"Miss Qi," Zhang Erniu's rough voice called out.
Qi Zhenzhen walked out of the kitchen. Zhang Erniu was standing outside the fence gate. She had asked Xiao Niu to pass a message, but she hadn't expected Zhang Erniu to make a special trip, and so quickly.
Qi Zhenzhen opened the fence gate and gestured for Zhang Erniu to come in.
"Xiao Niu told me everything. I'll keep an eye on Da Hei and Er Hei. The urgent matter is that the courtyard wall needs to be built quickly," Zhang Erniu said. "After all, without a pillar of support in your home, you look easy to bully. Although most people in the mountains are kind-hearted, there are still those with impure intentions."
She hadn't expected Zhang Erniu to think along the same lines.
Qi Zhenzhen nodded, "I wonder how much silver it will cost to build a blue brick courtyard wall."
"That depends on how large a courtyard you want to enclose."
"Expand it." Qi Zhenzhen didn't hesitate at all. Although the current courtyard wasn't small, if she wanted to grow things in the courtyard in the future, a larger one would be better. They didn't have land, and Qi Zhenzhen had no intention of buying land for now. Growing some vegetables was fine, but tending to crops... she didn't think she had that capability. As for Madam Yun, it was even less likely. Making the courtyard larger would be convenient for everything.
Zhang Erniu sized it up, "Your courtyard is already quite large. I haven't seen any courtyard in the village as big as yours. To expand it further would make it even bigger. It would cost at least ten taels of silver."
Ten taels of silver. Qi Zhenzhen had no concept of this. She had two silver ingots in her hand, and using one to repair the courtyard wall would be just right.
Qi Zhenzhen nodded, "Alright. I don't understand these things very well. Brother Zhang Er, could you help arrange it?"
Zhang Erniu looked at Qi Zhenzhen with a strange expression. Was this girl genuinely ignorant or pretending? For houses being built in the village, ten taels of silver was enough to build three spacious blue brick houses with tiled roofs, a row of rammed earth brick wing rooms on the east and west sides, and a rammed earth courtyard wall. But her current intention was to use ten taels of silver to build a blue brick courtyard wall?
"Is it inconvenient for you, Brother Zhang Er?" Qi Zhenzhen asked again when he neither agreed nor refused.
Zhang Erniu shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Miss Qi, are you sure you want a blue brick courtyard wall?"
They were still living in rammed earth brick houses, yet they wanted to build a blue brick courtyard wall. Wasn't this putting the cart before the horse?
Qi Zhenzhen nodded, "A blue brick courtyard wall is sturdy. Once built, it's a permanent solution. Although a rammed earth wall costs less, it can be troublesome during the rainy season."
Not only would it create mud and water everywhere, but it could also collapse, which was indeed quite troublesome. For families with many men and ample labor, repairs were easy. For them, a woman, a girl, and a boy, a blue brick courtyard wall was more convenient.
"Alright, let's do it as soon as possible. I'll find people. As for the blue bricks, I know someone, so I can get them cheaper," Zhang Erniu said. "Before I was conscripted, I worked as a bricklayer."
Broad-shouldered and stout, he looked like a strong man, making him quite suitable for this line of work.
"By rights, your eldest brother should have been conscripted. How did it end up being you?" Qi Zhenzhen was a little curious.
"When I was young, I learned some martial arts from a wandering Taoist priest who came here. Eldest brother is the eldest son, and he will be the head of our Zhang family in the future. Going to war, one wrong step and you might not come back..." Zhang Erniu said casually.
Qi Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you worried about not coming back?"
"What's there to worry about? Our Zhang family has four sons," Zhang Erniu said indifferently.
Having many sons was truly a perfect reason.
"I'll go find people later. The courtyard wall is simple. It will be done quickly, in about five or six days," Zhang Erniu said. "When the time comes, Xiao Niu and I will set up a temporary shelter outside to watch over it."
Qi Zhenzhen understood Zhang Erniu's meaning. Until the courtyard wall was built, they would guard it outside, not afraid of Da Hei and Er Hei retaliating. Once the courtyard wall was built, with its high enclosure and embedded sharp bamboo, it wouldn't be easy to climb over.
"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Zhang Er," Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile. "When I have time, I will fulfill my promise."
Zhang Erniu looked a little embarrassed upon hearing this, "Regarding the previous matter, we didn't have the face to apologize to your mother. Tell her later that our Zhang family was in the wrong. My eldest brother genuinely took a liking to your mother. And our Zhang family will absolutely not, as the village rumors say, have the four brothers sharing one wife."
There were all sorts of rumors about the Zhang family in the village. Zhang Da Niu was nearly thirty. The men of the same age in the village were already arranging marriages for their sons, but Zhang Da Niu alone hadn't even found a wife. Over time, the villagers said the Zhang family was too poor, and with four sons sharing one wife, it was even harder to find a wife. Which family would be willing to send their daughter into a 'wolf's den'?
Qi Zhenzhen didn't quite know how to respond to Zhang Erniu's words. Earlier, she had retorted against those who made snide remarks, saying that if anyone was willing to marry their daughter to them, no one would stop them. Now, she felt inexplicably guilty.
"My eldest brother felt that you and your mother were pitiful," Zhang Erniu said in a low voice. "You are pitiful, and he is also pitiful. He thought that if this matter were to happen, your lives wouldn't be so hard. He wouldn't have to endure being talked about anymore. My eldest brother, my eldest brother is impotent."
There were no such rumors in the village, which meant that no one knew about Zhang Da Niu's impotence.
Therefore, Zhang Erniu revealing this matter meant he was sharing a secret kept by their Zhang family. Such an action could only mean one thing: Zhang Erniu was very serious about dealing with her and feared she might have reservations about them due to past events.
"Um, I will keep this matter a secret," Qi Zhenzhen said. "And please thank Brother Zhang for his kindness. Let's put the past behind us."
After seeing Zhang Erniu off, Qi Zhenzhen returned to the house and told Madam Yun about building the courtyard wall. Madam Yun had no objections. With the courtyard wall built, the safety of their mother and daughters would also be guaranteed.
"Zhenzhen, do we have the silver?" Madam Yun asked.
"Mother, you don't need to worry about this. I have enough silver," Qi Zhenzhen said. "Oh, and Mother, Brother Zhang Er is helping to arrange the building of the courtyard wall."
Madam Yun's face turned pale, "How could you deal with them? They, they are all ruffians."
It was no wonder Madam Yun reacted so strongly. In her memory, Zhang Da Niu had been persistent in pursuing Madam Yun. He was a rough man and didn't speak kindly, often frightening them, their mother and daughters, to their wits' end. Coupled with the village rumors about the Zhang brothers, which woman wouldn't be afraid?
"Mother, everything we know about the Zhang brothers' character is hearsay. What we see might be false, let alone what we hear?" Qi Zhenzhen said. "Earlier, when you were ill, they even came to visit. Although their words were rough, they didn't do anything excessive. When I came back just now, I encountered some trouble, and it was Xiao Niu who helped me!"