The construction of the house proceeded over about seven or eight days, and nearly half of it was finished. Every evening, the family was so exhausted they collapsed onto their bedding, too tired even to speak much. The women of the household spent their days huddled in the kitchen preparing food; catering for nearly twenty people was no small feat.

Lin He merely assisted, washing vegetables and such. Old Madam Zhou managed the chopping, Aunt Xu was responsible for staple foods, and Madam Huang was in charge of the main wok. The four women were busy from dawn till dusk. Madam Huang also had to contend with her mother-in-law’s unreasonable tantrums daily, making her truly worn out.

During these days, Lin He noticed something: although her paternal grandmother, Zhao Shi, was somewhat domineering and unreasonable, she was relatively tolerable toward others. Even the youngest daughter-in-law, Zhou Shi, received gentle treatment, and she doted greatly on her younger grandchildren.

It was only towards Madam Huang that she seemed determined to find fault, as if everything Madam Huang did was wrong. As a junior, Madam Huang couldn't argue back with her mother-in-law and could only endure it. Fortunately, it was only for a few days. Madam Huang found some relief in the thought that once the house was finished, her mother-in-law would return to her own dwelling.

Lin He, being a modern person, found it difficult to watch her grandmother deliberately make things hard for her mother. One day, seeing that Aunt Xu and Madam Huang were both absent, she quietly asked Zhou Shi what the story was.

Zhou Shi whispered some details. It turned out that Zhao Shi adored her second son, Er Niu, who had been exceptionally filial since childhood and always understood his elders’ wishes best. When it was time for Er Niu to marry, Zhao Shi intended to match him with her own elder brother’s daughter—his cousin from the maternal uncle’s side—to strengthen the ties between the two families. Both families were agreeable. Unexpectedly, Er Niu happened upon Madam Huang during a chance encounter and insisted on proposing to her family. Zhao Shi refused, but Er Niu would not yield, and in the end, Zhao Shi conceded.

This destined Madam Huang’s fate upon entering the Lin family: her mother-in-law would never favor her. Later, when the third son married, the family split, and Zhao Shi moved in with the eldest son. Subsequently, the eldest son’s family moved to town, which further distanced them. Moreover, Madam Huang was an honest soul who understood her mother-in-law’s dislike; she never tried to soothe the elder woman’s feelings, so their relationship grew increasingly distant.

Hearing this, Lin He was relieved that her father hadn't married his cousin; marrying within close relatives would have been troublesome. These ancient people truly seemed to think that marrying kin strengthened bonds, oblivious to the potential harms. Yet, if her father had married the cousin then, there would have been no talk of her and her little siblings.

Lin He reflected that it was fortunate her grandmother didn't live with them now. If they were together constantly, the constant friction between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law would have been unbearable, putting them in a difficult position. Since the grandmother would leave in a while anyway, once their family’s circumstances improved, they could visit her occasionally.

Old Man Lin and Zhao Shi originally assumed their second son's family was merely renovating the house or adding a few rooms. Seeing that they were using blue bricks for construction and that the family clearly wasn't short of silver, they finally felt reassured.

They questioned Er Niu about the source of the large sum of money. Er Niu repeated what he had told the clan elder. At this, Zhao Shi began to regard her granddaughter Lin He with newfound admiration, often muttering, "Our Er Ya is so clever and well-featured; we must find her a good match someday."

Old Man Lin, hearing her constant chatter, retorted, "Er Ya is still so young; how can it be time to arrange a marriage? Besides, doesn't she have Er Niu's wife to look after her? Why worry so much, old woman?"

Zhao Shi shot back, "It is precisely because she has a mother like Huang Shi that I worry. How can such a woman raise Er Ya properly?"

However, Old Man Lin and Zhao Shi were also relieved. When the third son was still alive, they worried most about the second son's household. They were a large family with few laborers; working the fields from dawn till dusk, they could barely earn enough to survive, enduring hardship for half the year.

Now, they were living better and even occasionally supported the third son’s family, which remained a source of anxiety. Zhou Shi was still young, and her children were small. If Zhou Shi were to remarry, they couldn't stop her. Deep down, they didn't want her to remarry; if she did, what would happen to the two young ones?

If she took them, they didn't know what kind of life the younger ones would have as burdens. Life as an appendage would surely be hard, and the grandparents couldn't bear to see their grandchildren suffer so. If they were left behind, there would be no one to care for them. It seemed the elderly couple would have to return to their hometown after all; at least there, they could look after them somewhat.

Their own son was gone, and their daughter-in-law was too young to expect her to remain a widow forever; that would be an act against natural order, something the Lin family should not perpetuate. Furthermore, the elderly couple were idle in town, and their life was genuinely dull.

In recent years, their surviving sons had been filial, and they had some spare funds. They planned to ask Er Niu for continued support, hoping to return and buy a few acres of meager land. Should Zhou Shi eventually have a place to go, their grandchildren could still be looked after.

Lin He and Madam Huang never suspected the plans Old Man Lin and Zhao Shi were hatching. However, those were future concerns; building the house was the priority. The workers hurried their pace daily. Lin He insisted that Madam Huang ensure the meals were excellent. The house, expected to take nearly a month to complete, was finished in just over twenty days.

On the day of completion, they had to invite the villagers for a celebratory feast—that was the custom here. That day, the workers also helped clean the entire house, inside and out. Many villagers were invited to assist, making it the liveliest day Lin He had experienced since arriving.

Almost the entire village attended the feast, usually one person per household. Linjia Village had over a hundred households, so there were over a hundred guests. Some brought small children, who naturally weren't counted in the tally. Including their own relatives and the masons, they hosted fifteen tables of banquet.

Many village women came to help prepare the feast that day. Lin He also met relatives she had never seen before, such as her maternal grandparents' family, her two paternal aunts, and several clansmen. Her maternal grandparents, seeing the fine house their daughter’s family had built, held Madam Huang’s hands and said, "My daughter’s hard times are finally over; you must enjoy good days from now on."

Madam Huang’s eyes reddened. Recalling her past life, it had indeed been bitter and exhausting. She squeezed her parents’ hands, unable to speak. However, with so many people present that day, they couldn't converse properly. The noon meal was exceptionally lavish. Linjia Village rarely saw such joyous occasions, and Er Niu insisted on a grand banquet, regardless of the cost.

Every table was laden with five platters of meat dishes, and the staple food was steamed white flour buns. Every guest ate until their mouths were slick with oil. No other family’s spread was this rich; this set the standard in Linjia Village. Everyone knew that Lin Er Niu’s family had truly become wealthy, living in such a fine house and hosting such a generous feast.

Many people flocked to curry favor with Er Niu, who merely scratched his head in a simple manner and said little. But he wasn't entirely foolish; when the family was poor and utterly desperate, he had sought help from villagers, yet how many had actually assisted him? Now that things were better, so many people fawned over him. Truly, "There are many who offer flowers for decoration, but few who bring charcoal in the snow."