"I know that shopkeeper, but he's a rather honest person. I don't know how much less he can get, but I'll do my best!"

Liang Shuyan and the county magistrate looked at each other. To break the awkward atmosphere, Liang Shuyan smiled and said, "By the way, my birthday is in a few days. I wonder if Your Excellency has any plans?"

The magistrate gave an awkward smile: "Speaking of this, I really haven't made any arrangements. When Zhao Heng was at home, he would always clamor for this or that to eat and where to go every few days. Now that he's at your house, it's just me and the old lady at home, so it feels like everything we eat is the same!"

The magistrate felt a surge of resentment: If Zhao Heng's mother were still alive, he would have bought things in a grand manner, decorated the house, and sent out invitations. Now that he was all alone, the county office needed someone to take care of things, and the old lady was too old to do anything about it!

Liang Shuyan glanced around and noticed that the magistrate seemed to have something on his mind.

"My lord, how about I have Zhao Heng go back for the next couple of days to help with some things at home? After the old lady's birthday, Zhao Heng can come back if he wants. By then, our house will probably be finished."

The magistrate nodded: "That's not bad either. Zhao Henglai was no good, but now that he's back, he even knows to help me with chores and ask his grandmother if she's eaten. I need to thank you for all of this."

Liang Shuyan laughed and said, "Actually, I don't say much about Zhao Heng in our family. It's probably because he's been influenced by what he's seen and heard. Dashan is a steady person, but also a bit timid. So he knows what he should and shouldn't do at home. Zhao Heng probably learned that from Dashan."

The wheels made a spinning sound, and soon they arrived.

There is a place in the west of the city. Walk about 500 meters south and you will see several rows of blue brick and tile houses. A huge sign hangs at the door with the four characters "Qingfeng Stone Material" written on it. It is a fairly spacious area, about five or six acres in size.

The area is surrounded by wire mesh, which contains carved stones as well as triangular stones used for foundations.

There is a small house in the direction of the entrance.

Upon hearing voices, a middle-aged man emerged from the small house. He was wearing a light blue coat covered in patches. Seeing the county magistrate, he greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, isn't this the magistrate? Are you looking for Manager Shi?"

The magistrate nodded: "Yes, is Manager Shi here? Please lead the way!"

The man warmly agreed, then turned to open the door, led a dog away, and politely led the magistrate and his entourage to a small house on the left.

"Shopkeeper, the magistrate is here!"

Soon, the door opened, and a middle-aged man, about fifty years old, wearing a gray robe, appeared. It was immediately obvious that the person in front of him was Manager Shi.

"Oh dear, Your Excellency the Magistrate, I truly did not expect your arrival. My humble abode is a bit messy, but please forgive me!"

"It's alright! It's alright!"

Shopkeeper Shi politely invited everyone to sit down at a table by the window, then poured them a cup of hot tea before they sat down themselves.

"Sir, you want to buy stones, don't you?"

The magistrate smiled and said, "That's right. This is a friend of mine in this county. He wants to buy some stones for the foundation. Do you have any suitable ones? Please recommend some. Of course, the price shouldn't be too high!"

Shopkeeper Shi then turned his attention to Liang Shuyan: "You must be Master Jin's mother. I saw you when I was at the martial arts school. I originally wanted my youngest son to go to the school, but something happened there and I didn't let him go."

Liang Shuyan raised an eyebrow: "What is the shopkeeper talking about?"

"Wasn't it that the headmaster almost took over the martial arts school? The old general had a hard life and finally managed to open the school, but it fell into the hands of thieves. That's why I didn't let my son go!"

Liang Shuyan was startled, thinking it was about Jin Erniu's little matter. But since it is, then it's alright.

"Thank you. I am Manager Jin's mother. Now that the martial arts school has returned to the Jin family's control, why don't you let your son go to the school to learn martial arts?"

"Hehe, the child's uncle just came back from the military camp and had nothing to do, so he asked me to teach. Anyway, speaking of the foundation stones, what do you think of these stones in our yard? They were slightly damaged during processing, so the customer didn't want them anymore and refunded the deposit. So, if you're interested, I'll give you a discount."

As he spoke, Manager Shi led Liang Shuyan and the others to a large open space. Pointing to a stone with white edges, he said, "These are the stones. If you need them, I'll charge you 200 coins per cubic meter. This includes the cost of materials and the wages of the workers. So, I'm only charging you a little. Since the magistrate brought them, I dare not charge you more!"

A decent stone on the market costs around 500 wen per cubic meter, and this price was indeed very reasonable. Liang Shuyan agreed without even thinking about it.

"Okay, in that case, we'll handle the delivery to your door. You just need to sign the form and pay here!"

Shopkeeper Shi was straightforward and spoke without beating around the bush, which Liang Shuyan appreciated. She turned around and glanced at the sand and gravel, then touched it with her hand. She found that the grains were plump and the color was between blue and gray, which was also her favorite color. So she asked, "Shopkeeper Shi, since I've bought from you, I'd like to ask how much these sand and gravel cost. I want to use them to build a yard. How much is one cubic meter?"

"Well, this is quite expensive, 850 coins per square meter. It's usually used for window sills and steps. You... you want to use it for the yard?"

The magistrate's eyes widened as he began to ponder: "Just how much silver does this woman have? How can she be so extravagant? This is top-quality sand; how can an ordinary family afford it? Even wealthy families would only use it for small steps and windowsills. She... she actually wants to use it for the entire courtyard, such a large courtyard! That must be a considerable expense!"

Liang Shuyan glanced around at the surprised looks on people's faces, then burst into laughter: "What's wrong? Do you all think I'm broke, or that I'm not worth it?"

Jin Dashan's legs trembled with fear: "Mother, such a big yard, it would take at least two square stones, each square costing 850 coins. Add it all up, Mother!"

"Of course! What, you really think I can't even add these two numbers?"