Jin Qianqian smiled when she saw Ding Er still waiting anxiously for her answer.

"You don’t really have to discuss this with me. After all, you already know how to do it."

"That would never do!" Ding Er hurriedly waved his hands. "It’s your method, after all. It wouldn’t be right for me to just take it for free.

Besides, I don’t want to give anyone a reason to criticize the way I do business. I’m just waiting for you to agree, ma’am."

Jin Qianqian lifted her teacup and took a sip. "And what if I don’t agree?"

Disappointment flickered across Ding Er’s face, but he managed a smile. "Then I understand. I certainly won’t build any more of these latrines in the future."

But Jin Qianqian just smiled. "I won’t agree to take a share of your profits. However, you can build as many of these latrines as you wish from now on. I won’t get involved."

"How can that be right?" Ding Er was displeased. "That doesn’t make any sense."

Jin Qianqian looked at him. "Do you think it’s difficult to build one of these latrines, as long as you’ve seen the whole process?"

Ding Er thought for a moment before shaking his head. ’Any experienced craftsman could figure it out after watching for a bit.’

"There you go," Jin Qianqian said. "While I may have been the one to suggest building it, it’s not like there’s a secret recipe involved. Besides, half the credit belongs to you. If you hadn’t figured out how to gather all the materials, my idea would have remained just an idea."

"But I’d still be taking advantage of you," Ding Er insisted. He knew this wasn’t right, but he was clumsy with words and couldn’t figure out how to persuade Jin Qianqian.

Jin Qianqian made the final decision. "Then it’s settled. Qingzhu, go with Master Ding and pay him his Silver. We can’t treat him poorly."

"Yes, ma’am," Qingzhu replied, then followed Housekeeper Fu to see him out.

Once outside, Ding Er sighed emotionally. "My luck really turned around after I met your Family Head.

It’s just as that fortune teller my father met long ago predicted. He said I’d meet a benefactor in my middle age, and it actually came true."

Housekeeper Fu beamed. "Isn’t that the truth? We’ve all met a benefactor.

This courtyard is a bit small. Why don’t we head over to the workshop to settle your payment?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Why don’t we just forget about the payment? Otherwise, I’ll keep feeling guilty about this." Ding Er tried to turn and leave, but Housekeeper Fu grabbed him.

"We can’t have that. You heard her just now. You can’t put us in a difficult position."

Just then, Xu Dawang arrived with the donkey cart. Seeing that Qingzhu was already seated, Housekeeper Fu quickly pulled Ding Er into a corner seat on the cart.

In the afternoon, Qingzhu and Qing Lan returned from the workshop with news for Jin Qianqian.

"Are you saying that Ding Er made a deal with our brothers’ families to hire them for the long term?"

Qingzhu nodded. "Yes. He said he’ll notify them immediately whenever he has a job."

Jin Qianqian immediately understood what Ding Er was doing. ’This is his way of compensating me, just indirectly.’

"Have Housekeeper Fu find a moment to go over and tell him that if they’re good workers, he should treat them like anyone else, but if they’re not, he doesn’t need to feel obligated to use them."

"I’ll go right now," Qingzhu said.

After Qingzhu left, Jin Qianqian turned to Qing Lan. "How has the workshop been the past couple of days?"

"It’s been quite good, for now. Everyone has been really happy the last two days. They have new, uniform clothes and new houses to live in, so they’re all working very hard."

"And what about my sisters-in-law?"

Qing Lan pressed her lips together. "They asked me about it today. They said commuting back and forth every day is too exhausting and they’d like to have a place to stay here, just like the others."

Jin Qianqian raised an eyebrow. "Are they just going to neglect their homes then?"

"I asked about that. They said they’d have to cook when they get home anyway, whereas we provide three meals a day. Here, they can eat well and rest well. As for their homes, they said the children are old enough to look after themselves."

Jin Qianqian immediately thought of Little Leshun. "Does my fifth sister-in-law feel the same way?"

"She didn’t say anything, actually. She just stood by them quietly."

Now Jin Qianqian really had a headache. While she had helped her husband’s brothers, their mother back home was bearing the brunt of it.

The several young children were basically staying with Li Cuicui all the time now.

Each family contributed rations, but looking after children was no easy task.

Even with Granny Song and Luo Gang there to help, five growing kids were still a handful.

「Gaoling Village」

"Mother, can you make those kids go play outside?" Gu Yuanfeng demanded irritably. "I just barely got the baby to sleep, and their racket made her start crying again!"

"If the baby’s crying, you should be soothing her. It’s the middle of the day, how can you expect perfect silence?" Li Cuicui knew her daughter’s lazy streak was flaring up again. "Besides, she hasn’t just fallen asleep. It’s been over an hour. She’s probably either wet or hungry."

"I knew it! Compared to your precious grandsons, my daughter and I are treated like dirt. No one can say a thing to them, but I get scolded for even speaking up!" Gu Yuanfeng covered her face and began to sob again.

"Stop being such a jinx all day!" Gu Dashishi strode in just then. Seeing Gu Yuanfeng wiping her tears again, his temper flared. "You’re going to cry away any good luck we have.

And you," he snapped at his wife, "she’s finished her postpartum confinement. Why haven’t you found a family to marry her off to already?"

"Dad! Am I not your daughter?"

"If you weren’t my daughter, you’d have been thrown out long ago! Who else would put up with you stirring up trouble every other day?" Gu Dashishi walked into the main room and went to open the cabinet, only to find it locked.

"Woman, why is this locked?"

Li Cuicui didn’t follow him in as she usually would. Instead, she said coolly from the doorway, "Too many people are coming and going these days. I locked it to prevent things from going missing and causing arguments.

What do you need? Tell me and I’ll get it for you."

"Mugen invited me over for a few drinks," Gu Dashishi said. "I can’t very well go empty-handed. I remember we have some pastries. Give me a package of them."

"There are none," Li Cuicui said flatly. "Have you not noticed how many children are in this house now? With everyone taking a piece, they were gone long ago.

Besides, since when is Liang Mugen so generous? There’s no special occasion, so why is he inviting you for drinks?

And let me warn you, don’t get a big head just because a few people are flattering you. If you dare meddle in Seventh’s affairs, I’ll break your legs again, I swear it."

"What are you talking about, you vicious woman?" Gu Dashishi retorted. "We’re all from the same village. What’s wrong with having a few drinks together when we’re not busy?

Stop tying everything back to that precious son of yours. So he hired a couple of people to help you? Look how biased you’ve become."

Thinking of the couple hired to help around the house, Gu Dashishi’s face soured. ’I wonder if my son and daughter-in-law planned this,’ he thought. ’They listen to my wife on every matter, big or small. I can’t even get them to do anything for me.’

Li Cuicui wasn’t about to indulge him. "And are you not being taken care of? Do you not eat the food they cook? Do they not do the work in the fields for you? The reason everyone in the village is so polite to you now is also because of Seventh."