Early the next morning, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue rose before dawn to tidy up their new dwelling at the mountain’s base.

Each sibling carried two baskets of dry rice straw, their steps hurried. When villagers inquired, Yan Xiaoyu knew the news of their move into the Yan family’s old house would soon spread throughout the village. He answered truthfully.

“We’ve rented Brother Yan’s old house and are going to tidy it up now.”

The villagers reacted in various ways. Some asked about the rent, others about the lease term. Yan Xiaoyu gave vague answers, brushing them off with a few casual remarks.

Most were merely curious. When Yan Xiaoyu wouldn’t elaborate, they sensibly dropped the subject. Only one man, who’d previously hoped to rent his own house to Yan Xiaoyu for a profit, now that his plans had fallen through, made a few snide remarks.

“Oh, you’re renting the Yan family’s house? You’d better be careful! Didn’t Cheng Xiaozi tell you? His mother passed away in that very house. If your family moves in and encounters something unclean, it won’t be good!“

”Thank you for the warning, Uncle Zheng,“ Yan Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow. ”But Mrs. Yan is a capable woman. Even if her house isn’t the cleanest, it should still be better than Uncle Zheng’s place, right?”

The onlookers eavesdropping nearby nearly burst out laughing at this.

This Uncle Zheng was the husband of Wang Erdou, the village ne’er-do-well. Wang Erdou was a good-for-nothing who spent his days stealing chickens and dogs, rarely at home. His husband was just like him—lazy, gluttonous, and averse to work. His house was so filthy you couldn’t even step inside, and villagers avoided visiting him.

Earlier, upon learning that Yan Xiaoyu wanted to rent a house, Wang Erdou specifically instructed Uncle Zheng to tidy up his place. He then proactively approached Niu Fugui, offering to rent his house to Yan Xiaoyu and his group. Niu Fugui, fearing Yan Xiaoyu might be deceived by the couple, carefully explained Wang Erdou’s household situation to him.

Uncle Zheng had originally intended to sarcastically suggest that renting a house where someone had died was unlucky. He hadn’t expected Yan Xiaoyu to deliberately twist his meaning and use it to mock him. This infuriated him greatly.

“You youngsters really don’t know a good thing when you see it! I gave you a friendly warning, yet you respond with such bitterness. No wonder your grandfather dislikes you!” “

”Whether your intentions were good or not, you know best. How dare you charge me three hundred wen a month for that wretched room? Has the layer of ancient grime caked on your walls finally seeped into your very skin?“ Yan Xiaoyu raised his chin, his tone fierce. ”My grandfather may not care for me, but if he favors you, go be his grandson!”

As the last words fell, someone snorted with laughter. Others murmured, “How dare they charge three hundred wen a month for that shack? No wonder people would rather rent the Yans’ old house than theirs!”

Exposed before everyone by Yan Xiaoyu, Uncle Zheng’s face flushed crimson with fury. Pointing at Yan Xiaoyu, he was about to unleash a torrent of abuse.

A kind-hearted auntie couldn’t bear to watch and stepped in: “Enough, enough! You started it.”

Fearing her brother might fight Uncle Zheng, Yan Xiaoyue nervously tugged at his sleeve. Yan Xiaoyu, not wanting to cause trouble, gave a dismissive snort and followed his sister away.

Once the siblings left, the onlookers resumed their murmurs in small groups.

Recently, the eldest branch of the family and Old Master Yan had been spreading rumors about Yan Xiaoyu. They claimed he’d grown wild, bullying his younger brother Yan Xiaobao at home, defying Old Master Yan, and even scheming to seize Yan Yonghe’s house—barely stopping short of tearing the roof tiles off. But since the accusations hadn’t directly targeted them, the villagers had been skeptical. Now, having witnessed him berate Uncle Zheng with their own eyes, they had no choice but to believe.

Uncle Zheng and Wang Erdou were a couple the villagers looked down upon, yet few dared confront them directly. After all, such people were like sticky plasters—easy to attach, hard to shake off. Everyone avoided them like the plague.

Who would’ve thought Yan Xiaoyu wouldn’t flinch? He practically pointed right at them while cursing—truly a different person from before.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

At the foot of the mountain, Yan Xiaoyu spotted a bamboo ladder leaning against the courtyard gate. He guessed Yan Shaocheng had delivered it that morning.

Repairing the roof required a ladder, and Yan Shaocheng had mentioned yesterday that he’d fetch one from his own home instead of bringing it from the Yan residence. It was perfect timing, as Old Master Yan had been watching the second branch like a hawk these past few days, fearful they might take anything from the house. Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t be bothered to argue and simply agreed.

He hadn’t expected him to be so thoughtful—delivering it himself before he even had to knock. With a sigh of appreciation, he pulled out the key Yan Shaocheng had given him yesterday and unlocked the door.

