He then split half of them into several smaller ones, with each long bamboo strip about a finger-width wide.
He quickly split the whole bunch of bamboo into long strips of equal size.
Su Qingyue saw how skillful he was in breaking the bamboo and wondered, looking over at the other two, âSecond brother, fourth brother, do you both know how to weave bamboo baskets?â
Xiao Yishan replied, âI can weave them, but not as delicately as third brother. It might just be a little slower.â
Xiao Qinghe said, âI wove a few long ago, but Iâve forgotten. Third brother can give us a refresher, heâs the best at it.â
Qingyue glanced at Yuchuan with suspicion, âWho would have thought, third brother, that you had the skill to weave baskets?â
âMost villagers know how to weave them. We donât use them much on a daily basis, and we canât sell the baskets we make. But now that someone is buying them, itâs good. If it werenât for your third brotherâs skill, Aunt Zhang wouldnât have given me this job. After all, who would buy those baskets if theyâre not well made?â
Su Qingyue huffed, âDidnât you say Aunt Zhang was only giving us this job because of me?â
âThatâs true too.â He wasnât lying, âThere are many others in the village who weave good baskets. Aunt Zhangâs relative is also skilled in the craft. She originally planned on giving the relative a hundred baskets to make, but she changed her mind in consideration of you and gave our family fifty instead.â As he split the bamboo, he continued, âMy wife, Aunt Zhang is truly good to you. Just now, aside from our family, she was the one who defended you the most.â
Xiao Yishan remarked, âAunt Zhang has always been fair in her dealings.â
âI think sheâs extra kind to my wife compared to others.â Chuan added while Qinghe nodded, âItâs because my wife is a good person.â
Su Qingyue and second brother, fourth brother, under the guidance of third brother, carefully made the baskets, and the atmosphere was no longer tense. It became quite happy and harmonious.
Third brother cooked dinner, killing a chicken and adding vegetables. He said he wanted to fatten her up.
The bright moon hung high in the sky with scattered stars against the dark blue backdrop shining brightly.
Su Qingyue saw the three men move a pile of bamboo strips into the master bedroom to weave baskets and couldnât help but say, âYou donât have to work so hard, didnât our family receive some silver taels?â
Xiao Yuchuan smiled at her, âThatâs money you earned, my wife. Itâs different from the money your husband earned.â
âItâs all family money; thereâs no need to distinguish between you and me.â She glanced around at the peeling walls in the room, where there wasnât enough space, âSecond brother, third brother, fourth brother, I think itâs time to spend some of our familyâs money. As we have some money now, naturally, we should improve our lives. Donât you think we should build a new house and buy some fields?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
ââ¦â
The three men fell silent for a moment, and then Xiao Yishan spoke up, âYueâer, since you earned the money, why donât you keep it as your private moneyâ¦â
She shook her head, âThe whole purpose of earning money was to make our family live better.â
âButâ¦â Xiao Yuchuan wanted to say something, but Su Qingyue interrupted, âThird brother, since I have control over the money, Iâll decide to build the house and buy the fields together.â
The fact that she was considering the familyâs well-being moved the three men to tears.
She asked softly, âHow much silver would we need to buy land for building a new house?â
Xiao Yishan inquired, âYueâer, wouldnât it be better to tear down our old house and rebuild it without buying new land?â
She replied, âAlthough our yard is big enough, it would be better if it were even bigger. I want more space to dry medicinal herbs. Why donât we buy a new piece of land to build a new house and keep the old house for storing things in the future?â