Ever since Mrs. Yang went with Mrs. He and Wang Guifang to the temple to have the master pick a few auspicious dates, she had been too busy to visit the Luo Second family to discuss the wedding day for Wang Qinghua and Luo Qingcheng. Today, having finally found some free time, she invited the matchmaker to accompany her to Luo Second's home.

Thinking of the dates chosen by the master, she and Wang Youfu favored the earlier ones: one in April and two in June, with the couple leaning toward setting the date in April if possible.

When Mrs. Yang and the matchmaker arrived at Luo Second's house and stated their purpose, Luo Second and Mrs. Chen began to discuss it. Mrs. Chen didn't place much importance on marrying her daughter early or late; she would marry eventually regardless. Luo Second, however, thought that once his daughter married into her in-laws’ home, visiting back would not be easy, so he preferred to schedule the date later so his daughter could stay home longer.

After talking for a long time, they couldn't settle on a date, or rather, no one could convince the other. Fortunately, they narrowed the possibilities down to April or June.

It was the matchmaker who recalled Mrs. Yang subtly hinting on the way over about wanting the date set sooner. She interjected, "Let this old woman put in a word. If you think what I say is right, listen to it; if you think it's wrong, then pretend I never said a word."

The other three looked at the matchmaker, eager to hear her opinion.

The matchmaker met their encouraging gazes and continued, "A daughter is destined to marry into her husband's family. In my view, the earlier the better. June gets hot; having to wear the bridal attire then will be torture, to put it bluntly. April weather is cool; it is the most suitable time for a wedding."

Luo Second heard this and thought there was some sense to it. Marrying in the scorching heat would indeed make his daughter suffer. He softened his stance slightly, "What you say has some merit. Since that's the case, let's set it for April. We can't have our daughter suffering on her wedding day!"

With Luo Second yielding, Mrs. Chen certainly wouldn't object, and the subsequent details of the arrangements proceeded much more smoothly.

Mrs. Yang was delighted that the matter was settled. Upon returning home, she gave the matchmaker a red envelope to thank her for her "righteous intervention" that day.

Once the date was fixed, Mrs. Yang, following the agreed terms, selected a day to present the betrothal gifts. The bride price from the Luo Second family was not as high as what was requested by the Luo First family; it followed the standard expected by ordinary farming households. However, Mrs. Yang did not treat the Luo Second family poorly. Although the cash given was less than what Wang Youliang's family gave the Luo First family, the betrothal gifts included the standard required items plus an extra pair of gilded silver bracelets, a set of gold-wrapped thread earrings, and several bolts of fine cloth. Even the matchmaker, who was mentally prepared, was full of praise, let alone Luo Second and Mrs. Chen.

With the betrothal gifts delivered, all that remained was to await the wedding day. However, before Wang Qinghua’s wedding, the Wang Youfu family had one crucial task: building a new house. Otherwise, where would the bridal chamber be, and where would the bride sleep?

Wang Youfu had wanted to build a fine house for a long time, but when the family divided, he lacked the funds and couldn't borrow from relatives, so he settled for the simple dwelling they currently occupied.

Now that the eldest son was getting married, they absolutely needed to build a new house. Wang Youfu decided that this time, even if they had to tighten their belts, they would build a proper, beautiful house with blue bricks and tiles.

That evening at dinner, Wang Youfu brought up the plan to build the house with the family. They had over forty taels of silver saved, plus the income from the fifteen mu of paddy fields acquired later, which amounted to a considerable sum. However, after buying an ox and deducting the bride price paid to the Luo family, they had just over thirty taels remaining. Wang Youfu hadn't decided exactly how much of that to use for construction.

"Father, let's build a good one this time, a big one," suggested Wang Qingchen.

Wang Youfu nodded; he had the same thought. It seemed his second son shared his view.

"Husband, how much will that cost?" Mrs. Yang asked worriedly.

"We have over thirty taels left. I plan to use all the family's savings to build the house. This time, we will build a good one," Wang Youfu declared.

"Husband, if all this money goes to the house, what will we use for future expenses? Qinghua's wedding reception needs money," Mrs. Yang said anxiously.

"Mother, the banquet is next year. We will certainly have the money then," Wang Qingchen interjected, turning to Wang Youfu, "Father, let's finish the house first, and we can slowly add the furnishings later."

"Father, surely building a house won't cost that much, right?" Wang Qinghua asked.

Indeed, building a house for a farming family usually didn't require that much money. Most homes in the village were mud huts. For example, the five rooms Wang Youfu’s family currently occupied cost about ten taels to build. Families in the village who had built blue brick houses generally spent around twenty taels. Take Wang Youtian's family, for instance; with the help of Mrs. Zhang's brother, they built several blue brick and tile rooms for just over nineteen taels, and theirs was considered quite well-built. It was important to note that in those days, farmers didn't have concepts like buying land deeds for the foundation; choosing a site only required the approval of the Lizheng (village head).

