Are there men in this world who act coquettishly with their wives? In her memories, her parents rarely spoke to each other at home. Even when they did, most of the time it was her father issuing commands to her mother in a domineering tone.
"Alright. I'll teach you," Lu Youqing said. Catching sight of Li Nanqiao's astonished expression from the corner of her eye, she cleared her throat lightly, cut off Qin Ke's playful sulking, and changed the subject. "When are you planning to start building the house?"
It was strange. She didn't want others to see Qin Ke like this. This feeling should be… what exactly? Lu Youqing frowned slightly, her emotions complicated and difficult to untangle.
"I've rested enough. I'll go find the village head tomorrow," Qin Ke replied, his expression returning to its usual seriousness once the matter turned practical.
At first, when the villagers heard they would be helping Qin Ke build a new house, most of them were reluctant. But once they learned they would be paid for the work, they immediately agreed.
Most households had plenty of people. After the spring plowing, the strong young men of the village had nothing to do. Hearing that helping build a house could earn money, they were delighted—finally having an outlet for their excess strength—and happily went to sign up with the village head.
As a result, far more people showed up than originally planned. After hearing the village head explain the situation, Qin Ke immediately crossed several names off the list.
Lu Youqing was far too intelligent, with a memory that was astonishingly sharp. Qin Ke could hardly keep anything from her. She merely glanced at the names he had crossed out, pressed her lips together slightly, and said calmly, "So you already know what happened by the river that day?"
Indeed, everyone Qin Ke removed from the list belonged to households that had argued with Lu Youqing by the river. He had asked Li Nanqiao to find out exactly who they were. He hadn't acted at the time, but that didn't stop him from putting those families on his blacklist.
Although Lu Youqing rarely interacted with the villagers, she could remember people after seeing them once. She had grown up needing to be sensitive to such matters; the noble families of the capital were deeply entrenched in complex relationships. Compared to that, village social ties were trivial.
By contrast, Qin Ke fell far short. In his previous life, his social circle had been simple, and he paid little attention to others. Even now, he was still unfamiliar with many villagers.
"Yes."
"It was only a few verbal disputes. There's no need to dwell on them," Lu Youqing said. She truly hadn't taken the incident to heart, but seeing Qin Ke stand up for her like this stirred a faint sense of pleasure in her heart.
"So I didn't do anything drastic. I just don't like them. Seeing them around the house would make me unhappy," Qin Ke said with a shrug.
Soon, Qin Ke's home became lively. Every day was filled with the bustle of labor. With the mindset that unused land was wasted land, Qin Ke enclosed a very large courtyard—several hundred square meters in size.
When designing the new house, he incorporated some modern elements and consulted Lu Youqing as well. The main house had five rooms: a living room, a study, and the rest bedrooms. The east wing was the kitchen; the west side housed the toilet and the bath.
Yes—there was a bath. Qin Ke planned to pave it with blue bricks so that the floor wouldn't turn muddy every time someone bathed.
The courtyard itself was spacious. Qin Ke intended to build a shed in the rear courtyard for the donkey cart, and later, if the family acquired more livestock, they could be kept there as well.
In the front courtyard, he planned to transplant some trees and use the remaining space to grow vegetables and flowers. In the center, he intended to build a pavilion where they could enjoy the shade in summer.
Once construction began, Qin Ke went to the town carpenter to order furniture. Most of the old furniture from the previous house wasn't worth moving, which meant they needed an entirely new set. After paying a deposit, Qin Ke calculated that by the time the new house was finished, the furniture should be ready as well.
Li Nanqiao was responsible for boiling water and making tea for the workers. The rest of the time, she rolled up her sleeves and helped out. When Qin Ke wasn't home, she took charge of supervising the work.
After nearly a month of busy labor, the new house was finally completed. The workers lined up to collect their wages from Lu Youqing. From the very first day, she had been responsible for keeping records—who worked how many days and how much they were owed, all clearly accounted for.
The education she received after birth was that of a matriarch. A matriarch was expected to manage family assets and oversee all household staff. Tasks like this were effortless for her.
After the house-building project, most villagers no longer felt as resistant toward Qin Ke and Lu Youqing. Lu Youqing, in particular, spoke gently and unhurriedly. Every afternoon, she had Li Nanqiao bring cooling tea to relieve the heat. Those who worked hardest received extra pay when wages were distributed. She handled the art of winning people over with consummate skill.
However, once the doors were closed at night, Lu Youqing frowned at the household account books and said with concern, "These days we've bought land, built a house, ordered furniture, and had all sorts of miscellaneous expenses. Out of the five hundred taels, only a little over two hundred and forty remain. When we move, we'll still need to spend on kitchenware, bedding, and more. Spending without income like this isn't sustainable."
Qin Ke plopped down across from her, picked up a teacup, and took a sip, unconcerned. "No need to worry. These expenses are all necessary. Once we're settled, there won't be so many costs. Besides, the watermelon vines have already been pulled. In about another month, the watermelons will be ripe. I'll take them to town to sell."
"It's a fruit no one has grown before. How the harvest will turn out, or what price they'll fetch, is still unknown," Lu Youqing said. She had heard from Li Nanqiao that after the autumn harvest, villagers had to pay taxes. After setting aside grain for taxes and keeping enough for the family's yearly consumption, there was usually little left.
That was assuming good fields. With average or poor land, even making a living could be difficult—just like the ten neglected acres Li Nanqiao's family once had.
Unless a family owned a large amount of land, taking grain to town to sell rarely earned much silver.
Their household now had only two people. Ten acres were enough to feed them, but any surplus grain wouldn't sell for much.
"Does my wife not believe in me?" Qin Ke said playfully, seeing her lingering worry as he leaned a little closer.
"It's not that I don't believe you. I simply don't understand farming well and prefer to proceed cautiously," Lu Youqing replied, casting him a calm glance, unmoved by his teasing.
"It's fine. Just wait and see."
After about ten days of airing things out, Qin Ke and Lu Youqing moved into the new house. In truth, it didn't need that much time—this wasn't the modern era with concerns like formaldehyde from renovations.
The real reason was that after moving into the new house, he would have to sleep separately from Lu Youqing. The old house had been cramped, leaving no choice. But in the new home, he couldn't bring himself to shamelessly keep sharing a room with her.
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Currently at chapter 130 for advance chapters
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