Falling into the mortal world

Lan Xiaotian said: Sister, I'll raise your child after you give birth.

Lan Xiaoya said: Sister, you still have me.

Big sister, me too, me too! Lan Xiaoyu also came to make her presence known.

After thinking it over, Lan Qingqing decided to keep the child. After all, the child's father seemed to have good genes.

Lan Qingqing counted the money in her hand; there were over two hundred taels of silver. This was all the net profit she had made in just over a month.

Lan Qingqing asked her father to buy a plot of land next to their house, and she planned to finish building the house before it got cold.

Mr. Lan agreed with Lan Qingqing's idea. For the next few days, Lan Qingqing didn't do any work. Everyone told her to rest well.

Because Lan Qingqing frequently bought pork bones to make soup, everyone in the family looked much healthier. In particular, Lan Er Ya had noticeably grown taller.

Blue's mother's complexion has also improved a lot.

Lan Qingqing felt much better, so she started going out for walks. Her mother would stew chicken soup, fish soup, and pork rib soup every day, making different kinds of soup each time.

Lan Qingqing did not refuse, knowing that the child needed nutrition at this time.

Mr. Lan brought some tofu with him. When asking someone to do something, you have to be sincere. Mr. Lan thought that tofu was a really good choice.

Lan's father knocked on the village chief's gate, and the village chief's wife opened the door. Lan Dashu handed the tofu he had brought to the village chief's wife.

The village chief's wife said politely, "It's fine if you come, no need to bring gifts." Although she said that, her hands still honestly took the basket of tofu.

When the village chief came over and saw that the visitor was Lan Dashu, he invited him to come inside and sit down.

When Lan's father arrived at the village chief's house, he explained his purpose to the village chief.

The village chief was somewhat shocked. The Lan family had started buying land and building houses; it seemed their tofu business had made them quite a bit of money.

The village chief said: "The land next to your house is all wasteland and can't grow crops, so the price isn't high. It's only one tael of silver per mu."

The best paddy fields cost ten taels per mu. Generally, no one buys the wasteland around the Lan family's house.

Lan Dashu said: I plan to buy five acres of land.

The village chief said: "Instead of building a new house now, why don't you find a piece of land in the village to build it?"

Lan Dashu said: "No need, just build it there! In case our son comes back someday, he can still find his way home."

Actually, Uncle Lan thought it was better to live further away from the village. He could tell what people were saying about their family behind their backs, and living further away meant out of sight, out of mind. That was good.

Once the village chief was chosen, he followed Lan Dashu to the end of the village to measure the land. The land was measured quickly, and Lan Dashu invited the village chief to stay for lunch.

The village chief declined, saying he still needed to go to the county government office in the town to register.

After seeing the village chief off, the three of them began to eat lunch. Now, only Lan's father, Lan's mother, and Lan himself remained at home.

Lan Xiaotian was in charge of everything at the shop. Lan Qingqing thought Lan Xiaotian managed it very well, so she didn't go with him.

Lan Qingqing still manages the household accounts. Apart from Lan Qingqing and her father, no one in the family is literate. In fact, Lan's father only knows a little bit about reading.

Lan Qingqing decided to teach her family to read. How can you do business if you can't read? You won't even be able to count large sums of money properly.

That evening, Lan Qingqing told everyone about teaching them to read. Lan Xiaotian said, "Sister, look, I'm almost fifteen. Isn't it a bit late to start learning to read now?"

Feng Caidie said: "Girl, do I want to learn too?"

Lan Qingqing said: From now on, each of you must learn two characters every day.

Xiaoyu is old enough to start school now. I'll go to the academy in town in a couple of days to inquire about it.

Lan's mother said: I'm already so old, I don't need to learn anymore!

"That's right! Look at me, I'm so old, isn't it a bit inappropriate for me to be learning now?" Mr. Lan chimed in.

Of all the children, Lan Xiaoyu was the happiest. He had previously envied the children who could go to the academy to study.

Now I can read on my own. I don't need to envy others anymore.

You all know how to read. If someone sells you one day, will you still be counting the money for them?

After Lan Qingqing finished speaking, she said to her mother, "Mother, there is a saying that goes, 'One is never too old to learn.' Learning is something that knows no age."

From now on, you'll be in charge of managing the household finances.

"Isn't it you who's here?" Mother's head ached just looking at the account book. Mother Lan said.

"That's because you can't read, that's why you have a headache looking at it. If you could read all the words, you wouldn't have a headache," Lan Qingqing said.

Under Lan Qingqing's insistence, the family began to learn two characters every day.

The next day, the village chief delivered the completed land deed.

The village chief didn't know if anyone in the village was willing to come and help with the house construction. He said he was paying 30 coins a day, while people who normally work in town earn 20 coins a day.

Thirty coins is quite a high price.

The village chief said: I'll ask around for you.

Lan Dashu knew the price was high. However, their family's reputation had always been poor. He worried that if they didn't offer a high price, no one would be willing to come.

The village chief went to Li Dahai's house and asked as soon as he arrived: "There's a job here, thirty coins a day, would you like to take it?"

Li Dahai said: Thirty coins a day, of course I'll take it!

The village chief said, "The Lan family at the end of the village is planning to build a new house. The pay is thirty copper coins a day." Upon hearing that it was the Lan family at the end of the village building the house, Li Dahai hesitated. After all, the eldest daughter of the Lan family had worked in a brothel; it wouldn't be good if his wife misunderstood.

Li Dahai called his wife over and asked, "Lan Dashu's family at the end of the village is building a new house. They're paying thirty coins a day for labor. Do you think I should go?"

Li Dahai's wife said: Go! Why not go? Where else can you find such high wages?

After receiving his wife's approval, Li Dahai agreed to the job. The rest was up to Li Dahai to find people; the village chief's business was no longer his concern.

On the third day, the blue bricks arrived at home, and all the workers were present. Lan Qingqing drew a house design for her father and explained all the details to him.

Some men in the village would look at Lan Qingqing with scrutinizing eyes when they saw her. Even though they had never seen her face, her graceful figure alone was enough to fuel their fantasies.

Because of this, many young women and wives were dissatisfied with Lan Qingqing.

Therefore, Lan Qingqing tries her best to avoid being hated.

Because Mr. Lan was building a new house, the family started to lack manpower.

Lan Qingqing thought of Aunt Li, who had previously delivered steamed buns to their family.

"Mother, we're so busy at home right now, why don't we hire some help?" Lan Qingqing asked her mother.

Lan's mother said: Where are we going to find someone now!

Lan Qingqing asked: "How is Aunt Li, who brought us steamed buns last time?"

Mother Lan said, "Your Aunt Li is also a pitiful person. Her whole family relies on that little bit of land to survive. Her husband died early, leaving behind an orphan and a widow."

Lan Qingqing thought about how difficult things were for Aunt Li's family, yet they still managed to bring them steamed buns. So she decided to have her mother go to Aunt Li's house to inquire.