Li Lao Er chuckled and shook his head. He found a wooden stake to sit on, unfolded the rendering, and then his eyes widened in surprise.
This is a large picture book, from the overall view of the house to the breakdown of each part, and even the layout of the house, including the style of the doors and windows, all drawn very clearly.
If it could actually be presented, it would definitely be a beautiful courtyard that everyone would envy.
I just don't know how my little niece learned all these skills. There are many layouts and arrangements here that even Lord Zhou might not be familiar with...
Jiayin gave the silver notes, chose the location, and then became a hands-off manager.
The rest—purchasing materials, finding someone to calculate an auspicious day for construction, and communicating with Lord Zhou—were all handled by my second uncle.
That's the advantage of being young. After all, you can't expect a six or seven-year-old girl to be diligent, right?
Fortunately, the weather is getting colder and colder; it's estimated that the ground will only be able to build a foundation before it freezes over.
The rest will have to wait until spring to continue, so it won't exhaust my second uncle.
However, the Earl's mansion in the city encountered a minor problem.
No suitable location!
Xindu was originally a prosperous city with a large population.
With the capital suddenly moved here, land in the city became incredibly valuable, and the price of houses skyrocketed.
The southern and western parts of the city were originally inhabited by the powerful and wealthy, so it was extremely difficult to find a house there.
The eastern part of the city was occupied by the imperial palace and aristocratic families.
There are places in the north of the city, but they are crowded with ordinary people, mostly shantytowns, with poor sanitation and a mixed population, so they are not an option for families to settle down.
This is also why hundreds of beggars and vagrants could occupy such a large area in the relief agency.
Although the Li family was just a small, newly wealthy family, it was impossible for them to build their mansion in the north of the city.
Fortunately, Liu Zhiheng heard about this and came to a great help.
The Liu family has been a local tyrant here for many years, and they have no shortage of real estate.
Located at the junction of the south and west sides of the city, two adjacent, somewhat dilapidated courtyards were originally owned by the Liu family and have been collecting rent ever since.
Now, it's been sold to the Li family at a 30% discount, a friendly price of 1,400 taels.
The two houses were demolished and combined into one, enough to build a five-courtyard mansion.
This size isn't flashy, and it's sufficient.
Not to mention that Li Lao Er was busy with the two mansions, and also had to take care of the relief office and the Hundred Flowers Garden. He wished he had eight hands.
Even though the autumn harvest is over, the village is still bustling with activity.
Because the orchard needs to harvest the fruit!
The sight of those bright red berries covering the mountains and fields is a delight to anyone, but bringing them home intact without any damage is no easy task.
When fruits are first picked, they are inevitably more sour than sweet. They need to be stored in a cellar for about a month to allow the sugars to fully develop before they become the juiciest and sweetest.
Last year, the village was unprepared and didn't have that many fruits, so they were all sold directly.
This year, the village chief led his men to dig a cellar at the foot of the mountain early on, intending to store half of the fruit, and even winter vegetables such as radishes and cabbages from the village.
The cellar was very large, about the size of six or seven rooms, with walls and floors made of blue bricks. It was divided into several small rooms and was kept very clean and complete.
Jiayin went inside specifically to check, and even had someone dig up a lot of soil from the mountains, piling it up in a corner, hoping to try growing mushrooms in the winter, and change up the flavors by frying, stir-frying, or cooking them.
Throughout the year, when the village elders had nothing to do, they would weave willow baskets. In the summer, they would fill them with jade melons and golden fruits, and save the rest to fill with fruit.
The baskets filled two courtyards, but the villagers still felt it wasn't enough.
So, in the second village, while the noodle workshop was still under construction, all the wounded soldiers temporarily learned how to weave willow baskets using the assembly line method.
Many hands make light work; in just three to five days, they achieved results that surpassed what the elderly had accomplished in half a year.
An extra path was built near Xiaowangzhuang, leading to the hot spring valley.
All the guests were enthusiastic about the game of picking fruit falling from the mountain, hoping that the village would pick them early so they could buy more to take home.
Jiayin has been traveling to and from the city more often these past few days.
No one knows better than her that her own fruit tastes good.
Therefore, not only have prices increased significantly this year, but we also need to inform the Hou family, the Liu family, and the Wen family to reserve some for them in advance for gift-giving and social interactions.
In addition, she had previously instructed Zhengjiazhuang to devise two manual mixers for whipping cream.
Cream looks magical; it's soft and fluffy like white clouds.
Actually, it's very simple: just beat the egg whites at high speed and add sugar and milk in batches.
But without mechanical assistance, the act of stirring would absolutely exhaust a person's arms.
Fortunately, Zhengjiazhuang never disappoints Jiayin.
Two hand-cranked semi-automatic mixers were delivered to the pastry shop.
Peng Chuan arranged for two strong men to practice for a few days, and they were already able to skillfully make the white cream.
Chen Xi, on the other hand, seemed to have a cheat code; his scalded arm was only half healed, but it didn't stop his mind from working at high speed.
He experimented with adding fruit juice, vegetable juice, and other ingredients to the cream, turning it into various colors he desired.
He also attached various iron mouths to the rough oil paper bags, each with a different shape.
Then, the cake base became his canvas, and the cream became his brush and ink, which he freely applied.
Last time Jiayin visited, she brought him a picture book.
The booklet is not only filled with various flowers, but also fruit collages, cute pets, and even human figures.
In short, Jiayin drew everything that came to mind.
Thanks to Jiayin's slight knowledge of painting techniques from her previous life, each picture was quite clear, which also helped Chen Xi to become more and more enlightened.
On this day, when Jiayin brought Yeshan, Granny He, and Shuiling to the shop again, the small cakes on the cutting board were no different from those displayed in the cake shop cabinets of her previous life.
Jiayin happily ate a piece and discovered that there was jam inside the cake base. She nodded repeatedly and praised, "It's great, just like I expected. Thank you for your hard work, Manager Peng and Chef Chen! I hope your business will be booming after the opening, and you will definitely reward me handsomely."
Manager Peng and Chen Xi both bowed and offered their congratulations, their faces beaming with smiles.
Chen Xi replied, "Thanks to Master's guidance, I really didn't expect there could be so many tricks."
Shopkeeper Peng chimed in, "Yes, sir. The glass display case is finished. Once we put these cakes on display, everyone who sees them will be tempted to buy one and try it. They won't be able to stop eating them once they start. Our business will definitely be the most prosperous in Xindu!"
Jiayin nodded and then asked about the purchase of milk and the trial production of various snacks such as biscuits.
Manager Peng quickly brought out all the dishes and invited Jiayin to taste them one by one.
Jiayin suggested some improvements, and seeing that it was almost done, she asked, "Have you found someone to choose an auspicious day for the opening?"
Shopkeeper Peng replied, "Master, I've looked at two dates, one is the eighth day of the ninth month, and the other is the sixteenth day of the ninth month. Which one do you think is more suitable?"
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