Later, Chen Wang added a TV table, two armchairs to be placed in the main room, and finally a tea table and a bookcase.

In the new house he is building, he plans to build a study where he can drink tea, read books, and receive guests.

Before traveling through time, he had always dreamed of buying a house and settling down in a big city, and then building an e-sports room where he could be alone.

Although times are different now, it’s still nice to drink tea and read books when you have time.

After all, there were no smartphones or the Internet back then, so there were very few entertainment options.

It will take at least another 30 years for smartphones and the Internet to become popular. By that time, he will be in his 50s or 60s, and his children may have started their own families.

Maybe then, he can play games with his son, or even his grandson?

Thinking about that scene, it seems quite interesting.

At that time, he would consider building a luxurious e-sports room in his hometown so that his sons and grandchildren would always miss going home.

At around two o'clock in the afternoon, Qiao Laosan came again and Chen Wang gave him the list he had written.

After browsing through all the furniture on the list, Qiao Laosan was a little stunned.

“So many?”

"Well, we're building a new house, so I plan to buy all the furniture at once."

"That's going to cost you a lot, at least ten cubic meters of wood."

Qiao Laosan gave a reminder.

Generally speaking, a five-piece furniture set including a bed, a cabinet, a table and four benches will consume at least three cubic meters of wood.

If you want a heavy antique style and complex craftsmanship, you will need more wood.

For handmade furniture, depending on the skills of the carpenter, the utilization rate of wood is generally between 60% and 70%.

"It's okay, just calculate how much you need and give me the money you need."

Chen Wang smiled and said.

"The price of one cubic meter of elm is 180, so ten cubic meters is 1800. I need to pay a 30% deposit to order the materials, but I don't have that much money. After the work is done, I will be paid 200 as labor fee. What do you think?"

Qiao Laosan asked nervously.

This was a very large order for him, as he hadn't received one in many years.

If Chen Wang bargained, he could still agree to lower the price a bit.

The lowest labor fee he can accept is 150.

For him, this order was also quite difficult. Just the Chen Wang side would take him at least three months to complete.

"No problem, wait here for a moment, I'll get the deposit for you."

After Chen Wang finished speaking, he turned around and hurried into the house.

It just so happened that I went to the city a few days ago and brought back a little over a thousand dollars. I spent more than three hundred dollars, and I have about seven hundred dollars left at home.

After returning to the room, Chen Wang told his wife about this.

Lin Xiuqin stood up and walked over, opened the wardrobe, took out all the cash from the pocket of a cotton-padded jacket, counted out 54 Great Unity banknotes and handed them to Chen Wang.

Chen Wang took the money out and handed it to Qiao Lao San, smiling and saying, "This is 540, Uncle San, count it, is it correct?"

"good!"

Uncle Qiao responded, took the money and started counting it.

"540, no problem, that's correct."

"How's Brother Da Zhuang doing? What kind of wood did he choose?"

Chen Wang asked casually.

"He chose elm wood just like you. He wanted less, less than half of what you wanted. I only took a two hundred deposit, and his labor fee was another 100."

Uncle Qiao replied.

Chen Wang nodded and said, "Okay, thank you for your help."

"I should be the one to thank you. I will do these two big jobs for you both. It will take at least four months to complete them. I'm telling you in advance."

"It's okay. The new house will be built around this time."

"That's good. You're busy. I'll go back first."

"Okay, take care!"

After watching Uncle Qiao leave, Chen Wang turned around and went into the house.

Now that the furniture issue has been completely settled, all that remains is to wait until after the Chinese New Year and find a construction team to rebuild the house.

Before that, he would also take the time to draw a sketch of the courtyard house he wanted.

It's impossible to draw it in great detail and clarity, after all, I haven't learned it, but the general layout is fine.

…

…

It snowed for two consecutive days starting from the early morning of the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Fortunately, there was no need to go out, so Chen Wang stayed with his wife and the little girl and had a good rest at home for two days.

Lin Xiuqin was very busy these two days. She asked him to buy a lot of pork from the villagers who slaughtered pigs, and also went to Old Man Lu to buy some fish. She pickled a lot of bacon and salted fish.

The reason why bacon and salted fish are also called cured meat and cured fish is because people are accustomed to pickling fish and meat in the twelfth lunar month.

In the past when people were poorer, these pickled meats and fish might be the family's source of meat for the entire next year.

In addition, the daughter-in-law also slaughtered a chicken and bought a duck, and asked Chen Wang to buy a pig's head and some pork intestines, and added some vegetables, eggs, etc., to make a big pot of delicious braised dishes.

In the past two years, there was no such condition, and the most she could do during the New Year was to ask someone to buy some meat, and then Lin Xiuqin would try her best to use her cooking skills to make the meal a little more sumptuous and delicious than usual.

Everything has changed in these three months. Now that the family has sufficient savings, Lin Xiuqin naturally won't force herself to live so frugally.

Just as Chen Wang said, this year must be a prosperous year.

The atmosphere of the Spring Festival has become more intense. Whether rich or poor, every household is trying their best to prepare for a good New Year.

The sound of firecrackers can be heard from time to time in the village.

Occasionally, one or two firecrackers would be heard. That was the children playing, using bought or picked up firecrackers to blow up old bottles and cans, cow dung, and even toilets.

When you hear a series of firecrackers, it means someone is doing good deeds.

People who are getting married, or celebrating their child’s first birthday or tenth birthday, etc., all like to set the date around the Spring Festival.

Chen Wang also went there to drink several times.

To be honest, the food was really not that good, much worse than what my wife cooks at home. The dishes were also average, and the atmosphere was just okay for drinking together.

A lot of money was spent on gifts.

If the relationship is average, Chen Wang would give five yuan, and if the relationship is close, he would give eight or ten yuan.

People in the village who are in the same situation as him basically only get one or two yuan.

It’s not that Chen Wang wants to show off or act like a rich man, it’s just that he has been too popular in recent months and everyone in the village knows that he has made money.

If he also gave one or two dollars, there would probably be gossip about him in the village.

Give this little extra money just to shut others up.

Moreover, we will be building a new house after the New Year, and we need to find people to help, so it is necessary to have a good reputation.

Most of the members of the construction team in the village are farmers. They have nothing to do during the slack season, so they do this part-time to earn some money.

The little girl couldn't stay at home anymore. Even if it was snowing outside, she would run out to play with her friends in the village and would not come back until dinner time.