Chapter 56: Lend a Hand

  "Son, where does it hurt? Tell Mom." Lotus sister saw Ye's painful humming and couldn't help but feel heartbroken, wishing she could take the pain on herself.

  Ye Quan's face was swollen, with a purplish-black mark around his eyes. His eyelids were severely swollen and he could only open them a crack even when trying to force them wide open. He was in pain all over but couldn't articulate it, only able to cry out "Ow, ow".

  Lotus sister looked at him like this, also helpless, heart aching, staring at her own husband, said: "You are so cruel, how did you become a father? Your son is in such pain and you don't even care to comfort him, not a single kind word, nor do you know to call his third uncle to come and take a look."

  Ye Quan's father was fed up and irritably said: "Didn't your third brother come over yesterday? He got a beating because he didn't behave himself, it serves him right. And now you still have the nerve to ask for a doctor? Look at how you've spoiled him, what has our family become?"

  Lotus sister is fed up, "Ye Chong, you say it clearly, what do you mean by 'old mother's habit', isn't our family's livelihood in your hands? You don't care about anything every day, aren't I the one taking care of your whole family's food and drink? And now you're blaming me, this is not right."

  Ye Chong couldn't bear to see women like this anymore, unreasonable and saying whatever they wanted.

  "I'm too lazy to bother with you, I'll go find someone to fix the house." He said and walked out the door. As he reached the entrance, he saw his old father sitting on the threshold, staring at their own big house that was built just a few years ago, with eyes full of sadness.

  Ye Zhong's heart sank, and he said, "Dad, don't worry, I'll definitely buy the house back for you in the future."

  The head of the family, Ye Jingde, still maintained his usual demeanor, but his eyes were sunken and gaunt, making it unbearable to look at him. Ye let out a deep sigh, not knowing what to say. This disaster was caused by his son, and their house had been used as collateral to pay off debts. Last night, when he returned from the ancestral hall, his father hadn't spoken a word except to tell them to pack up and move back to the old house. Even when his wife refused to move, his father had taken his cane and struck the ground fiercely, staring at them with wide, round eyes that scared them all into hastily packing their belongings. Today, he sat on the threshold, motionless, a heartbreaking sight to behold.

  He bid farewell and Ye Chong went out the door.

  After they moved into the new house, the old house was left uninhabited. The inside was dirty, with spider webs on the roof and dust everywhere that wasn't easy to clean. This was a big job in itself, requiring help from others. However, after what happened yesterday, their relatives all kept their distance from them. He knew some of the reasons for this. But even if they could handle it themselves, the broken roof needed to be fixed urgently. In a few days, it would be busy with farm work and the bricklayer probably wouldn't have time either. Living in a house with a broken roof was not safe at all.

  After having a vegetarian meal at Songshan Temple, Qizhen and the others walked slowly back to Yushu Village. As they walked on the small path, Qizhen only then realized that coming from here to Songshan Temple really saved them a lot of distance.

  After entering the village, Old Ye took the revised birth chart of Qizhen and her siblings to find the village head. It's better to settle household registration matters earlier, it's more reassuring in one's heart.

  Qī Zhēn ér jiě dì gēn yè bái zhǐ yī lù shuō shuō xiào xiào de wǎng yè jiā zǒu, yuǎn yuǎn kàn jiàn qī zhēn ér de máo wū nà li hěn duō rén máng lù zhe.

  Ye Qiushu patted Qizhen's head, smiling and saying: "What's wrong, little girl? Scared silly? You were quite brave yesterday, charging into the ancestral hall and foiling the plot!"

  Ye Baiji was also shocked, but she quickly came to her senses and felt that today was indeed a lucky day for weddings, traveling, and even more so for groundbreaking.

  "Zhen'er, this is your new home!" Ye Baiji patted Zhen'er, trying to wake her up.

  It took a long time for Qizhen to wake up from the shock, and tears flowed down her face unconsciously. Ye Qiushu also understood her feelings very well, patted her, pointed at the thatched roof, and said to the people surrounding the mud house, "If there's anything else you need, just say it quickly. Today, the villagers are willing to help you for free. If you ask again next time, you'll have to pay labor costs!"

