The timeline here is Kang Kang at age 8, two years before Wei Shiga.
......
A series of crackling firecrackers went off.
"Break ground!" With a shout, Hu Xiaosi dug into the ground with a hoe.
"good!"
Next, the workers started digging the foundation.
"Little Si is really capable. He's so young, yet he's built so many houses. This must be the sixth one!" Tie Niu's wife walked over with a handful of melon seeds in her hand, smiling.
Hu Xiaosi is already 17 years old, and in two more months she will turn 18.
The boy had a crew cut, a straight face, was tall and thin, and had two dimples when he smiled.
Hu Xiaosi smiled and said, "Yes, yes, this is the last one. We just hope that Grandma Zhao and you won't find it troublesome and will come to our housewarming party again."
"If you're willing to treat us to more drinks, we'll definitely come."
"Thank you, Aunt Tie Niu."
Over the years, he has sold things in the furniture storefront, earning an average of more than 20 taels of silver per month.
Over the past few years, Hu Xiaosi has been building houses one after another, and this is the sixth one he has built so far.
His family had always lived in the first brick and tile house. A few years ago, Hu Xiaosan got married and moved to the second house with his wife.
The remaining houses are reserved for Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Xiao Qi to use when they get married in the future.
Several houses were built together and then surrounded by a wall. From a distance, it looked like a large, impressive area.
The villagers who came to watch the spectacle all praised Hu Xiaosi for being so capable.
The third and fifth mistresses stood to the side with smiles on their faces.
When the glass workshop opened, Hu Xiaosan joined the workshop and is now a skilled glass craftsman, earning three taels of silver a month.
Xiao Wu and his two brothers are 15 years old this year.
She studied for eight or nine years in fifth and sixth grade, but her grades weren't great, so she dropped out last year and stayed home to take care of various household chores.
Xiao Qi is quite talented. He passed the preliminary examination for the imperial examination last year and is now attending classes at the prefectural school.
Xiuxiu's mother looked unwell because she had heard what Hu Xiaosi said.
This is the last one!
Xiuxiu's mother walked over and said coldly, "You have seven brothers, and you only built six houses? What's wrong? Does the seventh brother not need a house to get married in the future?"
Upon hearing this, the onlookers fell silent.
Hu Xiaosi said, "Xiaoqi naturally needs a house. We five brothers can each have one, and you can take your eldest and second brothers to live in one. Wouldn't that make six houses in total?"
Tie Niu's wife nodded: "Absolutely."
Xiuxiu's mother protested, "Xiao Yi and Xiao Er are your older brothers! Even if you don't live there, you should still give them each a room! Why should they both live in one room?"
Hu Xiaosi's face darkened: "Is a house too small for them? They don't even leave the house. Even if it's just one room, it's made of blue bricks and large tiles, and it has floor tiles. How is that too small for them?"
Xiuxiu's mother was furious: "What kind of talk is that? Whether they're in the house or not, they're still your older brothers! Why are they the only ones who don't have their own rooms when they're all brothers?"
"Xiuxiu's mother!" Ye Lizheng and his wife walked over.
Ye Lizheng said, "The whole family is supported by Xiao Si. He earns all the money in the family. Over the years, he has never looked down on Xiao Yi and Xiao Er. He has provided them with good food and drink and even built them a house. What more do they want?"
Xiuxiu's mother retorted angrily, "Disdain? What's wrong with Xiao Yi and Xiao Er? It's not like Xiao Wu and the others are making money too. Not only did they not make money, they also spent the family's money on their studies! In the end, they didn't get anything good, and all that money was wasted! At least Xiao Yi and Xiao Er didn't waste the family's money!"
The village head's wife said, "Don't go too far. Even if Xiao Wu and the others didn't earn any money, they still did everything they could: grow vegetables, cut pig feed, etc. Did Xiao Yi and Xiao Er do any of that?"
Xiuxiu's mother's face turned ashen. Seeing so many people standing on Hu Xiaosi's side, she didn't dare to say anything and left angrily.
He's not dead yet, and these rebellious sons are already bullying her and Xiao Yi and Xiao Er like this.
What will happen to the younger children when she passes away?
The next morning, Xiuxiu's mother went to town to find a matchmaker.
Her two sons are already twenty-five years old, and she had wanted to arrange marriages for them for several years.
She wanted them to stand up before going to look for it, but after so many years of trying, her two sons still refused to leave the house.
Moreover, with all the good food and drink they've had in recent years, they've become even lazier, finding it hard to even turn over in bed.
Now that she sees there are only six houses in the family, she has to act quickly and get her two sons married so she can secure two of them first.
Moreover, bringing his daughter-in-law into the family would also help to discipline Xiao Si, that troublemaker.
Just as Hu Xiaosan finished work that day, he saw the matchmaker walk in.
He was taken aback. Was this a plan to arrange a marriage for Xiao Si?
But when his mother had planned to do so, Xiao Si refused, saying he would wait until he was 20 and that he would arrange it himself.
It can't be just Xiao Wu and a few others!
As Hu Xiaosan entered Hu Xiaosi's courtyard, he heard Xiuxiu's mother chatting with the matchmaker.
The matchmaker said, "Your two sons have some special circumstances..."
"My family is rich!" Xiuxiu's mother said proudly.
The matchmaker hurriedly replied with a smile, "That's right! Everyone knows how capable your fourth son is. It's said he can earn ten or twenty taels of silver every month!"
After all, he gets paid every month, and it's been ten years; it's impossible for no one to have let it slip. Almost everyone in the neighborhood knows that Hu Xiaosi earns this much money each month.
The matchmaker laughed and said, "But that's what your fourth son earned. How much of it can you possibly keep?"
Xiuxiu's mother frowned: "What do you care how many I can have! Just tell me the girl."
The matchmaker said, "The first and second sons are too lazy. The fourth son is the one who can earn money in the family, but it's not because of their own abilities. Given their situation, the bride price should be at least 20 taels of silver for some families who don't care about their daughters' lives and only care about money to agree."
"Twenty taels? Why don't you just fly to the heavens!"
Matchmaker: "......"
The matchmaker remained silent for a while before saying, "Back when Xiuxiu was betrothed, didn't you also ask for 20 taels?"
Xiuxiu's mother choked for a moment. She wanted to say that her daughter was guaranteed to have a son, but Xiuxiu had two daughters in a row, and it wasn't until her third pregnancy that she had a son.
When the embarrassing incident was brought up again, Xiuxiu's face turned pale and then red.
Xiuxiu's mother said, "Even if they don't make money and are a bit lazy, our village is rich! The inn in the village makes money, and our family gets more than twenty taels of silver as dividends every year."
The matchmaker frowned: "You have seven sons. If you give each of them a share when the family divides up, you'll only get two or three taels a year."
"Sigh, this dividend..." Xiuxiu's mother said in a low voice, "When the family was divided, I only gave it to the youngest one and the second youngest."
The matchmaker choked up, feeling sorry for Hu Xiaosi.
She started earning money to support her family at a young age, but ended up being the least loved by her parents. They only gave the best things to their two eldest sons.
The matchmaker waved her hand: "Everyone knows whether they get dividends or not. Even so, they're bedridden all the time... It's said all around that they're crippled."
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