Shen Xiaoyan felt a tremor run through her entire body, her eyes welling up as she looked at Zheng Wei.
Since marrying Zheng Wei, although they hadn't communicated much, and Zheng Wei himself had always been expressionless and taciturn, he had genuinely treated her well.
Whatever she wanted to do, he never objected. Instead, he did his utmost to help her. How could such a person not move her?
The three of them ate dinner in silence. Shen Xiaoming, sensing the awkward atmosphere, retreated to his room early after the meal.
Shen Xiaoyan cleaned up the kitchen before going into the room.
Zheng Wei was leaning against the bed, arms crossed, exuding an air of leisure.
"Are you really not injured?" Shen Xiaoyan asked again.
Zheng Wei's eyebrows twitched, and the corners of his lips curved upward. "Or would you like to check yourself?"
Shen Xiaoyan didn't react at first. When she understood the implication of Zheng Wei's words, her face instantly turned crimson. She never expected that Zheng Wei, who had always appeared so indifferent, would say such a thing.
"Since you're alright, you should rest early," Shen Xiaoyan said quickly, then hugged Luoluo and lay down on the inner side of the bed.
"Were you just being flirted with?" Luoluo's voice echoed in Shen Xiaoyan's mind, making her already flushed face even hotter.
"Go to sleep," Shen Xiaoyan admonished, then ignored Luoluo and closed her eyes, unsure if she had truly fallen asleep or was lost in thought.
Zheng Wei's gaze remained fixed on Shen Xiaoyan's back. Seeing that she remained still for a long time, he smiled silently and blew out the oil lamp.
The next morning, when Shen Xiaoyan woke up, Zheng Wei was no longer in the room.
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at the sky outside. She had woken up later than usual compared to the previous two days. It must have been due to thinking too much last night and sleeping late.
After getting dressed, Shen Xiaoyan walked out of the room, preparing to wash up and make breakfast.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw the opposite door also opening. Shen Xiaoming emerged, holding Xiaobai.
"Sister," Shen Xiaoming greeted Shen Xiaoyan with a smile.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded with a smile. After the siblings washed up together, they went to the kitchen together.
Shen Xiaoming stoked the fire, and Shen Xiaoyan cooked. This was how they used to do it at the Shen family home. They worked together seamlessly, much faster than Shen Xiaoyan cooking alone.
Shen Xiaoming had been taking medicine for several days and no longer coughed. Although his illness had improved, his physical depletion would not recover in a day or two; it would take time.
Shen Xiaoyan no longer restricted Shen Xiaoming's activities, as some movement was beneficial for his health.
After preparing the meal and keeping it warm on the stove, they went to weed the yard together.
Although they didn't speak, the siblings tacitly agreed to wait for Zheng Wei to return before eating.
After yesterday's events, Shen Xiaoming had accepted his sister's unusually fast work speed. As they were nearing the task of clearing the weeds from one mu of land, Zheng Wei finally returned.
After the three of them had breakfast together, Zheng Wei took out a piece of paper from his embrace. "This is the land deed."
Shen Xiaoyan took the paper and examined it closely. Although she still couldn't understand it, she saw the red seal on the deed and knew it had been registered at the county office.
Zheng Wei took out some money from his embrace and placed it on the table. "One wolf sold for nine taels of silver, plus the wild goats and pheasants. That totals thirty taels."
Both Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming were seeing such a large sum of money for the first time and were stunned.
Swallowing hard, Shen Xiaoyan said, "With the previous seven taels, we now have thirty-seven taels of silver. Not only can we build a sturdy courtyard, but it's also enough for our expenses for quite some time. You don't need to go into the mountains anymore."
Zheng Wei was taken aback for a moment, then he realized Shen Xiaoyan was concerned about him. He suppressed a smile but was secretly overjoyed. "Alright."
Since they had money, it was best to build the courtyard as soon as possible. Zheng Wei immediately went to the village to find people.
Although Zheng Wei's relationships with the villagers were not deep, and he usually didn't talk much, he had grown up in the village.
When he said he wanted to build a courtyard wall, some villagers were willing to help.
Although Zheng Wei stated that he wouldn't provide meals, he offered twenty li per person per day as wages, which was more attractive than providing food.
Furthermore, since it was close to the village, it was not a hassle to travel back and forth twice a day. He found enough people in a short time, thirty in total.
The Zhu and Shen families, also in Baiyun Village, naturally heard that Zheng Wei was looking for people to build a courtyard wall, but no one inquired.
The Shen family was too lazy to ask, and the Zhu family pretended not to know, to avoid Zheng Wei asking for their help.
Zheng Wei returned home with the thirty people and arranged for some to start digging the foundation while the rest accompanied him to buy black bricks.
Black bricks were only sold in Tongling Town. Zheng Wei led his men, rented the village's ox cart, and headed to town.
By almost noon, they returned with ten carts loaded with bricks.
Shen Xiaoyan saw that behind each horse was a long flatbed cart with sideboards to prevent the black bricks from falling.
"Is this much brick enough?" Shen Xiaoyan asked Zheng Wei.
"Not enough. We'll have to go again this afternoon," Zheng Wei replied, shaking his head.
In fact, even if they went again in the afternoon, he couldn't guarantee it would be enough. However, since the town was close, they could always make another trip if it wasn't enough.
More than twenty people had dug for a whole morning, but they had only managed to excavate the foundation for one wall. The main reason was the immense area.
Since lunch was not provided, Zheng Wei had the men unload the bricks, arranged the work time for the afternoon, and then told everyone to go home for lunch.
Shen Xiaoyan had already prepared lunch. The three of them ate lunch together, and shortly after, the workers returned.
In the afternoon, Zheng Wei took his men to fetch another ten cartloads of black bricks before temporarily halting the brick-buying.
By the afternoon of the next day, the foundations for all four walls had been dug. Since it was only a courtyard wall, the foundation was not deep, which allowed for such speed.
When the courtyard wall was halfway built, Madam Xu and Xu Xiao'e arrived. Looking at the courtyard wall rising from the desolate ground, and then at the few thatched huts enclosed within the wall, a subtle smile of mockery played on Xu Xiao'e's lips.
What if they were Shen Cheng's own children? They were still driven to the foot of the mountain.
Conversely, she, Xu Xiao'e, was about to marry into town and live a life of comfort.
Xu Xiao'e thought this, and an extremely proud expression appeared on her face. Shen Xiaoyan, however, paid no attention to it.
"Xiaoyan, why did you buy this barren land? And build such a large courtyard wall? Isn't that a waste of money? With this money, you should have saved it for your sister's dowry," Madam Xu said before Shen Xiaoyan could speak.
"We bought the land to farm, of course. We don't have much money, so we can only buy barren land. As for building the courtyard wall, we live here, and there's no one around for miles. Naturally, we need to ensure our safety," Shen Xiaoyan replied with a sneer.
Had this Madam Xu become foolish after becoming pregnant? She wouldn't even throw her money into a pit to give to Xu Xiao'e as a dowry.
"With so much money to build a courtyard wall, it would be better to buy your sister a set of head ornaments. Poor your sister, about to get married, and she doesn't even have a decent set of head ornaments," Madam Xu continued, completely ignoring Shen Xiaoyan's words.