The wooden door creaked open. After carrying the bamboo ladder inside, Yan Xiaoyu led himself through every room, inside and out, growing more delighted with each space.

The house featured two spacious courtyards, front and back. It would be perfect for growing vegetables and raising chickens, and ducks. In the corner of the front yard stood two peach trees already bearing fruit. They appeared to be wild peaches transplanted from the mountains—small and sparse, not yet ripe. Leaning close, one could catch the tart, unripe fragrance that made the mouth water.

Inside, the house was fully furnished with bedding and cabinets, though everything showed its age. The lacquer on the cabinets was chipped and peeling, the oil paper on the windows was torn in many places, and the table in the main room had a broken leg. Still, with a bit of repair, it would be usable—no worse than the things they used at the Yan household.

Yan Shaocheng was right—the place was indeed clean. Yet, having sat empty for so long, it carried a faint musty scent. With a few repairs to the thatched roof, fixes to the broken items, and a good airing out, it should be quite livable.

The three bedrooms would comfortably house their family of three. They wouldn’t have to share the kitchen with others, and Yan Xiaoyu could start her food business right away.

After inspecting everything, Yan Xiaoyu nodded in satisfaction. He opened all the doors and windows, moved the tables and chairs out into the courtyard to air them, then headed up the mountain with Yan Xiaoyue, carrying the firewood knife from the basket.

The siblings cut down several bamboo stalks from the back mountain, split them into strips, and used the strips to bind bamboo poles and straw together, preparing to lay them on the roof.

Yan Xiaoyu brought a ladder and propped it against the eaves. Just as Yan Xiaoyue was about to climb up, Yan Xiaoyu stopped her.

“Sis, let me do it,” Yan Xiaoyu said, one hand steadying the ladder while the other grasped his sister’s wrist. “No way should a girl be fixing roofs.”

Though he addressed Yan Xiaoyue as “sister,” Yan Xiaoyu had been nineteen when he arrived in this body and regarded her as a younger sister. This girl was genuinely kind-hearted. Though timid, she would tremble and step in front of him whenever he argued with the eldest branch’s people. This always softened Yan Xiaoyu’s heart, making him want to look out for her more.

Having never done this kind of work before, Yan Xiaoyue was a bit worried. “You don’t know how.”

“Just teach me,” Yan Xiaoyu replied, helping Yan Xiaoyue down before hoisting the basket of thatch onto his back and climbing up. “I’ll go first. Hold the ladder steady for me.”

Yan Xiaoyue quickly steadied the ladder.

Yan Xiaoyu tested the ladder, confirming the roof beams were sturdy enough before carefully climbing up.

He was quite self-sufficient in modern life, but he’d never repaired a thatched roof before. Fortunately, the task wasn’t difficult, and with Yan Xiaoyue’s guidance, he worked on the roof for nearly half an hour, patching up all the spots that might leak.

Replacing all the thatch would have been better, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough straw. This year’s rice hadn’t been harvested yet, and most households in the village had already used up last year’s straw.

Though seemingly worthless, straw was essential for feeding livestock, making compost, and kindling fires. Neighbors with lukewarm relationships were reluctant to share, and when Old Master Yan carried out these two baskets today, he nitpicked every detail.

With the day’s most crucial task completed, Yan Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and braced himself against the bamboo ladder to descend. He had barely taken two steps down when a sudden gust of wind swept dust from the roof, stinging his eyes.

Yan Xiaoyu reflexively rubbed his eyes, causing him to lose his balance and teeter on the edge of falling.

“Ah!” Yan Xiaoyue gasped, grabbing the ladder with one hand and reaching for him with the other. But at the critical moment, the little fellow steadied himself.

Yan Xiaoyu regained his footing and deftly hopped down from the ladder. He turned to his sister with a smug look: “It’s fine. This height—”

Mid-sentence, his peripheral vision caught Yan Shaoxuan standing a few steps away. He froze. When had this man arrived?

Yan Shaoxuan, clad in a long robe, appeared to have just returned from outside. Standing in the center of the courtyard, he frowned at Yan Xiaoyu, his eyes filled with disapproval.

Yan Xiaoyu sensed his displeasure, feeling inexplicably puzzled but unwilling to argue. He merely replied politely, “When did you arrive, Second Brother Yan? Is there something you need?”

Yan Shaoxuan pulled a piece of paper from his robe with a cold expression. “This is the lease agreement for the house.”

With that, he tossed the paper onto the table drying in the courtyard before turning and walking away without a backward glance, clearly impatient to engage further with Yan Xiaoyu.

My savior! This is my savior! Yan Xiaoyu tried to suppress the rising anger in his chest, but ultimately failed.

He took a deep breath. “Is this guy crazy? What did we do to him?!”

“It wasn’t us,” Yan Xiaoyue said timidly. “He only glared at you just now.” He didn’t even glance at her.

Yan Xiaoyu: “…”