Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1541 - 783: Schoolhouse_2

Lian Manman and Xiao Qi followed Wu Lang to the study to write a letter to Mr. Loo.

...

The next day, the whole family began preparing for the school. The former Pickled Vegetable Workshop, with its very spacious courtyard, already had six rooms in the main building, which could meet the initial requirements of the school. The family discussed building six additional side rooms next to the main building.

"If more people come, we can still build five more gatehouses in the front," Lian Manman said.

These rooms would be enough to accommodate over a hundred students.

Since the weather was cold and the ground was frozen, it was not suitable for construction. The family planned to build the rooms in the spring, but they needed to prepare the desks and benches for the school early on.

The carpentry work was naturally entrusted to Lian Shouli.

Lian Shouxin sent someone to fetch Lian Shouli and explained the situation, ordering a hundred sets of desks and chairs from him.

"No need to rush it too much; make fifty sets before spring next year, just enough for the school to open," Lian Shouxin told Lian Shouli. "I’ll send someone to buy the wood right away, and they’ll deliver it directly to you. Or better yet, why don’t you go with them and decide what kind and how much wood to buy? We’ll pay you the market rate for wages, and I’ll give you an advance."

Lian Shouli was naturally pleased to receive such a large job and dutifully went to town with them to buy wood.

Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye, upon hearing the news, came over to express their gratitude and brought a small basket of buns.

At Thirty Mile Camp, farmstead families would make buns every December; they would also exchange some with friendly families to taste each other’s buns as a sign of closeness.

When Manman’s family made buns, Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye had come to help and tasted the buns of Manman’s family. These buns were newly made by Yeye Household, sent to Lian Manman’s family to taste. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Sister Manman, when your family sets up the school, and if there’s anything we can help with, remember to call on my mother and me," Lian Yeye said to Lian Manman while sitting in her room.

"Okay," Lian Manman nodded in agreement.

The buns that Lian Yeye sent were freshly steamed and still hot. Lian Manman placed a small dining table on the kang, set out some snacks and fruits for Lian Yeye to eat, and took a bun herself, dipped it in sugar, and ate it slowly.

With just a small bite, she reached the red bean paste filling.

"Delicious," Lian Manman praised. "My third aunt’s red bean paste is always tasty."

"My fourth aunt’s cooked paste is even better," Lian Yeye replied with a smile.

The basket of buns sent to Lian Manman’s family was specially made by Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye, with a thinner skin and more filling than what they had for themselves. Although the days for Yeye Household had improved, Lian Shouli and Lady Zhao still lived frugally, and the filling of the buns at home was not as generous.

However, the red bean paste cooked by Lady Zhao was indeed as good as Lady Zhang’s craft.

"By the way, why did you only make buns today? Didn’t you say you would make them two days ago?" Lian Manman asked after finishing a bun, taking a slow sip of tea.

"Sister Manman, I was just about to tell you," Lian Yeye said, "We were asked to help make buns at the old house too by my mom."

"Did you go?" Lian Manman asked.

"How could we not? My dad told us to go," Lian Yeye said, pouting slightly. "Everything was ready at home, but we had to help them first and only returned to make our own."

"Don’t the people at the old house have enough help?" Lian Manman asked.

"None of them make red bean paste as good as my mom’s. Besides, even though there’re many people, few can work. Our grandma even dislikes Yaya’s mom for being unkempt and worries that Duoduo might cause trouble. There’s only her, plus my sister-in-law and Yaya, to make buns. With so many mouths to feed, without our help, they’d have to make buns all day and night," Lian Yeye explained.

"So third uncle went too?" Lian Manman asked.

"Yeah, he helped to stoke the fire all night," Lian Yeye said.

"Did they invite you to eat?" Lian Manman asked.

Lian Yeye’s expression instantly became complicated.

"They did," Lian Yeye replied wearily, "We’d rather they hadn’t; we could have eaten at home."

"Did they show you attitude?" Lian Manman asked.

"Sister Manman, you don’t even need to ask," Lian Yeye said. "While we were eating, I just wanted to pull my mom and go home, but my dad wouldn’t let us, saying it wouldn’t be right; he insisted we stay and eat together. Sister Manman, my mom and I made buns for almost a whole night, our hands were sore, and we just ate two buns each, and she even counted for us."

"After the meal, my mom and I cleared the table and washed the dishes in the outer room. She sat on the kang and recounted how many buns my mom ate, how many I ate, as if we could eat a lot. I almost wanted to throw the buns back at her," Lian Yeye said, frustrated to the point of spitting blood. "She even told my dad I picked up a lot of dishes and that I wasn’t like this before the separation, asking if we didn’t cook at home."

Knowing Lady Zhou’s ways, how could Lian Manman not understand? But it was Lian Shouli who managed Lian Yeye’s household, so she had no standing to stop Lian Yeye’s family from going to the old house. She could only gently pat Lian Yeye’s shoulder to comfort her.

"Sister Manman, that’s considered the good part," Lian Yeye said, her eyebrows drooping. "You wouldn’t believe it, but Grandpa initially told my dad he wanted both families to make buns together."

"Did my third uncle agree?" Lian Manman asked in surprise.

"No, my dad refused," Lian Yeye replied. "My dad was afraid of causing complications, so he didn’t agree."

Compared to making buns together with the old house, just helping with some work and facing a little attitude seemed like the happier choice.

A second update is coming later, asking for your support with pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)