Kunzi and Xuanzi were interested in snacks. Seeing the wooden sabres, sailboats, and carriages on the wooden shelf, they excitedly ran over and reached for them.
Qin Mian walked over and gently said: "This is a present your uncle gave me, you can play with it, but you need to cherish it, okay?"
Kunzi nodded, took the sailboat and looked at it, unable to let go.
On the other hand, Xuanyuan Po held onto the carriage model and refused to let go as he asked Qin Mian with expectation, "Uncle Mang, I really like this carriage. Please give it to me as a gift."
"Ugh ??" Qin Mian avoided answering, and said in a euphemistic tone, "If you guys like it, you can get your cousin to make you two another one." These were the New Year gifts that Lei Tia had gifted him, and he was reluctant to give them away.
Xuan Zi tightly hugged the carriage, his mouth pouting without saying a word.
She walked over with a frown and said in a stern voice: "Xuan Xuan, didn't Third Aunt teach you not to take things from others? If I want your favorite bamboo dragonfly, would you give it to me? "
Xuan Zi bared his teeth and shouted: "No! That's mine! "
"Since that's the case, how can you ask others for items?" Happy said sternly.
Qin Mian saw that the situation was bad and quickly said: "How about this. Let's go find your uncle and have him make a catapult for each of you. We'll go shoot the birds, okay? "
Xuanzi immediately put down the carriage and said happily: "Good, good! Let's go shoot the birds. "
"I want to go too!" Kunzi put the boat back.
Lian Yuanzi slipped off the stool and came over with a thump, "I'm coming too!"
Finally, Qin Mian had coaxed them into a temporary peace. He secretly wiped his cold sweat and nodded to show his gratitude. A few little girls, he didn't know how to welcome them properly. Awkwardly, Lei Xiangzhi and Lei Chuntao walked in together.
"Sister-in-law, we're here."
"Good timing." Qin Mian heaved a sigh of relief and welcomed the two in, "Little sister, I'll have to trouble you to take care of these few young ladies."
Lei Chuntao pursed her lips into a smile, and picked up the small basket on her arm, "Sister-in-law, leave it to me. The last time I saw these flowers in your house I thought they were beautiful and tried to make some myself. Teach them to make cloth flowers today, they must like it. "Look, I've brought everything."
The basket was filled with bits of cloth of all colors.
Lei Chuntao brought the few girls over to the sofa and sat down. After Qin Mian placed the snacks on the tea table, he finally had time to speak with Lei Xiangzhi, "Fifth Brother, are you resting today?"
"Right." Lei Xiangzhi's lips curled up into a smile as he looked at the kids in the room, "Ten days later, there will be another two days of leave, followed by the Scholar's Trial."
"Looking at how Fifth Brother is acting, I believe he is confident in his abilities." Qin Mian laughed, "Let me first wish you success in your dreams."
"Thank you for your kind words. I do not dare to say that I will definitely succeed, but Xiangzhi will definitely give it his all. " Lei Xiangzhi said humbly.
Kun Zi pulled Qin Mian's sleeves, "Cousin Uncle Xu, let's go look for him."
"Alright." Qin Mian asked Lei Xiangzhi, "Fifth Brother, do you want to take a walk there?"
Lei Xiangzhi nodded, "Let's go."
Qin Mian instructed Lei Chuntao with a few words, then brought Kunzi, Xuanzi and Yuanzi to the orchard.
When Lei Tia saw Qin Mian, he walked over.
"Why are you here?"
"They ??" When Qin Mian turned around, the three children were no longer there. He turned around and saw that the three children had already sneaked into the deep pit they had dug. He shrugged. Kids were playful and forgetful.
Lei Tia looked over in confusion.
Qin Mian tugged on his wrist, "Let's hurry back before they regain their senses. You make a slingshot for each of them. "
"Why would I think of making a slingshot?" Lei Tia asked.
Qin Mian said: "They have their eyes on my boat and carriage."
Lei Tia immediately replied: "No."
Qin Mian looked at him in amusement, "That's why I asked you to make me a slingshot."
