The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 44: Building the House

At this moment, Wang Shishi was on her way back to Luocheng with Nangong Yunhao, stopping for a day in a county town.

Nangong Yunhao seemed busy with something, though Wang Shishi didn’t know what. He gave her silver and assigned people to take her around to shop as she pleased. He only spent time with her at night, indulging in intimacy and affection.

They had passed through many different county towns and prefectural cities, staying a day in each place where there was a Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.

Wang Shishi had previously been confined to the inner courtyard of the Minister’s residence. She could only go out with the permission of her grandmother or stepmother.

In the countryside, she had been free, but the farthest she had gone was to the nearest county town from Qingshan Town.

Now, traveling everywhere with Nangong Yunhao, with endless silver to spend, she encountered many new and interesting things. If she liked something, she bought it, and she was overjoyed.

She had completely forgotten about the people she had once flirted with, who were now thinking of her, hating her, and suffering.

………………

Meanwhile, Xu Zhizhi listened to the gossip while occasionally instructing Xu Chunhua and Xu Lanhua on how to cut vegetables.

Aunt Hua, from Xu Dazhuang’s family, used a large spatula to stir-fry the dishes. With so many people and large portions, the young girls couldn’t handle the heavy cooking.

Xu Zhizhi stood by the pot, adding salt and seasoning.

Today, she had prepared ten dishes. She had bought a pig from the village butcher.

The dishes included braised pork, braised pork ribs, braised pig’s head, pig intestines, a soup with pig blood, lean meat, and bean sprouts, stir-fried pig liver, pig lung soup, a boiled fish dish, stir-fried sweet potato leaves, and a cold wild vegetable salad.

The fish came from their own pond, and the sweet potato leaves were grown on their mountain.

The village aunties helping out watched Xu Zhizhi as she added seasoning while listening to her cousins and the others gossip.

She occasionally chimed in, her demeanor elegant and graceful, completely devoid of her previous rudeness, arrogance, and hostility.

This version of Xu Zhizhi was like a breath of fresh air, making everyone adore her.

Xu Xiaowu, Xu Xiaohua, and Xu Erniu, who was from Third Uncle’s family and under ten years old, hadn’t been assigned any tasks. They stuck close to their sister, eating dishes and looking at her with starry-eyed admiration.

Xu Daniu and Xu Erhu, being older, had been assigned tasks.

Just then, Xu Honghua arrived right at mealtime (likely drawn by the aroma) and saw this scene:

Her younger siblings huddled close to their eldest cousin, who had once been as clumsy as an ox. They seemed to get along incredibly well, especially her usually clueless younger brother, who looked at Xu Zhizhi with admiration.

Aunt Hua, her second aunt, her mother, and several village sisters-in-law were all smiling brightly.

Xu Honghua frowned, standing at the doorway without entering.

In a pitiful voice, she called out, “Mother…”

Xu’s third aunt immediately turned to her beloved daughter: “Honghua, you’re here. Come help with the vegetables.”

Xu Honghua had no intention of working. She grabbed her younger brother and pulled him away. Xu Erniu looked up at Xu Zhizhi, seeking her opinion. “Sister Zhizhi…”

Seeing that her brother still sought Xu Zhizhi’s permission before leaving, Xu Honghua was furious. She crossed her arms and angrily said, “I need to talk to you. Why are you standing here?”

In truth, Xu Erniu just wanted to taste the dishes. There was no other meaning. Whenever a dish was about to be served, Xu Zhizhi would use chopsticks to give the three children a taste.

She called it “sampling the flavor.”

Xu Honghua didn’t even glance at Xu Zhizhi, let alone greet her. She treated Xu Zhizhi as if she were air!

This cousin still didn’t like her, it seemed.

Xu Zhizhi smiled, her delicate features shining like stars, dazzling Xu Honghua’s eyes.

One was smiling like a flower, the other was scowling with anger. The contrast in their demeanors was stark.

The aunties and sisters-in-law fell silent, quietly focusing on their tasks.

Xu Zhizhi then sent the two children out to call everyone for dinner.

“It’s time to eat,” Xu Xiaowu and Xiaohua called out.

“Everyone, stop working and come eat,” Father Xu replied.

The villagers helping with the construction quickly put down their tools and walked over, their mouths watering. The Xu family’s food was delicious, and they had been smelling the aroma for a while.

The craftsmen from town moved a bit slower. They had smelled the delicious aroma but had never tasted the food before.

To make things convenient, Xu Zhizhi had built a temporary kitchen and a bamboo house for tables next to the construction site.

The craftsmen and their apprentices quickly washed their hands and sat down. Seeing the table full of dishes, they were stunned. The host was incredibly generous.

They wanted to eat slowly and politely, but the food was too delicious. Their chopsticks moved faster and faster, and they ate with great relish.

For the village feast, Xu Daniu and Erhu set up tables in the open space near the construction site.

The villagers ate voraciously, creating a lively atmosphere. Despite the generous portions, not even the soup was left.

After eating and drinking their fill, the workers happily returned to their tasks, and the villagers went home in high spirits.

Everyone was looking forward to the day the roof beam would be raised, when they could enjoy another feast.

The workers became even more diligent and proactive.

A few days later, the house began to take shape.

The quadrangle courtyard was a closed residential structure, formed by combining four independent courtyards, surrounded by walls with only one main entrance.

Each courtyard had its own door, allowing privacy. When the small courtyard doors were closed, each household could live independently. When opened, everyone could gather in the central shared courtyard to chat or eat.

Xu Zhizhi thought: The central courtyard is very spacious.

The courtyard would have flowers, stones, and a pond for fish and lotus, symbolizing good fortune.

[She didn’t know if lotus flowers existed elsewhere in the Great Sheng Dynasty, but since arriving here, she hadn’t seen any in the town or county.]

Each courtyard had the same design: a main house with three rooms, two side rooms—one for a bedroom and one for a study.

The two side rooms could be used as guest rooms or for storage. Behind them were a large kitchen, a firewood room, and two smaller spaces for raising chickens, rabbits, or pigs.

The study had a large window facing the front courtyard. In the future, when tired from reading, one could look out the window and see flowers blooming in spring, hear birds and cicadas in summer, admire the autumn moon and stars, and watch children build snowmen and have snowball fights in winter.

Just imagining it, it was an ideal living space, perfect for a family to live together or for each member to have their own independent space.

Behind the house was the large barren mountain Xu Zhizhi had bought. She had cleared it and planted neat rows of sweet potatoes.

After harvesting the sweet potatoes, they could plant various winter vegetables, such as radishes and cabbage. In spring, they could plant fruit trees.

Next to the house, Xu Zhizhi had ordered a small pond to be dug when the foundation was being laid. It was now filled with fish swimming happily.

As long as there were no major wars, Xu Zhizhi and her family would never go hungry and could live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

At night, everyone finished work and went home. The Xu family, after a busy day, washed up and went to sleep.

(End of Chapter)