Chapter Thirty-Seven: Having Hope

  The next morning, Qizhen got up early, washed and dressed, fed the pigs and chickens, and didn't even have breakfast before rushing to the wasteland.

  It seems that since Qizhen's first feeding of the chickens and pigs, she has completely taken over this task. During this time, except for Ye Lao's dissuasion, the three families seemed to be unaware that she was doing things, and even didn't have the consciousness that she was helping them do things. Fortunately, Qizhen did not expect them to be grateful, as long as they did not bother her, it was fine.

  When she arrived at the wasteland, she thought she had come early, but found that Seventh Uncle Ye Song had already arrived. He also brought two helpers with him. All three of them were wearing short brown clothes, which were a bit faded from washing, but still very neat and clean, they must all have a diligent and capable wife at home.

  "Seventh Uncle, good morning. Good morning to both uncles." The house was going to be built, and although it was just a thatched hut, Qi Zhen'er's heart was still racing with excitement, her smile unstoppable from the moment she woke up, and now even her words were laced with joy.

  Ye Song also has a straightforward personality, and from Old Man Ye, he somewhat understands the circumstances of Qī Zhēn'ér's birth. Seeing how happy Qī Zhēn'ér is, he knows why, and teases: "Zhēn'ér, you followed Bái Jí girl to call me Seventh Uncle, but these two can't be called uncle anymore. These two calling 'brother' would be just fine."

  Qī Zhēn ér Zhang opened his big mouth and looked at those two people who should be called brothers. They look about the same age as Ye Song, don't they?

  One of them who looked a bit more honest scratched his head and said, "We are of lower rank."

  As soon as she said that, Qizhen understood. She had also heard people say before that when people of the same clan and surname live together, some younger generations have higher ranks, and in extreme cases, there are even white-haired old men calling newborn babies "uncle". It's just that previously, Qi Jia Zhuang was inhabited by scattered surnames, and this situation had never occurred. Qizhen had only heard others say it, but hadn't seen it for herself, so she didn't think about it in that way.

  "This is your eleventh uncle," Yeshan pointed to the kind-hearted Xiang Qizhen and introduced, turning around to introduce another one, "This is Ye Shiwu."

  "Eleventh brother, fifteenth brother." Qizhen'er said sweetly.

  Ye Eleven nodded repeatedly and said: "Good, good." Another Ye Fifteen seemed to be a man of few words, nodded at Qi Zhen'er, took it as a greeting, and started busy.

  Qizhen'er watched them unloading materials and digging the foundation, saying: "Seventh Uncle, is there anything I can help with?"

  "Help?" Ye Song glanced at Qi Zhen'er, seeing the longing in her eyes, knowing she was telling the truth. After a moment's thought, he said: "Later, that kid from my house will pull over some crushed stones, you'll spread them out with him on this piece of land, and we'll need to pave the ground later."

  Qī Zhēn ér was happily nodding. Seeing them unloading stones and digging the foundation in an orderly manner, she knew she couldn't help much, so she stood aside with her eyes on the ground, continuing to pick up stones, waiting for Ye Qiū shū's child to arrive.

  "Zhen'er, Zhen'er." Ye Baiji called out from a distance. As she drew closer, Ye Song looked at her with a hint of teasing in his eyes, and she quickly changed her tone to say: "Good morning, Seventh Uncle, Eleventh Brother, Fifteenth Brother."

  Ye Song wiped his face with a towel and smiled: "Zhī zi, it's not early now, Zhen'er has been here for half a day." The people around him couldn't help but laugh.

  Ye Baiji's face turned red, and she hastily said: "Seventh Uncle, you're busy, I'll go find Zhen'er." She ran to Zhen'er's side and saw that she was also covering her mouth and secretly laughing. With a scolding look at her, she said: "Let's go back for dinner, everyone is waiting for you."

  Hasn't Qi Zhener eaten yet? Ye Song heard this and glanced at Qi Zhener, saying: "Zhener, why didn't you eat before coming? Don't you trust your Seventh Uncle?"

