At the end of the month, Mo Qianshang's house was completed.
The house was built very well. Chen Jin and his craftsmen were very skilled and dedicated.
Mo Qianshang stood at the entrance of the new house courtyard, with Xiao Yaoshi standing next to her: "Oh dear, although I've been watching it being built all along, I never expected the entrance to be so big, and the courtyard to be so huge?"
"It's really not that big. With so many kids in our family, I'm afraid we won't have enough room when they grow up."
Mo Qianchang replied, "Now I don't have to live in a tent all day long and be on edge. I was always worried that the tent wouldn't offer much protection, and what if wild animals came down the mountain?"
Little Yao turned her head: "So that's why you built the wall so high?"
Mo Qianshang was amused and led everyone to push open the courtyard gate: "Take a look, this is where we will be staying from now on. This courtyard is a bit like a siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), but we can't make it too big."
As soon as the children entered the yard, they started running around happily. Little Yao had been watching the construction closely since it was almost finished, but now she had a completely different feeling.
Mo Niangzi actually succeeded in building a house halfway up the mountain, and it was even a large courtyard.
After circling around, Xiao Yao returned to the courtyard: "This is wonderful, but what do you think about the tables and chairs?"
Mo Qianshang blinked: "Ah, furniture? Oh, I've already ordered it. It should be delivered soon. I'll hire someone to move it then."
That's a lie. Building a house isn't expensive these days, but furniture is. It's not that you can't find an ordinary carpenter to make do, but Mo Qianshang has already built such a big house, and the thought of having to make do with the interior makes her unwilling.
She had previously inquired about furniture prices in the county town and compared them with those in the system, and was certain that the prices in the system were more cost-effective.
As for the people who helped move the furniture, she wanted to ask them in Dongshan Village.
The next day, Mo Qianshang filled her basket with the candies, eggs, and vegetables she had exchanged. Aunt Shen had told her roughly which direction Dongshan Village was in Qingping Mountain, so she carried the basket and headed in that direction.
Unexpectedly, Dongshan Village was closer than she had imagined; she arrived in just half an hour.
As soon as she entered the village, she knocked on a door and asked Aunt Shen for directions to her house.
Aunt Shen's house was at the end of the village. When she knocked on the door, she was worried that everyone was out in the fields and not at home, but soon someone came out of the house.
Aunt Shen, dressed in a black robe, was both surprised and delighted: "Oh, what brings you here!"
Mo Qianshang lifted the basket in her hand: "My house is finished, so I came to let you know in advance and invite you and Uncle Niu to have dinner at my place!"
Aunt Shen was washing clothes, so she quickly wiped the water off her hands and let Mo Qianshang in. As soon as Mo Qianshang sat down on the stool, she saw the two little ones peeking in.
There were two boys, one looked a little older, about seven or eight years old, and the other a little younger, about four or five years old.
Aunt Shen poured Mo Qianshang a bowl of water, then turned around and saw the two children. She waved to them, "Come here and say hello to Auntie!"
The two children called for help, and Mo Qianshang asked Aunt Shen to take a piece of candy from the basket and give each child a piece of candy.
"This big one is my eldest son, and the little one is my second son's. My son, daughter-in-law, and husband are all in the fields right now. Why don't you stay for dinner? I'll introduce them to you!"
Mo Qianshang quickly waved her hand: "Don't go to so much trouble. Besides inviting you over tomorrow, I actually have another favor to ask you for."
Aunt Shen quickly asked her what was wrong.
"It's not really helping, because I bought some furniture, but I live in the mountains and need someone to help me move it into the yard."
Aunt Shen nodded thoughtfully: "Was it moved from down the mountain?"
Mo Qianshang had no such plans. Although moving the furniture from the foot of the mountain would reduce the chances of being discovered, it would be too exhausting. She planned to send Xiao Yaoshi and the children out and put the furniture in the yard. Then she would find someone to help move it into each room.
She didn't want to look for people from Fushou Village, and it wasn't realistic to find people from the county town just to move a few pieces of furniture. Her best option was to see if anyone from Dongshan Village was willing to help.
"Auntie, could you help me find someone to carry it? It'll cost twenty coins per trip, and it's only a quarter of an hour's walk from here. They'll even provide a meal. But I don't have enough tableware, so you might have to bring your own bowls and chopsticks."
Aunt Shen's eyes lit up when she heard it was a favor to help out, but when she found out she would get twenty coins for the job, she nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, I'm sure there are plenty of people willing to do this job!"
Mo Qianshang added, "Then could you please help me find someone? I'll wait here. Let's finalize things today. Oh, and could you also call Uncle Niu for me?"
With such good news, Aunt Shen quickly went to find her neighbors. The village wasn't big, so she found them very quickly. Mo Qianshang waited for her to return with the information, and Uncle Niu greeted her as soon as he came in.
Aunt Shen found five strong men, all of whom looked robust, but one of them was young and thin, which surprised Mo Qianshang.
When Aunt Shen saw that her gaze was fixed on the child, she hesitated for a moment, then pulled her aside and whispered, "Mo Meizi, this child is Lin Sanqiang from our village. Let me tell you about the child's situation. If you don't think it's right, I'll let him go back."
Mo Qianchang then learned that Lin Sanqiang had two older brothers who had gone to serve in the military and had never returned. His father died early, and his mother also passed away a couple of years ago. Now, only he and his grandparents were left to depend on each other.
But his grandparents are getting old and their health is failing, yet they still insist on farming. His grandmother has been sick these past few days. Lin Sanqiang is a hardworking boy, and when he heard that she was looking for someone to do day work, he begged Aunt Shen to count him in. He told her that if the family didn't want him, they could stop talking.
Looking at the thin, chapped Lin Sanqiang, Mo Qianshang sighed inwardly, "Even if it's just him, we can't add anyone else like him."
When Lin Sanqiang's mother was still alive, she had a good relationship with Aunt Shen. She also felt sorry for this family and their only remaining child.
Hearing Mo Qianshang say this, she beamed with joy and quickly went to tell Lin Sanqiang that Lady Mo had kept him.
Today, Mo Qianshang was wearing the dress that Xiao Yaoshi had made for her. Although it was certainly not as proper as what she wore to the county government, the dress was obviously new, without a single patch, and clean. In the eyes of these farmers, this was definitely not an ordinary family.
Lin Sanqiang ran over, and before Mo Qianshang could stop him, he bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
Upon closer inspection, Mo Qianchang noticed that the child's eyes were clear and bright, making him quite likable.
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