Zeng Ruixiang and Shen pulled back home, Zeng Ruixiang held Shen's hand and said: "Sorry, every time we go to the old house, it always ends up unpleasant. From now on, if there's nothing important, you can reduce your visits. These years have been really hard on you. Although children don't speak ill of their mother, my mom is indeed getting more stubborn and unreasonable with age. My dad is a bit better than in previous years. Don't worry, from now on I will consider your feelings and the kids' before responding to what they say. If it's not necessary, I won't give them a single penny."

  "Shen said with a pat on his hand, 'I know you've improved a lot over the years. Chunyu and the others are just anxious because they can't get any benefits from our family. Let's not mention their annoying affairs, we'll live our own lives well. Anyway, we won't see them more than twice a year.'"

  The husband and wife talked for a long time, and Zeng Ruixiang's mood improved somewhat. After all, over the years, he had been used to making such sacrifices, thinking that they were all brothers and sisters, one family, and helping as much as possible. But in return, there was calculation and harm again and again. The ones who hurt him the most were his closest relatives. The fact that they couldn't be abandoned due to blood ties made him even more suffocated and confused. Fortunately, Yumei had always been by his side, and the children had also been with him all along. These were enough for Zeng Ruixiang.

  The next day, Zilu took his sons, Zishou and Zixi, back home for the spring plowing holiday. Seeing that a new house was being built at home, he asked and learned that his elder brother had already set a wedding date. Moreover, September 18th coincided with the autumn holiday season, everyone was excited, saying that this time they really need to prepare big gifts.

  "Have you all thought about what kind of house you want to build? Why not take advantage of my free time and build them all at once, so as to avoid future trouble. However, each of you must give me a truly grand gift in return, no empty promises."

  "Big brother, I've already given gifts to Kangping and the others, aren't they enough? Look, there's jade, chicken blood stone, bangles, and other small accessories. And I still have a big gift for you. It's not finished being embroidered yet, but it should be meaningful enough." Zi Qing smiled proudly at Zi Fu.

  "I've got the couplet for your wedding." This was Zirong. Zirong's calligraphy has made great progress, even better than Zifu's.

  "When you get married, I will carve a seal and give it to you." This is Zi Shou.

  "Then I'll just wait for food and drink." This is Zi Xi.

  "Big brother, I'll make a purse for you." Zi Yu's voice was soft and sweet as she swung her ponytail.

  The laughter of the family dispersed the gloom in Zeng Rui-xiang and Shen's hearts. Shen regained her spirits and instructed the children on their respective tasks. Zi-lu still had to go to Changzhou for the imperial examination in June, so he devoted himself to intense studying in his study room.

  On March 28, Lin Kangping returned. Seeing the new house that was almost completed, he couldn't help but feel envious, so he deliberately made a sour face and said to Zi Qing: "I'm about the same age as my older brother, and they can already get married, but I still have to wait another two years, it's really a different fate."

  "I have a way to teach you to get married immediately, but if I say it out loud, you must thank me properly." Zifeng smiled and said to Lin Kangping.

  "Really? Please enlighten me, big brother." Lin Kangping clasped his hands together in a respectful gesture and asked Zi Fu to teach him.

  "Silly. You've been deceived, my elder brother must have let you switch people. My sister isn't even grown up yet, can't you just switch to an older one? Wanting to get married whenever, this didn't even occur to you, and you still want to be my brother-in-law? Switch, switch." Zi Xi gave Lin Kangping a disdainful look, while Zi Fu, Zi Lu, and Zi Shou all burst out laughing.

  Lin Kangping held Zi Qing's hand and said: "My several big uncles and younger uncles are not all fuel-efficient lamps, only my wife is a good person."

  Several people who heard this were even more delighted and began to say that they would make things difficult for Lin Kangping, otherwise it would be unfair to him after what he said today, which made Zi Qing feel embarrassed.

  This time Lin Kangping is back for just over ten days, and he has to buy things from this side and rush to Jingdezhen by waterway. Lin Kangping said that the flower master of the Wen family was unwilling to come over, and they would wait and see if there were suitable people to buy two, but a gardening master who understood gardens was found, however, there is no time to come now, and it will be said in autumn.

  "Or we can take advantage of these ten or so days to build the courtyard wall on the wasteland first, and then add a few more rooms. In the future, when you buy people, won't they have a place to live?"

  Lin Kangping thought for a moment and said: "That's right, but this way, I'll be busy again. Originally, I wanted to spend a few more days with you, chatting."

  "Isn't it time to stop standing around and talking? What else do you want?" Zi Qing tilted her head and glanced at Lin Kangping.

  Lin Kongping couldn't help but lightly pinch Ziying's face, feeling that the skin was exceptionally smooth, and quickly touched it again. Seeing Ziying's eyes widening and her eyebrows about to stand up, he hastily pulled her hand and whispered: "You're deliberately teasing me, okay, I won't mess with you anymore. Honestly, your hands feel too good, I couldn't help myself. Look at your hands, they have a thin layer of callus from doing things for years. Don't worry, after we get married, I won't let you do anything, and I'll make sure to take care of your hands until they're as smooth and tender as the skin on your face."

