After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 38 Buying Land and Building a House

Su Chunlin looked at Su Tai with a puzzled expression. Su Tai winked at him, signaling him to calm down.

Because Su Chunlin was willing to help buy seeds, Su Changxi became even more concerned about Su Chunlin's purchase of wasteland, and even personally took him out to choose a location.

During this stroll, Su Tai took a liking to a patch of barren land at the foot of the mountain, with a terrain that was neither too high nor too low.

This wasteland is on the east side of the mountain. After noon, half of the wasteland is in the shade, making it an ideal place to escape the summer heat. More importantly, the wasteland is about ten acres in size and is a continuous stretch. It only has weeds and not many pebbles, so it won't be too difficult to manage.

Su Zhan also liked this place because it was closer to the mountains from here.

At Su Tai's urging, Su Chunlin spent five taels of silver to buy this wasteland.

Su Changxi took on all the tasks related to handling the contracts.

On the way back, Su Chunlin asked worriedly, "Girl, why did you agree to help buy grain? We've already troubled your uncle several times, we can't cause him any more trouble! We have to use this relationship wisely! Otherwise, even brothers will grow apart!"

Su Tai covered her mouth and chuckled, "Dad, don't worry. This time we'll ask Brother Shen for help, so we don't need to trouble Uncle. And look how proactive Uncle Village Chief was after I agreed!"

"Once we've chosen the land and paid the money, we don't need to worry about the rest. Even if you don't agree, Uncle Village Chief will definitely help, but he'll still feel resentful, thinking we're unwilling to help with such a small thing, and he'll definitely distance himself from our family in the future."

Su Chunlin knew his daughter was right, so he shook his head and smiled wryly, "Then we'll have to trouble Shen Yi."

When the father and his three sons returned home, Han was both happy and worried to learn that there were now ten acres of wasteland on their property.

"Honey, can our family manage to take care of so much land?"

Su Chunlin pondered for a moment and said, "No taxes are required for the first three years of land reclamation. Let's take it slow. If we're too busy, we can just stop."

Su Tai chimed in from the side, "My dad is right, but Mom and Dad, look how valuable our soybeans and peanuts are this year. Even if other families follow our example and plant them, they won't have such a good harvest in the next two or three years. Don't you want to seize the time to earn more money?"

The couple exchanged a glance and instantly became full of energy.

"I've decided to start clearing the land tomorrow."

Su Chunlin added, "I'll find people to go into the mountains to cut wood and haul stones to get the foundation ready first."

After the autumn harvest, everyone is out of work. Whenever someone wants to build a house, most of the village will come over to ask if they need help. Even if there is no pay, it is good to save food for the family.

At this moment, Xu Shi and Shen Yi suddenly arrived. Seeing that there was no one in Su Chunlin's house, the two inquired and learned that Su Chunlin had bought land to build a house.

Madam Xu's heart skipped a beat, and her face fell. "If the Su family is building a house at this time, I reckon they won't have time to marry off their daughter this year."

Shen Yi glanced at her with amusement, feeling helpless. "Second Aunt, we've only just recovered, there's no need to rush."

“How can I not be anxious? You’re not getting any younger. Look at Mo Chunxiang, the woman you were engaged to before, she’s already had a child!” Xu Shi was unhappy whenever this was mentioned. Shen Yi knew that there was no point in arguing, so he didn’t say anything more. When the two arrived at the location, they discovered that Su Chunlin wasn’t just building a house, he was going to build a huge mansion.

Su Chunlin noticed the two immediately and quickly led Han Shi and Su Tai over, "Second Aunt, Shen Yi, what brings you here?"

Madam Xu forced a smile, put on her warmest face, and asked curiously, "Xiaotai's parents, how big of a house are you building? Why are there so many people?"

There were about twenty or thirty people working.

Han laughed heartily, "We just made some money this year, and the children's father was worried that the money would disappear one day, so he thought it would be better to exchange it for something tangible! So, we bought these ten acres of wasteland, and we'll use two acres of it to build two courtyards. We'll start by building the one on the side, and we're not in a hurry to build the other one. We can finish it in a couple of years."

The kids wanted to raise chickens, so we were planning to fence off one side of the yard to build a chicken coop or something. Now that the harvest is over, everyone's free, so more people are coming to help.

Xu felt dizzy listening to this, and after blinking hard to calm herself, she exclaimed, "With so much to do, can we finish before winter?"

Su Tai's eyes sparkled with a smile as she led them closer to take a look, explaining as they walked, "Our family plans to build a two-courtyard house. The back courtyard will be connected to the front courtyard on three sides by a row of houses, about sixteen rooms in total, plus two side rooms. The main hall in the front courtyard will have four rooms on each side, serving as the kitchen, woodshed, and side rooms. We'll also surround the courtyard with a high stone wall, just like in the city."

Madam Xu clicked her tongue in amazement, "How much silver must this have cost?"

Su Tai thought for a moment and said, "My father said it will probably cost around sixty taels."

Madam Xu was stunned for a long time. They built their houses gradually, spending four or five taels of silver at first, and then adding one or two more rooms as they saved up. In the long run, they didn't even need to spend ten taels of silver to build a courtyard. The Su family, on the other hand, spent sixty taels to build a courtyard.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She secretly pulled Shen Yi aside and whispered, "Yi, why don't you get a couple of rooms too? It can't be too different from the Yue family's, right? Don't worry, I'll have your second aunt and cousin come over to help."

It is said that marriage should be between equals. The Su family and the Shen family were not much different before, but now no matter how shameless Xu Shi is, she dares not say that the two families are a good match.

Shen Yi smiled and said, "Second Aunt, don't worry. Actually, I had the idea of ​​repairing the house. First, there are not enough rooms in the house. Second, the house was built when my parents got married, and it's been almost twenty years now. It's not safe. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet. I'll discuss it with Xiaotai in a bit."

"Yes, yes, you two discuss it properly, I'll go talk to my in-laws." Xu was overjoyed and shouted to Su Chunlin from afar, "Little Tai's father, our Shen Yi also said he wants to build a house!"

Su Tai stared in astonishment, looking at Shen Yi with sympathy, "With your second aunt's loud voice, you can't even stop building the house if you don't want to."

Shen Yi found it somewhat amusing and looked at Su Tai with a fond expression. "You like this kind of courtyard, don't you?"

Su Tai nodded.

Shen Yi immediately said, "Okay! Then I will rebuild it according to your wishes."

Su Tai was deeply shocked. "Brother Shen, I was just saying. You don't need to do so much for me!"

Shen Yi smiled, "A house has to be built anyway. You're its future mistress, so naturally it has to be something you like. Tell me if you have any other requirements, and I'll ask someone to help you later."

Su Tai saw the sincerity in his eyes, and at that moment she suddenly knew that the man in front of her was the one.

(End of this chapter)