"I plan to build a few extra rooms so that when the family grows larger, we won't worry about space," Wang Youfu explained.

A few extra rooms? Wang Qingchen suddenly recalled the Siheyuan (courtyard house) layout he had seen in his previous life. That type of architectural arrangement was quite aesthetically pleasing. Should he suggest to Wang Youfu building the house in the Siheyuan style?

The family generally accepted Wang Youfu's decision, after all, who wouldn't want a large, well-built house?

That evening, by the light of the kerosene lamp, Wang Qingchen sketched the layout of a Siheyuan on paper. He wasn't entirely familiar with the precise standards or specifications of a Siheyuan; he only had a general impression, which he then augmented with his own ideas. With Wang Qingchen's sketch, even this small courtyard layout included over a dozen rooms. He wasn't sure if the family's money would cover a build like that, as he had no real concept of construction costs.

After finishing the drawing, Wang Qingchen carefully put the blueprint away, planning to show it to Wang Youfu the next day to see if it was suitable.

The next day, not long after Wang Qingchen left for the academy, the Old Man arrived at Wang Youfu's house. He had come alone this time, apparently intending to have a serious talk with Wang Youfu.

Mrs. Yang brought tea and then left to attend to other matters, leaving the father and son alone in the room.

"Second son, Father has come today because I want to have a proper talk with you," the Old Man began.

"Father, please speak, I'm listening," Wang Youfu replied. As long as the Old Man wasn't going to discuss the difficulties of the eldest branch or ask for support for them, he was quite amenable.

The Old Man paused, gathering his thoughts. "I still remember when the three of you brothers were small. Back then, the three of you were very close. I recall your eldest brother taking you and the youngest out to play every day; you wouldn't be seen for half a day. Your mother and I worried at first, afraid you two younger ones would fall or get hurt. Later, seeing that nothing ever happened and you always came back safe and sound, we stopped worrying. Your mother and I always thought the three of you would remain close forever, but who knew that as you grew up, you would become so distant?"

"Father..." Wang Youfu didn't know how to respond, seeing the Old Man looking somewhat saddened.

The Old Man sighed. "I know you and the third son's family still have a decent relationship, but neither of your branches is close to the eldest. I’ve been thinking these past few days. Before the family division, you weren't this estranged, were you? Perhaps the division wasn't handled well, leaving resentment between your two branches. But today, I must defend the eldest son. They received more because they are responsible for supporting your mother and me. If, God forbid, we become bedridden in the future, it will be the eldest branch serving us. It wasn't favoritism that led to them receiving more."

Wang Youfu was accustomed to the Old Man’s style of speaking: state the issue, reason it out, then state the required action. But today, the Old Man broke the pattern, and Wang Youfu felt genuinely unaccustomed to it, especially the melancholic tone he used.

"Father, why have you come today..." Wang Youfu decided to ask directly about the Old Man's purpose.

"Father just thinks about how the three of you grew up in the same house, eating the same food, and how close you were when playing together. Now? Look at the dumplings you sent over last time—what did the eldest branch eat that day? Pickled vegetables and flatbread. Father thinks you were all the same before, but now some live well and others don't. It just... it makes my heart ache!" the Old Man lamented sadly.

Wang Youfu was at a loss for words. He now understood the Old Man's point, but if the Old Man had used his usual manner of speaking, Wang Youfu might have simply refused. However, the Old Man today felt like a grieving elder worried about his sons. Refusing him now felt difficult.

Wang Youfu reflected on the Old Man’s words. It was true; the three brothers had eaten the same food and lived in the same house when young, but their lives diverged after the division. If he himself grew old and Qinghua and Qingchen later separated to live their own lives, and if Qinghua lived less comfortably than Qingchen, or vice versa, would he too become a constantly fretting elder like the Old Man?

Moreover, as the Old Man mentioned, his relationship with the eldest brother was good in childhood. When did it change? Before the division or after? He couldn't recall when it happened.

Forget it. Since the Old Man was so worried about this matter, he didn't want to cause his father further distress. He would indulge the Old Man's wish to help the eldest son this once, though how he helped would still be up to him.

"Father, I understand what you mean. Let me think carefully about it. Even if I help the eldest brother, I need to consider how to help!" Wang Youfu responded.

Seeing Wang Youfu agree so readily, the Old Man was overjoyed. "Ah, take your time to think. Tell me when you've decided."

The father and son chatted for a while longer before the Old Man returned to the old house, quite satisfied.