Chapter 115 - 104: Awesome
The Bai family’s residence was swiftly completed; at noon on the day of its completion, Manbao and her classmates didn’t eat at school but instead followed Bai Shanbao into the new house for their meal.
Old Madam Bai, Ms. Liu was exceptionally generous, hiring a cook from the county town and inviting many villagers to help, specifically arranging a day-long banquet.
All guests were welcomed to join the feast without the need for gifts.
As Qili Village’s most prominent figure, Mr. Zhuang was naturally on the invite list, and of course, Manbao and her classmates were called over as well.
From the village, everyone who could walk, from sixty-year-old women to babies old enough to eat solid food, all attended.
Of course, the villagers felt embarrassed to arrive empty-handed and brought gifts of varying sizes. Junior Ms. Qian and others who came to help declined the wages the Bai Family offered, and the village chief’s wife spoke on behalf of everyone to the servants distributing rewards, "In our village, during weddings and funerals, helping each other out is customary, and we’ve never seen any family give money for it. Now that your Old Madam has settled down in our village, she’s one of Qili Village’s own. It’s proper for neighbors to help each other."
Everyone hastily agreed, and Junior Ms. Qian added, "It’s only because the house that your Old Madam built is extraordinary that it took so many days to construct, which is why our men felt it was acceptable to take money. When my younger aunt returned home, she insisted on helping build your house, thinking it would only take a few days to finish."
"Yes, in a community, who doesn’t lend a hand when someone is building a house? It’s enough to provide food. Our men were already embarrassed to ask for wages; we just assist with cooking and cleaning, there’s no need for wages—please take it back, take it back."
The servants, clearly not anticipating this response, which was beyond their understanding, could only return with the rewards to report to the Old Madam and the ladies.