Because the area surrounding Xun Family village was relatively flat and the land was fairly fertile, crops grew better there than in other places, which meant that the villagers lived a slightly better life.
Of course, this "better life" was only relative. The villagers could all fill their stomachs, didn't need to sell their sons or daughters, and as long as they worked hard, no one would starve to death.
Xun Qiancheng's father was a stone mason who could carve steles and gravestones, as well as make millstones and mortar, so his family lived a fairly decent life. Coupled with the fact that Xun Qiancheng's mother was also skilled at running a household, the couple built the only pure brick-and-tile courtyard in the village and owned more than thirty acres of land. In the entire village, even the village head could not compare to them.