  Qizhen'er shook her head repeatedly: "Seventh Uncle, you're the one Grandfather found, I don't believe anyone wouldn't trust Seventh Uncle. I'm just afraid of tiring Seventh Uncle out, and wanted to come help."

  Yesheng smiled with joy after hearing the words, "This little girl has a sweet mouth. Alright, let's go back and have lunch first. That kid at my place definitely won't come so early."

  "Alright," Qizhen'er replied, "You seven uncles are busy, I'll head back first."

  Ye Song waved his hand, and Qi Zhen'er followed Ye Baiji as they walked towards the Ye family home.

  On the road, Ye Baiji scolded: "You said you were in such a hurry? This hasn't even started yet, and you've come to see it several times a day. I didn't see you when I got up this morning, so I thought you hadn't gotten out of bed yet! As a result, you came over without even eating, and made me lose face in front of Seventh Uncle."

  Qizhen'er tried to placate her: "My good sister, isn't this a big deal about whether or not I have a place in the family? Can't I get excited just this once? However, I promise it won't happen again."

  Back at the Ye's house, everyone was waiting in the upper room. Old Master Ye saw that Qizhen had finished washing up and followed Yebai into the upper room, then announced that dinner was ready.

  Ye Shi Xiao made a big fuss yesterday, so Qi Zhen Er thought he would still be very stubborn and unwilling to have dinner with this "jinx" today. As a result, she saw him sitting steadily at the table, looking dazed.

  Actually, Qizhen still really overestimated Yeshi. He is a gambler and originally a scoundrel with no backbone. Yesterday's tough stance was because Sanfang was in cahoots with him, but when Sanfang retreated, he didn't plan to continue being tough anymore. However, nobody gave him an excuse to back down, so he could only do that.

  If he doesn't come to eat today, he will definitely go hungry. Ye Baiju won't be so kind as to bring him a bowl of rice when serving Sun Shi. Besides, he doesn't have much money on hand now, and if he doesn't eat, he won't even spend money to buy food when he goes out, and he still plans to use the remaining money to make a profit.

  "Zhen'er, Ah Song, have they all gone?" asked Old Man Ye.

  Qizhen swallowed the porridge in her mouth and nodded hastily, saying: "They're here, Seventh Uncle and Eleventh Brother, Fifteenth Brother came quite early."

  Ye Lao nodded, "Ah Song is a hard worker. It's almost time for the summer harvest, they must want to rush and finish early, take a few days off before getting busy with the summer harvest."

  "Remember to cook some green bean soup for them later, now it's hot, be careful not to get heatstroke." Old Master Ye reminded.

  Jiang heard and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Ye Baihe's gaze. Jiang had no choice but to swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue. This Qi Zhen'er built a thatched hut, why should they still spend money and goods? Those green beans may not be expensive, but they also cost money! And this Qi Zhen'er brother and sister are still living in their own home, it's really a waste of money inside and out.

  Qī Zhēn ér nodded. Thinking of going to help, she quickly scooped a bowl of porridge and put down the bowl, then ran towards the wasteland.

  "Zhen'er, slow down." Ye Baiji saw Qi Zhen'er's flustered and excited appearance, and reminded her. She's really a little girl, can't hide things in her heart.

  Ye Lao Yezi looked at Qi Zhen'er with a smile on his face, "This has a good omen, and the person is also more spirited and lively."

  Ye Shixian listened with a smirk, neither affirming nor denying. In the past, Old Master often used this phrase to scold him, but he didn't take it seriously and Old Master stopped saying it. Now it's being used to praise someone else!

  "If I had a son, I would have something to look forward to and some vitality." Yeshi said, "You let me take a concubine, isn't that settled?"

  As soon as Ye Shixiao brought up the topic, Old Master Ye became unhappy and slammed his chopsticks: "I've said it before, if you want to take a concubine, either I die or you leave the Ye family and start your own household. Which one do you want to choose?"