  Qī Zhēnér heard and burst into laughter, she knew that Yè Qī Shū said it in jest. Among the villagers, helping each other out usually just meant providing food, unless someone specifically asked for help. He was saying this to give her an opportunity to vent her anger, after all those people had come here two days ago and caused trouble, damaging the house. After all, she was now officially a resident here, and it's best not to have grudges among fellow villagers.

  After walking around the house, Qizhen couldn't help but admit in her heart that no matter what the reason was, the people here were still very genuine. Last time they were incited to drive them away and even destroyed the house built by Ye Qiushu and others, today they came to repair the house for her without notice, and also surrounded the courtyard wall.

  After walking around, others also just smiled when they saw Qizhen'er and didn't say anything else. Qizhen'er understood that she was still a little girl, looking only seven or eight years old, and some people's children were even older than her, so it was really hard for her to say thanks or apologize.

  Whether it was an apology or gratitude, Qizhen'er was willing to accept their kindness.

  "Hmm, I'm too young to do farm work with Tiger. It would be great if we could raise some chickens or pigs to supplement our income." Qizhen'er said wistfully.

  Ye Qiushu was amused by this little girl, wanting a chicken coop and a pigpen, just say it directly, no need to beat around the bush. "Alright, I'll take care of this." He said, calling out to the busy people, "Who's free? Go fetch some stones, we'll build a chicken coop and a pigpen for Zhen'er later."

  "Ah." Two young men who looked like they were in their twenties responded and pushed a cart away.

  At this moment, Qizhen couldn't help much here either. Ye Qiushu also saw that she was making those busy men a bit embarrassed, so he drove her and Ye Baiju away.

  Back at the Ye's house, Qizhen put away the two taels of silver she had earned today and took out three hundred coins to give to Ye Baiju. "Baiju sister, I heard that there are some early-ripening watermelons being sold in the village now. Can you help me buy one that's twenty or thirty catties? Send it over to Uncle Ye Qi and his family for them to eat. I'll go pick some fruit on the mountain and let them bring it back for the kids to satisfy their cravings."

  Ye Baiji looked at the money in her hand and said, "You're busy with that, they came to help you with the work, it's only right. If their family's wife wasn't so easily deceived, your house would have been cleaned up long ago, where would those things be? Besides, even if you bought them, they might not be willing to eat them, who doesn't know that early-ripening melons are sold at a high price?"

  Qizhen'er smiled and said, "Whether they eat or not is their business, but I must have the intention. I can't say that others are kind enough to help me with things, and I'm really so honest that I let people help me without doing anything? This makes me feel uncomfortable too. Now I also can't afford their meals, some fruits are still edible. Alright, you go quickly now, it's hot outside, eating a melon is refreshing."

  Ye Baiji saw that she couldn't persuade her, so she had to take the money to buy melons. This money was also earned by Zhen'er getting up early several times and carrying a lot of fruit to sell before saving it.

  On the mountain, there were fruit trees. Qi Zhen'er had already walked smoothly and was no longer afraid of anything. She sent Hu Zi to follow Ye Baiju, who carried a basket on her back and went out again.

  Ye Chong went to several familiar homes, wanting to find someone to help him, but he didn't find anyone. Either the only person at home was the wife, saying that her husband had gone out, or she said that her husband had been injured yesterday and was bedridden.

  After being rebuffed several times, Ye Chong realized that things might be more serious than he thought. He discreetly found a familiar person to ask and only then understood where the problem lay.

  With a stifled anger, Ye Chong walked back home. From afar, he heard a noisy commotion and saw a group of men frolicking behind the Ye residence, holding watermelons and eating with great relish. Watermelon wasn't an expensive thing, but at this time of year, it was indeed precious. In the village, only the outsider Xie family could grow early-ripening melons, and their early-ripening melons were said to be selling for twenty cents a pound now. If Ye Chong didn't know where that group of men were busy, no one would believe it.

  I don't know where Qizhen got the courage to buy so many melons for these people to eat.

  Afraid of being seen, Ye Chong lowered his head and walked away.