A master of metaphysics is farming.

Huang Laoliu brought many skilled craftsmen, and in just three days they had built the wooden framework of the house and completed the construction of the back and sides. Now everyone was working together, completing the front wall on one side and building the partition walls inside on the other.

The house layout was planned by Huang Laoliu. It had a small main room, four rooms, and a kitchen. On the left side against the wall, there was a small partition that could accommodate two people. They could then draw the curtain to wash up.

The whole thing looks like a super minimalist version of a traditional courtyard house. Once all the walls are built, a small vegetable garden outside will be enclosed with bamboo strips.

Xiang He had also cleared a piece of land in front of the slope, using mud hoeed from behind the house to widen the road in front. Now, compared to the previous dilapidated thatched house, it was much bigger.

Xiang He looked at the soon-to-be-completed new house and was very satisfied.

"Wow! This house looks so much bigger than I expected!"

The voice was loud. Xiang He turned around and looked down. Her fourth aunt was standing below admiring the view. "He girl, this house is big enough!"

"Of course!" She still had a satisfied smile on her face. "Fourth Aunt, so early? Is Fourth Uncle coming over to help out?"

“Then he must be here,” Aunt Si said, walking up with a basket on her shoulder. “I’m just asking for your fourth uncle. Do you need him to fix your door? He and your father both make a living this way, but your father has difficulty moving his hands and feet, so he’s hoping to be able to help out.”

"Great! I'm in need of someone to make doors!"

Xiang He pulled his fourth aunt to find Xiang Dayong, who was splitting bamboo in his hand. "W-what's wrong?"

"Shall we have Fourth Uncle make the door for our house?"

Xiang Dayong nodded, "Yes, Fourth Brother's cooking is excellent."

"That's great. I'll talk to him about it in a bit and tell him to start preparing the timber and stuff as soon as possible."

Fourth Aunt handed the basket to Xiang He, saying, "These are steamed buns that I made this morning, they're still warm. You must not have eaten much this morning, so eat them quickly."

Xiang He didn't stand on ceremony and took it from her, saying, "Thank you, Fourth Aunt."

She called Xiang Yun to deliver the food to Xiang Yang in the field, and took the first bite. She had only eaten some rice porridge that morning, so she was indeed easily hungry.

"By the way, Fourth Aunt, I can give you the money for the timber first, but the wages should be paid exactly as they are. Let's settle things one by one."

"Alright!" Fourth Aunt patted her shoulder lightly. "What kind of relationship do our two families have? We will take the wages, and if I didn't want them, I would have forced them on you! But we will definitely not take more than you deserve, don't worry."

"I'm completely at ease!"

I like doing business with people like that. They clearly state that they will get what they are owed, and as long as the money and goods are exchanged, there will be no further entanglements.

The two chatted for a while, and then Auntie Si had to go back and tell Uncle Si. She waved her hand to see him off, and on the far side of the rice paddy ridge, there was a very unfamiliar figure.

Xiang He squinted as she watched, and as the figure drew closer, her gait made her frown.

"What kind of scoundrel is this..."

The man was wearing loose-fitting clothes that exposed his chest. He walked unsteadily but didn't fall. He held his belt in one hand and twirled a small wooden stick he had picked up from somewhere in the other, looking around and pointing as he talked.

The villagers nearby pointed and whispered about him from afar, as if they disliked him greatly.

Xiang He thought for a while, but couldn't recall who this person was. It seemed that the original owner of this body had never seen him before, or had never paid any attention to him.

As he drew closer, his face became clearer. There was a patch of black under his slanted eyes, and upon closer inspection, a few hairs could be seen in that patch. He even pinched and pulled at them with his fingers, seemingly quite pleased with those few hairs...

Xiang He's lips twitched; this was typical thug behavior.

As he walked down the slope, she curled her lip and looked up, "Hey! Hey girl!"

Everyone busy at work above looked at him, and the same was true below. Even Xiang He was stunned and pointed at himself, "You... called me?"

His eyes gleamed with barely concealed joy. He threw down the small stick in his hand and ran up. Xiang He quickly took a few steps back. Xiang Dayong, leaning on his crutch, walked up to Xiang He and glared at the newcomer, "Second, you, what are you doing here?"

Xiang He turned her head blankly, "Father, who is he?"

"I'm your lover! He girl, you're so unfair! You took advantage of me and then turned your back on me."

One sentence stunned everyone present, even Xiang He, the protagonist, was dumbfounded, her lips twitching with disgust, "Lover? Me, an innocent young girl, would I be interested in you...someone like you?!"

Xiang He pointed at him from top to bottom with her finger, her little face scrunched up in disgust, "Are you dreaming?"

Old Huang smashed a brick with his hammer. "Er Gou, the boss must be blind to have taken a liking to you. Stop dreaming."

Upon hearing the name, Xiang He immediately recalled that someone in the village had occasionally mentioned that Er Gouzi from the next village was a freeloader, and that his daughter should stay away from him to avoid being taken advantage of.

So it was this Er Gou...

Xiang He raised her hand and pinched the space between her eyebrows, utterly speechless.

Suddenly remembering this morning, her disgusted expression instantly vanished, and she smiled, her eyes narrowing. "Ergou, what are you doing here? Just to talk about this?"

Er Gou didn't care at all about everyone's ridicule. He tugged at his pants with both hands and said, "Hey girl, we made a secret engagement in the back mountain. You promised that I would come to propose today. Have you forgotten?"

Very well, looks like they're here to stir up trouble again.

Xiang He helplessly spread her hands, "I don't remember having anything with you. Don't just spout nonsense and ruin my reputation as a young lady."

Er Gou immediately put on a heartbroken expression, patted his chest, and said, "You really are turning your back on me! You promised that once you had enough money to build a big house, you would let me come and propose marriage and take over the family business. How could you lie to me, He Yatou?"

Seeing Er Gou spouting nonsense, Xiang Dayong, leaning on his cane, glared at him angrily, "You, you don't slander He Yatou!"

“Father-in-law, how could I falsely accuse He’er? I have a token of my trust.”

Everyone stared wide-eyed as he pulled a piece of rose-red fabric from his filthy pocket, and with a flick of his wrist, the fabric turned out to be a garment.

Those below could see it clearly, and one of them covered his mouth and exclaimed, "That's He's wedding dress!"

This caused an uproar, with everyone discussing the garment in detail.

"It really is that one..."

"Could it be that He'er really...?"

"How could that be! He's judgment isn't that bad..."

Just then, Madam Su rushed over. Hearing the others talking nonsense, she glared at her and said, "What are you thinking! He'er would never do anything like that!"

Xiang Dayong's expression changed drastically. These were indeed the clothes He Yatou wore the night she was carried away. How did they end up in Er Gouzi's hands?

"He, He..."

Xiang He gently patted his hand, "Father, it's alright."

Er Gou held the clothes to his nose with both hands, took a deep sniff, and said with a lewd and smug look, "Hey girl, that night we were in ecstasy, and you promised me that once you made some money, you would let me come and propose marriage to you, and you even left this cedar as a token."

That tender gaze on his face somehow turned into something utterly disgusting and lewd.

Xiang He felt nauseous, and her lips twitched involuntarily. "Er Gou, you have to take responsibility for your words, or I'll report you to the authorities."

"Report to the authorities!" Madam Su had already run to Xiang He's side, pointing at Er Gou and angrily cursing, "How dare you slander my He girl's innocence! Report to the authorities!"

"Slander? I know exactly where the mole is on her body! And the feel of it... it's amazing!"