One year later.
Yan Mao finally gave birth to a pair of handsome little guys. It was now the twins' full moon age. Their bodies had become very cute little buns. Yan Mao smiled teasingly at them.
Since Yan Mao had already given birth to many sons, the last birth wasn't difficult at all, although it was painful. According to Doctor Chen's wife, when Yan Mao gave birth to these twins,
she pushed too hard and partially ruptured her uterus. When Doctor Chen's wife examined her, she could only shake her head. She wouldn't have any more children in the future.
Yan Mao sighed at that moment. They already had a child, and they couldn't have more. Carrying twins wasn't easy; she even had difficulty walking every day. So she was overjoyed to hear that she couldn't have any more. She could finally breathe.
Song Tianchen had just finished ordering the supplies needed for his son's full moon. He saw Yan Mao teasing the twins.
As soon as Song Tianchen entered, Yan Mao looked at him and smiled, "Tianchen, you're back!"
"Everything's ready. Tonight is the twins' party, so I came back earlier than usual," Song Tianchen said as he walked towards the three of them. Yan Mao had just woken up and hadn't tied up his hair.
Song Tianchen took a black hair tie and gathered all of Yan Mao's hair into a bun. "Is your hair still as thick as ever?"
Yan Mao nodded. "Well, I'm almost 30. If I remember correctly, it should be this time of year." Yan Mao smiled at Song Tianchen, "I didn't think it would be almost 10 years since I've been in this world."
Song Tianchen chuckled, "Okay. Let's not talk about this. Look at these two. Are they causing you any trouble?"
Yan Mao shook her head. Compared to the last time she gave birth, these two little guys were very good. They would only cry when they were hungry, thirsty, or urinating or defecating. The rest of the time, they were quiet and would occasionally laugh if someone made a joke or played with them.
Yan Mao was a little surprised that they were only full moons old, but they would laugh easily if someone entertained them. Just like Yan Mao did. Just by poking these two little guys' cheeks, they would laugh.
Yan Mao and Song Tianchen decided to stay in the village for the duration of her pregnancy. However, Yan Mao felt that this small town actually had enormous potential. In Fucheng City, their business was entrusted to Lu Cheng and his wife.
So, Yan Mao and Song Tianchen were very at ease. Every three months, Lu Cheng would send them money. The amount was sometimes between 1 and 1.5 million taels. Song Tianchen was even very satisfied with this. He didn't do anything else after that.
The thing Yan Mao was most reluctant to return to was the neighboring village. It turned out they had a mountain that Yan Mao desperately needed. So, Yan Mao bought two mountains at once. Song Tianchen would personally go to the yamen later after their little son had passed the full moon age.
Song Tianchen picked up Song Moheng, who was wearing a baby duduo (a red silk garment). Yan Mao carried Song Molian. The two then left their courtyard.
The house was originally very small. But eventually, Yan Mao and Song Tianchen renovated it completely and enlarged their courtyard. They even bought land for three times the price. The villagers immediately sold their land near Song Tianchen's house.
At three times the price, they were willing to sell it and buy another piece of land, earning three times more.
Not only did they make the house bigger, but Yan Mao and Song Tianchen even repaired the roads. They bought bricks made from stone. These were two to three times more expensive than bricks for houses. But Yan Mao and Song Tianchen didn't have any financial concerns at all.
So, without government assistance, the roads in their village were in excellent condition. They were made of hard stone bricks, and they had no difficulty traveling, especially when using the cart.
The village roads were initially very uneven, but eventually, Yan Mao and Song Tianchen repaired the roads and allowed the villagers to work. The daily pay was 50 cents. All the male villagers went to work directly with Song Tianchen. So, there were over 200 people working.
All of Yan Mao's men were instructed to act as supervisors. Anyone who was dishonest would be expelled. The villagers dared not be dishonest for fear of losing their money.
It was like working for two days. Their level of exhaustion was the same as working in the rice fields. They were divided into five groups, each with their own role.
Some carried the bricks, others laid them out, and others smoothed them out, adding cement at the end. The cement here wasn't like modern cement, but rather a special cement made to bond the bricks together, holding them together firmly.
In one month, the road reached the end of the road, extending to the branch leading to the regional town. Yan Mao paid each worker 2 taels of silver for their hard work. Sometimes, for some particularly hard-working workers, he even added 1 tael of silver to their wages.
Song Tianchen explained that whoever worked the hardest would receive a bonus. Thirty workers worked harder than anyone else, so they received 3 taels of silver. The rest received 2 taels of silver.
Everyone was eager to earn money quickly. If they had worked the fields full-time, it would have taken them three months to earn 2 or 3 taels of silver. Now, they only earned it after working for one month.
Now the villagers' lives are not as bad as before. Previously, there were many poor people, and even many deaths during the winter. However, Yan Mao asked the craftsmen to build a kang for each poor family's home free of charge. So many families now have their own kang.
Each family's kang would be built depending on how many yards they had. So, if they had five separate yards, Yan Mao would build five separate yards. Not only did he help the poor for free, but he even helped by halving the price for those with a steady income. All the villagers were very happy, and they finally enjoyed some warmth in the cold winter.
To repay Yan Mao, many people gathered the vegetables they had grown. The men gathered firewood and brought it for Yan Mao to use. This deeply touched Yan Mao.