Lei Xiangzhi who was ignored shook his head helplessly, and leisurely walked towards the pond to watch the liveliness, and take a walk.
The kids were indeed forgetful, but they had a good memory. When they came back to eat, they saw that the sailboats and carriages were all thinking about the slingshot, so they all turned to look at Qin Mian, not daring to look at him. Lei Tia was always expressionless, and looked very terrifying. Even if the three of them were able to rule over everyone in their home, they would not dare to act presumptuously in front of him.
Qin Mian smiled and indicated towards Lei Tia.
Lei Tia took out three slingshots from the cabinet, and wordlessly handed them over to Kunzi, Xuanzi, and Yuanzi.
According to their age, the slingshot was also of different sizes. When Kunzi and the other two saw this, they fell in love with it, beaming with joy.
Deng Quan saw that the slingshot was thin and could not hurt anyone, and knew that Qin Mian and Lei Tia were thinking this. He slapped Kun Zi's head and said: "Why aren't you guys thanking your cousins?"
"Thank you, Cousin Xu, thank you, Cousin Xu!" Xuanzi was the first to express his opinion, "Cousin Liu, let's go bird hunting in the afternoon."
Qin Mian shot a glance at Lei Xiangzhi who he had kept for lunch, "Alright, let your Cousin Uncle Xiangzhi bring you guys there." He's not very good at babysitting.
Lei Xiangzhi was surprised, "Sister-in-law, me?"
"It's you." Qin Mian righteously spoke out, "Aren't you going to participate in the Scholar's Trial soon? "Relax before taking the exam to make it more beneficial for your performance."
Lei Xiangzhi agreed readily.
Uncle Deng, Deng Quan and the others were happy. Lei Xiangzhi was a scholar, and their family's children who came into contact with scholars would more or less be enlightened in the future.
"..."
Qin Mian's deduction was wrong. The thirty people had to spend four days to finish digging the pond. It covered an acre of land and was about two meters deep. Such an area and depth was sufficient for raising fish seed lotus roots.
Lei Tia invited two experienced carpenters from the town and brought four apprentices with him to set up a wooden arch bridge around "Gourd" 's waist. Thanks to the mountain near the village, Lei Tia found the strongest ironwood arch girders he could find. The arch girders sunk into the ground at both ends and were sturdy and safe.
After the bridge was built, Qin Mian and Lei Tia dug canals to draw water from the river. Within a day, the pond was filled with turbid water. It will be two or three days before it's clear. Qin Mian made Lei Tia dig some mud and threw it into the pond, then quietly poured some Spirit Spring Water s into the pond.
The fruit trees were planted, the ponds dug, the bridges built, the walls built.
This time, Qin Mian only bought over two hundred green bricks, the rest were red bricks. This was because he felt that red brick and green trees contrasting with each other was more artistic and beautiful.
The Qingshan Village was boiling once again, and the villagers were anxiously waiting for the news of Qin Mian inviting people to build walls.
However, this time, Qin Mian did not a
ounce it to the public, but invited everyone to come one by one. Very soon, someone found out that the majority of the people invited were the people who had performed well when digging the pond last time. Lei Xiangren, Zhou Erhao, and Zhao Si Han were not among them.
It is not an easy thing to enclose fifteen acres of land. Just by buying the bricks, Qin Mian spent ten silver coins. There were a total of fifty people who were invited to build the wall in sections according to the markings they had previously made. Several sections of the wall could be built at the same time. Because there were too many people to feed, their wages were six dollars higher than when they built the house.
The Elder Faang had nothing to do and was happily helping to guide and supervise. His two sons were also helping to build the wall.
"Tia," The Elder Faang looked at the pile of green bricks and asked Lei Tia, "What are these bricks used for?"
Lei Tia said: "My wife said to 'write' the word 'Leisurely Dwelling House' inside the green brick."
Elder Faang slapped his thigh and looked towards Qin Mian who was talking to a villager who was carrying bricks around, and said, "This idea is good! Heh, I really don't know how your wife's brain works. "
Lei Tia's eyes flashed. That was his wife, of course she was different from ordinary people.
