At Yang Land Officerâs house, Land Officer Yang was crouching down, joking with his grandson. Seeing the two of them coming over, he got up and asked, "What brought you two together? Is something up?"
"Grand Uncle, itâs as if I canât come see you and Grand Aunt unless I have something going on." Yang Chuxia felt a little guilty as she said that because, after Land Officer Yangâs comment, she realized that every time she visited him, she indeed needed something.
As expected, Yang Land Officer chuckled, "You little miss, donât play dumb with me. I know you too well. What do you need now?"
"Hehe, Grand Uncle, Iâm not coming to see you this time." Yang Chuxia awkwardly rubbed her nose and said, "Iâm here to see Uncle Dayong. Is he home?"
When Land Officer Yang heard that they werenât there for him, he couldnât help but wonder why.
"Your Uncle Dayong is home. He was tired from working in the field this morning, so he came back and took a nap. Should be awake by now." As he spoke, Land Officer Yang called out to his wife, "Wifey, go see if Dayong is up. Xiaxia is looking for him."
"Oh, sheâs here." Land Officer Yangâs wife had been busy in the kitchen and hadnât noticed Yang Chuxia coming. She came out, saw Ye Ziâan was there too, and greeted them with a smile, "Oh, Brother An is here too. Come in and have a seat. Iâll go call your Uncle Dayong."
Just as his wife entered the house, Yang Dayong came out of the room.
"Oh, my dear mother, with your and Fatherâs loud voices, I could hear everything even while inside. Thereâs no need for you to come in person." Yang Dayong rubbed his eyes as he came out of the room.
"If you heard us, why didnât you come out? Didnât you know that Xiaxia was looking for you?" Yang Land Officer scolded him.
"Oh, can you not be so angry, Father? Iâm coming out, see?" Yang Dayong was speechless at his fatherâs temperament, as if his words were like water bubbles that popped as soon as they were touched.
"So, Xiaxia, what did you need me for?"
Yang Chuxia took out the piece of paper, "Uncle Dayong, I heard from Brother An that youâre great at carpentry, so I wanted to ask for your help to make something. I donât know if you can do it."
"Is it something extraordinarily difficult? Is there something I canât do?" Yang Dayong was quite proud. Plus, his woodworking skills were indeed excellent and well-known in the nearby villages. He assumed it would be an ordinary cabinet or table, so why couldnât he do it?
"Well, itâs this."
Yang Dayong took the paper from Yang Chuxia and saw a chair at first glance. But upon closer inspection, it was different.
Were those wheels underneath? A chair with wheels? Yang Dayong immediately thought of carriages and carts, and a flash of fanaticism crossed his eyes. He carefully put away the paper and said, "Donât worry, leave it to me. I promise to make it for you."
Yang Land Officer frowned when he heard his sonâs overly confident words, "Are you sure you can do it? Donât mess it up and delay Xiaxiaâs plans."
Yang Dayong was unhappy to be questioned about his skills by his father, "Father, I learned from a master and have built many things. Besides, am I the kind of person who would boast if I couldnât do something?"
"Hmph, weâll see. If you mess up Xiaxiaâs plans, youâll answer to me."
Yang Dayong twitched the corner of his mouth and pounded his chest, "Father, just relax and enjoy your tobacco pipe. You donât have to worry about anything else." He then turned to Yang Chuxia and said, "Xiaxia, come back in a few days. Uncle Dayong wonât let you down."