Father Xu, who was in the room, calmed down and then felt uneasy, wanting to check on the two Xu sisters again.
Following the aroma to the Kitchen, he sighed upon seeing the two sisters happily preparing food.
Fortunately, the two children were not affected at all; this was quite good.
Hearing the movement, Xu Jianing looked up, saw Father Xu standing at the door, and quickly said proudly, "Father, tonight's dinner is very rich. Hurry and call Mother over; let's eat something delicious. Sister made Steamed Buns with fried lard residue, and I made Braised Pig Trotters. Let's celebrate starting our new life."
Father Xu looked at them with complicated feelings, "Aren't you worried at all that we won't have a place to live tomorrow?"
"What's there to fear? Even if this hadn't happened, I wanted to tell you that we should start House construction again. What if it snows heavily in winter, and our family..."
Father Xu sighed heavily; how could he not know these things?
For the past few winters, their family had lived in constant fear, worried that heavy snow would crush the house and bury them overnight.
But, what could be done? Building a house required a lot of Silver. How could their family possibly have that much money?
Now, their entire family didn't even have a place to stay. Finding a place to build a new house was not an easy matter.
Suddenly, he thought of one person. Perhaps that person could help them.
"You two eat first. Father needs to go out for a bit and will be right back."
Seeing that it was still early, Father Xu said his goodbyes, took a few Braised Pig Trotters, and grabbed five or six Steamed Buns before heading out.
Xu Jianing followed him worriedly.
"Father, where are you going? I'll go with you. I'll carry the things; you eat some first."
Father Xu took the Steamed Bun she handed him and started eating large bites. "Ning'er, since you're coming along, let's go see the Village Head together! We also need to let the Village Head know about Severing ties with the Main Residence."
Xu Jianing was a bit puzzled; logically, shouldn't the Village Head have been invited when the Severing ties Document was being written?
She couldn't help but say, "Father, why didn't you invite the Village Head before? Won't it be awkward to go see him now?"
"It's fine. In some places, the Village Chief and the Village Head are the same person. In our village, your Uncle is the Village Chief, and the Village Head is another respected person."
"When Uncle Jingde went to invite the Clan Leader and the others, he also stopped by their house, but unfortunately, he hasn't returned yet. But it's not a big problem; even if he isn't present, if we take the Severing ties letter written by the Clan Leader, he will help us file the record."
After his explanation, Xu Jianing nodded in relief. At this moment, she was especially glad that the Village Head and the Village Chief were not the same person. To be precise, not her Uncle.
The father and daughter soon stopped in front of a Residence at the head of the village.
"We're here; this is the Village Head's House."
Father Xu gently knocked on the door, "I am Changyang, is Uncle Lizheng home?"
"Coming, coming!"
Soon, a Woman opened the door and shouted inside, "Father, someone is looking for you!"
An old man walked out from inside, "It's Dongyang and Jianing! Hurry, come in and sit! Eldest son's wife, quickly bring out some stools."
"No need for such trouble. Uncle, I came because I need your help with something. I originally wanted to ask you to witness something, but Jingde said you weren't home. The Clan Leader helped me write a Severing ties Document; please help me file the record."
A young Girl sitting nearby, cracking melon seeds, exclaimed as if watching a show, "What? They really severed ties? I thought they were just joking."
The Village Head frowned, "Cuihua, go inside. You are a young girl; why are you interrupting? I still have things to discuss with Brother Changyang. You all go inside first!"
The Girl called Cuihua pouted slightly in dissatisfaction, picked up a stool, and went inside.
"Sorry for the spectacle. This little girl has been spoiled since childhood. What did you just say? You've completely fallen out with the Main Residence?"
"Sigh, this is for the best. I'll keep the Document here for now, and I'll help you finalize things tomorrow."
Father Xu took out a small Silver Shard from his bosom and handed it to the Village Head, "Uncle, please take this money. For filing the record at the yamen, I trouble you to take care of it, and please treat yourself and the brothers to some tea. This Oil paper package contains things my Girl made herself; I brought them over for you to taste."
"Also, I have another matter to trouble you with. Which family in the village is selling a house? Or is there an Empty plot of land we can buy? We have nowhere to live. The Main Residence is going to take back the thatched hut, and the fields must be returned to them too."
The Village Head sighed. He thought for a moment and said, "There are no houses. There is indeed one Empty plot of land, the one at the foot of the mountain. It's not suitable for planting crops, but it can be used for House construction. I just don't know if you dare to take it?"
Father Xu didn't hesitate at all, "We want it! Uncle, how much is that piece of land? I'll buy it. Additionally, I'd like to ask Uncle to find a few reliable people to help me build the house. As long as it's habitable, the sooner the better."
"That's settled then. We'll measure it tomorrow. I estimate it will cost six taels of Silver."
Father Xu glanced at Xu Jianing beside him. Seeing the Girl nod at him, he made up his mind.
"Alright, please calculate for me, Uncle Lizheng, how much it will cost in total, including the House construction. We will go home and discuss it, gather the Silver as quickly as possible, and Start of construction early."
A moment later, the Village Head gave an approximate figure.
Building a house was truly troublesome; adding up all the miscellaneous costs, it would cost nearly twenty taels of Silver, which was no small sum.
Although he had money in hand, Father Xu did not immediately state when the Start of construction would be. Xu Jianing understood his concerns.
After the father and daughter stayed a while longer, they left.
After they walked far away, the people inside the Residence all came out.
Cuihua jumped out and started talking, "Father, you mean Second Child Xu's family is really going to build a house? Could it be they're trying to take advantage of us?"
"Don't be fooled. What if you find all the people and do all the work, and they refuse to pay? How can their family, being so poor, produce that much money?"
The Village Head became annoyed, "Stinky girl, what nonsense are you spouting? Stay out of adult matters. Be more polite to their family members from now on."
Cuihua stomped her foot angrily, grabbed a Steamed Bun and a Pig trotter, and went back to her room without looking back.
"This girl..." The Village Head turned to his sons and said, "Anyway, all the household chores are done. Help Brother Dongyang build the house in a few days. Don't worry, he won't fail to pay. Let's take this opportunity to build a good relationship with their family."
His sons did not object and nodded in agreement.
The children standing nearby swallowed hard as they looked at the contents inside the Oil paper.
Seeing this, the Village Head sighed helplessly, "Take it down and divide it. It's rare that Dongyang is so thoughtful. Remember what I said, be polite to them in the future."
Based on his judgment of people, the Xu Dongyang family was becoming different. If they didn't have the capability, they wouldn't be planning to buy land and build a house.