The foundation has been laid and compacted, and now they are building the foundation. A group of people are working hard, bending over, making it quite a lively scene.
Chen An stood up and saw them. He immediately put down what he was doing and went forward to call out, "Mother, elder brother!"
Mrs. Wu said with concern, "Son-in-law, you should save your hands for woodworking. Don't help with moving stones. Take a break when you need to, or you'll wear yourself out."
Chen An felt a warmth in his heart and nodded with a smile, saying, "I understand, Mother!"
Cheng Yang curled his lip at Cheng Yue, "See? The son-in-law is still the closest!"
Cheng Yue smiled but remained silent. She and Chen An took Wu Shi and Cheng Yang on a tour, and she also mentioned her plans.
"This is a two-courtyard complex. This is the main gate. Going in leads to the front courtyard, and behind it is the back courtyard, which has the main house, side rooms, and wing rooms."
"We'll open a side gate, and right there'll be a breeding farm. We'll raise pigs, chickens, and ducks all together, and there's a vegetable garden over there..."
Although Wu didn't understand what a second courtyard with side rooms meant, it didn't stop her from using her imagination. In short, the courtyard was very large, as could be seen from the foundation.
The more Cheng Yue talked, the more terrified she became. Her daughter said she wanted to build a bigger brick house, but she didn't say it was this big!
Wu took Cheng Yue's hand and whispered, "Daughter, how much money will this house cost?"
Cheng Yue said, "The house cost about 120 taels to build."
Mrs. Wu gasped, "So expensive! And that doesn't even include the furniture?"
Other families would spend no more than thirty taels of silver to build a few brick houses, but my daughter spent over a hundred taels to build one.
This house is so big, the money spent on furniture alone could probably build a house for someone else!
Cheng Yang reminded her from the side, "Mom, my brother-in-law is good at carpentry, so we can save some money on the furniture."
Although he also felt that the house was too expensive, he thought that considering there were so many rooms, it wasn't that expensive.
Moreover, Chen An is a carpenter, which will save some money.
Wu slapped Cheng Yang hard across the face again. "We still need to buy timber! How much can we save?"
Cheng Yang looked aggrieved. Why was he the one getting beaten up again when the topic of the house came up?
Cheng Yue comforted her, "Mother, don't worry. Your daughter has money. A bigger house will make you more comfortable!"
Besides, Xiaolin will get married and have children in the future, and the family will grow larger, so the house can be passed down to future generations, right?
Madam Wu sighed and said, "I was just sighing. The foundation has already been laid, so what's the use of what I say? But what you said is true, the money spent on building the house won't be wasted."
Cheng Yue clung to Wu Shi's arm and said coquettishly, "Yes, Mother, don't worry about it. I'll bring you over once the house is built. I'm afraid you won't want to leave after you move in!"
Ms. Wu was touched, but she still poked Cheng Yue's forehead and said, "You're a mother of three now, and you're still like this. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you!"
Cheng Yue smiled and said, "No matter how old you are, you're still your mother's treasure!"
Wu awkwardly pushed Cheng Yue away: "You're so sweet-talking! Alright, we've seen the house, your brother and I will go home now, you two can do whatever you want!"
Cheng Yue knew that Wu was embarrassed, so she didn't say anything more. She went into the room and got some brown sugar and white sugar for them to take away.
Now, whatever Cheng Yue gives her, as long as it's not too expensive, Wu will not refuse. Of course, she has to accept her child's filial piety!
Before leaving, Cheng Yang suddenly remembered his wife's instructions and said embarrassedly, "Little sister, your sister-in-law said that when she has money at the end of the month, she will return all fifteen taels to you."
His younger sister needed money to build a house, and they couldn't help much. They could only pay back the money at the end of the month. As the eldest brother, he felt increasingly ashamed.
Cheng Yue knew what Cheng Yang was thinking, and said helplessly, "Brother, I'm not in a hurry to use it. I can pay it back slowly. You all take out fifteen taels at once, what money will you have left? You'll be in a hurry when you need it!"
Cheng Yang's tone was firm, "No way! I'll pay it back by the end of this month!"
Cheng Yue knew to agree: "Okay, okay, okay!"
Cheng Yang then grinned and said, "Little sister, brother-in-law, I'm going home with Mom now!"
With that, the two waved and left.
They were relieved after seeing it, and they didn't need to come back anymore; they would come again after the house was built.
Wu walked with a brisk pace, thinking that she would go back and show off to the old man first, since she was the one who had seen the house first!
Not long after the two left, several children learning carpentry came up, and Chen An took his tools and continued teaching.
Cheng Yue hadn't accomplished anything all morning, and now that she finally had some time, she was about to go to the kitchen to continue making pastries when she turned around and saw Chen Tong and Chen Ning returning with two baskets of grass on their backs.
Wait a minute! Upon closer inspection, these tiny leaves and red berries look so familiar.
Cheng Yue stepped forward and took the baskets off the two of them. She picked up a red fruit, squeezed it, and asked happily, "Xiao Tong and Xiao Ning, where did you get this grass from?"
Chen Tong and Chen Ning didn't know why Cheng Yue was so happy, so they answered truthfully: "These red berries are everywhere. We found two when we were digging the foundation. We gave them to the cows and pigs to eat, and we found that they liked them, so we went to the hillside to cut some more."
Cheng Yue: "..."
This is medicinal material! How could pigs and cows not love to eat it? What a waste! Why didn't she notice it a few days ago?
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