldn't beat Elder Ye, he still went to provoke people time and time again. Wasn't he just asking for a beating?
The bald man dared not act recklessly anymore, wincing in pain, and forcibly changed the subject:
"My mother loves this kang (heated brick bed). Can I build a few more in the mountain village?"
"Whatever you want." Ye Wenxue's mind raced. "Have you ever thought about making a fire cage? Or a brazier? They're not complicated to make, and it's easy to burn charcoal."
The bald man couldn't immediately imagine what it was, but Xu Lin's ears perked up: "Tell me in detail."
Ye Wenxue described the general appearance and uses of the fire basket and brazier: "They are more convenient than a kang (heated brick bed). A brazier can be placed anywhere without worrying about burning or blackening the floor. The fire basket is similar to a hot water bottle, and you can carry it with you..."
Before Xu Lin and the bald man could speak, Zhi Wang quickly came up with an idea: "We can give it a try, maybe we can even make money!"
The bald man instantly forgot what he was about to say, his eyes narrowed, eager to make more money.
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