Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

In Liujia Village, the village chief brought the heads of the six families to Liu Dawang's house. "April, these are the heads of the six families. If you have anything to say, just say it. Once we've reached an agreement, we'll sign the documents immediately."

Liu Siyue smiled slightly at the group and said, "Gentlemen, the village chief has told me about your situation. In order to help you get through this difficult time, I am willing to lend you 8 taels of silver. I'm sure the village chief has already told you about this."

I know your families are struggling financially, and even if you go out to work, you won't be able to pay back this money in a short time, not to mention you have a large family to support. So I came up with a way to pay off the debt by having you work for me.

The daily wage for working in town is between 15 and 20 coins. I'll calculate it based on the highest price, 20 coins per person per day. You can calculate it based on how many people come from your family. But don't try to fool me. If I find anyone cheating or shirking their duties, don't blame me for being ruthless.

I've bought that piece of wasteland at the end of the village. You all need to help me clear that land as quickly as possible, remove all the trees, and gather all the stones into a pile. Bring your own tools. If you do a good job, each family will receive a subsidy of 1 jin of brown rice and 1 jin of coarse flour per day.

That's all. If you're willing, we can sign the paperwork right away, you can collect your pay from me, and I'll give you two weeks to handle your household chores. We'll officially start work after two weeks.

An old man spoke first: "I'm willing. Thank you for taking care of my family. I will remember this kindness and work hard." The others echoed that they were willing.

The old man immediately knelt on the ground. "April, you are a great benefactor to our family. Please accept my bow." The others followed suit and knelt down as well, but Liu Siyue quickly avoided them. "You are all elders. Kneeling like this is shortening my lifespan. Please get up."

"If you really want to repay me, do this job well. If you do a good job this time, we'll give you priority when it comes to future chores."

The village chief quickly told them to stand up, "Since everything has been agreed upon, let's sign the documents."

The village chief wrote the document on the spot, and everyone signed and fingerprinted it. They then put the document away carefully. Liu Siyue distributed the money, saying, "Here's eight taels of silver. Keep it safe. Work will begin in half a month. Don't forget!"

"Don't worry, boss! We'll definitely not forget, and we'll do a good job." Ji Re happily took the silver home. Now he had money for his child's medical treatment and could also buy some rice to cook.

When Liu Siyue heard these people calling her by her name just moments before, they immediately changed their address to "boss" after receiving the silver. The change in address was quite swift, which showed that these people knew how to behave.

With the matter settled, the village chief felt relieved. "April, you've done me a huge favor this time. I must thank you."

"We're all from the same village, so we'll help each other out when we're able."

The next day, Liu Dawang went to town with the village chief's son, while Liu Siyue stayed at home thinking about the house's construction plans, studying them with her sisters.

Liu Siyue took a stick and drew a sketch on the ground for her family to see. "We will build a house with three rooms: two main rooms on the east and west sides, a hall in the middle for receiving guests, and a side room next to the main room on the east side, which will be used as a bathroom and toilet."

There are four rooms on each of the east and west wings. Each of us sisters has one room, and the remaining two rooms are used as guest rooms. A bathroom and a latrine are built between each pair of rooms.

Behind the main house, a large kitchen, a storage room, and a warehouse were built. Next to it, a chicken coop was built in the empty space. The house we live in now will be used to raise cattle.

It's better to build a screen wall at the entrance to make the yard more private, so that people can see everything when the door is opened.

Let's build heated walls throughout the house, then we won't be cold in winter. What do you think?

"It's good, but this toilet smells terrible inside the house!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, our outhouses are flushable, so the water goes straight outside. They're clean and odorless."

"But that uses too much water. It must take a lot of water a day, and it's not convenient for us to fetch water here."

"Then let's dig a well in the yard, and that will solve the problem."

"You have a good idea, but I don't know if the master craftsman can make it."

"In April, we've done too much work on these rooms. We don't need to repair the guest rooms. When guests come, the two sisters can share one room, which will free up one room."

"Mom, just listen to me, let's do it right the first time, so we don't have to flip through it later."

"I can't argue with you, so you decide. I just think it's too expensive."

"Mother, you don't need to worry about these things. From now on, you will be a happy wife and steer the ship for us sisters."

Madam Feng looked at Liu Siyue with a loving expression and patted her head. "Alright, I'll listen to my daughter."

They had just finished lunch when Liu Dawang and Liu Hongyu returned with a man in his forties. "April, this is Master Chang from town. He's a master at building houses in our Sifang Town. Everyone knows Master Chang when it comes to building houses. The houses he builds are both exquisite and sturdy."

"Thank you for making this trip, Brother Hongyu and Master Chang. Have you had lunch yet?"

"I've eaten. Now you can talk to Master Chang about building the house."

Liu Siyue led Master Chang to the place where she had drawn the sketches. She squatted down and pointed to the ground, "Master Chang, this is the house I want to build. Based on our yard, see if it's feasible."

"Your house is built in a fairly standard way, not difficult at all. There are a few things I don't understand, can you explain them to me?" Master Chang pointed to the outhouse, the firewall, and the floor.

Liu Siyue then explained to Master Chang in detail her purpose and the desired effect.

Master Chang listened attentively, captivated by her idea for a latrine. She had helped others build firewalls before, though not many, but that wasn't anything special.

She took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the bag she carried with her and began to draw according to the drawing on the ground. After the drawing was copied, she marked each point according to the key points explained by Liu Siyue.

After careful consideration, he said, "It can be done, but since it's the first time we've made this kind of outhouse, it might take a little longer."

May I take a look at your yard first?

Master Chang walked around the yard and basically got a sense of the situation. "Once this house is built, it will almost fill the yard. The two rooms you are living in now will also need to be demolished, otherwise there won't be enough space for the foundation."

"We'll follow Master Chang's arrangements. You can build one place first so we can settle down, and then build the others."

There's something else I'd like to ask Master Chang. I'd like to dig a well in the yard. Do you know anyone there?

"Drilling a well? I can introduce you to that."

"Then thank you very much, Master Chang."

"Can you calculate how much it will cost us to build the house? We also need to build a nine-foot-high wall."

Master Chang began to calculate: If you buy the materials yourself, you only need to pay for labor and meals. The master craftsman will receive 200 coins per day, and the senior craftsman will receive 100 coins per day. I will bring 2 master craftsmen and 5 senior craftsmen. If you find 20 helpers, it will take about two months to complete the construction. The labor cost will be 66 taels, not counting the helpers you find.

If it's a package deal including labor and materials, and you don't need to provide meals, it will cost around 220 taels, which is cheaper than if you buy the materials yourself.

"Okay, then we'll do the contract, including labor and materials. But building two houses takes too long. Could you hire more people? I'd like to finish the houses in a month."

"Okay, then you'll need to find more helpers. I'll hurry up and buy the materials, but you'll need to pay half of the deposit first."

Without hesitation, Liu Siyue took out 110 taels of silver notes, and the two parties signed the house building contract. The rest of the matter was left to Liu Dawang to handle.