Chapter 12: Whose Side Are You On?

The house that originally belonged to Li Qing had been completely emptied by Wang Feng.

Perhaps due to the urgency of moving into the old house, the packing was not thorough. Only useful items were taken, while broken plates and bowls were scattered on the ground. Old newspapers and plastic sheets from the wardrobe hung limply outside the cupboard doors. The house looked as if it had been ransacked by a thief.

Li Xian threw his luggage on the ground and, in front of the entire family, pulled out the money he had stored in a plastic bag.

The thick stack of banknotes made over six thousand yuan appear visually striking.

Seeing so much money, everyone in the family, except for Li Pi who already knew, was stunned.

"Er, where did you get so much money?!" Zou Ni had never seen such a large amount of cash in her life. She didn't even dare to touch it, fearing that the money might have come from some questionable means.

Li You was also taken aback. Pointing at the money, his face grew serious. "What's going on here?"

Seeing the family's shock at the six thousand yuan, Li Xian felt a sense of frustration. He had no choice but to explain everything in detail.

Initially, Li You didn't believe it, but with Li Pi present to corroborate the story, recounting how Li Xian had started with collecting walnut shells, he finally believed.

However, seeing so much money for the first time in his life, Li You was still a bit overwhelmed.

Li Xian didn't expect them to accept it immediately. He was more concerned about the house situation.

As fate would have it, the house that Li Qing had just moved into, though new just over four years ago, was still too small for a family of seven. Inside the house was just a stove and a large kang; there was no way the whole family could live there comfortably.

When he brought up the idea of building a new house, Li You hesitated. "Er, this isn't right. Your elder brother and Wang Feng just moved into the old house, and now we're building a new one? Won't Wang Feng make a fuss?"

Hearing this, Li Xian could no longer tolerate it. "You saw what happened yesterday. Moving to the old house was her own idea. Didn't she want two big rooms and a spacious courtyard? Now that everything she wanted is met, what right does she have to complain?"

Li You was worried that if they built a new house, Wang Feng might think they were wealthy and demand more, potentially causing trouble.

Li Xian understood his father's concerns. However, his nature was meticulous, and his initial motivation for earning money was to build a new house for Li Qing. After seeing Wang Feng's attitude yesterday, he felt that spending his hard-earned money to please such a woman was not worth it.

At that moment, Li Daoyun, who had been staring blankly at the money, spoke up. "What my grandson says makes sense. Wang Feng needs to be taught a lesson. She needs to understand that while living a good life is fine, constantly scheming against the family isn't acceptable. Now that she's got what she wanted, she should be made to feel uncomfortable."

Although Li You felt that this approach was somewhat extreme, he also had pent-up frustration with Wang Feng's repeated actions.

"Alright, let's build a new house then!"

And so, it was decided.

By the end of the morning, Li You had secured a plot of land from the forest farm and found craftsmen and laborers. News of the Li family's new house spread quickly through the forest farm.

Early in the morning, old neighbors who had bid farewell to Li You and Zou Ni came rushing over upon hearing the news. Though they genuinely wanted to help, they were quite curious about how the Li family suddenly had money for a new house.

Zou Ni, being straightforward, told the neighbors about Li Xian's earnings from selling walnut shells. In her view, her son's success was something to be proud of. On the other hand, she also hoped to clarify that the money for the new house wasn't from her and Li You's savings, but rather from Li Xian's own efforts, hoping to prevent any misunderstandings with Wang Feng.

However, Ma Erya, who came with the neighbors, was stunned upon hearing this.

"Sister-in-law, are you saying that the walnut shells Xiangzi collected sold for over six thousand yuan at the market?"

Zou Ni, while tidying up the now-clean house, answered, "No doubt about it. Er and Si went together, and it was two yuan per pound."

Ma Erya was left speechless and stunned.

Previously, she had thought Li Xian was wasting two hundred yuan on something frivolous. But now, seeing that the walnut shells she found unsightly had turned into gold, she was overwhelmed.

Having earned only thirty yuan herself and thinking it was a great deal, she was astounded to learn that Li Xian had made over six thousand yuan. Realizing the result, Ma Erya felt a massive blow to her confidence.

When she returned home, Ma Erya was still in a gloomy mood.

Her husband, Xu Zhenye, was puzzled. "Why do you look so down after coming back from the west end? What's wrong?"

"Do you know where the money for the new house at Li You's came from?" Ma Erya replied quietly.

"Where from?" Xu Zhenye was also confused. He thought that if the Li family had money for a new house, they would have used it to build a new house for Li Qing and Wang Feng instead of causing so much commotion.

Ma Erya sighed and explained how Li Xian had published articles, collected walnut shells, and sold them at high prices.

Xu Zhenye was astonished.

Having lived his whole life, he never imagined money could be earned this way!

To be honest, he felt a pang of jealousy. But then he thought, "Well, that's talent and knowledge. Knowing that walnut shells are valuable is a skill. So, there's no reason to be envious."

Ma Erya pondered and agreed with him.

The walnut shells were abundant in August, and having lived in the mountains for half her life, she had never considered them valuable.

Just then, the young Xu returned from a morning of play. Sweaty and excited, he didn't even glance at his parents and headed straight for the water tank.

"Mom, why isn't dinner ready yet? I'm going to the small bridge with Dahei and the others to bathe this afternoon."

Normally, Xu Zhenye would remind his son to be careful and not go into deep water. But today, he was unusually irritable seeing his son, feeling a surge of frustration.

"Play all you want! Have you done your homework? Have you read your books? All you do is play! If you don't study well, how will you achieve anything?"

"What's all this? Didn't we agree that knowledge is enough? Can't you just go to school and be foolish?"

Having received a scolding, Xu was left feeling aggrieved.