It wasn’t until the mule cart carrying Jiang Ji had completely disappeared from sight that Jiang Tong turned the cart around, preparing to head home.

The ox cart swayed its way into town. Though it was broad daylight, the sun hadn’t yet risen, and the breeze carried a hint of coolness that felt quite pleasant against their skin. Ye Li sat in the middle of the cart, holding Jiang Ya in his arms, with Jiang Mai seated beside him.

Both little ones had long faces.

With their eldest brother heading so far away, they truly wouldn’t see him for a whole month. Although Ye Li felt quite reluctant himself, as an adult, managing his emotions was a basic skill.

He smiled as he pinched Jiang Ya’s chubby little cheek, then turned to Jiang Tong, who was sitting on the cart’s yoke driving the oxen: “Big Brother Tong, your family is going to build the heated bed in a couple of days, right?”

“Right, once the floor tiles are laid, we’ll build the heated bed.” Jiang Tong nodded.

“Perfect. I’ll need to ask the master builder some questions about building the heated bed. Let me know when he arrives.” Hearing this, Jiang Tong turned his head: “Are you also building a new one?”

Jiang Dahu was puzzled too: “Where are you going to build it?”

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya’s attention was piqued; they both tilted their little heads to look at him.

Ye Li smiled gently and explained, “I plan to extend the western courtyard wall outward and build a few new rooms next to the vegetable garden.” 

“You’re going to build a house?!” Jiang Dahu exclaimed.

Before Ye Li could answer, he hurriedly added, “This is such a big deal—have you discussed it with Xiao Ji?” Jiang Tong, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya were all taken aback as well.

“I didn’t want to distract him, so I haven’t told him yet,” Ye Li said.

It was a perfectly valid reason, and Jiang Tong nodded. “That makes sense.” Jiang Dahu had nothing more to say.

But inwardly, he couldn’t help but grumble to himself—his nephew-in-law sure had some big ideas. Such a major decision, and he’d made it all on his own without consulting Xiao Ji.

However, he dared not voice this thought aloud. Instead, he asked, “What made you decide to build a new house? There are only the four of you—is the current one too small?” Isn’t that a waste of money?

Ye Li explained with a smile, “Uncle, the old house isn’t as warm as a new one. Since we have the money now, I thought we could build a few new rooms. We’ll make the heated beds nice and big, so it won’t be cold at all in the winter.”

“Besides, Xiao Mai and Ya-ger are getting older. In a couple of years, they’ll need their own rooms. If we build three new rooms, Jiang Ji and I can share one, and they can each have their own—that way, no one will disturb anyone else.”

That little rascal Jiang Mai really understands the saying “children under seven shouldn’t share a bed”—he’s quite particular about such things. Upon hearing this, Jiang Mai looked a bit taken aback: “Ya-ger and I get to live in the new house too?”

“Of course, we’re family. Now that we’ve built a new house, the whole family will definitely move in,” Ye Li said, and while he was still staring blankly, he gave his little cheeks a gentle pinch.

Jiang Mai: “……” He felt a bit shy.

Ye Li rarely even ruffled his hair, let alone pinched his cheeks.

However, his immense joy outweighed his slight shyness. Not only would he be living in the new house, but he’d even have his own room! His eyes sparkled as he looked at Ye Li: “Li-ge, use the wages Brother Ya and I saved up to build the house.”

Jiang Ya snapped out of his daze and hurriedly added, “Right, right, right! Li-ge, take it all.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got enough money. We’re not building much—it’ll only cost about ten taels or so.”

That was just about a month’s income for him. He could certainly afford it.

Seeing that Ye Li had made up his mind, and with Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya’s strong support, Jiang Dahu kept his mouth shut, not daring to interfere. Dealing with such a strong-willed Fulang, he, as the second uncle, sometimes felt genuinely frustrated.

After all, he was an uncle, not a father.

Why didn’t he have a son of his own? Sigh.

