Chi Wu countered, "Aren't you short on money?"

Cheng Ying fell silent. Short on money—she was severely short on cash, otherwise, why would she have ended up like this, squatting in a mountain gully?

If Big Sister had plenty of RMB, wouldn't she already be in the city, enjoying life in the provincial capital? Why would she be here, tempering her mind and strengthening her body? Did she think they were just sitting around with nothing better to do? They all had lazy bones; the only reason they were so diligent was that their environment forced them to be.

Cheng Ying tilted her head back to the sky. Damn it, this life was stifling.

Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying, feeling he might have been a bit too harsh. "Well, I just want us to have dumplings every day."

Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu. What a good kid. Even though he was a bit irritating now, he was still half her flesh and blood. How could she despise him? She waved her hand, speaking as if disciplining her own son, "Forget it. Knowing that money is good is better than being a spendthrift."

For a child, Cheng Ying truly didn't ask for much—just don't waste everything.

Chi Wu chewed on a tender piece of cucumber, just like Cheng Ying, watching the group of people work nearby. The two kids really couldn't pitch in on this task; building a retaining wall was a specialized skill.

Though Chi Yong couldn't recall exactly how many stones were in this gully mouth before, Chi Wu remembered. Especially seeing the huge rocks the Second Elder Uncle was moving—those definitely hadn't been here previously.

Chi Wu said, "From now on, don't do this kind of work yourself. You're a young lady; don't go getting monstrous strength. Be careful you don't end up with muscles like Second Uncle."

It was meant to scare her, but Cheng Ying genuinely cared. While she didn't aspire to be stunningly beautiful, she certainly didn't want to look like a female bodybuilder coach; that wasn't her type at all.

She pinched her own arm. Good, good.

Cheng Ying looked Cheng Wu up and down. "You’re something, kid. You’ve only been in the township for two months and you already know what kind of figure girls like. Confess honestly, were you slacking off in school and just chatting nonsense?"

Chi Wu’s face flushed crimson. "What nonsense are you spouting? I’m ignoring you!" He then shyly walked away. Cheng Ying sighed in relief. Her private space, aside from being a transport tool, had no other obvious use. She couldn't let this boy stir up trouble over it. Just how sharp were his eyes?

Cheng Ying looked at her hands and sighed inwardly. Aside from hauling big stones, the other benefit of this space was that no matter how hard she worked, her hands remained soft and smooth, never developing calluses. This counted as a perk. Cheng Ying certainly didn't want to enter the city, finally enjoying wealth, only to be mistaken for a village auntie.

After staying home for two days and seeing that Cheng Ying could manage on her own, Chi Yong took his wife and child and returned to their work in the township. Of course, before leaving, he told the few villagers working that they were to follow his daughter’s instructions in everything.

That was a transfer of authority. No one found fault with a child shouldering the main burden at home; after all, the situation with Yingzi’s family was different.

Yang Zhi listened to Chi Yong about everything, though she still asked her daughter a couple of things. "Don't overwork yourself. If you can do it, fine. If not, wait until your father and I are back from work, and just stay home with Grandma. Don't always run up to the mountain."

After saying that, despite her unease, she followed her husband. Cheng Ying felt that if things continued this way, she might not even have a mother who worried about her—they were too trusting.

It wasn't that Yang Zhi wasn't worried; in Yang Zhi's view, all the projects her daughter was initiating meant money. So, shouldn't she go out and earn more? She didn't want to waste a single day staying put.

As for the money in Cheng Ying's hands, Yang Zhi never considered touching it; that was what Yingzi’s father had left for Yingzi.

After Chi Yong and the others left, Cheng Ying’s life continued much as before. Previously, she went up the mountain alone; now, she joined a few uncles and older men. As fellow villagers, they were certainly easy to work with and honest laborers. The preliminary work they had planned would have taken four or five days to complete. Everyone felt that having a child working alongside them, bringing food and water, meant they should work harder to avoid seeming like they were taking advantage. When working, they were even more diligent than when Chi Yong was home, for fear of hearing gossip or causing trouble for the girl. They were terribly considerate, especially Second Uncle, who treated Cheng Ying with extra care, practically treating her as half family. He gave her advice on how to manage the ditch work, how to make the construction process more efficient, and how to save labor—all thinking ahead for Cheng Ying. This made Cheng Ying much more relieved; this Second Uncle was a distant relative, a zhuang qin in the village.

Because of his poor legs, the wife he married when he was young had long since left, without leaving any children. Second Uncle was a good man and capable worker. Later, when someone tried to find him another wife, Second Uncle refused outright, saying he didn't want to burden anyone else. He had lived this way for many years.

Cheng Ying looked at Second Uncle, feeling quite satisfied. She thought, this is what happens when a good person has bad luck, running into a disaster that wasted Second Uncle's entire life. Looking at his legs again, honestly, it wasn't that bad; compared to the other villagers working with him, it didn't slow him down at all.

