Chapter 154 Deciding to Build a House
Cheng Wanwan led Shen Zheng to the big tree in the courtyard.
It was just past noon, the sun wasn't too strong, and a gentle breeze was blowing, which was very pleasant.
She hesitated about how to start. After all, the child was not her own, and she had no right to ask about it.
Just as I was hesitating, Aunt Wang from next door came over to return the bowl: "Auntie Dashan, your braised food is so delicious! This big bowl was gone in no time with my husband and kids. My husband doesn't usually like pig intestines, but he loves yours. He even wanted to have some wine with it..."
Grandma Zhao happened to come to return the bowl and chimed in, "This tastes really good. I used to just boil or stir-fry pork offal whenever I bought it. The kids haven't had meat in so long, and they always finish my stir-fry. I thought I was pretty good at it, but after eating this, I realized I've been living in vain all these years."
Cheng Wanwan took the two bowls and said with a smile, "After eating the braised food, Er Gou immediately came up with a business idea. He said he wants to buy braised food from me and sell it in town. I don't know if the people in town will like it."
Aunt Wang said, "This stew should be added with dogwood, it's a bit spicy. My family likes light flavors. After eating a few slices, I wanted to eat more but didn't dare to eat more. I was thinking, can we make some non-spicy ones so that customers can choose two flavors... I have never done business before, so I just said it casually. Don't laugh at me, Dashan Niang."
"Mudfish Girl, that's a great suggestion!" Cheng Wanwan asked earnestly, "If we make some sweeter flavors, will anyone like them?"
"I like sweet taste." Old Mrs. Zhao frowned, "But sweet taste requires sugar, which is a waste. It's better to put dogwood, or put nothing at all. Many people like it..."
Cheng Wanwan chuckled and started chatting with the two of them, and the conversation gradually turned to the children's weddings.
Shen Zheng stood to the side listening, but started to get bored, so he turned around and wanted to leave.
Cheng Wanwan glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and ended the conversation: "I have things to do at home, so I won't see you off."
Aunt Wang and Old Mrs. Zhao turned and left.
Cheng Wanwan called out to Shen Zheng: "Young Master Shen, I called you out because I wanted to ask you, what is Yihonglou?"
Shen Zheng began to show off his knowledge: "Yihonglou is the biggest brothel in Hekou Town. You can't even get through the gate of Yihonglou without a lot of money. The men here are all willing to spend money. They can spend seven or eight taels of silver in one night. The price of braised meat, which is sixty copper coins a catty, would probably be several times higher in Yihonglou..."
Cheng Wanwan's forehead veins throbbed: "Have you been in there?"
"No, not at all." Shen Zheng coughed. "My father only gives me five taels of silver each time, which is far too little. It's not enough to hire a courtesan to accompany me for drinks. There's no point in going anyway, so it's better not to go..."
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
If she were this boy's mother, she would really want to slap him in the face.
He thinks five taels of silver is not enough. He is so young, but he actually wants to ask the top courtesan in a brothel to accompany him for drinking. What is this kid thinking about?
“Young Master Shen, a place like Yihonglou is not a place for you.” Cheng Wanwan tried to be as gentle as possible. “Of course, you can go if you want, but please don’t bring Cheng Zhao and Er Gou with you. Our family is poor, we can’t afford that kind of place…”
Shen Zheng snorted and said, "Cheng Zhao is so poor, and Zhao Ergou is so unsophisticated. The people in Yihongyuan will never let them in."
"Hey, Shen Zheng, who are you calling unsophisticated?"
Zhao Ergou rushed out dissatisfied.
After spending so many days together, Zhao Ergou and Shen Zheng became familiar with each other and stopped calling him "Young Master Shen" all the time. Sometimes when they were joking around, Zhao Ergou would just call him Shen Zheng, and Shen Zheng didn't seem to mind.
"Aren't you a country bumpkin?" Shen Zheng looked him up and down. "Look at what you're wearing. It's covered in patches from head to toe. You look like a country bumpkin."
Zhao Ergou retorted, "You're the same. You have the nerve to criticize me even though you're covered in patches."
"Although I wear patched clothes, I'm well-read and talented. As the sage said, 'A man of learning is naturally elegant.' Tattered clothes can't hide my elegance, so I'm not unsophisticated." Shen Zheng used a leaf as a paper fan, shaking it and said, "If you go to the city to do business, you must wear clean and tidy clothes, otherwise those merchants will look down on you and kick you out before you can say anything."
Zhao Ergou snorted: "I know this, I don't need you to teach me."
Zhao Sidan skipped out: "Second Brother, I have no use for my money. I'll lend it to you as capital for your business. Remember to pay me back with interest when you make money."
Zhao Sanniu also took out his money bag: "I don't need the money either, Second Brother, you can have it all."
Zhao Ergou took it without hesitation. He firmly believed that he could make money, and he also firmly believed that he could help his two younger brothers make money.
Cheng Wanwan really liked the atmosphere of children helping each other. After finishing the chores in her hands, she went to the headman's house.
The headman's house was also bustling with activity. The children were playing and fighting in the yard, each holding a piece of snack in their hands. Several daughters-in-law were cutting cloth and mending autumn clothes in the yard.
After the autumn harvest, every household became a little better off after selling the grain, and everyone's face was filled with joy.
The village head's wife raised her head and said with a smile, "Mother Dashan, you've come at the right time. We're giving out snacks. These are Baiweizhai's peach cakes. Come and try them."
How could Cheng Wanwan compete with the children for snacks? She declined with a smile and said, "Uncle Village Chief, I came here to ask you for a favor."
The village head put down his pipe and listened attentively to what she had to say.
“The autumn harvest is over, and there’s no rush for autumn planting yet. I was thinking of taking this time to build the house. Da Shan and the others have been making adobe bricks from time to time and have saved up more than two thousand bricks, but that’s definitely not enough.” She said methodically, “I asked Zhao’er to draw a house construction plan. Could the village head help me see how many adobe bricks I need?”
The village head took the blueprint. When the villagers built a house, they had a plan in their minds and just directed the construction on site. No one would draw a blueprint specifically for the job.
The drawings have clear lines and text labels.
The village head already knew some characters. These days, every time Tiezhu came back from school, he would teach his younger siblings at home, and the village head learned some more from him. The characters written here are commonly used characters, and the village head knows them all.
“Grandma, your house is really big.” The village head couldn’t help but say, “The main room is very big, the kitchen is also big, and there is a special place to eat. Each of the four children has a room, you have a room, plus a study, and two guest bedrooms. You also have to build a big courtyard. There are also outhouses and bathhouses in the back of the courtyard. It takes a lot of adobe bricks to build this. Eighty or ninety thousand bricks is the minimum.”
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "The children will all get married soon, and then there will be children in the family. Since we're going to build a house, let's build a big one from the start, so we don't run out of space later. Besides, we don't know how long Young Master Shen will stay here, and my nephew won't be leaving anytime soon either, so we should definitely prepare guest rooms..."
She also fenced off a large courtyard, paved the front with bluestone slabs, planted a few trees, and turned it into a place for leisure and play. The back of the courtyard was connected to the wasteland she bought, which she used to raise chickens, ducks and geese. With the livestock kept in the backyard, the front would be much cleaner and there would be no stench.
The village headman counted the number of people in Cheng Wanwan's family. She had four sons. If they didn't separate the family, they would indeed need such a large place to live.
He stood up and said, "Let's go check out the land where we're building the house. If the foundation isn't suitable, we'll have to consider other places..."
Cheng Wanwan stood up and walked towards the wasteland with the village head.
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