The Crown Princess is busy fishing

The two spent the whole day rowing their boat back and forth between the rocky beach, the river mouth, and the riverbank where houses were being built.

The others were divided into two groups.

A group loaded the selected stones onto the boat on this side of the rocky beach.

One group waited by the river for the boat to dock so they could unload the stones onto an open area.

It was getting late.

The people who went up the mountain to cut down trees had already made several trips back and forth, carrying back more than a dozen thick tree trunks.

Lin Fanghai, Qiu Ming, and the others returned and looked at the pile of stones.

They were all stunned and exclaimed in admiration at how capable these kids were.

We were only out for an afternoon.

At this moment, Xie Jingwan brought over the cooked meal.

Then everyone finished work and had dinner.

After a busy afternoon, everyone was quite hungry.

Lin Qingzhou was wolfing down the pancake in his hand.

At this moment, Lin Yuge took a bite of the crispy on the outside and tender on the inside pancake.

He mumbled indistinctly, "Brother, we need to transport some more stones tomorrow. The current amount isn't enough, is it?"

Lin Qingzhou quickly swallowed the food in his mouth.

He replied, "Little sister is right. Although we transported a lot today, we still need to make a few more trips to ensure the house is built solidly."

However, we've figured out some tricks for transporting stones today, so tomorrow's transport should go more smoothly.

Lin Fanghai nodded in agreement.

“You two are right, this house needs to be built solidly, and we can’t skimp on the stones.”

"But you must also be careful, especially at the river mouth, where the currents are complex, so don't take any risks."

Both of them nodded in agreement.

After everyone finished their meal, they went their separate ways.

Lin Fanghai called out to the village chief, who was about to leave.

Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Brother Qiu, I'll be troubling everyone a lot during this time."

"I'm leaving soon, so I'll have to trouble you to look after things here."

As he spoke, he looked at Xie Jingwan.

Xie Jingwan immediately understood his meaning and hurriedly took out twenty taels of silver from her bosom.

He handed it to Qiu Ming and said, "Village Chief, everyone's help during this time will definitely delay our fishing trip at sea."

"I thought we could treat this as an invitation for everyone to work. The amount of money may not be much, but it's a small token of our appreciation."

Qiu Ming quickly waved his hand.

"That won't do. Brother Lin, sister-in-law, we'll be from the same village from now on, so it's only right that we help each other out."

“Everyone is happy to contribute to building a house, so why should we take your money?”

Lin Fanghai took the silver, stepped forward, and stuffed it into Qiu Ming's hand.

"Brother Qiu, please accept this. We are already very grateful for everyone's help, and we can't let them work for nothing."

"If you don't accept this money, I'll feel really bad."

Qiu Ming looked troubled. "Fang Hai, you..."

Lin Fanghai interrupted him, "Brother Qiu, just think of it as putting my mind at ease."

“This house is very important to my family. If you accept the money and take good care of everyone, I can rest assured while I’m away.”

Qiu Ming hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the silver.

"Alright, Brother Lin, I'll accept it for now."

"Don't worry, I will definitely handle this properly and make sure the house is built solidly."

Lin Fanghai thanked him gratefully again, "Then I'll leave it to Brother Qiu."

Xie Jingwan added, "Village chief, also, if there's anything we're short of while we're working, just go ahead and get it. If we don't have enough, let me know."

Qiu Ming nodded.

"Don't worry. It's getting late, you should all get some rest. You have a lot to do tomorrow."

The next day, the village's fishing boats went out to sea again.

But Qiu Ming and the others from yesterday stayed behind.

They arrived at the construction site early to begin their day's work.

Lin Yuge and Lin Qingzhou continued to lead people to transport stones.

However, today's efficiency was much faster than yesterday's.

Lin Yuge stood at the bow of the boat.

With his eyes fixed on the river's flow, he skillfully directed the boat's course.

"Brother, the current on the left is slower today, let's move a little over there," Lin Yuge called out.

Lin Qingzhou responded.

With a powerful stroke, the boat veered rapidly to the left, avoiding the turbulent current.

On the rocky beach, the villagers responsible for loading stones also cooperated more seamlessly.

They were no longer as flustered as they had been yesterday.

Instead, they methodically carried the stones onto the boat and arranged them neatly according to Lin Yuge's instructions.

Meanwhile, things are also progressing smoothly for Lin Fanghai.

He first led the two men to refine the tree trunk from yesterday.

Trim the small branches off the tree trunk cleanly, and then sort and stack them according to their different lengths and thicknesses.

I figured it still wasn't enough.

Lin Fanghai inquired around to see which family in the village had extra wood, and then bought some back.

Qiu Mingze was with Ge Laoda and others from the village who had worked as bricklayers in town.

Following the blueprints provided by Lin Yuge, they began digging the foundation.

Qiu Ming held the blueprints and carefully studied the dimensions and depth with Boss Ge.

"Brother Ge, the depth of the foundation must be strictly according to what Yuge Yaya drew. This is related to the future stability of the house," Qiu Ming said seriously.

Boss Ge nodded. "Brother Ming, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Boss Ge is very experienced.

He first used a rope to draw the outline of the foundation on the ground.

Then the group picked up hoes and shovels and started digging.

They dug shovel by shovel, turning the soil aside, gradually forming a large rectangular pit.

During the excavation, Boss Ge would occasionally use a long wooden stick to measure the depth.

Make sure every corner meets the standards.

Everyone was working enthusiastically, and everyone was full of energy.

Sweat dripped from their foreheads onto the soil, but no one slacked off in the slightest.

When Lin Fanghai returned and saw this scene, he couldn't help but feel grateful for the villagers' simplicity and kindness.

I'm so glad my family was able to come here.

At noon, Xie Jingwan and Aunt Wen arrived at the construction site carrying the prepared food and a large pot of water.

"Everyone, take a break and have something to eat. You must be starving after a busy morning," Xie Jingwan called out.

Hearing the noise, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around.

Aunt Wen took the food out of the basket.

There was a fragrant salted fish fried rice. The salted fish was homemade and mixed into the rice, giving it a unique salty aroma.

There's also soup made with fresh seaweed.

The tender green seaweed floats in the soup, looking refreshing and delicious.

"Aunt Xie, Village Chief Qiu said today that he would pay us our wages."

"With food like this, I'd be happy to come work for you every day," Zhang Meng said with a grin.

Xie Jingwan responded with a smile.

"Silly child, this wage is what everyone deserves, and this food is just to help everyone replenish their strength."

Cai Jinhua chimed in, "Yes, Sister Xie is such a genuine person."

"You've all worked so hard, you should be treated to a good meal."

"Eat more! The seaweed is so fresh today, it was just picked from the beach this morning."