Chapter 60: Hiring a carpenter costs 500 coins? Is he going to rob him?
Carpenter Wang was old but in good spirits. He smiled and saluted the family of three.
"Hello, Master. I am Carpenter Wang. I started learning the craft at the age of thirteen, and it has been over forty years now. This time, I will be the one building a house for you."
Carpenter Wang, whose real name was Wang Song, grew up in poverty. He supposedly began learning the craft at the age of thirteen, but in reality, he had already been doing odd jobs beside his master since the age of seven. It was only at thirteen that he caught his master's eye and officially became his apprentice.
He was an old carpenter who had worked all his life. When he was young, he went to the city to work, got married and had children, and lived a pretty good life.
Since he was over 50 years old, he stopped working and focused on his retirement. Unfortunately, none of his three sons were truly filial.
The eldest son who inherited the house should have taken care of him in his old age, but he was accused of favoring his other two brothers and gave all the money to his two younger brothers.
The two younger sons were also dissatisfied, saying that he had been secretly supporting his eldest brother.
He was like a hot commodity, being fought over from one house to another. He had only stayed in one house for two days when he was invited to another. Everyone was trying their best to cheat him out of his coffin money.
After several rounds, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. He was so fed up that he simply chose to leave the city and live alone in the canyon.
Perhaps it was the quietness in his ears or the beautiful scenery in the canyon, but he, who had originally felt weak, felt better day by day and was in the mood to return to his old job.
If you count the house of Sang Yu and her family, he has already helped build five houses in the village, which is a considerable achievement.
Sang Yu, an old carpenter with forty years of experience, widened his eyes in surprise. No wonder Xiaohu valued him so much.
"Then please, just ask if you need anything." Sang Yu still has great respect for such professionals.
Carpenter Wang was very satisfied with Sang Yu's attitude. He also realized that she was the one who could really make the decision in the family. He said modestly, "I dare not, I will do my best."
After communicating with Sang Yu, Carpenter Wang had a preliminary idea of the house she wanted to build. He took out the inkwell he brought with him and entered the space inside the mountain wall.
For carpenters, the ink fountain is not only used to draw lines on wood to facilitate cutting. After choosing the location, the ink fountain can be used to lay out the lines.
Like a modern floor plan, outline the general shape of the house on the ground and determine the location of the excavation.
The location of the column needs to be dug deeper, and the location of the wall also needs to be dug to a certain depth.
If you build a wall directly on the ground, it is easy for the whole house to sway when the wind blows.
Sang Yu stood outside the mountain wall and watched Carpenter Wang's movements from afar.
He walked around the space inside the mountain wall leisurely, then chose a location, fixed the ink tank, picked up the ink stick, walked straight forward, and stopped about seven steps away.
After inserting the ink stick and straightening the ink line, he lifted the ink line and flicked it hard, and a pitch-black straight line suddenly appeared on the dry mud.
Apart from that, there wasn't even a speck of ink splashing on the ground, which showed that he had already mastered the ink fountain like a flick of the arm.
After Carpenter Wang laid out the lines one after another, several black lines appeared on the ground, some parallel to each other, and some crisscrossing each other.
If you look down from a high place, you will suddenly find that it is a complete courtyard floor plan.
Even if she wasn't standing on a high place, Sang Yu could already see some clues just from a distance. When he put away his inkwell and walked out, she couldn't help but applaud.
"Carpenter Wang, your skill in laying out the thread is truly extraordinary. I'm afraid there's no one else like you in all of Lingnan."
Even though Carpenter Wang was old, he felt a little embarrassed to hear her praise so directly, and said modestly, "Practice makes perfect."
He himself was very proud of this skill, but unfortunately his three sons were unwilling to learn it seriously. They only wanted to learn the craft of making furniture, thinking that what he was doing was just a side job.
Sang Yu didn't dwell on whether practice makes perfect or ingenuity was the key, and instead asked about other things.
"So the next step is to excavate the foundation pit? If there's anything else you can prepare in advance, I'll do it all today."
They couldn't stay here forever. They couldn't work at night without lighting. They had to rush back to the shed at the foot of the mountain to rest before the house was completed.
If possible, she wanted to do the most things in the shortest time, carry out multiple projects at the same time, and build the house sooner.
Carpenter Wang nodded gently. "Digging the foundation pit is definitely necessary. As for what we can prepare in advance, it depends on what kind of walls, beams, and roof the owner wants to use."
Different materials require different things, and the difference is not only in craftsmanship but also in money.
"We plan to use a mixture of bamboo and mud for the walls, and wood cut from the mountains for the beams, and thatch for the roof."
Sang Yu had thought about these questions before, and it was very easy to answer them now.
"Then cut some bamboo, prepare some thatch, and get some mud when you build the wall." The old carpenter was not surprised by the materials she mentioned.
Bamboo forests are not uncommon on the mountains, and many houses in the village use bamboo for their walls.
Some more sophisticated houses will also lay a layer of bamboo on the roof, and then cover it with thatch, which not only makes the roof more solid but also less likely to seep water, making it durable.
"Okay." Sang Yu agreed.
After measuring the room and giving some instructions, Carpenter Wang took his plumb line home. He had nothing to do here at this stage, so he might as well go back and make some furniture for them.
His wages were not bad, but not easy to get. It was not just a matter of saying a few words and laying some lines. It also included a complete set of furniture, which would be delivered when the house was built.
Sang Yu thought about the materials Carpenter Wang had just mentioned. There was plenty of bamboo on the mountain, so they could just go and chop it. As for thatch, if she remembered correctly, reeds should be a substitute.
While she was thinking, Xiaohu came over and said to her with a smile: "Carpenter Wang is the best carpenter in our village. The furniture he makes can last for twenty years without breaking."
He said this not to take the opportunity to raise the price, but to secretly tell Sang Yu that you did me a favor before, and now I am returning the favor.
Sang Yu understood his implication and said with a smile, "Thank you for the introduction."
"Well, let's put it this way. I'm getting paid, so I have to do it well. Besides, Carpenter Wang's wages are quite good, so I can make some money too."
As soon as he mentioned this, Sang Yu remembered that he hadn't asked the carpenter how much he was paid. He casually asked, "Is it as exaggerated as you say? How much does Carpenter Wang make?"
Xiao Hu still had that smile on his face, but the words he uttered made Sang Yu tremble all over: "Five hundred coins."
"How much?!" Sang Yu's voice trembled. Their family only had a little over 500 coins in total. Just hiring a carpenter would cost 500 coins? Robbing?
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