Chapter 114 Gift Giving

Wang Shuantou said, "That depends on what kind of wood you use. Good wood is naturally expensive."

"For ordinary families, the cheapest wood is fir. I recommend using ash, which is harder but more expensive than fir."

Old Man Ye said, "For Erquan, just use ordinary ash trees! What about Caiping?"

As he said this, he looked at Ye Caiping.

Ye Caiping knew that wood could be as expensive as you wanted.

But her wallet wouldn't allow it, and she didn't want to be too conspicuous. Besides, she doesn't have any obsession with furniture, as long as it is sturdy and good-looking.

Then he said, "I also use ash, which is strong and durable."

Wang Shuantou paused and fiddled with his abacus for a long time before he said:

"My nephew got 12 taels. My niece got 31 taels and 5 cents."

Ye Erquan took a deep breath, and all of a sudden it was 12 taels!

But he made a lot of things, including 12 doors and 10 windows, plus a complete set of tables and chairs for the living room - a large dining table, 10 round stools, armchairs for entertaining guests, and coffee tables and low tables.

There are also two sets of beds and cabinets in the room.

Wang Shuantou said, "It's already a good deal. We can't cut wood suitable for furniture in the mountains, so we have to buy it all. We have to wax it and use oil paper to paste the windows later. We just make some money."

"If you want to save money, choose fir wood, and don't paste the windows, just make full wooden boards. This way you can save about 300 to 400 taels."

Old Man Ye glanced at Ye Erquan and said, "We need ash trees. They are stronger. The windows also need to be covered with oil paper, otherwise the light won't come through."

Now the window of their house is just a wooden board. If they want air to flow in, they have to prop it up with a stick, which doesn’t look good.

The big brick and tile houses have already been built, so there is no need to choose inferior wood and windows to save a few ounces. This is a big item that you will use for a lifetime, so you can't save money.

Ye Erquan also nodded.

Ye Caiping gave 5 taels of silver as a deposit, and Ye Erquan gave 2 taels.

They chatted for a while and then left.

Along the way, Ye Erquan's face was full of worry.

Old Man Ye took out five taels of silver and stuffed it into Ye Erquan's hand: "Here, this is what your parents promised to give you."

Ye Erquan took the money, his eyes slightly red: "Thank you, Dad and Mom."

"Second brother, do you have enough money? If not, I have more here." Ye Caiping said.

"No, that's enough."

He was running out of money, and all the money he needed to buy bricks, tiles, lime and stones was money. Now with the subsidy from my parents, I can still have some money left after paying the balance for the furniture.

My younger sister has helped him enough. The helpers have spent five or six taels of silver on one meal a day during this period.

Ye Daquan said, "Little sister, just now we were talking about the tuition. Uncle Wang said 400 coins. Why do we have to give 500 coins?"

Ye Caiping was speechless: "We are not just buying things and then patting our butts and leaving."

"They are being polite, so why don't we just be honest and rude? Do you still want them to teach Yong'er something?"

Ye Daquan figured it out and scratched his head and smiled foolishly.

Ye Caiping asked Old Lady Ye again: "Mom, have we decided on a date for raising the beam?"

"I'm planning to ask a fortune teller tomorrow." said Old Mrs. Ye.

"Then let's go and ask together, and try to choose the same day for my second brother and I to raise the beam, so that we can have the beam-raising wine ceremony together."

The purpose of the beam raising wine ceremony is to treat the workers to a good meal. It is more convenient if both parties hold it on the same day, and it can also save Ye Er money.

Ye Erquan listened and looked at Ye Caiping with gratitude.

Several people returned home.

When Wei heard that so much money was spent just on doors, windows and furniture, he felt dizzy.

Upon learning that Ye Yong had succeeded in becoming a disciple, Wei was very envious: "Yong'er is really capable. We still have a few rooms without furniture at home, and we will count on you, Yong'er, when the time comes."

Ye Yong smiled and said, "Okay."

Mrs. Du hurried over and asked, "Don't you need the materials?"

Wei said, "We will prepare the wood by then. If Yong'er wants to practice in the future, he can use our wood for practice."

"As long as Second Aunt doesn't think I'm ugly, that's all."

"I don't mind, I don't mind." This can save a lot of labor costs.

After dinner, Ye Caiping took out a bag of money and said, "Tomorrow is December, let's pay the workers in advance."

Having said that, he gave 2 taels each to Mrs. Du and Mrs. Wei.

Mrs. Du was stunned for a moment: "Your elder brother and I each get 30 wen a day, which only adds up to 1 liang and 8 qian a month?"

"The remaining 200 wen are bonuses, 100 wen per person."

