Chapter 74

Hibiscus is a person who acts decisively and without hesitation.

After Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran finished cutting pig feed and feeding the chickens and ducks, they began to busy themselves searching for dyes in the mountains.

Indigofera tinctoria, Lithospermum erythrorhizon root...

Wait a while longer, then we'll have rehmannia root, madder root, acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts, maple leaves, gardenias...

Gradually, more and more pigments became available for harvesting.

Dyes from fruits and tree bark can be stored for a long time, but those that cannot be stockpiled, such as indigo plants, often need to be fermented to produce color and made into indigo blocks for later use.

The purchasing was left to Mu Jin and Zhou Lin, the couple.

Zhou Lin bought alum and lime from the town, which were needed for dyeing cloth and making indigo blocks.

Mu Jin began repairing the house, but Bai Qiqiu couldn't find the time to work on the ground.

He then invited Uncle Huang to re-paper the walls of the room that was to be used as a dye house, and, like the kitchen, to compact the floor.

He then went with Zhou Lin to the town's kiln and brought back seven or eight cartloads of tiles.

The hibiscus project was quite a big undertaking; it involved hauling tiles back from town, which meant crossing most of the village.

Before long, the news that Zhou Lin was going to build a new brick house like Mu Zhaoye spread throughout the entire village.

It's not harvest time yet, and the villagers are currently idle, so they're spreading the word.

The once quiet foot of the mountain suddenly became bustling with a group of village women and men.

The tiles in the yard were stacked neatly.

The people from the kiln who came specifically to deliver the tiles unloaded the last load and then drove away in their oxcart.

"Jin-ge'er, are you guys going to renovate your house into a brick house? My goodness, that's incredible."

"This carpenter is really making money. It hasn't been long, and he's already able to build a new house, with bricks and tiles."

"Tsk tsk, if you ask me, Jin-ge'er is really lucky for her husband. She married Lin-xiaozi, and not only did he learn carpentry from the carpenter, but he can also earn money. Now the family is becoming more and more decent."

"That is to say, look how clean and tidy Jin-ge'er has made the house. Last year when I passed by here, it was overgrown with weeds and no one could live here. Now look at it."

"Wow, you've planted so many vegetables, are you sure you can eat them all?"

"Didn't you see they also raise three pigs? If they can't finish their food, they feed it to the pigs. There's no waste."

Because Zhou Lin had to go to town to work every day, he would leave a little earlier, and Mu Jin usually made sure that the vegetables he delivered to town were covered with burlap.

Because the villagers were unaware that Mu Jin had sold the vegetables in town.

Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to be envious.

"Jin-ge'er knows how to manage a household; he's lucky."

"That's right, that's right."

Mu Jin smiled gently, then sighed and said, "Auntie and Uncle are overthinking it. A-Lin has just started learning carpentry from Uncle Heng. How could she earn so much money? She borrowed money from Zhao Ran and Qi Qiu. Now that we have some free time, we're replacing the roof so that the thatched house won't collapse when it rains or snows in winter and injure people."

The woman and her husband who arrived seemed to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

As they say, money isn't something you can earn so easily.

"It should be replaced. The house of the Wu family, an elderly couple in the village, collapsed two years ago. Luckily, they were not injured. Otherwise, with their old bones, they probably wouldn't have recovered."

The villagers watched for a while longer before being coaxed home by Mu Jin.

Although Mujia Village is not as wealthy as Gujia Village, it still has the skill of growing cotton, and most families in the village have at least □□ mu of land, so they live a pretty good life.

Therefore, although mud-brick houses are more expensive, it's not like you can't afford to build three or five rooms.

The envy and jealousy towards Mu Jin's new house immediately lessened considerably.

Mu Jin saw them off at the door, lowered her head, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. She didn't see a young man inside, whose gaze towards her was quite complicated.

Musheng helped Mujin select five honest and hardworking men from the village to go to town to find short-term laborers who had built houses.

Twenty coins a day, no meals included. And since there was nothing to do in the fields right now, the five men were naturally very happy to accept.

The thatch that was lifted from the roof was just the right amount to use for repairing the house that was used as a dye shop.

When Zhou Si heard that her older brother was repairing the house, she came over with Mu Mian. Seeing the house becoming more and more prosperous, the two of them were really happy for Mu Jin and the others.

Mu Jin was very busy, and when she saw them arrive, she didn't have time to greet them before being called over by the family's day laborers.

Put these things here where you need to put them, and use those things there.

A little while later, Uncle Huang called out again, saying that they didn't have enough straw and wheat stalks, and asked Mu Jin to bring some over. He was always busy.

Seeing this, Zhou Si and Mu Mian didn't rush back, but helped Mu Jin with her work for a while.

Finally able to catch his breath, Zhou Si smiled and asked, "Big brother, where are Zhaoran and Qi Qiu?"

"They went to the foot of the mountain to find dye."

Mu Jin took a sip of water and told Zhou Si about her family's plan to open a small dye shop.

Zhou Si was surprised, never expecting that Bai Qiqiu had such abilities.

With her eyes crinkling, she said, “I was just thinking that most of the handkerchiefs I embroider are white, which is a bit boring. Once the dye shop at home is ready, I’ll come and dye the handkerchiefs some colors, like pale yellow, light yellow, and pink. I think they’ll fetch a better price.”

Mu Mian nodded in agreement, "From now on, all the fabrics in the house will be dyed here. It's convenient to buy them from Brother Nianjun and then bring them here."

Mu Jin chuckled. The dye shop hadn't even opened yet, and they already had two deals.

“Brother Nianjun came by earlier and joked that if any men who come to his house to buy cloth don’t come to my place for dyeing, he won’t sell to them anymore.”