Jiang Dahu returned home in a sour mood. When he arrived, Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu were making preserved eggs.

Early this morning, Liang Erxiang’s nephew from her maternal family had brought over a few baskets of eggs, which was why Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu hadn’t gone out to the fields yet. These days, families in the village still frequently went to the county town to buy eggs, hoping to earn a little extra silver before winter set in.

Their family didn’t own an oxcart, and since Jiang Liu had to go to the mill every day, they simply didn’t have the time to make the trip to the county town daily. So Liang Erxiang had arranged with her maternal nephew to have them collect eggs from households in the village.

This way, her nephew could earn a little money for running errands, and Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu didn’t lose much money either.

Since they didn’t have to give Ye Li a cut, they were making more than any other family in the village.

Each of them brought in four or five guan of silver a month, which added up to nearly ten taels. In the past, Jiang Dahu would never have dreamed of such good fortune.

But what good is making all that money?

Sooner or later, they’d belong to someone else’s family, and naturally, that money would become someone else’s as well.

Jiang Dahu wore a sour expression, said nothing to Jiang Liu or Jiang Yu, and pushed his handcart out to the fields. The corn was due for harvest in the next couple of days, so he went out to take a look.

Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu pretended not to notice his sour expression and continued making preserved eggs. Still, to say they didn’t feel even a tiny bit of sadness would be a lie. Ye Li waited only three days before the master builder arrived to construct the brick bed.

Over those three days, Ye Li shared his ideas with the two little ones. They were quite pleased with his design—a room full of heated beds—they’d definitely stay warm in the winter!

They wouldn’t have to go out to cut pig fodder in the winter; they could just roll around and play on the kang all they wanted. But with a kang that big, how much firewood would they have to burn every day?

Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were worried.

So they worked even harder gathering firewood.

Ye Li wasn’t worried about the firewood at all—they could just buy it. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have the spare cash.

But when the bricklayer heard his idea, he said it would be a bit difficult. They’d never built a kang that big before.

If they made the middle room smaller—just big enough for a single large kang—then it wouldn’t be a problem.

Upon hearing this, Ye Li agreed immediately.

What he wanted to build was a heated pavilion—and a pavilion, by definition, is smaller than a regular room. He’d only live there in the winter; in the summer, he’d move back to the old house.

As long as it stayed warm, that would suffice.

However, the kang couldn’t cover the entire room; they’d need to leave space for a bathtub. Since there was no air conditioning or central heating here, if proper precautions weren’t taken to stay warm while bathing, one would surely catch a chill.

With that settled, Ye Li felt at ease.

Day after day, he ran his business and raised the children, counting the days on his fingers, wondering what Jiang Ji was up to.

Before he knew it, three days had passed since Jiang Ji left. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should arrive in the Prefectural Capital today. Sigh.

Ye Li sighed.

Time really does drag on.

That afternoon, when Ye Liang left with the tofu puffs on his back, the two little ones hadn’t returned from gathering firewood yet.

These past few days, the little ones, worried there wouldn’t be enough firewood for the winter, had been gathering it with all their might. Yesterday, they didn’t return until evening, dragging back a pile of firewood taller than they were.

Ye Li sat under the shed, listening to the cicadas chirping louder and louder, and felt nothing but irritation and restlessness. He waved his palm fan, but the faint breeze couldn’t quell the turmoil in his heart.

He stood up, paced around the courtyard, and finally sat back down under the shed. He stared at the vegetable garden not far away, feeling a sense of emptiness and unease everywhere.

True, Jiang Ji would only be gone for a month this time, but before, he could go to the private school whenever he wanted. Now, though… After a long while, he sighed.

Never mind. He was just too idle. Tomorrow, he’d go out to the fields to pick corn.

It was corn harvest season now. The Jiang Dahu family and the Ye family would first harvest their own corn before coming to help with Jiang Ji’s two mu of corn.

The time between finishing making tofu in the morning and noon was entirely his own. Although there were chores to do, he could finish them in just fifteen minutes.

