Little Shanzi was very clever and quickly joined in playing with the younger members of the household, but the smart little fellow also vividly remembered his status as a servant and never overstepped his bounds—an attitude likely reinforced by daily reminders from the adults.
Xiaofeng, on the other hand, was delighted, finally having someone to play with him. Although there was Zhou Xiao, he was always following Sanni around and didn’t have time for Xiaofeng. So, now that he had someone to play with every day, he was naturally excited beyond words and even started teaching Little Shanzi to read.
As for Xu Shou and his wife, they were both quite reserved and rarely showed much expression on their faces. However, they were incredibly diligent, probably aware that as bonded servants, they generally wouldn’t be highly valued by their master’s family. Therefore, the couple tended not to put themselves forward and were rather self-aware.
In summary, after observing for a few days, Yang Ruxin was quite satisfied with these new additions.
Though the Yang Family did not publicize the purchase of the servants, the villagers soon became aware of it and did not even harbor feelings of jealousy, for the distance between them and the main branch of the Yang Family had widened again.
The furniture for the new house was being hurriedly crafted by Yang Rulin and his workers. The beds for the main bedrooms had already been moved in, and now they were working on wardrobes and the like.
Yang Ruxin almost daily went over to the rooms to light fires for ventilation and also took the opportunity to clean.
"Big sister, we could actually move in now," Sanni said as she stuffed the last piece of wood into the stove, her small face glowing with the warmth of the flames.
"There’s only a bed, no place for clothes and such," Yang Ruxin replied, although she, too, wished to move in. With two more families having arrived, their current living space had become even more cramped. Although it was winter and a few more people sleeping on the heated brick bed was not a problem, it was still inconvenient.
"What does that matter?" Sanni laughed, "As long as there’s a place to sleep, that’s fine. We can keep our other stuff in the old house for now and move it over gradually."
"That’s true," agreed Yang Ruxin with a nod, "Well then, let’s move in for now and we can hold the housewarming party once everything is set up."
Sanni immediately cheered, "I’ll go tell mom to start packing," and she ran off in a flash.
Yang Ruxin shook her head with a smile, "She really is impatient." Then she turned to Xu Shou’s wife, "Aunt Qin, close the doors and windows, let’s go back." Having said that, she walked out first.
Standing on her own land, Yang Ruxin felt very content. She now considered herself part of the property-owning class. The feeling of having a house and land was truly wonderful. She just had to wait until spring to hire workers to tidy up the surroundings, and then this place would become a hidden paradise...
Lost in her happy musings about the future, she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. She frowned slightly and quickly turned around, only to spot a somewhat stooped figure.
Yang Peili seemed not to have expected to be caught by Yang Ruxin, and he appeared somewhat embarrassed, "Ah, Dani..."
"Is there something you need?" Yang Ruxin raised her eyebrows slightly. She had no good feelings toward the people of the old residence, especially this old man Yang, whom she detested deeply. Every tragedy that befell the main branch of the Yang Family was a result of his indulgence. If he had shown even a shred of compassion or kinship toward the members of the main branch, Dani would not have died.
"I..." Yang Peili opened his mouth as if he had much to say, but confronted with Yang Ruxin’s icy gaze, he found himself unable to utter a single word.