Mrs. Du and Mrs. Wei were pleasantly surprised. Ye Daquan said, "My younger sister has already spent a lot of money on building the house. Why did you give her more?"

"Don't worry, I can afford it. If you do a good job, you will naturally be rewarded." Ye Caiping said with a smile.

Mrs. Du looked at Ye Caiping with stars in her eyes: "Little sister is right, hehe, I will definitely work harder in the future."

"good."

After the meal, Ye Caiping went to find Ye Bajin and Ye Sanquan again. In addition to their wages, she also gave each of them a bonus of 100 coins.

Ye Bajin smiled and said, "This monthly payment is really good. In the past, we received daily payment without any bonus. Now we have monthly payment."

The next day, Ye Caiping, Old Lady Ye and Mrs. Du went out together.

I went to the town to ask a fortune teller to choose a date for the Liang ceremony, and finally chose December 6th.

Then he chose December 8th for Ye Yong to become his apprentice.

In addition, Mrs. Du also asked a fortune teller to choose a wedding date for Ye Yong, and the wedding date was finally set as February 12 in the early spring of next year.

After returning home, the ceramics and stone slabs for making the toilet also arrived.

Under the supervision and guidance of Ye Caiping, Ye Erquan, Ye Sanquan and Zhao Tieniu started working while exploring.

Five days later, the toilet was finally built.

Ye Caiping tried the flushing function, it worked great and was successful!

Ye Erquan and the other two also had their eyes shining. They couldn’t believe that it could actually work!

The next day after the thatched hut was built, the beams of the two new houses were put up on the same day.

After the beams were put up, the next step was to cover the tiles, lay the floor tiles, and paste the walls white. Everything went on in an orderly manner.

Since Ye Yong went to learn a skill, he could no longer deliver goods, so Ye Daquan had to go back to his old job.

On the tenth day of December, Mrs. Du brought a matchmaker to the Hu family to request a date and officially set the wedding date.

Time flies quickly when you are busy.

On December 24, the house was finally paved with tiles and floor tiles.

Ye Caiping paid the wages. The villagers worked on and off for more than 30 days and each of them received a considerable amount of wages. They were all very happy.

On December 25, 5 days before the Chinese New Year.

Wang Shuantou made all the doors, windows and furniture.

First the doors and windows were installed, and then the furniture was moved in. At this point, it took two months and both houses were built.

The Chinese New Year is just a few days away, so Ye Caiping is not in a hurry to move.

The family has celebrated the New Year with great joy, and it’s not too late to hold a housewarming party after the New Year.

Old Mrs. Ye and Ye Caiping stood in front of the large blue brick and tile house with its door closed.

"Caiping, thank you." Old Mrs. Ye said with red eyes.

If it weren't for her daughter, she would never have been able to live in a house like this in her life.

Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Mom's good days are still to come. In the future, I will strive to let Mom live a good life surrounded by servants."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm enjoying enough now." Old Mrs. Ye smiled and glared at her.

"Let's go, call the eldest sister-in-law, the second sister-in-law, and a few maids, and let's go to the town to buy New Year's goods."

"Mom!" At this time, Ye Jin'er ran over, "The shopkeeper of Shunkelou is looking for you. Oh, and there are also three shopkeepers of Daxing Restaurant and Hedecai Inn."

"Ah? They came to my house?"

"right!"

"I was thinking of visiting them when I get to town to buy New Year's goods."

Ye Caiping and the other two hurried home.

As I entered the door, I saw Manager Chi, Manager Pang of Daxing Restaurant, and Manager Wang of Decai Inn sitting in the main room.

There were five or six boxes of snacks and three pieces of cloth on the coffee table.

Ye Daquan and Ye Erquan were chatting with them.

Because of delivering goods every day, the two brothers have become very familiar with the three shop owners.

"Hello, Madam Ye!" When the three of them saw her, they all stood up with a smile.

"Hello, fellow shopkeepers." Ye Caiping greeted them and sat down.

"It's the end of the year, so we want to give Madam Ye some New Year gifts. It's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't despise it." Shopkeeper Chi smiled and pointed to the snacks and cloth placed aside.

Although he only earned 100 wen for a bucket of spicy soup, six buckets a day would make 600 wen.

But the Hu La Tang brought prosperity to his business and revived her restaurant, and this is what he is most grateful to Ye Caiping for.

The other two families were in the same situation, so they got together and decided to give Ye Caiping a New Year gift.

"Thank you all." Ye Caiping was not polite and accepted it with a smile. It was necessary for both parties of a cooperation to have favors, and it would be embarrassing if she didn't accept it.

"I just wanted to find you guys for something, but unexpectedly, you got here first."