Gu Shi was not concerned about living together, but rather about not letting Young Master Xiao pay.
Although their family was not fabulously wealthy, they had more than enough to build a proper house.
It wouldn't be large, but it would be sufficient.
Old Man Yun smiled and said, "Young Master Kong, please tell Young Master Xiao that our family plans to build our own house and will not trouble Young Master Xiao further..."
Alas, natural disasters and man-made calamities were unavoidable.
However, to have someone extend a helping hand during such difficult times, Old Man Yun was deeply touched...
Kong Xingzhu waved his hand, "Sir, Madam, I am merely a messenger. Whether you listen or not is your affair!"
"Our master will build the house as scheduled. If you do not move in, it will remain vacant!~"
With that, Kong Xingzhu hugged Little Xi Tian and bowed his farewell.
"Tsk, why are they forcing us to build a house?" Old Man Yun clicked his tongue.
When good fortune arrives, it cannot be stopped...
Gu Shi sighed deeply, pondering how to subtly refuse Young Master Xiao without offending either family.
The household items were mostly packed.
They would begin moving out early the next morning.
Old Man Yun was somewhat reluctant to part with the doors and window frames of their home.
These could be dismantled and reinstalled exactly as they were once the new house was built...
Da Man and Er Man sat at the entrance of the main hall, enjoying the cool breeze, and the brothers were also reluctant to leave.
They had only lived in this large house for a few years, and now they had to squeeze into a smaller one.
"Alas, it's all my fault for being incapable. If I had worked harder these past few years, I wouldn't have saved not a single coin!~"
Old Man Yun puffed on his pipe, his face filled with melancholy and self-reproach...
Yun Er Man patted his brother's shoulder and said with a wry smile, "Big Brother, don't take this the wrong way, but even if you worked yourself to death, how many copper coins could you save?"
"Look around, every household in our village, Da Shui Village, has only a few acres of land. If we only scratch a living from the soil, can we dig up ginseng or find silver?"
He took the pipe from Yun Da Man's hand, squinted, and took two puffs. "To be honest, if it weren't for our sister, we probably wouldn't even have reached Da Shui Village..."
"You know what Fei Yan Village was like back then, Big Brother. How many refugees starved to death on the way."
"Those people didn't even have graves; they just rotted by the roadside, their names and origins unknown!~"
Yun Da Man listened and then looked up at the starry sky.
"I know our sister is no ordinary child. She is a divine prodigy, sent to protect our family!"
Yun Da Man pursed his lips, and the old face of Magistrate Jin suddenly appeared in his mind.
Yun Da Man frowned, suddenly sat up, and cursed, "From now on, if anyone dares to lay a hand on our sister, I will dig up their ancestral graves..."
Digging up ancestral graves was the most wicked thing one could do.
For his sister, Yun Da Man no longer cared about such infamy.
Just then, Old Man Yun walked over and sat on the rocking chair next to his two sons.
"I want to dismantle our house. If we pick through it carefully, we should be able to salvage quite a bit of lumber and bricks and tiles!~"
This way, they could save a considerable amount of money when building the new house...
It was better to dismantle it than to have it buried by mud and rubble.
Yun Er Man said, "Father, Sister said the mountainside is about to collapse. Isn't it too dangerous to dismantle the house now?"
A series of chaotic smashing sounds might just dislodge the rubble.
Were they risking their lives just to save a little money?
Yun Da Man also had some concerns, "According to Mother, we should have moved out today. I've been on edge these past few days, waking up in a fright in the middle of the night..."
Old Man Yun frowned, putting down the teacup he had just picked up.
"You two simpletons, what do you understand about these matters?"
"If we just transport these old bricks and tiles out, they'll be more than enough to build a small house."
"Do you know how much money that would save?"
Old Man Yun then pointed next door, "Young Master Xiao is wealthy and generous, so I won't say much more. If his house were also dismantled, wouldn't all that lumber, blue bricks, roof beams, rafters, and the main door be given to us for free?"
Old Man Yun was quite annoyed and very frustrated...
He did not want to see these bricks and tiles buried in the soil for nothing.
If they could be utilized, the family's savings would be enough to build a larger house.
Yun Da Man and Yun Er Man exchanged glances, both feeling that their father's actions were too risky.
Just then, Liu Cui Rong walked over, holding a handful of melon seeds, and leaned against the doorframe, saying, "I agree with dismantling the house!~"
Yun Er Man glared at her over his shoulder, "Get back inside!"
Liu Cui Rong walked around to Old Man Yun and spat out a melon seed shell, "Father, if you can't bear to part with it, stay here and dismantle the house yourself."
"We'll temporarily move to Fu Da Qiang's place. When Father has gathered all the lumber and bricks, we can build the big house, okay?"
She intended to sacrifice Old Man Yun, and then everyone else would reap the benefits...
After all, their father was the oldest in the family and had lived a full life.
They couldn't possibly let the younger generation take such a risk, could they?
Old Man Yun: "..."
What kind of daughter-in-law was this?
Was she wishing for her father-in-law to die soon?
"Father, I'll watch from below to help you. If the entire mountain slides down, you should run quickly. With Little Tian Bao protecting you, nothing will happen."
Liu Cui Rong said with a beaming smile, as if she could already see Old Man Yun fleeing for his life...
How comical that would be!
"Heh heh!" Liu Cui Rong couldn't help but chuckle.
Old Man Yun: "..."
A surge of anger brewed in his chest, and he truly wanted to kick this troublesome daughter-in-law into the well.
Yun Er Man instantly became furious. With a 'snap', he knocked the melon seeds from Liu Cui Rong's hand and dragged her into the house.
A moment later, angry scolding could be heard from the east wing, "You prodigal! Tomorrow I'll make you stay here and move bricks. If you don't gather enough bricks to build a house, I'll break your legs!~"
Old Man Yun glanced at Da Man, stood up helplessly, and went back into the house to rest...
Little Xi Tian sat at the kang table, putting down her brush and paper.
She was not scribbling aimlessly; she had gone to the mountainside during the day.
While the landslide was indeed dangerous, it could be temporarily prevented.
As long as it didn't rain continuously, and a retaining wall was built halfway up the mountain, the rubble and mud would not easily fall down...
The paper contained the lumber and materials needed for the retaining wall.
If the entire family worked together, the rubble could be stabilized in a single day.
This would give them time to dismantle the house.
The next morning, Old Man Yun and Gu Shi were directing the family to move their belongings.
Little Xi Tian skipped over and handed the paper to Old Man Yun, "Daddy, the retaining wall!~"
"Retaining wall?" Old Man Yun was slightly taken aback.
He looked at the paper and was instantly stunned...