  Ye Shi Xie was speechless for a moment. The old man had just shut him down, if he wanted to take a concubine, he would have to set up another household, but he didn't have any skills, and all he did was gamble and lose money every day. If he left the Ye family, what would he use to support his family? Wouldn't they all starve to death?

  Ye Baiji didn't expect Old Master Ye to say such harsh words just to stop her father from taking a concubine, although Old Master Ye might be considering the entire Ye family's interests. But now that her father has this idea, Old Master Ye's words made her put her mind at ease, and her eyes involuntarily reddened.

  These past few days, she hasn't been sleeping well, fearing that her grandfather would be pestered by her father to the point of agreeing to take a concubine, which would truly be the death of their family. Now with her grandfather's words, even if the town's matters don't come to fruition, she won't be afraid anymore. In fact, she will feel much more at ease in the future, unless her father finds an opportunity and really sets up a separate household.

  "Shi Wei brought news yesterday, they will be back today. Old Third's family, you all sweep the house clean today. Go to the village entrance and cut a few catties of meat, come back and give them a good supplement." Ye Laozhang instructed.

  "Let's all behave ourselves from now on, anyone who dares to stir up more trouble will have to deal with me." The old man's harsh words made everyone present tremble with fear and hastily nod in agreement.

  When Zhen'er arrived at the deserted land, only Ye Qiushu and his two companions were still coming and going, busy with their work. It seemed that Ye Qiushu's young son had not yet arrived.

  Qī Zhēn ér continued to pick up stones, planning how to clean up the area around the house. The northeast corner of the backyard could be fenced off as a vegetable garden, which would be closer to the stream and more convenient for watering. As for the toilet, it would be better to build it on the east side of the garden, far away from the house, so that the smell wouldn't spread into the house. For now, there wasn't enough money to build a courtyard wall, so the pigpen couldn't be built yet, and pigs couldn't be raised either. However, they could raise some chickens, as Hǔ Zǐ liked eating eggs.

  The house is built, but what about the furniture? The tables and chairs are okay, they can be added slowly, but without a bed, how can we do? She thought that since the house was built, she would move in. But at home, there was no bed, no quilt, not even a mat to sleep on, thinking about it made Qizhen worry, her eyebrows were furrowed together.

  Looks like I have to think of ways to make money as soon as possible!

  "Dad, I'm here"

  A faint voice came from afar, and Qizhen'er took a look. It was a half-grown young man pushing a cart of broken stones. This should be the youngest son of Ye Qi's family, right?

  Ye Qiushu stopped his busy hands, wiped the sweat and said: "How come you're so late? Didn't I tell you to get up early and help out?"

  Ye Qiushu's son, with his hand on his forehead, looked up at the sky and said, "Dad, it's not that late, is it? I got up early, yesterday was so tiring from rushing to finish work, didn't even let me rest."

  Ye Qiushu was estimated to be annoyed by his son, pointing in the direction of Zhen'er: "You still have the face to say that others are better than you. Look at how many stones she has picked up!"

  "Seventh Uncle, let it go. Lu Yuan is still a kid after all," said Ye Shiyi. "The past few days have been really exhausting and he didn't even get to rest, but he's still very resilient."

  Ye Qiushu thought for a moment and didn't say anything, still busy with his own work.

  However, Ye Qi's sons didn't seem to be afraid of him and were still smiling as they asked Qizhen: "Little sister, whose family are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?"

  Qī Zhēn'er suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, his words accompanied by the smile on his face made him look like a bad person who deceives children.

  "This is my home." Qizhen'er echoed.

  "Huh, isn't this the house that was built for my Third Uncle's family?" Ye Luyuan was confused. He remembered his Third Uncle coming to his house to ask his father to build a thatched hut. "What is your relationship with my Third Uncle's family?" ***Today and tomorrow will still be two updates per day, but starting the day after tomorrow, it will return to one update per day. Everyone, hurry up and read the book, don't forget to vote!