The Village Head's wife, who hadn't spoken the whole time, said softly, "I thought so. When Jingde rushed over to find you just now, I felt something was off. I didn't expect such a big thing to happen to Changyang's family."
"But, do they really have the money for house construction?"
The Village Head glared at her, speaking with a hint of blame, "You have no vision, just like Cuihua. Didn't you see what was written on this document for severing ties? To completely break away from the Main Residence, they spent one hundred taels of silver."
"What? One hundred taels? Are they crazy! No, how could they have that much money? I've lived this long and have never seen so much money."
As if realizing something, the Village Head's wife slapped her thigh hard, "Husband, what did Dongyang just say? They have nowhere to live, right? Did you forget that old house of ours is empty? Let them stay there for a few days."
The Village Head shook his head disapprovingly, "How can people live in that place? It's worse than their thatched hut. Several spots are drafty."
"That's easy! Tomorrow, tell Eldest Brother, Second Child, and Third Brother to help fix it up. How can it be unlivable? You even said before that once you were done with your work, you'd have the children fix up that house, remember? This way, we do them a favor, killing two birds with one stone."
When the Village Head heard that, he realized it was indeed logical. He felt a bit regretful that he hadn't mentioned it to Xu Dongyang earlier.
Just then, a little male child ran out from inside the room, "Grandpa, Grandma, eat meat. Delicious!"
The male child held a piece of steaming Pig Trotters meat and handed it to the Village Head, making the Village Head laugh heartily, "Aiyo, Grandpa's big grandson, you are so filial! You even know to bring some for Grandpa and Grandma to eat."
The man following behind scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, "Father, Mother, I asked Yunniang to save a Steamed Bun and a Pig Trotter for each of you. I must say, Eldest Brother Dongyang's girl, she really knows how to cook."
Remembering the important matter, the Village Head stopped teasing his grandson and said to his eldest son, "First thing tomorrow morning, you, Second Child, and Third Brother go and tidy up our old house. I plan to let Changyang's family stay there temporarily for a few days. They've had it rough."
"You all eat. I'll go to Dongyang's house right now and tell them the news. That way, they won't have to run around looking for a place to stay tomorrow."
Fortunately, the moon was bright, and guided by the moonlight, he soon arrived at the thatched hut where Xu Changyang was staying.
Before even entering, he heard the sound of crying from inside.
He sighed softly and gently knocked on the door, "Is Dongyang asleep? It's your Uncle Lizheng."
Xu Dongyang, who was sitting outside in the courtyard getting some air, felt a jolt in his heart. Could there have been a change regarding the housing situation?
He rushed over quickly, swiftly opened the courtyard gate, and hurried to welcome the Village Head in, "Uncle, what brings you here?"
The two sisters of the Xu Family, alerted by the noise, also came out from the Kitchen and stared straight at the Village Head.
The Village Head didn't notice their tension and spoke on his own, "I came to tell you that you don't need to look for a place to stay anymore. Until your house is built, you can stay in my old place for a while."
"However, as you know, that place hasn't been lived in for a long time, and many parts need fixing. I need to have my sons go over and sort it out. You can move your things into the Kitchen first; the Kitchen is fine."
Xu Dongyang grasped the Village Head's hand tightly and said gratefully, "Uncle Lizheng, thank you so much. To be honest, after we returned from your place, our whole family discussed it. If things didn't work out, we were planning to stay in a cave for a few days."
He wasn't lying. Their family had indeed discussed that very plan. Although it was somewhat dangerous, at least they would have a place to settle down.
They never expected the Village Head to bring such good news at this moment. This truly came as a huge surprise to them.
After seeing the Village Head off, Xu Dongyang stood in the courtyard, smiling foolishly with delight.
Soon, however, his smile faded.
"Ning'er, if we move there to stay, what about all those Chestnuts we prepared? If someone finds out, won't we lose the chance to earn money?"
Xu Jianing quickly comforted him, "Father, this item can't be sold for long anyway; it relies on being fresh. Most people are from the countryside, and if too much time passes, they'll quickly recognize it. We just need to make a profit before people catch on."
Xu Dongyang muttered under his breath, "What a pity!"
Xu Jianing said with a slight smile, "There's nothing to pity! Father, what do you think of the Braised Pig Trotters I made today?"
"Not bad. I think they taste good, especially as a snack with drinks! But Jianing, how did you learn all this? I don't recall anyone in our family knowing these things."
Xu Jianing nervously touched her nose and lied smoothly without her face flushing or her heart racing, "I heard Doctor Liu say that many spices can be added to dishes. They are good for the body. I took it to heart and wanted to try it out."
Fearing he would press further, Xu Jianing quickly changed the subject, "I was thinking, we could buy some Pig Trotters or similar items and braise them to sell. Even if someone imitates us, they won't be able to replicate our flavor. Plus, the cost is low, which suits us better."
Xu Jianing's words reignited the fighting spirit in Father Xu.
He felt he couldn't continue like this; life had to go on. Everything was developing in a better direction now, and he had no reason to remain pessimistic.
Brushing the dust off himself, he went with the two children to the Kitchen to continue processing the Chestnuts.
Since they didn't have many possessions, everything that needed packing was already done.
Only some Chestnuts hadn't been processed in time. While they still had time now, they would process as many as possible. Those that couldn't be done would be stored somewhere early tomorrow morning, and they would retrieve them after settling in.
Once he made up his mind, Father Xu felt much more relaxed.
Two hours later, through the combined efforts of the father and the two daughters, they had finished processing the spiky outer shells of all the Chestnuts.
Father Xu collected all the spiky shells again, planning to dry them out and use them as firewood later.
After finishing this work, Father Xu called the two sisters to sit with him in the courtyard to chat.
He shared his thoughts, "Jianing, Jiayin, although we still have money, for safety's sake, I think the house we build should look like an ordinary house."
"Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the Mountains to hunt. After delivering the goods to the Village Head's House, I'll accompany you to the Town to sell the Chestnuts. When we return, we will give the money for the land to the Village Head."
Xu Jianing understood what he meant: he was worried that taking out too much money at once would be difficult to explain.
After all, in the countryside, that amount of money was something others couldn't earn in several lifetimes. It might provoke someone to do something desperate for money.
They say that learning from a mistake makes one wiser, and it's certainly true.
After experiencing all this, Father Xu had changed; he had become more cautious.