  Ziying burst out laughing, "You're still so naive and tender, do you think this is a joke? I'm trying to talk serious business with you, but you've been rambling on about nonsense all day. In the past, I thought you were someone who didn't speak carelessly, always with a straight face, as if everyone owed you money. Now it seems like you've learned to be smooth-tongued and flattering, even learning how to fawn over women in a low voice."

  "Now that you mention it, it seems to be true. I didn't even realize I could change so much. If someone had told me before, I would have refused to believe that these words could come out of my own mouth. Maybe it's just my natural disposition. When I meet someone I like, all I think about is making her happy and nothing else matters. It's only in front of you that I'm like this. Having to put on a serious face for my own wife is so tiring."

  Zi Qing's face turned red after hearing that, and she somewhat believed his words. However, she said: "Here we go again, always talking about wives, if my mother hears it, she'll scold me for a while."

  "Alright, let's not argue about this. This wall would be better off with brick walls, it's more solid and durable, and it can be done faster. We're not short of money either. Besides, where are we going to find earth bricks now? But buying some large stone blocks is possible. There are many large stone blocks on the riverbank at the entrance of Chenjia Village, which is not far from here." Lin Kangping held onto Ziying's hand without letting go.

  Two men consulted and Lin Kang hurriedly found Zi Fu, who took him to find San Bao, asking San Bao's family sons to help buy stone blocks. They still looked for people from their own village to build the wall. Originally, Zi Qing wanted to find villagers from Ling Shang Village to give them a way to make money and get along in the future. But thinking about it, this village only had more than ten households, where could they find a specialized construction team? They had no choice but to give up.

  It is said that Zifu wants to go with him to Canton, Lin Kangping is very happy and also suggests that Zifu go out to buy some tea leaves and transport them to Canton to sell and earn some travel expenses, so this trip's expenses don't have to be paid by the family.

  Zifou and his parents discussed it, Zeng Ruixiang said: "It's better to bring less silver, just touch it slightly, absolutely don't get addicted to it, and change your mind. It's not that making money is wrong, after all, you still have to make reading a priority. This time going out for experience is to let you understand this society better. The ancient saying isn't wrong, reading ten thousand volumes of books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Seeing more can broaden your horizons, and in the future it will be helpful for your essay exams, because some things are far beyond what books can give you."

  Zi Fu nodded in agreement. Zi Qing, who was listening on the side, was very surprised. She really hadn't expected that her old father actually had some skills. Unfortunately, he had stopped his studies due to poverty at home when he was young, and if he were to continue studying now, he would definitely not be a mere scholar. If only she had advised him to take the exams when she first arrived, he should have been under thirty years old then. Now, he's probably lost that kind of temperament, and besides, in three years' time, he'll be over forty.

  "Remember to come back before the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, after that we will be sending out betrothal gifts. Be careful on your way." She then handed him a 200-tael silver note, but Zi Fu thought it was too much and Shen Shi said "a poor household has a rich road".

  Because of the preparation for building a wall, Lin Kangping's journey was delayed for two or three days. During this time, he also took Subu out to buy tea leaves and rented a boat. Since they couldn't wait any longer, Subei urged him to set off. The construction site is not something that can be rushed, if there are problems with the quality of work it will not be worth it. Anyway, there were still several paternal uncles helping out, who were also familiar people from the village, and had done business together many times before.

  Lin Kongping listened and said, "It can only be so, if we delay any further, it will be troublesome when David leaves, so I have to trouble you, I originally said not to worry about it, but still have to bother you."

  "I didn't say it before, but what's yours is mine. I'm busy with my own affairs, isn't that right? Are you still treating me like an outsider in your heart? Thinking this is all yours." Zi Qing said on purpose, provoking Lin Kangping to the point where he wanted to hug her and bite her a few times, but ultimately didn't dare to be presumptuous.

  After seeing off Lin Kangping and his son Fu, Shen's heart began to grow idle again. Fortunately, Master Xu came to the door to make furniture, so Shen had to muster up her spirit to respond.

  The layout of the new house is similar to the current one, with a main room of five rooms, a hall in the middle, and two side rooms on each side. Each room is not large, about 12 or 13 square meters. The east side has a kitchen and dining room, while the west side has a bathroom and guest room. Shen thought it would be better to prepare a small kitchen for them, just in case they want to cook something themselves one day, or need to entertain guests from their hometown, so they can use a small stove.

  Ziying saw that Shen was busy and couldn't take care of her, so she asked Zeng Rui Xiang to accompany her to Ling Shang Village in the afternoon to check on the progress of the project. The courtyard wall had been completed for more than half, as three sides of the wasteland had abandoned canals, and the courtyard wall was built along the edge of the canal, only six feet high, with large stone blocks at the bottom, over half a meter high, which were found by several uncles who ran around the nearby riverbank. Ziying also asked about the time needed and the amount of silver to be spent on the green bricks, and then returned home with Zeng Rui Xiang.

  After arriving home, Zi Qing found Master Xu and asked him to have his apprentices finish the work on this side before going to do the doors and windows on the other side. After thinking for a moment, Zi Qing also asked Master Xu how much nanmu wood and redwood he had left, as well as other good materials. This time, when making furniture for Shen's family, they only required that the high chairs and tables in the main hall be made of redwood, and the nanmu screen had been set aside by Shen's family last time. Just then, Zi Rong returned home.