"It's the open space at the foot of the mountain. I'm going to buy all of it and build houses there."
"Whoa~" Mawen gasped sharply. How big would that house have to be?
Oh my! My daughter Aries has finally matured. She's thinking about the family now.
Yesterday, she brought back so many things for the house, and today she wants to build homes. Aries is really making progress.
Mawen's expressions were all over the place, changing quickly, which made Sky quite confused.
But Aries was already used to it and calmly kept eating, ignoring her father's dramatic reactions.
"If you're tired, just rest for a bit," Aries gently told Sky as she put down her chopsticks. She knew her father would probably go out and show off soon, so there'd be no one to scold the young man for resting.
Of course, if Mawen really did scold him, his allowance for next month would be gone. After getting it deducted a few more times, he'd learn his lesson.
Sky peeked at Mawen carefully. Seeing that he didn't show much reaction, he blushed and nodded lightly.
Satisfied with the nod, Aries didn't delay. She grabbed a jar of wine and headed to the village chief's house.
It wouldn't be right to show up empty-handed, especially since she was asking for help.
Once Aries left, Mawen finally remembered to ask, "Do we have enough silver?"
That piece of land was huge. Buying it all and building houses would cost a fortune.
Aries won quite a bit yesterday, around a hundred taels!
But after buying all that stuff and repaying village debts, how much was left?
He thought she shouldn't have rushed to pay back the debt so soon.
But Aries was already gone, and there was no one left to answer his questions.
After quickly finishing his meal, Mawen wiped his mouth and pointed at Sky, saying, "Clean up the house well. No slacking off."
Sky nodded obediently. "Yes, I understand."
Pleased, Mawen walked out, swaying proudly, ready to brag in the village.
His daughter was going to build houses! He had to tell everyone how impressive she was and make them jealous!
When Aries got to the village chief's home, they had just finished breakfast. The chief's son-in-law was cleaning up, and it was the chief's husband who opened the door. He was surprised to see Aries there early in the morning and holding something. Did she cause trouble?
But thinking of how she paid off all the village debts yesterday, he figured maybe she was really trying to change for the better.
The chief's husband's surname was Bai, but most people called him Mr. Bai or Bai Husband. Since Aries was younger, she respectfully called him Uncle Bai.
Since she was already at the door, he couldn't turn her away. Even though he didn't think much of her, he still let her in.
"Aries, come in and talk."
Every time someone called her "Aries," she felt like dragging that wild girl from the past out and beating her up. But that wasn't going to happen.
She told herself she'd get used to it eventually.
She handed the wine jar to Uncle Bai. "Uncle Bai, I came to talk to Auntie about something."
The village chief's family also had the surname Gu, so Aries was part of their clan too. If it weren't for that, given Mawen and Aries' past behavior, they wouldn't have had peace for this long.
You don't turn away a smiling visitor, but Uncle Bai didn't take the wine. He just let her in.
"She's inside. If you have something to say, go talk to her."
Aries wasn't surprised he didn't accept the wine. She figured he didn't want to get involved if she was about to ask for something tricky. That was for the village chief to handle.
She thanked him and walked into the main hall.
The village chief had already heard them talking and felt something was different about Aries today. When she looked up and saw her, she confirmed it—Aries had really changed.
It was the first time in years that she saw Aries dressed so neatly. She no longer had that lazy, careless vibe.
When Aries bowed, she gave off a mature and steady feeling. Was this really the same reckless, unreliable niece?
The village chief was surprised but soon felt happy and excited.
It looked like Aries was truly turning over a new leaf!
"Auntie," Aries greeted her and put the wine jar on the table.
The village chief waved her over. "Alright, Aries, what brings you here? Come sit and talk."
Aries didn't hesitate and sat down across from her.
"I want to buy the land at the foot of the mountain and the slope behind it to build a house."
Hearing this, the chief was happy. It was a good thing—Aries finally wanted to settle down.
But wasn't she buying too much?
She looked at Aries seriously. "Aries, building a house is great, but there's no need to buy all that land. Do you really need that much space?"
Aries didn't plan to hide anything—people would find out eventually.
"I want to build a small estate, so I need a big space."
She paused and asked, "Is the mountain behind it for sale too?"
Now the village chief looked even more shocked, staring at Aries like she was being wasteful.
"You only have three people in your family. Even if you have kids later, you won't need that much land. Why are you copying rich city folks and building an estate? Got too much money to burn? That mountain can't grow crops either. What would you do with it? If you really want land, I'll help you find some."
She thought Aries was being reckless again. She had just praised her for maturing—maybe that was too soon.
Aries wanted to roll her eyes at that look. It was all because of her past.
Still, since the chief was an elder, she explained, "I want to build the estate for my dad. And later, our family will grow. That small plot of land won't be enough."
Mentioning Mawen at a time like this always worked. Being filial was never a bad thing.
The chief wanted to scold her more, but in the end, she held back. She couldn't say it was wrong to be good to one's father.
Besides, it was better for her to spend the money on building a home. If she went gambling again, it'd be worse. At least with a real house, they'd have a proper place to live. Their current straw hut could fall any day.
And the land—she must help her get it. The house could be smaller, as long as they had land. All the land her third brother left behind had already been wasted by Aries. Now was the time to buy some back while she still had silver.
"Alright, I'll go measure the land tomorrow. But don't buy the mountain just yet. Buy farmland first—that's more useful."
Aries didn't realize how much the chief was worrying about her. She just thought the chief was worried she didn't have enough silver.
"Don't worry, Auntie. I definitely have enough silver."
The village chief gave her a side-eye. A hundred taels might seem like a lot, but the Aries family had many needs.
"You only had about a hundred taels. How much is left now? You're buying land, building a house, and still need money to live. How long do you think that silver will last?"
She sounded frustrated, like she was mad that Aries wasn't living up to her expectations.