CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 126: LIU YANG DIDN’T COME

Jiang Hu slept until it was almost dark before getting up, and he casually arranged the sleeping place for the night.

"Xiao Ze, the house is small. I’ll tidy up this room. How about you and Xiji both sleep here?"

Jiang Hu was talking about the room where they kept the grain.

It’s not small; the grain was packed in burlap bags, stacked together, with more than half the space still empty.

Putting in two beds was not a problem at all. Tomorrow they could make two more cabinets to place in there, and it would be convenient for Xiji and Liu Ze to live together and take care of each other.

Liu Ze nodded: "Whatever works. Thank you, Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Hu waved his hand: "It’s nothing to trouble about. The place is just small. Just don’t mind it, that’s all. Xiji, give me a hand. Let’s adjust things a bit more."

"Sure thing, Brother Jiang." Xiji quickly jogged over, and the two of them rearranged the grain. Jiang Hu also found a few pieces of wood to support the grain.

"Now there’s more space. Tomorrow, I’ll get you guys some furniture to make living more convenient."

Liu Ze was excellent at studying and definitely needed to read and write, so they’d get a small desk then.

"Thank you, Brother Jiang." Xiji was even happier than Liu Ze.

A single room! And sharing it with the young master!

At the Liu estate, he slept in a big shared room! Only the managers got to live in single rooms!

"No need for thanks. I really appreciated your help this afternoon. As it happens, we’re not busy these days. Tomorrow we can chop some bamboo and open a small window."

Second Aunt cut a handful of chives and happened to pass by the door.

"Brother Hu, why don’t we stop waiting and find someone to build a house now—a bit bigger yard?"

In the past couple of years, they saved up about fifty or sixty taels of silver, and today Master Liu even left fifty taels, letting Liu Ze stay until the New Year.

Having so much money at home actually felt a bit unsettling, so building a house might as well be a good option. Moreover, they weren’t afraid of people finding out now.

A bigger courtyard could be built for forty or fifty taels, and if anyone asked, they could just say it was given by Master Liu.

Jiang Hu nodded: "I was just about to mention it. The kids are all grown now, and many people in the village have built new houses in recent years. We shouldn’t wait any longer."

Thus, the matter of building the house was simply decided.

Dinner wasn’t as lavish as lunch. Corn was mixed with the rice, and it tasted distinctly different from plain white rice.

The refined rice was harvested from last year’s paddy, which they kept for themselves. The yield wasn’t particularly good, but among them, there were two or three hundred stalks that were incredibly bountiful, with grains bending the stalks.

These were stored separately to be used as seeds for next year, which would surely increase the yield significantly.

However, due to the low rice yield last year, even though the Jiang family had paid the grain taxes, the remaining bit they didn’t sell couldn’t support eating refined rice all year round.

So they mostly ate a mix of refined rice and rough rice.

And now, there were only a little over a hundred pounds of rice left at home, but fortunately, in just over a month, they could harvest the paddy fields.

"Xiao Ze, Xiji, don’t be polite. You’re not just staying for a day or two, but for most of the year. Make yourselves at home, eat and drink as you please."

Jiang Hu served the food, Xiaomi took chopsticks, Jiang Yu and Xiaoxue served the dishes, and Liu Ze, not being in good health with weak legs, needed Xiji’s support to come over.

Seeing Jiang Hu place all the dishes on the table, Xiji quickly said: "Brother Jiang, I won’t sit at the table. Just serve me a bowl, and I’ll eat outside."

Being a servant at the Liu estate, he never ate with the family.

Jiang Hu didn’t even lift his head: "That won’t do. We don’t have that many rules at my house. Since you’re staying here, of course, you’ll eat together with us. Besides, you’ve helped me with quite a lot of work."

In the afternoon, he even helped gather vegetables. Second Aunt said Xiji was very diligent, always looking for work to do himself. It would be embarrassing if he wasn’t allowed at the table for meals.

"But..." Xiji hesitated, looking at Liu Ze, for without the young master’s say-so, he didn’t dare sit at the table.

Liu Ze slightly nodded: "This isn’t home; there aren’t that many rules. Besides, Uncle Jiang is right. We’ll stay until the New Year, no need for you to be like at home."

Xiji was delighted: "Thank you, young master. Thank you, Brother Jiang and Sister-in-law Jiang."

While supporting Liu Ze to sit down, Xiji also helped to serve the dishes.

There was no chicken or rabbit slaughtered tonight, but they did have a plate of loofah with scrambled eggs, which counted as a meat dish.

The homegrown vegetables were rotated daily, but there weren’t many varieties.

A pumpkin soup, stir-fried green beans, a pot of cabbage, and a big pot of stewed winter melon.

The quantity was small, but the portions were large enough to feed everyone.

After dinner, Second Aunt washed the dishes while asking.

"In a few days, the peanuts and soybeans should be ready for harvest, then there’ll be peanut sprouts to eat. By the way, does Xiao Ze eat tofu? How about I make some tofu tomorrow?"

Liu Ze nodded: "Auntie, I’m not picky about food. I can eat anything."

"It’s good you’re not picky, but you eat too little. You should eat more; you’re too thin."

Liu Ze’s face flushed slightly: "I’m eating more, Auntie’s cooking is delicious, much better than at home."

Jiang Yu was already heating water. In the hot summer, everyone had to bathe nightly; otherwise, the sticky feeling was unbearable.

Upon hearing Liu Ze’s comment, he quickly remarked: "Xiao Ze’s absolutely right. The food here is delicious no matter how it’s cooked."

After Xiaoxue helped clear the table, she approached Jiang Yu: "Big brother, let me do it. You can read some more."

Not only was the farm work important at home, but big brother’s schooling was equally important.

Jiang Yu didn’t refuse, lit an oil lamp, and started reading.

It wasn’t until he went to school that he realized how difficult it was to attend school.

Not to mention, in the village, very few were willing to send their kids to school, so he certainly wouldn’t waste this opportunity.

Now that there was a tutor at home, he could not miss this chance.

With all the people at home, just bathing took quite a bit of time. By the time everyone settled down to sleep, it was nearly the second watch of the night.

Liu Ze didn’t have any clothes to change into today, so he directly wore Jiang Yu’s, while Xiji temporarily donned Jiang Hu’s.

Though the two kids were of similar height, their figures differed greatly, so that even wearing Jiang Yu’s clothes, Liu Ze seemed to be in oversized clothing, like a child in adult wear.

It wasn’t until lying in bed that Jiang Hu still vaguely felt something was missing.

Until...

"Oh no, I completely forgot about the syrup I was making last night. Why didn’t Liu Yang come today? Could it be he forgot too?"

Just as he fell asleep, Jiang Hu suddenly sat up with a start, exclaiming so loudly that it woke everyone else in the room.

Second Aunt yawned, barely opening her eyes: "They must be resting. Don’t worry, they’ll definitely come tomorrow."

Xiaomi, having been awakened as well, rubbed her eyes: "Daddy, go back to sleep. You were busy the whole night yesterday. They’re surely resting today."

Jiang Hu: "Oh, I forgot."

Then he closed his eyes again and started snoring.

Xiaomi shook her head; her father was something else, being so concerned about the syrup even when he was exhausted.