Chapter 372: What Is This Sickness?
Chapter 372: Chapter 372: What Is This Sickness?
The old village chief glanced at her and laughed. "You from the Liu family, what you’re saying is laughable."
"Your Liu Family’s ancestral graves are just in some random spot you found on the mountain. As far as I know, aren’t Liu Sui’s parents the only ones buried there?"
"Ningning wants to find an auspicious plot of land for our village’s ancestral tombs. Being able to move a grave there is a blessing your ancestors would be proud of. How can you ask for money for that? That’s treating us like outsiders!"
Sister-in-law Liu pouted. "My parents-in-law have been buried there for a long time. If you suddenly want us to dig them up, shouldn’t we get some silver for that?"
"Besides, this whole thing is about feng shui, isn’t it? What if my husband moves his parents’ ancestral graves and makes the Immortals unhappy?"
The old village chief’s breath hitched. He pointed a finger at her, wanting to say something, but in the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.
’That woman,’ he sighed. ’Liu’s wife... she’s warm-hearted, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.’
She wasn’t a bad person, just too focused on her own interests.
She had to account for every single cent.
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes and looked around.
She smiled sweetly. "Aunt Liu, don’t worry, this isn’t mandatory. You can choose not to move the graves."
Sister-in-law Liu paused.
Then she heard Shen Ningning say, "I just thought, since our village is doing better and better, it’s a shame we all have to walk such long, separate paths into the mountains every time we pay our respects during the holidays."
"My brother was willing to hire a Tomb Guardian for Brother Zuchang’s grave, so I thought, why not establish a proper ancestral burial ground for our entire village at the same time?"
Now *that* was a great idea!
A Tomb Guardian arranged by the Royal Family would surely understand feng shui.
If they marked out a plot of land, all their future descendants would prosper.
And so, the villagers who had just been watching the commotion chimed in with their support.
"Thank you so much, Ningning! This is truly a blessing for our whole village!"
"This is great! I won’t have to climb three mountains to visit my great-grandfather anymore."
"Great-aunt! Can you hear me in the heavens? Our family will have a grave in a cemetery with a proper Tomb Guardian!"
Watching everyone get so excited, already imagining which families would have plots next to each other, left a bad taste in Sister-in-law Liu’s mouth.
Shen Ningning comforted her. "Moving the graves is completely voluntary. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Please don’t trouble yourself over it, Aunt Liu."
Sister-in-law Liu quickly forced a smile. "Of course we’ll move! How could we not? This is a wonderful thing, and I can’t be the one to stand in the way, can I?"
Shen Ningning smiled serenely and led the old village chief and the official from the Ministry of Industry forward.
The villagers followed them, wandering around for the whole afternoon.
Finally, they selected a location.
It was a spot south of Xiangyun Village, near the mountain behind Xitai Village. It faced Moon River and was backed by the vast Taiyu Mountain Range.
A truly prime location in terms of feng shui.
Once the area was marked out, the official from the Ministry of Industry gave Shen Ningning a brief outline of the plan.
Construction would begin immediately, and they expected the ancestral cemetery grounds to be completed within half a year.
Shen Ningning agreed without hesitation.
She also asked the old village chief to provide a few vacant houses for the craftsmen sent by the Ministry of Industry to live in.
The little one even puffed out her chest, her eyes sparkling.
"While the ancestral grounds are being built, I’ll take care of all the food and lodging for the craftsmen!"
Sister-in-law Liu was worried that once the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry arrived, Shen Ningning would just ask them to dig Dong Sanhua’s well for her.
If that happened, the silver that was within her grasp would disappear.
So, the next day she borrowed the village chief’s ox-cart and immediately brought her two younger brothers, who lived in Guangyang County, into the village.
"Sister Sanhua, I’ve brought my two brothers! You can put them to work right away," Sister-in-law Liu said with a beaming smile as she entered the courtyard.
She found Deng Xiangji standing beside Dong Sanhua, seemingly trying to persuade her of something.
Dong Sanhua wore a troubled, forced smile.
Seeing Sister-in-law Liu arrive, she gently pushed Deng Xiangji.
"Alright, Brother Deng, I appreciate your good intentions, but I’ve already made my decision. Let’s just leave it at that!"
"You should go home for now."
After Dong Sanhua finished speaking, Uncle Deng had a helpless look on his face.
He sighed, and as he passed Sister-in-law Liu, he shot her a glare before leaving.
"Hey?! What’s with that guy? What’s his problem?"
Dong Sanhua smiled. "Please sit, Sister-in-law. I’ll pour you all some water."
Sister-in-law Liu waved her hand. "I can’t stay. I have to get home and make dinner for my boy. I just wanted to bring these men over so you could meet them."
With that, she spoke sternly to her two brothers. "Sister Sanhua’s business is my business."
