Aunt Li gave a bitter smile: "Having lived like this, how can I still have the right to be picky? Besides, we're only staying temporarily."
Actually, she felt a little uncomfortable.
But with the family already in such a state, how could she possibly have the right to be picky?
Moreover, they had no money left and depended on the Chi family for their livelihood, so how could they have the nerve to be picky?
"Things will get better and better. At least Le Shi's leg is alright now, isn't it?" Sister-in-law Chi hugged her mother and comforted her softly.
Having reached an agreement, the group set off in a grand procession.
We met with the village chief at the town gate.
The village chief looked thin, but he was full of energy and had a straight back.
During the conversation, I learned that the village chief had served in the military, and many villagers had also served in the army.
I heard that their ancestors were soldiers who grew tired of life on the battlefield and wanted to live out their days in peace, so they settled down in a different place.
Although I said I wanted to live a peaceful life, the sense of responsibility ingrained in my bones cannot be erased.
Therefore, the children they raised were also loyal to the emperor and loved their country, and joined the army to protect the people.
But because of this, the village has a very small population.
Because marriage is very difficult in the village, very few girls are willing to marry into this village. Who would want to live a life of widowhood?
The village is called Meihe Village because it is situated by a river, and both banks of the river are planted with plum trees.
There are only twenty or thirty households left in the village now, and there are still many empty courtyards.
“These courtyards used to be inhabited, but later people either moved away because they thought it was unlucky, or the men died in battle and the women remarried and left... and not many girls were willing to marry into these places, so the population has been decreasing.”
The village chief sounded somewhat dejected.
Who wants to see the village population dwindle?
So when he saw Old Man Chi and the others inquiring about renting a courtyard, he looked them over and saw that they seemed very well-behaved and honest, so he took the initiative to make arrangements.
One purpose is to generate income for the village, and the other is to bring some vitality to the village.
It's so nice to have so many half-grown babies.
There are only five or six children left in the village now. The remaining twenty-odd households are either elderly couples or old bachelors.
So, looking at these little kids, the village chief also wanted this family to live in their village.
What if it's a good place to stay?
“Look, this is the place I’m talking about. This yard is alright, at least it doesn’t leak.” The village chief stopped and pointed to the yard in front of him. “It’s just that the well has been dry for several years. If we want to drink water, we have to fetch water from the river.”
The courtyard is square and has a good layout.
The main house has five rooms, and there are also side rooms on the left and right. There is no vegetable garden in front, but four or five plum trees are planted there. There is about five-tenths of an acre of land in the backyard that can be cultivated into a vegetable garden.
The two families looked each other over from all sides, and were very pleased.
"Originally, Old Li's family lived the best life in the village. They were thinking that once they built a house, their son would come back, get married, and the whole family would live a prosperous life. But who could have imagined..."
The village chief felt a pang of discomfort when he mentioned his former comrades-in-arms.
Now, most of those old guys are dead, and the younger ones are either dead or have moved away...
There are fewer and fewer people.
"This courtyard is very nice, thank you very much, village chief." Old Man Chi rubbed his hands together, somewhat excited.
If such a courtyard were rented out outside, it would cost at least five taels of silver for six months.
It only costs three taels of silver here!
What kind of feng shui is bad?
With his precious daughter around, even the worst feng shui will improve.
"If you're satisfied, let's go sign the agreement," the village chief said understandingly.
It's better to write a contract; it will put both parties at ease.
Old Man Chi then gave Chi Dashan the silver and told him to go with the village chief to write the contract.
The rest of the people started cleaning up the house.
Although the house wasn't built with the finest blue bricks, it still had brick walls, and the walls were quite thick.
Old Man Chi tapped on the wall, somewhat excitedly: "The wall is so thick, it will definitely keep warm in winter."
"Huh, these five main rooms are separate rooms, there's no main hall?" Aunt Li went in and looked around, somewhat surprised.
Chi Shuxing excitedly shouted from outside, "There are more houses in the back!"
After walking around the five main rooms, they found a row of relatively narrow rooms behind the main rooms, with only two doors.
Once inside, it was a long, open space with three stoves, a wooden table, and several stools.
"So that's where the stove is now! That's great! Now we can gather more firewood and get through the winter." Sister-in-law Chi was very happy.
These three stoves connect to the five rooms in front, providing warmth.
Although there are five main rooms, each one is not very big. They are all simple rooms with a kang (a heated brick bed), two cabinets, and two chairs against the wall.
There are five main rooms, four of which have this layout.
In the very center there was only a narrow kang (heated brick bed), and on both sides were chairs.
It seems that the middle room is the main hall, used for receiving guests.
The east wing is much simpler, with only mud walls. Although it is habitable, it would probably be cold in winter.
The west wing room did not have a kang (heated brick bed) or a stove; it was probably used to store miscellaneous items.
"This well really doesn't have a drop of water." Old Man Li craned his neck to take a closer look.
After all, whether or not they have water is directly related to the convenience of their lives.
Li Mingfan said, "Dad, I'll take Sanhe, Leshan, Xiaowu, and Sihai to the surrounding mountains to see if we can gather some firewood to heat the kang (heated brick bed). Otherwise, it'll be freezing cold when we sleep on it, and we might get frostbite."
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