Chapter 1037 The heated floor
Today, the villagers live in harmony, helping each other, and are generally free from worries about food and clothing, having met their most basic needs.
Lin Yuesha didn't understand management. She remembered that she and Qi Heng had once visited Oasis Town, which was a true paradise.
The system of accumulating work points to exchange for daily necessities is an arrangement that Lin Yuesha made with reference to Oasis Town, and it will be further improved in the future.
As we entered the ninth month of the lunar calendar, the temperature dropped a bit, and people in the prefectural city were already wearing padded jackets.
Yingcheng is located by the sea, so it's a bit warmer, but the sea breeze is strong. The log cabins were built with gaps, so sand and dust often blow in.
Therefore, the craftsmen had to get up very early and spend an hour each day cleaning the house.
Seeing this, Lin Yuesha pondered a way to solve the problem.
Hundreds of people live in the seaside cabins, and the area is expected to expand in the future. If we were to build stone houses like the fishermen, it would be too time-consuming, and we wouldn't be able to transport that many stones in a short period of time.
In another ten days or so, Yingcheng will get even colder, the shallow sea will freeze over, and we will have to rely on charcoal braziers for warmth at night.
The beach is full of rows of wooden houses. If there is an open fire, and one house catches fire, the rest of the houses are easily ignited and difficult to save.
In the fishing villages of Yingcheng, thick quilts are simply not enough to get through the winter. You have to use stoves and honeycomb briquettes for heating, but even then you have to leave the windows slightly ajar at night. If it's a windy day, the house is filled with sand and dust, and you can't sleep peacefully at night.
Eating well but not sleeping well affects work performance, and this cannot continue in the long run.
"How about we buy the surrounding villas and arrange for the craftsmen to live there?"
The wooden house being set on fire is a minor issue; if a fire breaks out and injures people, the consequences could be much more serious.
When the craftsmen first moved in, they kept everything simple. The log cabin was quite comfortable, so they didn't think about the problems that would arise in the winter.
In about a month, it will snow in Yingcheng.
"The houses in the villa are sturdy, but they are too far from the dock."
Lin Yuesha had calculated the distance. The seaside area was vast, and the villa was a half-hour walk from the dock. If they stayed at the villa, the craftsmen wouldn't have time to rest at noon and would only be able to take a nap in the dining hall.
Moreover, the terrain along the coast is uneven, making transportation by horse-drawn or ox-drawn carts very difficult.
"What should we do then?"
Zhao Jingya was worried because it was impossible to keep warm in winter without firewood and charcoal braziers, and the log cabin was not warm enough, so she had to cover it with a woven straw mat.
With straw mats and wood available, be careful when using fire, otherwise the situation will worsen on windy days.
"Let me think about it."
Lin Yuesha thought of the current heating system and installed pipes in the underground of the wooden house by the sea to heat water in a place similar to a boiler room for warmth.
The pipes need to be made of iron, which is troublesome to customize, and they are also prone to rusting after the water is heated, making later maintenance more difficult.
Once the renovation is undertaken, costs, working hours, and the level of difficulty will all be factors that Lin Yuesha needs to consider, making it difficult for her to make a decision immediately.
That evening, Lin Yuesha visited the Xie family and brought up the issue with Xie Guangping.
"My wife and daughter and I have always lived in the south. The climate is different between the north and the south. The south is humid and rainy, so the Xie family built a heated floor for warmth."
Xie Guangping explained the structure of the kang (heated brick bed), which involves digging a fire channel under the house and building a stove inside the pit. When the stove is in use, the heat is transferred to the floor of the room through the channel to prevent poisoning from burning charcoal in the room.
Lin Yuesha immediately decided to adopt the method of using a heated floor as suggested by Xie Guangping. The small wooden house was a bit cramped with a bed, so Lin Yuesha thought of making a lower tatami mat and adding a heated floor. In winter, the floor inside the house would be warm and not damp, and at night it would not be too hot to sleep on. It would be more comfortable than a simple heated floor and less likely to cause internal heat.
There's still a month left, which is enough time to make the changes.
Lin Yuesha hired Xie Guangping to provide guidance and invited specialized craftsmen, starting with the Tian and Xie families.
After two days, the tatami mats and wardrobe were completed, and the cabin now has a lot more space.
That evening, the Tian and Xie families began testing the use of heated kang beds, and everything went smoothly.
"Young Madam, this heated floor is so warm, it's really refreshing to sleep here for a night."
Tian Dali was the biggest beneficiary because he had leg problems, which would worsen in damp and windy weather. After sleeping on the heated brick bed for one night, his leg pain was gone.
After the cabin was renovated, an extra mezzanine was created, which can be used to place a bed and a desk, and it has good lighting.
During the day, Tianwazi occasionally goes upstairs to read and practice calligraphy, and he really likes the small space upstairs.
The renovation of the seaside cabins, the dock and the workshop were carried out simultaneously. Lin Yuesha hired experienced craftsmen from the surrounding area of Yingcheng and built several spacious brick and tile courtyards.
The courtyard was simply decorated for daily gatherings, and a batch of tables, chairs, and benches were ordered.
This year, many artisans did not go home for the Lunar New Year; instead, most of them brought their families to the fishing village, where they felt a strong sense of belonging.
Since we've all come together by chance, we should make New Year's Eve a lively and festive occasion.
The brick house had just been built when Yan Yan arrived in Yingcheng with Lian Qiao and the others.
When Yan Yan arrived in Yingcheng, she immediately gave Lin Yuesha a surprise by bringing her good friend Zhang Qing'er.
"Sister Yue Sha!"
Zhang Qing'er stood in front of Lin Yuesha, who could hardly recognize her and was stunned for a long time.
"How about it? It's been over a year since we last met. Don't you recognize your sister?"
Zhang Qing'er still has a round face, and her smiling face is extremely endearing.
She followed the grain transport team to the Northwest first. When she learned that Lin Yuesha was in Yingcheng, she did not come to Yingcheng immediately. Instead, she followed Yan Yan to learn some basic medical skills, just so she could be of some help.
To give Lin Yuesha a surprise, Zhang Qing'er told others not to tell anyone.
"Sister Qing'er, what brings you to the North?"
Lin Yuesha was overjoyed and immediately went forward to hug Zhang Qing'er, picking her up and spinning her around three times.
Zhang Qing'er said, both amused and exasperated, "You're already of marriageable age, yet you're still so impulsive."
Ever since she and her parents took up their posts in the south, Zhang Qing'er has been suffering from acclimatization problems. Moreover, women in the south place more importance on etiquette, and as the daughter of a prefect, she is often ridiculed for not knowing how to behave properly when interacting with people.
There are many old and prestigious families in the south who are extremely particular about their tea, insisting on using collected dew for drinking tea. They look down on Zhang Qing'er's guzzling manner.
“My mother helped me find a marriage partner, and guess what…”
Zhang Qing'er's exaggerated expression amused Lin Yuesha, who then playfully asked, "What's wrong?"
It's a long story.
Zhang Qing'er attended countless flower-viewing parties, but the young master complained that she wasn't elegant enough, couldn't compose poems, and wasn't gentle enough. He found fault with her for various reasons, but the ladies of noble families liked her very much.
"It means you're likable, but those young masters don't know how to appreciate you."
The essence of daily life is the mundane necessities of life. Those young masters who indulge in romance and poetry are extremely pretentious, even composing poems while eating.
Lin Yuesha didn't understand one thing: prestigious families have rules about not speaking while eating or sleeping, so why is reciting poetry during meals considered elegant? This doesn't make sense in essence and is a double standard.
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