"There are many people in our village who know how to weave cloth, but only your family knows how to dye it. Tsk tsk, Jin'er, don't forget me when you become rich and powerful."

Mu Jin smiled, scratching her head as if thinking for a moment, and asked, "Oh dear, who are you again?"

Mu Mian feigned anger and gently patted his shoulder.

"You have hurt me so much. You have forgotten me with wealth and status, and all my feelings for you have been wasted."

As she spoke, she pretended to wipe away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.

Zhou Si smiled and shook her head. They're married now, yet they act like children.

The three of them bantered for a while, then got back to work.

Zhou Si and Mu Mian helped out for a while, and then went home before noon.

Repairing a roof is no easy task. After clearing away the straw, you have to remove the debris, and if the beams are damaged, you have to replace them.

The Zhou family's old house is quite old, and Liang thinks it will need to be replaced soon.

Zhou Lin returned from town in the evening, intending to go to the foot of the mountain to cut down two elm trees.

However, freshly cut elm wood needs to be air-dried for more than six months before it can be used; otherwise, it is prone to warping.

They had no choice but to buy a few elm logs that had already been air-dried from the town.

"There are three bedrooms, a kitchen, a woodshed, and two dyeing rooms, making a total of seven rooms. We need to buy the beams for all seven rooms."

Mu Jin thought that since it had been repaired, it should be done well. In a few years, when she had some money, she would build a brick house, and most of the roof tiles would still be usable.

It's not wasteful.

Zhou Lin nodded. "The work at the Zhao residence should be finished by tomorrow."

"So fast? Shouldn't it take another seven or eight days?"

Zhou Lin smiled and said, "According to the original way of doing the work, it would take seven or eight days. However, in the past few days, we have been trying to finish the work before the autumn harvest. We have become much more skilled and are not as cautious as before, afraid of making mistakes. We are much faster at making furniture now."

The work done at the Zhao residence is paid according to the amount of silver produced, so the carpenters in the residence will not dawdle.

It should be able to be finished early.

Hibiscus lay flat on the bed, looking at the dilapidated roof.

Today, the room that he and Zhou Lin were repairing was moved into a vacant west room.

It took a long time for Mu Jin to tidy up before it was barely habitable.

"That's fine then. When will it be finished tomorrow?"

Zhou Lin thought for a moment, "My master and I can finish by noon. My master said we should have one last meal at the Zhao residence."

Mu Jin nodded, "Then I won't go to town tomorrow. I'll have the day laborers at home clean the roof of Zhao Ran's room. You bring back the elm wood, and I'll go to Gujia Village to order five dye vats."

"good."

At dinner, Bai Qiqiu said that they didn't have enough alum and lime, and they would have to buy another ten catties tomorrow.

Before going to sleep, Zhou Lin went over the list of things she needed to buy the next day in her mind, afraid that she might forget something.

On the first day of the month, as the rooster crowed, everyone in the family got up and started to move.

Some are picking vegetables, others are making breakfast.

After Zhou Lin left, the family's day laborer arrived shortly afterward.

Mu Sheng and Mu Lingyun also came over and helped out for most of the day.

Many hands make light work, and by noon, Wen Zhaoran's rooftop was cleaned up.

When Zhou Lin returned with the elm wood, the roof beams were replaced in the afternoon, and then the tiles could be laid.

The kitchen was piled high with dyes, making it look rather messy.

"Is the work at the Zhao residence finished?"

Zhou Lin nodded, his joy barely concealed in his eyes; anyone with eyes could see that he had received a considerable amount of silver.

Mu Jin chuckled, "In that case, you should ask Uncle Heng for leave and stay home for three to five days. I'm thinking we still need to get a cabinet for the dye shop. Otherwise, the dyes will get damp when it rains, and it will look messy."

Zhou Lin smiled and nodded, "Okay, we'll make the drying racks for the dyed cloth later."

After lunch, Wen Zhaoran followed Bai Qiqiu back to the house and rested for a while.

Closing the dilapidated door, Mu Jin smiled and said, "Tell me, how much silver did you earn? You're so happy. Didn't you see that Qi Qiu and Zhao Ran were all smiling at you while we were eating?"

Zhou Lin took out his money pouch. "The money is a small matter. When I was working at the Zhao residence, he gave each of us a complete set of carpentry tools, such as saws and planes, to make our work more efficient. Today, after we finished our work, Steward Zhao gave them to us. We bought them and got seven or eight taels of silver."

Mu Jin's eyes lit up. "I was thinking that since you're working at home, I'd have to spend money to buy things for you. This is really great. No wonder you're so happy."

Who can argue with that? The tools provided by the Zhao family are all of good quality; ordinary ones can be bought for just over three taels of silver.

Anyone would be overjoyed to receive such a wonderful item for no reason.

Mu Jin emptied the silver from her purse—a large piece of silver, some gold, and a few loose silver pieces. "Gold?!"

Zhou Lin laughed and said, "The master was satisfied with our work and rewarded each of us with twenty taels of silver. I had Steward Zhao exchange it for gold, plus five taels of wages, and the money from selling peaches, eggs, duck eggs and cicada shells earlier."

"With such generous rewards, it's no wonder everyone is eager to work for wealthy families; they pay too much."

Zhou Lin smiled. He only learned about it when he was eating and chatting with the other carpenters. Five people and one hundred taels of silver could earn that much in a day with just one shop in the Zhao family.

For an ordinary farming family, it might take most of their life to save up so much money.

"I only learned from carpenter Yun today that the Zhao family's business is very large, with branches in the capital, Beifu City, and even Nanfu City. Young Master Zhao's father manages the business in Beifu City. Old Madam Zhao is sentimental and started her family business in Qingshui Town, so the main residence remains in the town. Apart from the Zhao family members who go out to take care of the business, most of them stay in the town."