Transmigrated as a Peasant Baby Who is Pampered by All-Chapter 536 - 328: Hiring Workers (2)

Speaking of it, it feels a bit poignant that this is the first time in her life the woman gives a gift, and it’s not to her own parents.

But then again, the two children’s relationship is truly as close as it can be, almost like they are sisters.

Most importantly, their personalities match well. His daughter, Xiaocao, has always been tough as a child, almost like a boy, and doesn’t really get along with the village girls.

Used to be a bit of a concern, you know, because while playing with boys is fine when they’re kids, it’s not the same as they grow older. Thankfully, Xiaomi came along.

Their personalities are practically identical; neither of them is the type to sit quietly. Every day, they run to the mountains, so they really get along well.

Thinking about it this way, it almost makes sense why their bond is so strong.

Seeing Jiang Hu put away the things, Zhang Yuan brought up the subject again.

"Building a duck coop isn’t too difficult. I won’t get Liu Bo’s construction team. I’ll just find a few people in the village, build a thatched hut, make it spacious, and install a couple of windows for summer ventilation."

Thatched roofing keeps it warm in winter and cool in summer, especially when the wind blows at night, it’s very breathable and cool.

"Sure, I just had two pigsties added behind the house before the year turned. We’ll get those same people—quick and skilled—they’ve done all this before."

"That’s why I came directly to you, knowing you added pigsties. By the way, are you planning to raise more pigs with those new pigsties?"

Zhang Yuan nodded, "Pig prices were good last year, earned some money. And since Xiaocao’s older sister is growing up, can help more, I thought of raising more pigs to add to her dowry in a couple of years."

Xiaocao is two years older than Xiaomi, she’s already ten, and her sister is almost twelve—old enough to be considering marriage prospects soon.

No wonder Zhang Yuan talks about preparing a dowry—girls with a bigger dowry have a stronger say in their husband’s family and won’t be bullied.

"True, and speaking of it, your eldest daughter isn’t young either," Jiang Hu nodded and moved on to other topics without pressing the matter further.

He hadn’t approached the village head but instead directly found Zhang Yuan, impressed by how well his family’s pigsty was built, and intended to employ the same workers for the duck coop.

As for the pavilion that Xiaomi and Liu Bo wanted to use for fishing, it shouldn’t be challenging to build, and they could do it all together.

"A pavilion? A thatched hut?" Zhang Yuan was quite surprised after Jiang Hu explained.

Jiang Hu could only smile wryly, "Yes, a thatched hut. I saw Liu Bo’s blueprint—that octagonal pavilion was stunningly beautiful."

"But later they changed their minds, said such a beautiful pavilion near the duck coop and pigsties wouldn’t look right. So they simply opted for a larger thatched hut, just to fit the setting."

Liu Bo is a master at surveying foundations and designing houses. Even in a small place like Xiangma Town, he has plenty of loyal clients in Cheng County.

Understandably, the octagonal pavilion Liu Bo designed was extraordinarily beautiful.

Zhang Yuan might not grasp all this, hence his surprise at the switch from a pavilion to a thatched hut.

Only Jiang Hu, upon witnessing the exquisite octagonal pavilion and hearing the quick switch to a straw hut, felt truly incredulous!

But being a mature adult, seeing how earnest the elder and younger were, he didn’t oppose. He did, however, keep the blueprint.

Of course, there was no need to explain all this to Zhang Yuan; instead, he asked if Zhang Yuan was available and where the others lived, finding that one of them was Zhang Yuan’s brother-in-law.

"What a coincidence, my second sister-in-law heard your sister-in-law’s family wanted work, and she wanted to ask if she’d like to help with the pigs. She might as well see if her brother has time too."

"For work that pays? There’s always time for that," said Zhang Yuan, beginning to crease his brow lightly.

"Speaking of which, my brother-in-law’s family isn’t doing great. Their father dotes on the youngest, and my brother-in-law and his wife are too earnest, just working silently without words to charm."

Jiang Hu hesitated, unsure why Zhang Yuan was sharing this.

But Zhang Yuan continued.

"Last year, when you were building the pigsty, I thought of bringing my brother-in-law over to work, but their father-in-law stopped them, kept them at home to tend to the crops, while the younger brother-in-law and his wife went off to find temporary work."

"The same thing happened last year with the fish pond work. My sister-in-law suddenly said she wanted to find work, probably cooped up and couldn’t take it anymore, just decided to go for it regardless."

These family matters left Jiang Hu unsure of what to say, having had similar or even worse struggles himself.

Luckily, at the time, he resolved to unite with his family no matter what, which led to the better times they now had.

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhang Yuan shifted abruptly, asking him suddenly.

"Brother Jiang, let me be honest. During the New Year, my brother-in-law said they couldn’t go on any longer. If things continued, their kids wouldn’t survive, and asked if I had any solutions."

"I’ve thought for half a month and still can’t come up with anything. Their parents won’t split the family property, and the father-in-law is still strong. But I can’t watch them use their daughters’ marriage as a joke. I wanted to ask you—you’re well-versed—any good solutions?"

"Huh? Ask me?" Jiang Hu was stunned, seeing Zhang Yuan’s hopeful expression, and pondered, "I’m not clear about their situation, don’t actually know how to deal with it."

"How about this: have your brother-in-law come over to work. I’ll make some time to introduce him to Liu Bo, who could possibly give some advice."

Zhang Yuan beamed, "Thanks, brother! I knew you’d have a way!"