The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 205: The Hero Seizes Wealth and Beauty (5)_1

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: The Hero Seizes Wealth and Beauty (5)_1

At noon, they cooked "He La" noodles and fried a few dishes for the meal.

Fang Li opened his mouth and said, "With you all building the house and Wendong going to school, the noodle stand must be too busy to handle. Let your maternal aunt come over and help out!"

Lady Yu was taken aback and looked at Pei Qin thoughtfully, "If your noodle stand really can’t keep up, you should find someone to help out."

Lady Ruan also said she could come to help.

"It’s too far away. If you come to help, it’s more than ten miles back and forth every day. It’s not usually that busy, just during the market days when we get Grandma Sun’s help." Pei Qin declined politely.

Grandma Fang nodded and said to her, "When asking for help, you just need to agree in advance on how much to pay for the labor, making everything clear, to avoid any disputes!"

Pei Qin smiled and nodded, "Of course."

Seeing that there was nothing else to instruct, Grandma Fang and the others then headed back home.

When Old Scholar Fang heard they had started the work, he summoned his two sons and daughters-in-law and told them to give ten taels of silver to Sister Peiqin and her brother, which they could repay when they could afford it, "... The silver you shuffle around during New Year probably isn’t much, and buying that residence earlier had already cost twenty-five taels, so what’s left might not be enough to build a house. Your cousin siblings are in need right now, and it’s also time for you uncles to help out!"

Fang Fu was also planning to take the imperial examinations this year. Although there was some silver saved up for the spring exams, taking out ten taels at once would make things tight on their end.

Lady Yu immediately stated that it wasn’t an issue.

Fang Li turned to Fang Fu, "What does our second brother think?"

Fang Fu shook his head, "I have no objections. At this time, we should rightfully lend a hand to Qinqin and her brother."

Having said he had no objections, Fang Li of course couldn’t voice any, simply saying, "That lass Qinqin is so busy now she can’t even spare time to teach Young Master Chang how to skateboard!"

"Rongniang hasn’t even passed her seventy days of mourning, how could she go out to have fun!?" Old Scholar Fang gave him a glance.

Fang Li immediately fell silent.

Grandma Fang took the ten taels of silver and brought them to Taiping Town.

Pei Qin looked at the silver, slightly stunned, "Grandma! There’s no need! We almost have enough silver on hand!"

"Your grandpa already said that when building a house, you cannot pinch pennies; you need to keep some leeway! You take this silver first, and you can return it in any year you can afford to," Grandma Fang couldn’t outright say not to return it, so she just let her use it for a few years. After all, the silver was from the family fund, and giving it outright might upset the daughters-in-law, with Hui Niang likely feeling uncomfortable about it too.

Unable to decline further, Pei Qin accepted the silver.

The next day, Feng Bo brought his daughter Fang Hui over, and the mother-and-son duo came by with some food and also brought five taels of silver, "Things aren’t ample at home, but what we lack in more, we make up in less! You young girl, you start such a big undertaking without saying a word, and just go about it yourself! Your uncle is still helping you find craftsmen in the village!"

Pei Qin laughed it off, had dinner, and sent the two of them on their way.

Now they had an extra fifteen taels of silver, which could be used as a down payment to buy things and be a bit more comfortable. She immediately went out to buy some ready-to-cook peanuts. There’s no need to shell them; just fry them up and make candied peanuts. It made less profit, but it was easier.

Old Father Kong had tried them and liked them very much, so Pei Qin packaged a bag for him, telling him to eat just a few a day, "... Elderly folks who consume too much sugar are at risk of high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, or diabetes. It’s okay if there are people at home, but if you’re alone, fainting from carelessness can be dangerous!"

"You lass, you understand medicine too?" Old Father Kong asked with a smile.

Pei Qin laughed and said, "Just a bit of common knowledge."

Old Father Kong was happy, taking the candied peanuts and going out to meet his old friends for a small drink and a game of chess.