The rest of the time, he could lie down if he wanted, or do something else if he felt like it. After seeing Ye Liang off in the afternoon, he’d have a good half-hour to himself.

The freedom he once enjoyed had now been turned into emptiness by Jiang Ji, and he could only escape it by going out to the fields to pick corn.

How terrifying.

He, who usually shunned hard work, was actually driven by a longing to go out and labor!

Just as he was berating himself for being such a good-for-nothing, the clatter of hooves came from outside the courtyard, along with Jiang Dahu’s hearty laughter. He stood up and walked toward the courtyard gate.

Before he even reached the gate, Jiang Dahu drove a mule cart into the yard, with Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu sitting on it.

“Hey, Uncle, what brings you here at this hour?” 

“Whose mule cart is this?”

Ye Li asked curiously.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dahu laughed before he could speak, his smile smoothing out every wrinkle on his face. Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu laughed as well.

The three of them laughed so hard that Ye Li was completely baffled. Just as he was about to ask again, Jiang Dahu gave the cart’s shaft a cheerful pat and announced in a loud voice, “This mule cart was bought with money that Xiao Liu and Yu-ger pooled together.”

“The two kids felt sorry for your aunt and me, so they scraped together the money to buy the mule cart before the autumn harvest.” 

“Oh my, a mule cart bought by Xiao Liu and Yu-ger? That’s amazing—and so filial!”

Ye Li was astonished. He looked over at Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu, who had already climbed down from the mule cart.

His surprise was genuine.

He truly hadn’t expected that such a large purchase had been paid for by Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu, two minors.

Jiang Liu was a bit embarrassed by the praise: “The only reason Yu-ger and I could afford a mule cart was thanks to the preserved eggs. You’re the one who’s impressive, Li-ger.”

“Don’t be so modest. Those preserved eggs were made by your own two hands. Besides, the fact that you and Yu-ger had the initiative to do this—not a single one of your peers in the surrounding villages, including me, could match the two of you.”

Earlier, Ye Liang had even wanted him to buy a mule cart to keep at Jiang Dahu’s place—partly for his own convenience, and partly to help lighten the load for the Jiang family during the busy farming season.

But at the time, he didn’t have enough money.

Who would have thought that just a few days later, Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu would have bought the mule cart themselves.

He couldn’t help but look at Jiang Dahu: “Second Uncle, aren’t Xiao Liu and Yu-ger just as capable as any boy?”

Jiang Dahu was feeling quite pleased with himself at that moment. Hearing this, he nodded. “That’s right. With that kind of heart, raising them hasn’t been in vain.” 

Ye Li: “……”

Jiang Liu smiled helplessly, not feeling the least bit angry.

Her father, though he was always calling her a “money-losing burden,” had never mistreated her or Yu-ger over the years.

Her father was just all talk; in practice, he’d never hit or scolded her, nor had he ever deliberately saddled her with heavy or exhausting chores. Even when she went to grind grain in the morning—a mere few steps away—he insisted on walking her there himself.

So, over the years, though she’d felt wronged, cried, and complained, she’d never truly hated her father.

That’s why, on the day Jiang Ji set out, seeing Jiang Dahu’s gloomy expression, she began to consider buying a mule cart.

Her family owned a lot of farmland, and the autumn harvest was just around the corner. With so much corn to transport, relying solely on a handcart meant her parents’ shoulders would surely be rubbed raw again.

Every year during the wheat and corn harvests, her parents not only lost weight but also had their shoulders rubbed raw by the ropes. She harbored the hope of finding a son-in-law, so her father would know that even without a son, someone would be there to care for him in his old age. She might not find a son-in-law right away, but buying a mule cart was certainly within her reach.

Besides, once they bought the mule cart, it would save the whole family a lot of effort.

So she discussed it with Jiang Yu, and they decided to pool their resources to buy the mule cart.

She earned money from grinding grain, and over the past few months, she had saved over a thousand wen.

