Da Huang had scared Li Chenggong so badly his legs went weak.

When he finally got to his feet, he wanted to curse up a storm. He even thought about faking an injury and blaming it on Da Huang.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he planned. Before Li Chenggong could open his mouth, he saw Da Huang wagging its tail, head held high and proud amidst the crowd. Every one of the gawking villagers was giving the dog a pat on the head.

"Da Huang is just the best, isn’t he?"

"You can say that again. He doesn’t bite, but he can still catch bad guys."

"Exactly. With Da Huang in the village, I feel so much safer."

Basking in everyone’s praise, Da Huang turned his head and looked at Li Chenggong.

’A dog borrowing its master’s might—it couldn’t be more obvious.’

Li Chenggong scrambled to his feet, embarrassed. He didn’t dare say another word, just found the shoe he’d lost and limped away.

"Da Huang, let’s go."

Jiang Xia led the way, and Da Huang trotted happily after them. The villagers also dispersed.

An Ning was completely unaware of any of this.

She had already reached the fields and found where An Sancheng was working.

They were harvesting sweet potatoes.

"Be careful, everyone! Don’t damage them."

Anxiously, Sun Dazhuang straightened up and shouted the reminder several times.

Sweet potatoes were filling and had a high yield, but damaged ones didn’t store well.

When An Ning arrived, she didn’t rush to find An Sancheng to talk about building the house. Instead, she joined everyone in harvesting the sweet potatoes.

She had never done this work before, but she had her spiritual power to help her ’cheat.’ With a single swing of her pickaxe, a whole, perfectly intact sweet potato would be unearthed.

At first, no one paid it much mind. But when she did it perfectly every single time, it became rather remarkable.

"An Ning, you’re amazing! You haven’t damaged a single one."

The person working beside her praised her, but An Ning just gave a small smile and said, "Just lucky, I guess."

"Does the An family have some kind of secret technique? Your eldest brother is just as skilled."

The villager beside her was chatting while working. Losing focus, they accidentally damaged another sweet potato.

"Stop gossiping and focus on digging! Any you break are your own loss."

Sun Dazhuang couldn’t help shouting again. No one dared to chat after that; harvesting sweet potatoes really did require a bit of skill.

An Ning spent the entire afternoon digging sweet potatoes. As she was about to head home after work, Sun Dazhuang stopped her.

"An Ning, will you come help dig sweet potatoes again tomorrow?"

"Sure."

An Ning agreed without hesitation.

Sun Dazhuang left, satisfied. ’With An Ning’s help, we’ll probably get two extra sacks of sweet potatoes compared to other years.’

After returning her tools, An Ning headed home with the rest of the An Family.

She didn’t bring up the house on the way back, but once they were home, she spoke to An Sancheng about it.

"Dad, should we build a house?"

His face still covered in soapy lather, An Sancheng turned his head, eyes shut, and asked, "What was that?"

An Ning repeated herself. An Sancheng understood this time and finished washing the soap from his face.

An Sancheng dried his face, mulling over An Ning’s words. ’It’s not a bad idea, actually,’ he thought.

"I’ll have to look into it. I need to see how much money we have, and I’ll also have to get the village chief to approve a residential plot."

An Ning squatted down and asked curiously, "What’s a residential plot?"

"A residential plot is a piece of land the chief marks out for us to build a house on. In this village, you can’t just build wherever you feel like it."

An Ning nodded in understanding. ’So that’s how it works.’

"Dad, I have the money. We can use it to build the house. You just need to go get the chief to approve the plot."

An Sancheng stood up, towel in hand, and draped it over the clothesline.

"No."

"An Ning, you can’t shoulder every burden yourself."

Rejected, An Ning quickly changed her approach. "Then how about this? We all pitch in, but I want to build a really nice house. If we’re short on money, I can cover the difference, and everyone can pay me back later."

"Hold on. Let me think about it tonight."

An Sancheng hadn’t refused, so An Ning didn’t press the matter. She went to help An Guoping with his homework instead.

After dinner, An Sancheng called An Guoqing and his wife into the room, along with his youngest son and An Ning, to have a family meeting.

As for the second son, An Guoming, it was fine that he wasn’t present, but his share for the house would still be included.

Finally, they all reached an agreement.

"This time, let’s build the house right and build it to last, so we won’t have to make major changes later on."

"We can live near each other, but in separate houses. Once Lao San and An Ning are married, we’ll all live our own separate lives."

An Sancheng was very forward-thinking about it.

"No way. I have to live with you. I’m the eldest son; it’s my duty to take care of you in your old age."

An Guoqing looked completely against the idea.

"Just you try not to support me when I’m old."

An Sancheng shot a look at An Guoqing. "We can build our houses next to each other, but each will have its own entrance. That way, we’re close enough to help each other out, but you can still close your door and live your own life. If I ask the chief for land this way, I can probably get a larger plot approved."

What An Sancheng said made sense, and this time, An Guoqing had no objections.

Everyone pooled their money. It was mostly their shares from selling the backpacks.

"An Ning, you decide what kind of house you want to build. It’s your call. If we don’t have enough money, you cover the rest for now. Eldest, Lao San, you two will pay An Ning back, understand?"

"We know."

"We know."

An Guoqing and An Guoping, of course, had no objections.

An Ning nodded, having no objections either.

The An family’s little meeting came to a close. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

That night, both Lin Cuihua and Gao Guifen had trouble sleeping. Even their dreams were filled with visions of the new house.

The next day, Lin Cuihua woke An Sancheng up at the crack of dawn, urging him to go to the village chief’s house right away.

As An Sancheng sat on the heated bed-platform getting dressed, he teased his wife with the familiar banter of a long-married couple.

"Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to build it? What’s the rush?"

"Oh, get outta here. I’m just basking in my daughter’s glory."

"Yes, yes, of course. She’s my daughter, too."

After their lighthearted bickering, An Sancheng threw on a jacket and headed out.

The early September morning was still a bit chilly.

Wild morning glories bloomed all over the grasses lining the village path. Glistening dewdrops clung to their petals like the most beautiful diamonds.

When An Sancheng arrived at Sun Dazhuang’s house, Sun Dazhuang was just getting up.

The two spoke inside for a short while before An Sancheng came back out.

Sun Dazhuang saw him to the door before turning to go back inside, his mind already calculating where available land might be.

When An Sancheng got back, Lin Cuihua anxiously asked, "How did it go?"

"It’s not that fast. You have to give him time to go measure the land."

Lin Cuihua was just excited, though she knew it wouldn’t be that quick.

The An family started breakfast, and once they finished, they headed out to the fields to work.

They had just arrived at the fields when Sun Dazhuang called them over.

Sun Dazhuang led An Sancheng, An Ning, and An Guoqing to look at two different locations.

They were now standing at the foot of a mountain, not far from where Jiang Xia and Yu the Elder lived.

"So? Which one do you want?"

An Sancheng looked to An Ning, and An Guoqing did the same.

An Ning considered the two options. One was in the village proper. The plot was bigger than the An family’s current home, but not as large as the one by the mountain, and it was surrounded by neighbors.

The plot at the foot of the mountain was much larger and more secluded. A new path could even be made for a direct route out of the village.

"Dad, I like this one."