He walked to Qin Mian's side and handed the bamboo cup over to him.
Qin Mian was feeling thirsty right now, so he took the cup and drank all the wine in one go, "I still need more."
Without a word, Lei Tia walked over to the boiler, filled a cup of cold water and handed it over to him.
Qin Mian smiled at him, took two gulps, and returned the cup to him, "Let's go take a look at the south wall."
At this moment, Mrs Zhao was sitting by the well, rubbing her clothes in the wooden basin. No one knew what she was thinking, but her brows were furrowed more and more. From time to time, she raised her head to look in the direction of the west side of the village without even noticing the splash of water on her body.
Madam Qian walked past them and kindly reminded them, "Second sister in law, your shoes are wet."
Mrs Zhao came back to her senses, looked at her trousers and embroidered shoes without care, stood up and reached out to pull Madam Qian, "Third Sister-in-Law, it's getting more and more lively in the west side of the house, are we just going to watch? Come, let's see. It doesn't make sense for Qin Mian to invite a few outsiders to boil some tea and not invite us to do so. "
The Madam Qian avoided her hand without leaving a trace, and said estrangingly: "Second sister, you go yourself. I still have things to do." With that, she turned around and entered the house. Her husband had told her before that as long as they did not provoke Qin Mian and Lei Tia, they would naturally think of Qin Mian and the others if there was anything good. If they kept trying to get closer, it would only bore them. In the past, she had been foolish enough to complain to Mrs Zhao.
"Huh?" Mrs Zhao stared at him in confusion, "Did the Madam Qian change her sex drive?"
There was another person who could not sit still like the Zhao Family, Lei Daqiang. After breakfast in the morning, he went out for a stroll. Several times he wanted to go to the west side of the village. No matter what, he would never have thought that the eldest son that he did not put in his heart would now become so promising. The more promising Lei Tia was, the more he regretted treating Lei Tia badly back then. The more he regretted, the more he realized just how stupid he was. Although he would never admit it, in reality, he was blushing from shame, and at the same time, he was furious. Lei Tia had invited so many villagers to move the bricks and build a wall, but he did not invite a father like him! It wasn't that he didn't want to go and cause trouble, but once he thought about how Lei Xiangzhi was about to participate in the Tong Cheng Trial, he didn't dare to act rashly.
Scholar's Trial?
His heart skipped a beat. That's right, he could use the Tong Cheng Trial as an excuse to find Lei Tia. Younger brother is going to take the children's test, isn't it normal to ask for some money from elder brother?
Thinking of this, he impatiently walked towards the west side of the village.
Qin Mian and Lei Tia stood by the southern wall, and instructed the people who built the wall not to misrepresent the word "Leisurely Dwelling House", or else they would have to go back to work.
"Don't worry, little brother." The fortyish brickmaker smiled. "You can tell us every stroke with a few bricks, a few bricks high above the ground, and how far away we are from each other. If we make any more mistakes, we won't have to work in this line of work anymore."
Qin Mian touched his nose, a little embarrassed.
Lei Tia cupped his hands: "Uncle, don't blame me.
"Hehe, I understand, I understand." The bricklayer smiled indulgently and said to the other bricklayer, "We also want to see what it looks like."
"Yeah." Another bricklayer piled up a brick on top of it and used a knife to scrape off the mud that had been squeezed out. "This is the first time I've heard that I can write like this. I don't even need to hang a plaque."
Lei Tia looked at the sweat on Qin Mian's forehead, "Go home and rest." His wife had been in the sun for most of the day.
Qin Mian was indeed a little tired and nodded as he walked back.
"Oh yeah, I thought I would see Lei Xiangren again. "He actually didn't come."
Lei Tia looked ahead, and said indifferently: "He's sick."
Qin Mian could not help but smile, "You did it?"
Lei Tia said: "He's here, I've already taken his acupoint."
Qin Mian laughed out loud, "Serves you right."