"If you two don’t get her well dug properly, I’ll have your hides!"
The two brothers quickly cupped their hands and pleaded with a smile.
"Sis, we’re not like that! Besides, she’s your neighbor, which makes her like a sister to us. Of course we’ll do a good job!"
Only then did Sister-in-law Liu leave with a smile.
The two Liu brothers were quick and skillful. They took out their tools and immediately began digging the well.
Dong Sanhua brought them water from the house.
As she got closer, she noticed that Second Brother Liu’s arm seemed to be afflicted with some illness; the skin was mottled with dark and light patches.
She glanced over at Third Brother Liu and saw the same condition on his neck, his skin discolored and patchy.
Dong Sanhua’s heart skipped a beat.
"Second Brother Liu, Third Brother Liu, what’s happened to you two?"
They seemed unconcerned, wiping the sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves.
"Ah, it’s been hot lately, and we’re always hauling goods at the docks. We probably just scraped our skin, and this is how it healed."
"Have you seen a doctor?"
The two Liu brothers laughed.
"Sister Sanhua, seeing a doctor is so expensive! Besides, there’s nothing wrong with us. No need to see one."
Liu Laosan contradicted Liu the Second. "Second Brother, you’re worse off than me. You even had a fever a few days ago."
Dong Sanhua was a little scared.
During the drought, she had seen refugees with red rashes and sores on their bodies.
It was a terrifying sight.
And now, looking at the Liu brothers, it seemed they had also caught some strange illness.
Liu the Second noticed Dong Sanhua’s wariness and shot his younger brother a discreet glare.
Then he smiled at Dong Sanhua and told a lie.
"Don’t be afraid, Sister Sanhua. We got sick a month ago. We’re all better now!"
"Yeah, it just looks a little scary. We’re common folk who do rough work outside all the time, we’ve had all kinds of injuries. It’s normal for a delicate young lady like you to be scared. Next time, we’ll cover it up with our clothes so you won’t be frightened."
Hearing them say this, Dong Sanhua breathed a sigh of relief.
A gentle smile appeared on her face. "Oh, don’t be silly. Second Brother Liu, Third Brother Liu, you two keep working. I’ll go make some flatbreads, and you can have lunch at my place."
"Oh! That’d be wonderful. Thank you, sis."
After Dong Sanhua went into the kitchen and was out of sight, Liu the Second uncomfortably set down his tools, leaning on the edge of the well and panting.
Large beads of sweat dripped from the tip of his nose.
The weather was hot, but his face was an unnatural shade of red.
Liu Laosan glanced over but didn’t stop what he was doing.
"Second Brother, I told you before we left, you shouldn’t have come. You’re not fully recovered, and you still have a fever. It’s not like I can’t do this work by myself."
Liu the Second had a splitting headache, but he forced himself to endure it.
He wiped the sweat away with the coarse towel around his neck.
"Alright, cut the nonsense. You’re the one who ran your mouth and scared Sister Sanhua. Don’t say things like that again."
With that, Liu the Second started working again.
’How could I not come?’
’This is a twenty-tael job. Normally, I’d have to work my fingers to the bone and still only make five taels in a month.’
「That evening.」
Sister-in-law Liu came to inspect the work.
She found the two Liu brothers sitting in the courtyard, drinking millet porridge.
They were fast workers, and Dong Sanhua was very pleased.
"Sister-in-law, you’ve been a huge help. It’s only been one day, and Second Brother Liu and Third Brother Liu have already dug halfway."
Sister-in-law Liu smiled proudly and took her hand. "See? I didn’t lie to you, did I? Those two are excellent workers."
With that, she grabbed her brothers to pull them along.
"You two come on your own tomorrow morning. For now, follow me. We’re going to take a walk around the village, and I’ll introduce you to some people."
Liu the Second stumbled when she pulled him, almost falling over.
Liu Laosan looked like he wanted to say something but held back, while Sister-in-law Liu was completely oblivious.
She teased, "What’s wrong? Your legs turned to jelly after just one day’s work? You’re burning up like a cooked shrimp."
Liu the Second could only brush it off. "The sun’s brutal, Sis. You know that."
After that, the two of them followed Sister-in-law Liu on a tour around Xiangyun Village.
Sister-in-law Liu went from door to door, introducing her two younger brothers.
"Sister Sanhua praised them for being quick and skillful, working fast and well, and for a cheap price, too. If any of you have work you want done at home, just look for these two. You won’t go wrong."
Out of courtesy to Sister-in-law Liu, they all agreed.
The next day, the craftsmen arranged by the Ministry of Industry arrived and began work at the chosen site.
Shen Ningning supervised the work in the village for a while during the day.
In the evening, she was picked up and taken back to the Xie Mansion.
Because Xie Yuanjiu, without getting Xie Suzhi’s permission, had returned to the capital with the Li Family.