The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

As time passed, the tavern's business became more and more prosperous, and the new houses in the village were also built. Guo Zhi and Guo Xi took a special leave and returned to the village, leaving Liu Tiezhu and the cooks to look after the tavern.

Four houses were built to the east of the original thatched house. One of them was the largest blue brick house, which was divided into four compartments, serving as dormitories for four people.

The dormitory on the right as you enter the door is Guo Xin's.

There was a 1.5-meter wooden bed, a 1.3-meter-wide and 1.6-meter-high wardrobe, several cabinets that could be used as chairs with account books inside, and a set of desks made of bamboo that exuded a faint bamboo fragrance.

The most novel thing is the ingeniously designed wooden chair. The height and tilt angle of the chair can be adjusted through various wooden nails and exquisite mortise and tenon structure, and some simple patterns are carved on it.

The chair is covered with a thin cushion, making it extremely comfortable to sit on.

The closet was empty, with nothing in it except a few worn summer clothes and a worn cotton-padded jacket. The left side of the closet was a clothes-hanging area, and the right side was divided into small grids, where some clothes and quilts could be placed to make full use of the space.

There was nothing new about the rest of the place. The remaining three bedrooms had the same interior layout except for their different orientations. However, the bedrooms still had to be allocated, so Guo Ruo let Guo Zhi and Guo Xi choose first.

The brother and sister quarreled over the south-facing room. Finally, Guo Xin came out to mediate and asked the two to decide by drawing lots. In the end, Guo Zhi asked for the bedroom next to Guo Xin, Guo Ruo lived opposite Guo Xin, and Guo Xi lived next to Guo Ruo.

The second largest blue brick room is the main room. Because it is used to entertain guests, there are six simple bamboo chairs in it. A short bamboo table is placed between the chairs to serve tea and cakes to the guests.

There are two wooden chairs and a table placed right opposite the door, which can be moved around and used as a place for everyone to eat.

The last blue brick house is the guest room, which is divided into three rooms. One of them has two 1.3-meter bunk beds, which are used by the servants of visiting guests. The remaining two rooms each have a 1.5-meter wooden bed and a simple desk inside.

Looking at the mud brick house, it is a room specially used to store sundries. It is very small, but it has many wooden shelves.

Going further forward, there is a newly built kitchen with three stoves, which can be used to cook, fry and make soup at the same time. There are also several small mobile stoves in the corner, and a simple oven is built on the right.

The washroom and toilet are next to each other. There is a wooden toilet in the toilet with a cotton cloth wrapped around the seat so that it doesn't feel cold in winter.

A stream in the village was specially diverted to the outhouse. After defecation, the stream would flush the waste to a specific place and ferment it into fertilizer.

There is a big wooden barrel in the bathroom. In order to facilitate bathing, there are also big water tanks placed outside. Once filled with water, it can be used for three days. It is specially used for convenient bathing.

Today, I specially set up a few tables and invited several familiar families. I also specially invited Uncle Yang and Mo Feifei from the town. However, Mo Feifei did not plan to come and just accepted the gift.

"Ruo'er, I feel relieved that you are living so well."

At Guo Ruo's invitation, Uncle Yang looked around the entire new house. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that although this house was not worth much in the village, it was comfortable to live in, and they moved in before the New Year, so they could have a good year.

Uncle Yang was accompanied by his family. One of the little girls looked at the new house and said innocently, "Wow, mother, this house is so comfortable. It's much bigger than the one we have in town. Can I live with my sisters?"

Madam Yang quickly covered the little girl's mouth and said embarrassedly, "Don't take the little girl's words to heart."

Guo Ruo squatted down and smiled at the girl, "It's okay. If my sister wants to live here, there is a small room."

The girl listened, smiled and took out a few candies from her arms. They were what she had just taken from the door. She was reluctant to share them with others, but this sister was willing!

After Guo Ruo and everyone else sat down and were about to leave, they heard a noise coming from outside the door.

Guo Xin also heard it, walked out of the kitchen, and followed Guo Ru to the door.

"Why haven't you invited uncle and aunt to your greenhouse yet?" Uncle Guo shouted at the door with his wife and six children.

Ever since Guo Xin took away their two acres of good land, misfortune seemed to have befallen their family.

The creditors in the town came one after another and looted the house before leaving. In years of famine, there was not much food stored, and what he ate now was what his wife secretly hid under a tree.

Because they had to pay off debts, the family didn't have much money left and couldn't afford meat, so they had to eat wild vegetables. These days were extremely miserable. When they heard that Guo Xin was building a greenhouse, they thought there must be a lot of food, so they rushed over with their whole family.

"You treat our family like this, and you still want me to treat you to a banquet? What are you dreaming about?" Guo Xin said with a frown.

"That's not the case. Your parents used to live in my house, and we have helped you for many years," said Uncle Guo.

Guo Lizheng, who came over after hearing the noise, said to Guo Xin, "Dagui, people should act with conscience. You have treated Guo Xin's family like this over the years, and now it has been confirmed that Guo Xin's father is not your biological brother."

"If you're talking about the favor of helping to raise you, Guo Xin's parents have worked like oxen and horses for your family for so many years. They should have repaid you, right?"

Uncle Guo was speechless. He paused for a moment and then said, "No matter what, I am still her uncle. After so many years of friendship, I should treat us to a meal."

"Okay, then you can come in, but you have to give gifts before coming in. This is the custom." Guo Xin said coldly.

Uncle Guo poked Aunt Guo and said, "Mother, take it out."

Mrs. Guo took out eight copper coins from her bosom and handed them to Guo Xin, saying, "This is given to you by your uncle's family. Congratulations on your new home."

The young man who was writing down the amount of the gift could not help but sneer: "Only eight copper coins, and you still want to eat so many delicious foods, you really deserve to be a family known for being shameless."

Then he shouted loudly, "Guo Dagui, eight cents as a gift."

This sound was heard by everyone sitting inside preparing to eat, and they couldn't help but talk in low voices.

Uncle Guo glared at the young man fiercely, and the young man kicked back without any courtesy. Uncle Guo was so angry that he had to drag the children inside. After all, he had spent money, and it would be a waste not to eat the feast that was served to his door.

As soon as Mrs. Guo sat down, she took out a cloth bag from her bosom and swept away all the melon seeds on the table. The people at the table looked at her in surprise, and then told Guo Xin and others about the matter.

Guo Xin had no choice but to appease them and move to another table.

"Children, eat as much as you can. When they're done, we'll go to the next table and pack up everything. Are your bowls still in your arms?"