"That's good. By the way, Qingshan, when would be a good time for us to build the house after the New Year?"
These are things that Qin San Niang had never encountered in her previous life, so she could only ask!
Building a house is a top priority for anyone, and Gu Qingshan had been thinking about it for a long time, including when to build the house, when to raise the roof beam, where to build the house, and what the house should look like.
"The temperature here is rising quickly, so we'll have to get busy after the first month of the lunar calendar. We need to prepare the bricks, tiles, wood, and sand for building the house, so we won't be caught off guard. And what about labor? Madam Qin, have you decided who you want to hire for the work?"
He's making a fuss. He already has some initial plans, but those are his own plans. What kind of building Qin San Niang wants to build is up to her to decide!
But Qin San Niang didn't understand any of this!
“Qingshan, I treat you like a brother, and so does my mother. I’ll need your help to look after the house construction. But we women will take care of the workers’ food and drink, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Whether it's her or Wu Chunhua and her son, the women are the ones in charge of the household. Although women are no less capable than men, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and many things still require men to take the lead! As for He Xiucai, it's easy to talk to him, but he has an official title, which is different from the requirements of these farmers, and his requirements for housing are naturally different as well.
For example, Qin San Niang heard that ordinary people like them couldn't use blue bricks, even if they had money! It was truly astonishing!
She would wholeheartedly agree if it were usable; blue bricks are sturdy, durable, and easy to use, so why not? But if she wasn't qualified, there was nothing she could do!
The Liu family was easy to talk to; they were just happy if their house had white walls and black tiles like the village head's. Wu Chunhua had even lower requirements; a mud-brick house would be fine, as long as it was habitable.
"Madam Qin, what are you saying? You flatter me! There's no trouble at all, it's just a small matter!" Hearing Madam Qin say this, Gu Qingshan was somewhat at a loss.
Along the way, these families have stood together through thick and thin, and have long since established a deep revolutionary friendship!
However, the word "brother" in Qin San Niang's words touched his heart. After traveling for so long and experiencing so much, he had always been as tough as steel. No one treated him like a younger brother. He envied those who had older sisters who loved them. Now, hearing these words, his heart was naturally surging. However, he was used to being indifferent, so no one could see the emotion in his expression!
"Alright, we'll discuss it again later. Building this house is a big deal. If the kids and their mother knew, they'd probably be so excited they wouldn't be able to sleep!" Qin San Niang thought of the kids cheering and felt a surge of joy in her heart.
Along the way, they used the sky as their blanket and the earth as their mat, hoping that one day they would have a place to stay, a home of their own, and their own kang (heated brick bed).
Now that all of this is about to come true, and the next step is for the children to go to school, she will focus on making money and strive to become a wealthy and leisurely little landowner, living a peaceful and stable life.
If anything were to happen, Qin San Niang thought that with the mountains behind them and her martial arts skills and strength increasing, they should be able to live in the mountains without any problems! In short, her lifelong dream was to lead her family to escape the war and find a secluded paradise.
Before they knew it, it was January. Except for the time when Qin San Niang disguised herself and went to Si Ji to deliver Hong Guo'er, the days passed by quickly.
As the weather gradually warms up, the supply of earmuffs and gloves is decreasing. These days, Wu Chunhua and Liao Hongying are mainly busy making forehead bands. Because they have more time, their work is much more refined than before. In addition, Qin Sanniang found a book in her spatial storage and, imitating the Hanfu styles within, drew many flower patterns. These patterns would have been incredibly beautiful in her time, let alone now—they are truly breathtaking!
Lan Yao initially only bought his goods from Qin San Niang out of courtesy, but unexpectedly, he discovered that the headbands were indeed more exquisite than those made by professional embroiderers. What was even more remarkable was the ingenuity, which allowed him to make a small profit! This was quite unexpected! As a responsible boss, he generously increased the price of their headbands, since the unit price of headbands in his shop had also increased significantly! Even so, many wealthy and noble ladies still sought after them!
At the dinner table, Qin San Niang mentioned to Liu Shi and the children that she wanted to build a house. The children were very happy, but Liu Shi was worried that it was too early and that the weather might not be cold.
“Mother, don’t worry. Qingshan asked the old man in the village who knows how to build houses, and he said it’s about the same. Even if there’s a cold snap here in spring, it’s not like it is in the north, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Besides, even if we're building a house, we need to prepare bricks, timber, and straw, and we also need to find a kiln to buy tiles. There's a lot of preparation work involved, so we'd better plan ahead!
Thinking of what Gu Qingshan had told her, Qin Sanniang directly copied it over, and her eloquent manner made people wonder if she was a house builder!
Liu thought about it and realized that made sense. Building a house does require a lot of preparation, so it was good to start early to avoid being in a rush later.
So he nodded, "Alright, just tell me what you need me to do, Mother. Do Qingshan and Scholar He also need to build houses?"
She knew that Wu Chunhua wanted to build a house. As for whether Gu Qingshan and He Xiucai planned to start construction together, she, being an elderly woman, naturally couldn't ask, lest they think she was meddling. Besides, she really didn't have the time.
Whenever she had free time, Liu would take her eldest child to cultivate a small plot of wasteland in front of the courtyard where they planned to build a house, intending to plant some vegetables and fruits so they could have something to eat.
According to Liu's idea, they lived frugally and absolutely could not be extravagant! Going out to buy groceries was out of the question.
As for meat? No way! If we could raise pigs, chickens, and ducks, why would we need to buy any meat? She has three grandchildren now. The eldest will be getting married in two years, and the second and the youngest are a bit younger, but time flies and they'll all be here soon.
Qin San Niang had no idea that her mother was thinking so much. If she did, she would definitely think her mother was worrying too much. Da Wa would only be twelve next year, and as for Xiao Er and Anan, they were nowhere to be seen. She didn't want to be called "Grandma" when she was only thirty-five or thirty-six years old...
Ugh, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Am I going to have to take care of my grandchildren in the future?! That's no way! Her life has only just begun…
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