The village chief's wife was secretly relieved; thankfully, their small factory had made some money, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to afford to give red envelopes to the village children.
The little ones were so happy today; they received lots of red envelopes.
Little kids love red envelopes, but for them, the most important thing isn't comparing who gets more lucky money, but rather the number of red envelopes they receive. They believe that having more red envelopes means they are more liked by others, and only then do they compare the amount of lucky money. Their happiness is that simple.
During this period, everyone is still immersed in the joy of the New Year, visiting relatives, going to temples to burn incense and pray to Buddha, and chatting with each other.
Anping Village was unsealed on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and people can now freely enter and leave the village.
As soon as the lockdown was lifted, the village became lively again. In the past, people who were not well received by their relatives during the Spring Festival all came to pay their respects.
To enjoy the gossip of the villagers, Chen Kai and Xiao Tian didn't even bother to go to the temple to burn incense and pray; the gossip of the villagers was definitely more appealing.
That day, Chen Kai and Xiao Tian followed Da Ya to watch the excitement in front of the Ma family's house.
They weren't the only ones who came to join in the fun; almost all the women in the village who hadn't gone to visit their relatives came, as well as the village's children who loved to join in the excitement.
The story of a girl who was favored by her grandparents, unloved by her parents, and starved by her family for several days before being sold to Anping Village to be someone's wife is a melodramatic tale. You wouldn't believe it until you heard about it, and once you inquire, you'd find that Anping Village accounts for almost half of all such cases.
Seeing that the Ma family's relatives had started to steal things, the village women stopped standing by and helped the Ma family drive these so-called "relatives" out.
A woman sneered, "You're all shameless! You sold your daughter to Anping Village and haven't cared about her for so long. Now you want to take advantage of her? You're dreaming!"
Another woman said, "Now that you've married into our Anping Village, you're one of us. You didn't want him before, but we do. If you keep making trouble, we'll make you regret it!"
Others chimed in, "Yes, yes, drive them out! Get the village guards to throw them all out!"
Even Daya, who had previously fought with the Ma family, joined in the commotion, urging them to drive the group out.
On the way back, Chen Kai asked curiously, "Da Ya, didn't you have a grudge against the Ma family? Why are you helping them today?"
Da Ya muttered, "Uncle, they are all annoying, but one thing is one thing."
Who would have thought that Daya would actually be so clear-headed one day?
The mountain village was not only poor, but the people there also had a hard life, especially the girls.
Therefore, many women have come to realize that relying on their so-called maternal relatives is not as good as relying on the villagers.
If a woman in a family is taken advantage of by her own family, they will unite to drive her out. They do this in the hope that if they encounter such trouble, their own family will stand up for them.
This has almost become an unspoken understanding among women with such unfortunate fates.
When they were younger, when they first married into this family, they would often start shrewish arguments over trivial matters and kick their husbands when they were down. But later, the tables turned.
Everyone has suffered a lot, and life has gradually worn down their edges. They have also come to realize that it is better to stick together and keep warm than to fight to the death.
So, although they still fuss over small things, they help each other out when it comes to big things.
At this moment, in the ancestral hall of Anping Village, the village leaders were gathered to discuss the resumption of work after the New Year.
When several families mentioned wanting to build brick and tile houses, the atmosphere in the meeting hall instantly reached a climax.
Before the Lunar New Year, the houses of Chen's relatives were severely damaged by hail and floods. They were only hastily repaired and continued to live in Chen's house.
Now that the disaster has subsided, Chen's relatives plan to renovate their house properly after the New Year. Although they work for Chen's family for a long time, they still need a home.
Last night, after discussing it, Old Man Chen suggested that they all build brick and tile houses. After all, he knew how much money they had made here. Although it was still a bit short, maybe his daughters-in-law would help contribute some money. Anyway, he wouldn't feel bad if it wasn't his money.
He wasn't heartless; he couldn't stand seeing others do well, so he hoped his in-laws could also live well, provided they didn't do anything to betray the Chen family.
When the Chen family's daughter-in-law's family heard that they were asked to build a house with blue bricks and tiles, they were all stunned. They had never thought of such a thing before. A house with blue bricks and tiles was something they could never accomplish even if they worked hard all their lives.
Although some families in their village have built houses with blue bricks and tiles, these were built on the foundations accumulated by their ancestors over generations.
Seeing his parents stunned, Chen's wife urged, "Mom and Dad, go ahead and build it. I also hope you can live well and have a good reputation in the village. I'll contribute half the money."
Then, Chen Lao Er's wife also stepped forward and offered to contribute half the money, which they had agreed upon in private.
The Chen family's daughter-in-law's family was tempted, but still hesitated.
"But, food..."
The Chen family's daughters-in-law understood what they meant. They didn't have much food stored up, and they were afraid that if they built a house, they wouldn't have enough money to buy food. After all, the disaster was not over yet; it had only eased up. No one could predict what would happen in the future.
Chen Lao Er's wife said, "Don't worry about that. As long as the fern root powder factory doesn't go bankrupt, no one in the county will starve."
That's absolutely true. Nowadays, everyone knows that even a small fern root powder factory can support an entire village.
Chen Lao Er's wife continued, "Building a brick and tile house is not an easy task. Nowadays, due to the disaster, labor is cheap, and the prices of everything except grain are very low. If we don't take advantage of this good opportunity to build a brick and tile house, it will really take several generations of hard work to build it."
"What are you worried about regarding food? Once your new houses are built, we'll install a few watermills for you here. As long as you don't become lazy, what is there to worry about?"
When the Chen family opened the fern root powder factory, they said they would provide these in-laws with water mills, but since their homes haven't been fully renovated yet, it's been left unused.
"Okay, cover it!"
And so, the matter was settled.
In the meeting room of the ancestral hall in Anping Village, the families who are building brick and tile houses are all those who have invested in the fern root powder factory.
There was a great deal of discussion in the ancestral hall's meeting room.
An older man said enviously, "Your factory investment is really making a lot of money. You can even afford to build brick houses."
A man who wanted to build a house with blue bricks and tiles said, "No, no, it's all scraped together."
Another person chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, my family borrowed quite a bit from relatives too."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com