Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Building New Houses
This had been decided beforehand, so no one had any objections.
However...
Yun Xiaowu asked casually, "Now that the family is splitting, who will Grandpa and Granny Yun live with?"
Yun Linhai answered as if it were obvious, "I’m the eldest son. According to the village custom, when a family splits, the parents always live with the eldest son. So Mom and Dad, you’ll live with us."
Shen Yunlian had no objections either. Although the family was poor, her father-in-law and mother-in-law had always treated her very well, no different from her own parents. She was naturally happy to care for the two elders.
But Yun Linhe wasn’t happy about that. "What do you mean, you’re the big brother? We were born on the same day. Mom and Dad can just as easily live with us. Your side already has plenty of people with Little Nine and Jiaojiao. Mom and Dad should live with us."
Wang Mei also chimed in, "Big Brother, Sister-in-law, your family has more children. Mom and Dad should come to our side."
Listening from the side, the two elders felt extremely comforted.
Their family was usually united and had a good relationship, but with the family splitting, the two elders were actually a little worried.
They were old and couldn’t do heavy work anymore. They worried their two sons might resent them and pass the responsibility of caring for them back and forth like a ball.
And it wasn’t as if they were worrying for nothing. It was natural for a large family to split, just as a large tree has many branches. Other families in the village had also split up, but those situations had often turned ugly.
Some elderly people raised several children, only to find that when the family split, none of them were willing to take on the responsibility of caring for them.
Thankfully, thankfully, both of their sons were filial, and both daughters-in-law were good people.
Sincere smiles appeared on the two elders’ faces.
"Alright, stop arguing. Your mother and I aren’t so old we can’t work. The old house is still livable. We’ll just stay here. When we need something, you two brothers can just lend a hand."
"That won’t do."
The two brothers, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, both disagreed.
"The old house leaks in several places whenever it rains, and it’s very damp. How could it be as good as a new house?"
"That’s right, Grandpa, Granny Yun, just come live with us."
Several of the grandchildren also gathered around the two elders, adding their voices.
Uncle Yun directly picked up Yun Jiao and placed her in Granny Yun’s arms.
"Jiaojiao, quick, tell Granny Yun to come live at our house."
Yun Jiao opened her big, beautiful eyes. Her little face was chubby with baby fat, looking incredibly pinchable.
"Granny, I like Granny’s cooking. Granny, come live with us."
Her voice was soft and sweet, and in the midst of a crowd of rough-voiced boys, she was especially endearing.
Granny Yun hugged the fragrant, soft, and well-behaved granddaughter in her arms, cherishing her to no end.
Charmed by the little puffball, Granny Yun couldn’t help but agree.
"Alright, alright... Granny will listen to our Jiaojiao."
Yun Jiao giggled inwardly.
Now that the money was in place, it was time to choose a plot of land and prepare to build the houses.
There were plenty of plots available in the village, so they weren’t worried about finding a desirable one.
Carried by Uncle Yun, Yun Jiao went along to find the village chief.
The village chief was astonished to hear that their family was not only building a house, but two blue-brick-and-tile houses at once.
They had prepared their story in advance.
"We have too many children, and the old house is just too crowded. Besides, no matter how many times we repair the roof, it always leaks somewhere when it rains. We adults have strong constitutions, so living in that house isn’t a big deal for us."
"But it’s not good for the children. Xiaoqi and a few others caught colds not long ago. So, we went and borrowed some money from our two daughters-in-law’s families to scrape it together. If we’re going to build, we might as well build something good that will last a long time. We’re also taking the opportunity to split the family."
The explanation was perfectly reasonable. No one would be so bored as to go to Shen Yunlian’s and Wang Mei’s families to ask if they had lent money to the Yun family.
Other than their own family members, no one was told about selling the pearl for money.
Even the children were repeatedly and sternly warned not to say a word about it.
Although the boys were mischievous, they were very tight-lipped about things they were told not to mention.
After that, the village chief took them to choose a plot of land.
"Jiaojiao, which plot do you want to choose?"
The village chief couldn’t help but look at them. ’Asking a three-year-old toddler about something so important? Isn’t this just child’s play?’
But who would have thought that Yun Jiao would actually point to a spot.
"See the big sea."
She was pointing to a cliff facing the sea, a spot from which one could see the conditions of the water at a glance.
It was a bit far from the main residential area of the village.
"That spot? Isn’t it a little too close to the sea?"
Yun Linhe stroked his chin. "I actually think it’s pretty good. It’s not far from the sea, but the high tide definitely won’t reach it. Plus, the area is large enough for two houses."
The village chief asked, "Are you really letting a little toddler choose?"
He had long heard that everyone in this family, young and old, doted on that little girl. Now it seemed it was true.
"Let’s go take a look."
They went over to have a look. From there, they could see the tide ebb and flow and hear the sound of the sea. The mountain was right behind them, making it convenient to go up the mountain as well.
It wasn’t clear if the others were satisfied, but Yun Jiao loved it.
"Jiaojiao likes it that much, huh?"
Seeing Yun Jiao’s eyes sparkling like moonlight sprinkled on the sea’s surface, Uncle Yun, who was holding her, couldn’t help but chuckle.
Yun Jiao nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice. If she’d had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.
"Like. Big sea."
"Hahaha... Alright, then we’ll choose this spot."
The village chief confirmed again, "Are you really settling on this?"
"We’ve decided. We’ll build the houses here."
Hearing this, the village chief didn’t try to persuade them anymore.
Once the plot was confirmed, they had to buy various building materials, hire workers, and so on...
But these were matters for the adults. The children just needed to play and go beachcombing.
However, the news that their family was building houses clearly caused a stir in the whole village. Many people went over to watch the spectacle, asking all sorts of nosy questions without any sense of boundaries.
Yun Linhai and the others stuck to the same story they had told the village chief.
Some were scornful, while others were envious.
The key was that both of the family’s daughters-in-law had families willing to lend them money. If they tried to borrow from their own wives’ families, whether they could get the money or not was one thing; they would definitely be thoroughly humiliated.
The excitement over the matter died down after a few days, but it would always come up whenever people gathered to chat.
"The Yunmu Family has really struck it rich, building two big houses at once. They’re really willing to spend."
"Struck it rich? Didn’t you hear them say it’s borrowed money? It’s a wonder their daughters-in-law’s families were willing to part with it. Aren’t they afraid of throwing good money after bad?"
"Exactly. Borrowing money is never a good thing. As poor as their family is, who knows when they’ll ever be able to pay it back."
There was more than a hint of sour grapes in those words.
"I think their family just has good luck. They always seem to find something good whenever they go beachcombing."
"So what? They have so many mouths to feed. The little bit of money they make from selling things isn’t even enough to cover their food."
"You say that as if your family doesn’t have a lot of mouths to feed. Cai Jinhua, when is your family going to build a new house?"
Cai Jinhua said smugly, "My girls don’t eat much. When they grow up, we can even collect a bride price for them. Just you wait, we’ll definitely build a big house for Zhuangzhuang."
Then she changed the subject. "Not like that Yun Jiao. She’s lazy as sin and eats a ton. We’re all country folk. What future mother-in-law would ever like someone like her?"
"Cai Jinhua, believe it or not, I’ll tear your damn mouth off!"
Wang Mei’s furious roar suddenly erupted from behind her. Cai Jinhua was a bit embarrassed, but she didn’t dare to linger and immediately took off running.
"I have to get back to cook! I’m leaving now!"
The others: ...
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