Cheng Ying looked at the water channel they had dug, feeling a sense of relief. In the future, no matter how she developed the mountain gully, she wouldn't have to fear water damage ruining things.

However, she wasn't entirely satisfied with just this one path. So, after finishing the water channel, Cheng Ying called everyone home for a meal and paid them their wages.

Then, she asked Second Uncle to find two good workers to widen the small path inside the gully a bit. Setting aside everything else, at least it needed to be wide enough to push a wheelbarrow. While they didn't have motorized tricycles yet, Cheng Ying envisioned that when the area developed in the future, at least three-wheeled vehicles and tractors should be able to enter the mountains.

So, this project stretched on for another two or three days. It wasn't until Chi Yong returned the following week with his wife and son that he heard Cheng Ying and the others were still on the mountain. He frowned, worried that they were being taken advantage of—that small job shouldn't have taken a full week.

Cheng Ying and the workers were just finishing up the final touches.

Cheng Ying had the mountain path widened. When they were building the retaining wall at the gully mouth, Cheng Ying had the remaining two bags of cement used to create a small pond by the mountain spring in the gully, leaving only the outlet.

With this casual effort, Chi Yong was quite shocked when he entered and found the scene. He hadn't expected Cheng Ying to have such grand ideas, transforming an entire mountain gully like this.

It was pleasing to the eye. Even the saplings planted along the small road were intentionally left there by Cheng Ying.

They were all perfectly placed, partially shading the small road above.

And this road was so smooth. It was clear the girl had put her heart into it.

As Chi Yong walked deeper, he observed the mountain plots alongside the road. Honestly, even he, the head of the household, couldn't compare to Cheng Ying’s planning for this gully. If their own allotted mountain land could be developed like this, it would bring in more money than teaching, but their pursuits were different. Chi Yong just thought about it; he knew that relying solely on this small mountain gully, his daughter could live a prosperous life in the future.

In just two months, Cheng Ying had planted trees on the mountain plots near the road.

Moreover, the trees Cheng Ying planted were Green Ash and Korean Pine, species she had specially acquired.

She hadn't planted these in continuous blocks, but subtly, here and there in corners—just a few trees, as if they were discovered accidentally. This way, if family or villagers discovered them later, there would be an explanation: they grew here naturally, people just hadn't noticed before.

Chi Yong didn't recognize many of the other trees, but he knew Korean Pine. He hadn't realized this remote mountain gully harbored so many quality saplings.

From afar, he could hear the barking of the weaned puppy Chi Wu had brought back for Cheng Ying last week. Chi Yong’s mood had lifted considerably looking at the work done along the way. He wasn't worried anymore; seeing what was accomplished meant this wasn't a task for a day or two. No wonder the girl had needed this much time and labor. He sighed; the girl really knew how to spend money.

Cheng Ying said, "Uncle, why are you here? We are just about to finish up."

Chi Yong looked at the little dog arrogantly biting his pant leg by his feet and then said, "I came to pick you all up."

Then he turned to the Second Uncle and the other two who were packing up tools. "Second Brother, we really troubled you gentlemen. Yingzi didn't cause any trouble, did she?"

Second Uncle puffed on his dry pipe. "No trouble at all. As long as Yongzi doesn't mind our rough workmanship, that's fine."

Chi Yong said, "You can't say that. Just walking in through this gully—what an undertaking! We owe you gentlemen. If my wife and I had slowly managed this, it would have taken two months."

Second Uncle cracked a smile; everyone appreciated their labor being recognized. "As long as you say that, Yongzi, the three of us didn't worry for nothing. Alright, this part is mostly done. If you have work later, just call us. We’ll be leaving now."

Chi Yong said, "That won't do. It’s fine when you're not home, but since you're here today, you gentlemen must come to the house for a cup of water-wine."

The kind of hospitality that couldn't be refused was precisely what Second Uncle was like. Cheng Ying figured her stepfather felt the quality of work by Second Uncle and the others was excellent, and he understood their efforts.

He insisted they have a drink to express his satisfaction with the engineering project.

Second Uncle was warmly entertained by Cheng Ying’s grandmother alongside Chi Yong. After being paid their wages in the evening, they went home, and they heartily praised Cheng Ying to Chi Yong, saying the girl was promising and sensible. They knew that while they were working in the mountains, Cheng Ying hadn't been idle at all. They had observed the entire village; which child was as sensible as Yingzi?

Thus, Cheng Ying's nickname, "Cheng the Big Fool," had largely disappeared from the village lately.

This was village life: whether you were good or bad, it couldn't be hidden. Any stir would be known by everyone in the village.

The grave Cheng Ying built for her own father looked almost as grand as the ancestral tombs.

There was no question about the girl’s filial piety.

The old lady took out one hundred yuan for Cheng Ying. After paying the wages, accounting for the cooking, dry rations, and various expenses incurred during this period, hardly any of that hundred yuan was left. In Cheng Ying’s view, that was incredibly cheap—one hundred yuan accomplished so much.