Chapter 5: Harmony

The aroma wafting from the kitchen quickly washed away the little irritation in Ning Dalang’s heart.

“Hey, what’s cooking that smells so good?” Ning Dalang strode eagerly into the kitchen.

Seeing Ning Xin there, already eating, he smiled and asked, “A Xin, any plans for today? Want to head into the mountain? Bring your old man along.”

He had nothing but admiration for his eldest daughter.

When they all went out to work for the landlord, everyone got a wage, but A Xin earned one and a half shares.

When sent to the mountains to pick charcoal, she earned two shares.

When hunting for wild game in the mountains, she was always busy.

Her strength was even greater than his, as her father.

He had managed to raise eight children, and seven-tenths of the credit belonged to A Xin, with two-tenths to his wife’s good housekeeping, and the remaining tenth to the children’s own understanding.

Ning Dalang picked up a pancake and sat down beside Ning Xin.

Taking a bite, he quickly said to Mrs. Meng, “Hui-niang, your pancakes are delicious, make some more, will you?”

Mrs. Meng smiled and gave him a playful glare.

No need for him to say more.

The children ran around all day; if they didn’t eat their fill, where would they get their strength?

Seeing her parents exchange glances, Ning Xin took a bite and pretended not to understand, shrinking her neck to lower her presence.

Ning Dalang nudged her arm, his voice carrying a hint of coaxing: “Come on, bring your old man along. I keep up pretty well.”

But Ning Xin was reluctant to bring her father into the mountains.

He claimed he was fast, but even his four younger siblings couldn’t catch up to him, let alone her.

“Dad, your mother wants to talk to you.”

Upon hearing this, Ning Dalang immediately looked at his wife.

“Hui-niang, whatever you need, just say the word.”

The idea of going into the mountains with their daughter to hunt wild game had long been abandoned.

Mrs. Meng knew Ning Xin was unwilling to take her father along. Thinking the matter of rebuilding the house was inevitable sooner or later, she poured batter into the pan and said, “The children are growing up. Kui’er and Zhuang’er can’t keep sleeping in their sister’s room forever. A Xin brought back some silver today. It’s enough to buy some wasteland and build a house.”

Ning Dalang’s joy nearly made him shout out loud.

He gave Ning Xin a thumbs-up and clasped his fists in salute to her.

Ning Xin rubbed her forehead.

Her father seemed to regard her not as a daughter, but as a brother.

“Hui-niang, after breakfast, I’ll talk to my parents. Since we’re rebuilding the house, we’ll need to find a new spot. What about the house we live in now? Ask Erlang and the others if anyone wants it. How much silver do you think it’s worth?”

The few rooms they currently occupied were tiled houses; it would take at least three taels of silver to buy them.

But since it was family, they couldn’t be too stingy, lest it cause gossip; they’d have to take the loss themselves.

Mrs. Meng thought for a moment. “Five thousand wen, no less than four thousand wen at the very least.”

That was about two taels of silver.

“If it doesn’t work out, we can dismantle the tiles and use them for the new house.”

Ning Dalang nodded repeatedly.

Then he saw Mrs. Meng preparing eggs and cutting brown sugar.

He blinked and quietly asked Ning Xin, “Is it someone’s birthday today?”

Ning Xin shook her head.

“Then what’s the occasion?”

“We’re buying land to build a new house. Doesn’t that count as a celebration?” Ning Xin replied.

Ning Dalang nodded.

Certainly a happy event, a very happy event.

He had already chosen the plot for the new house.

The wasteland at the foot of the mountain was large, with a creek in front—perfect for washing up.

Buying it within the village, getting the local authorities to measure and register the deed wouldn’t cost much silver.

He didn’t even ask how much money his wife had on hand; if she said they were building a house, then the money was surely saved up.

Once the new house was finished, and the children had rooms all to themselves, no one would compete for his wife anymore.

The more he thought about it, the happier Ning Dalang felt.

That morning, eating pancakes and brown sugar egg soup, the children were as surprised and delighted as Ning Dalang.

“Mother, what’s the special occasion today? We’re eating so well.”

“We’re buying land to build a new house. Don’t you think that’s good news?” Mrs. Meng asked, ladling soup for the children.

Ning Nuan and Ning Huan nodded eagerly.

Ning Kui, Ning Zhuang, Ning Wen, and Ning Wu followed suit.

Three-year-old Ning Qi, watching his older siblings nod, stuffed his mouth with pancake and nodded too.

Mumbling indistinctly, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Mrs. Meng wiped the crumbs from his mouth with a cloth and teased, “You know why your brothers and sisters are nodding, and you just say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’?”

“Because all the brothers and sisters are right.”

Though small, he had a set of reasoning.

He made his parents and siblings laugh heartily.

Ning Qi’s eyes curved into a joyful smile.