Zhao An: "Uncle, is what you said true?"
Zhao Yang: "Is Sister Xiaoyan really that amazing?"
Qiu Dayu: "Of course it's true, I saw it with my own eyes."
As Zhao San listened to Qiu Dayu's words, he sat in the courtyard, puffing on his pipe, and said, "Xiao Yan has really grown up."
"That is..." Qiu Dayu started to ramble on again, but was stopped by Qiu Yan's eyes.
She was so embarrassed she almost had a stroke.
By the time Qiu Yan and Li Zheng started their journey home, it was already dark.
Fortunately, the moonlight was nice tonight, so the journey went smoothly.
Li Zheng was concerned about the Ye family, and his speed in getting to the carriage was not delayed at all.
Before they arrived, Ye Shi, along with Qiu Xu and two other children, waited at the village entrance.
Qiu Ling'er is very sensible. Today, she stayed at home taking care of Gu Xiaoran.
She also helped out diligently when cooking lunch.
Despite her young age, she is just as capable of helping with cooking as an adult.
Upon seeing Li Zheng and Qiu Yan drive back, Madam Ye launched into a tirade of complaints.
Qiu Yan replied that Xingyuelou was doing good business today and they were short-staffed, so they stayed to help out.
Knowing the reason, Ye stopped mentioning it.
At the village entrance, Ye and her three children boarded a donkey cart and then went home.
Qiu Yan was tired after a long day.
Under the moonlight, Gu Xiaoran sat on a low stool, and Qiu Ling'er bent down to wash her face. The two children played and laughed.
Qiu Xu continued reading by candlelight, but Qiu Yan, worried that he would ruin his eyes, urged him to go to bed early.
Now that Aunt Ye is pregnant, she often visits Baiyang, and it's really inappropriate for her younger brother and sister-in-law to always eat at the Li family's house.
Furthermore, with Gu Xiaoran joining the family, Qiu Yan thought she needed to find a helper to take care of the three children during the day.
Given her current living conditions, finding a place to live is a problem, so she has no choice but to find a helper for now.
At the Li family home, Li Zheng took out the two taels of silver he had just earned that day and handed it to Ye Shi, saying, "I wanted to buy you some tonics, but I got home too late and didn't have time."
“There’s still plenty of meat at home, no need to buy any.” Madam Ye took the money bag and put it back in the cupboard.
She thought that from now on, they should save money. If she had a son this time, they would build a big house for him, and help him get married and have children.
If she has a daughter, she will still need to save up for her dowry... No, she will still need to build a big house so that her youngest daughter can find a son-in-law to live with her and bring her joy.
"By the way, you and Qiu Yan haven't had dinner yet, have you? I left some rice for you in the pot."
“We’ve already eaten.” Li Zheng gently pulled Ye Shi over, carried her to the bed, took off her outer clothes, and let her rest first, while he began to wash away his fatigue.
The next day, after breakfast, Qiu Yan went to find Village Chief Zhao.
Just as Zhao Shan and Wang Shi were getting ready to go to the fields to work, Qiu Yan arrived just in time.
When Zhao Yuanyuan saw Qiu Yan arrive, she exclaimed that she was a rare guest.
Inside the house, she brought Qiu Yan a stool and asked her what brought her there today.
Qiu Yan smiled and explained her purpose, "Uncle Village Chief, Aunt Wang, Yuanyuan, I've come today for two reasons. First, I'd like to ask Uncle Village Chief for a small favor. Second, I'm planning to buy a piece of land to build a house."
After buying the land, she could earn money while building the house.
Qiu Yan had already decided where to buy land. Her yard was next to the Li family's on the left and there was an empty lot on the right. She would buy the land next to hers so that she could expand her yard.
Neither of the two things she proposed surprised the village chief's family.
Regarding the first matter, Qiu Yan asked Village Chief Zhao to help her rescue Qiu Dafu, and Zhao Shan readily agreed.
He was only three years older than Qiu Dafu. He had two children: his son was sixteen and was now doing odd jobs with Zhao Zheng, and his daughter was fourteen.
But Qiu Dafu is still alone and has been imprisoned.
The second thing Zhao Shan asked was somewhat puzzled: "Qiu Yan, have you struck it rich?"
Qiu Yan didn't hide anything and told Zhao Shan about how she had made some money selling herbs.
Both Wang and Zhao Yuanyuan looked at Qiu Yan with envy; in such a short time, she had actually been able to earn money to build a house.
Thinking of Qiu Dayu's recent situation, Wang couldn't help but ask, "Qiu Yan, I heard that your uncle was kicked out of the family. Where is he now?"
Of course, her goal was still to get money.
Qiu Yan immediately understood what Wang meant. "He went to work at a restaurant in Baiyang City."
Her words reassured Wang.
Wang frowned. The brat knew how to work; he was clearly trying to avoid them.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyuan's eyes lit up.
Qiu Yan has earned so much money through her own efforts, and she also wants to earn money herself.
"Qiu Yan, is that restaurant still hiring? I'd like to go there too."
"We're still hiring," Qiu Yan replied.
Zhao Yuanyuan's face lit up with joy, and she was about to ask if she could do the job when Wang glared at her.
Wang wanted to say that it was improper for a young woman to show her face in public, but thinking of Qiu Yan, she swallowed her words.
Zhao Shan didn't want his daughter to go out to work either. Baiyang City was a mixed bag, and his daughter had never seen much of the world, so he was afraid she would be bullied by outsiders.
Zhao Yuanyuan looked dejected and didn't ask any more questions on the surface, but she still wanted to go.
Zhao Shan asked Qiu Yan if she was building a house now, and offered to help her find a craftsman.
It just so happens that he has a good relationship with Qiu Dafu. Qiu Dafu helped build their house before, so he can ask around for the craftsmen.
These words struck a chord with Qiu Yan. However, Qiu Yan had given most of the money she earned yesterday to Song Jiao, and now she only had a few taels of silver left to buy land. Construction could not begin until a month later.
She still entrusted the craftsmanship to Zhao Shan.
“We’ll go to Baiyang in a day or two, get your fingerprints on the land deed at the government office, and then you can build the house.”
"Okay, I'll do as you say." After talking with Zhao Shan, Qiu Yan and Zhao Shan finalized the land purchase.
On that day, because of the deliberate actions of Village Chief Zhao and Qiu Yan, everyone in the village knew that Qiu Laoda had left a box of silver for Qiu Yan and her siblings.
Moreover, the money amounted to over a hundred taels, and it was currently in Qiu Dafu's possession.
This matter quickly reached Qiu Laosan's ears, making him both jealous and resentful.
As brothers, why did the money left by the eldest brother go to the second brother instead of him? Why?
When their eldest brother was alive, the brothers, though not exactly harmonious, never actually had a serious argument.
As Yang listened to Qiu Dayong's account, she nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
When the time comes for the fourth son to pay his tuition, if he fails to do so, her scholar son will be expelled from the academy.
Madam Qian was filled with remorse and intense jealousy, pacing back and forth in the courtyard.
"One hundred taels! That's enough money for our Qiu family to live comfortably without worrying about Xiao Bao's tuition."
Qiu Dayong glanced at Madam Qian and said, "Even if it were a thousand taels of silver, we wouldn't get it. The second son is in prison right now. Forget about needing money for a prison visit, even if we actually went to see him, he wouldn't give us any money."
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