She had also started making preserved eggs early on, but the total silver she had on hand amounted to only seven guan. Worried that it wouldn’t be enough, she had no choice but to ask Jiang Yu for help, hoping he would contribute one or two guan.

Besides, she had no plans to marry.

She intended to stay in this household, so she felt she should cover the majority of the cost for such a major purchase.

However, Jiang Yu refused. No matter how she pleaded, he wouldn’t agree to let her cover the bulk of the cost.

With no other choice, they ended up splitting the cost evenly, and today they went to the county town to buy the mule cart. At this moment, Jiang Yu wasn’t angry; having heard such things so often, he had grown numb to them.

Ye Li took in the expressions on both their faces and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. As a younger generation, it wasn’t his place to criticize Jiang Dahu.

Besides, even modern people spend their entire lives planning for their retirement; it was only natural for Jiang Dahu, a man of the past, to have such thoughts. He refrained from praising Jiang Liu and Jiang Yu any further, lest Jiang Dahu start spouting more nonsense.

He simply said that he, too, planned to go pick corn.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Dahu was overjoyed—his nephew-in-law was finally willing to work the fields.

He instructed him, “The corn is too heavy; you won’t be able to carry it. After you’ve picked it, pile it all at the edge of the field. I’ll drive the mule cart over at noon to haul it back.”

Ye Li thought it over and agreed. He really couldn’t carry them on his back.

However, the next morning, he had been in the cornfield for less than twenty minutes when he started to back out.

The work was too exhausting—the cornstalks towered over him, and with not a breath of wind in the field, the late-summer heat was fierce. Stifled by the oppressive heat, he made a snap decision and headed straight home carrying two baskets of corn.

Oh well, he might as well stay home and face the emptiness inside him.

It’s no easy life for a farmer.

Jiang Dahu：“……”

Oh well, my nephew-in-law is so good at making money—what does it matter if he works the fields or not?

Ye Li had experienced firsthand how hard farm work was, so when Ye Liang and Ye Wen arrived in their newly purchased ox cart to lend a hand, he significantly upgraded their meals. Every meal consisted of two meat dishes and one vegetable, leaving Ye Liang and Ye Wen both satisfied and a little heartbroken.

They’re family—how could they eat like this? Besides, Ye Li still needs to build a house after the harvest!

But when Ye Li saw their faces, sunburned to a deep reddish-brown, and the wrinkles that had long since etched themselves into Ye Liang’s face, he stuck to the two meat dishes and one vegetable. In truth, one of the meat dishes was just scrambled eggs, with a bit of stir-fried meat and a side of vegetables—it was nothing special.

Fortunately, two mu of corn wasn’t much, and Jiang Dahu had come over to help for half a day, so it only took two days to bring all the corn cobs back. The corn stalks were left in the field to be cut down later when they had time.

Ye Liang and Ye Wen breathed a sigh of relief. Meals were finally back to normal.

Ye Li also had a new task: husking the corn.

Taking advantage of the good weather, he had to peel the husks off the corn so they could be dried quickly, shelled, and stored in the granary.

The work was fairly light, so Ye Li took his time, shucking a little each day. By the time Jiang Ji’s exams began, he had just finished shucking all the corn. The very next day, it started to rain.

The autumn rain fell in a steady drizzle, and as soon as it started, it immediately dampened the intensity of the summer by more than half. The rain fell for two straight days, leaving everyone looking gloomy.

The crops in the fields hadn’t been harvested yet. Ye Li’s tofu puff production was also put on hold for a day.

Fortunately, although Jiang Ji’s provincial exam lasted two days, candidates were allowed to leave the exam hall and return to their temporary lodgings after the first day.

Candidates dressed in light clothing could put on extra layers.

Had it been like the provincial exams—where each session lasted three days straight, with candidates living and eating in the examination hall—many candidates would likely have caught colds in such weather.

When the rain stopped and the sun came out again, the temperature did not return to what it had been. Autumn had truly arrived.

Jiang Ji’s provincial exam had also come to an end.