Chapter 17: Habits Developed in Exile
"Madam, Yu'er, you are finally back."
Sang Yongjing took the lead and stepped forward, holding Xie Qiujin's hands tightly.
He was the most anxious. If he didn't believe in Sang Yu's ability, he would have rushed up the mountain to look for them after seeing that they had been gone for so long and had not returned.
"I'm sorry to have made my husband worry." Xie Qiujin blushed and shyly withdrew her hand. The child was still beside her.
Sang Yu watched from the side, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.
Life is a little hard now, but the family is harmonious and close, so there is no need to worry about not having a good life in the future.
Sang Xingjia also followed and took the backpack from Sang Yu. He was stunned when he saw the wet black mud inside.
"Little sister, what are you carrying?"
"Oh, wet mud, used for plastering walls." Sang Yu briefly explained, turned around and left. She wanted to see if the water source had been diverted.
Although she followed the water flow down the way, she really couldn't feel at ease unless she saw the water coming out of the mountain wall with her own eyes.
The mountain walls here are as straight as if they were chopped off by a knife. Only stones are exposed, and no soil can be seen.
But nature's creations are truly magical. A channel has been drilled in the middle of the stone by water, and now a steady stream of spring water is flowing out of it.
Sang Yu reached out and took a handful of water. The spring water was slightly turbid, but there was no foreign matter. It could be used after a little sedimentation. It seemed that her water diversion project was a success.
The sun in the sky has reached its highest point, and the scorching sun is burning the earth. They cannot move rashly at night because they live near the mountains and forests. They only have half a day to repair the shed.
Sang Yongjing and Sang Xingjia worked very hard, and the thick branches they picked up piled up into a small hill next to the shed.
Even Sang Xinghao picked up a lot of twigs and hay, enough for cooking at night.
The shed is not a suitable place for long-term living, but the conditions are simple now, and having a shed is better than sleeping in the open air.
Since we have to live in the shed for a while, it is necessary to reinforce it.
Sang Yu asked Sang Xingjia to pour aside the two buckets of wet mud they had carried down, dismantle the backpack and sort out the four vines, and begin to reinforce the outer wall of the shed with the thick branches and vines they had picked up.
Thick branches and vines were interspersed and tied to the original simple bottom fence, and then interspersed horizontally to raise it a section. The surrounding walls, which were originally only calf-high, were raised to the height of Sangyu's lower abdomen.
After all four sides except the open entrances and exits were raised, the shed looked even more desolate. The walls on all four sides were leaking air, as if it would collapse at any time.
Sang Yu was not at all flustered and directed Sang Xingjia and Sang Yongjing to start pasting the wall with mud.
The mud they brought back was indeed good, but it contained too much water, so some dry soil needed to be added to mix it evenly, and then some hay needed to be added to increase friction.
This kind of mud will be both firm and strong after being pasted on the wall and dried.
The whole family obeyed her instructions without thinking about why they did so.
Anyway, Sang Yu would definitely not harm them. This was a habit he developed during his exile.
Sang Xingjia originally thought that the mud would flow to the ground the next second after being stuck on the branches, but he didn't expect that every piece of mud would stay where it should be.
The wall that was originally leaky on all sides was actually covered with mud by them.
After the work was completed, Sang Yu entered the shed and squatted behind the wall to feel it for a while.
The hot wind that was blowing in our faces before was almost completely blocked by the mud wall. I guess once the mud wall is completely dry, the wind will no longer be able to pass through.
In fact, if it were replaced with mud bricks, it would be more sturdy and durable, but now conditions are limited and mud fences are sufficient.
Sang Yu stood up and was about to go out, but when she looked up, she saw four pairs of big eyes staring at her intently.
Because the mud wall had just been pasted, everyone had more or less mud spots on their faces and bodies. Sang Xinghao's little face was pinched by someone, and there were two muddy finger marks on it.
Is this...waiting for her to announce the construction results?
She couldn't help but laugh: "The wall is well built. I don't need to be blown by the draft when I sleep inside tonight."
As she finished speaking, there was a burst of cheers: "Great!"
It’s funny to say that when the family was in the capital, everyone was served.
Now that they have arrived in Lingnan, they have only repaired the four walls and are so happy that they forget everything else.
Old Mrs. Shi Yuhua, who was sitting outside the shed, also smiled when she saw this warm scene of their family.
She couldn't help but think, how nice it would be if the eldest brother could be as understanding as the fourth brother's family.
Over there, Sang Yongfeng led the Sang family into Lingnan City.
The profession of intermediary is indispensable in any era, but nowadays intermediaries are not called intermediaries, but called brokers.
He went to the market to find a broker, and after explaining his purpose, the broker was very enthusiastic.
They like buying and selling houses the most. If the match is successful, both the buyer and the seller will receive their commission.
The broker that Sang Yongfeng found was not very old, probably in his early twenties. In order to appear mature and reliable, he even had a mustache.
His name was Sun Xing. He was a smooth-talking and careful person, and was considered one of the best brokers in the thirty-six markets of Lingnan City.
Sun Xing had seen a lot of people, so he was naturally very good at judging people. Although Sang Yongfeng was handsome and had an extraordinary aura, the people following him were not so respectable.
He recognized at a glance that the people in front of him were probably exiles, but that didn't matter to him much. As long as you had money, he would do business with you.
Sun Xing bowed his hands and then asked, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you, Mr. Sang, to your presence. What kind of house would you like to buy?"
Since he wants to do this business, he naturally has to ask the buyer about his expectations, budget and needs, and then recommend the corresponding house based on these.
Sang Yongfeng was full of confidence with the banknotes in his arms: "I want a big house in the city that can accommodate hundreds of people."
There were more than a hundred people following him, and some of them had second and third rooms, so they had to live separately. If the house was small, it really couldn't accommodate so many people.
When Sun Xing heard the word "big house", his eyes lit up. He knew that he had met a local rich man, and his attitude became more respectful.
"Although Lingnan City is located in a remote area, it has many merchants coming and going. They don't stay in the city for long, but they also have the habit of buying houses, so there are really not many large houses in the city."
Sang Yongfeng felt a little disappointed. Could it be that he couldn't buy a house even though he had money?
However, he had been an official for many years after all, and his face was still calm, without any sign of abnormality.
Not seeing the other party showing the nervous expression he had imagined, Sun Xing's evaluation of the person in front of him increased even more.
He no longer deliberately kept people on suspense and changed the subject: "Well, I do know of a wealthy family's house for sale. I wonder if Master Sang would be interested in taking a look."
It was the residence of a wealthy traveling merchant who made a lot of money by reselling goods between Lingnan and Hangzhou.
As I’ve gotten older in recent years, I’ve started thinking about spending my retirement in Hangzhou.
If he didn't happen to be selling this house, Sun Xing really wouldn't be able to find a house that meets Sang Yongfeng's needs for a while.
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