For the next two weeks or so, both Cheng Yue's family and all the villagers were extremely busy.
Needless to say, the villagers were all busy collecting medicinal herbs.
Cheng Yue and her family were mainly busy with the new house. The house was progressing quickly; after the roof-raising ceremony, it was immediately topped out, and the next step was the decoration.
At that time, houses in the village were not really decorated. Most families would just have a couple of pieces of furniture and move in. The poor would even just have a wooden plank to sleep on.
Of course, the wealthy are another story.
Fortunately, Cheng Yue didn't have any special requirements for the decoration. The main reason was that there were too few choices at this time, practically no choice at all, since she couldn't afford the ones she liked.
The family discussed it and agreed that they could ignore everything else, but the floor had to be paved properly.
They didn't want to move into a new house and still have to walk on muddy ground, especially after it rained, when the yard would be full of yellow mud and water, and the house would be dirty too. Just thinking about it gave them a headache.
However, they didn't know much about the paving materials, so they had to ask Master Ji.
Master Ji mentioned several options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
In the end, they decided to use bluestone slabs, which would look grand and clean, and most importantly, they weren't too expensive, falling within their budget.
That day, when Master Ji returned to the county town, he went to the brick kiln to make arrangements, and the next day, all the bluestone slabs were delivered.
The bluestone slabs can be laid flat, which is not as troublesome as modern floor tile laying. It only took two days to lay them all.
A few days later, Hu the carpenter and his group of several people delivered the doors, windows and furniture, and the house was finally completed.
Meanwhile, Chen An has been working hard lately, and the furniture for the new house is being made one by one.
That evening, Cheng Yue discussed the housewarming party with Chen An.
"We need to find someone to choose an auspicious date, and we're not looking for anyone else, we're looking for that master."
As soon as Cheng Yue mentioned it, Chen An knew who it was and immediately agreed, "Okay!"
To be honest, they didn't even know the master's name, especially him, who had received some guidance from the master and clearly felt he had to ask.
"It's just in time for everyone to collect their medicinal herbs. Let's collect them tomorrow, and then head out early the day after tomorrow. We'll pick an auspicious day and also visit the dock. We'll ask my brother and sister-in-law to tell our parents that they all need to come to the housewarming party!"
As for my second uncle, third uncle, and maternal uncle, once my parents found out, they found out too.
Chen An nodded in agreement, "Okay, it's perfect for my parents to stay here for a couple of days."
Cheng Yue smiled and said, "I'm afraid that's not possible now. They definitely won't want to waste a single day gathering medicinal herbs. Let's wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival or the New Year, and then we can spend it together."
She knew Cheng's father and Wu's character best; when it came to making money, they would throw themselves into it headfirst and wouldn't listen to anyone.
She even suspected that Chen Tong and Chen Ning, those two money-grubbers, had inherited it from a generation before.
Chen An thought about it and agreed, "Okay!"
It's fine if you don't stay here for now. The house is right here, and there are plenty of rooms. You can stay whenever you want.
In short, unlike before, there's nowhere to stay when you come.
Then Cheng Yue asked, "By the way, what about the dishes for the housewarming banquet?"
She had participated in modern housewarming parties before, but those events were definitely not comparable to modern ones.
Chen An said, "Moving a house is all about creating a lively and festive atmosphere, adding some life to the house. What we eat is secondary."
The main reason is that villagers don't care about this; when someone moves into a new house, they always eat a big stew.
After all, the villagers were poor; the gift money was only a penny or two, and nobody wanted to lose money on a banquet.
A big stew, with both meat and vegetables, is convenient and saves money.
Cheng Yue agreed, it wasn't that they didn't care about appearances, it was mainly a matter of money.
However, "I'm getting tired of eating stews while we're building houses. How about we make some stir-fries? We just can't display them too nicely, otherwise it'll be awkward when someone holds a housewarming party later."
Chen An nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Well, everyone made money this time and is very grateful to you, so they probably won't give us a penny or two as a gift. We can't skimp on the food, so we have to make it a good meal."
He said this based on his understanding of the villagers, not because he wanted to take advantage of them.
Everyone is very honest, especially since they made money with Cheng Yue's help and definitely wanted to give back. There's no better occasion than this housewarming party.
After all, a housewarming banquet has to be held, and at this time, it's inevitable to accept monetary gifts.
Chen An's consideration was thorough, and Cheng Yue also agreed that it made sense.
After discussing it, the two decided to serve three meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup, which would be about six dishes, just a little more in quantity.
...
The next day, Cheng Yue began collecting medicinal herbs, and the whole village cheered again, but this time the amount of herbs collected was obviously less than last time.
After all, so many people are harvesting them, and medicinal herbs don't grow overnight; each harvest reduces the quantity.
Even so, everyone is very content. This kind of life is worlds apart from what it used to be.
The next day, Cheng Yue went to the county town with Chen An. This time, the village head refused to come along, and the other villagers also said there was no need to go.
Since no one else was going, Cheng Yue didn't force them. Everyone already knew the price, so it wouldn't matter if they didn't go.
The two first delivered the goods to the shop, then went straight to Wanhetang to sell the medicinal herbs before going to the master to choose an auspicious date.
The master was still in the same alley, still unkempt, still squinting and resting with his eyes closed.
Cheng Yue and Chen An exchanged a glance; they still looked familiar!
As the two approached, the master spoke first, as always, "June 20th is an auspicious day for moving."
Cheng Yue was dumbfounded. It was that familiar taste again, with four words popping out!
Chen An asked, puzzled, "Master, how did you know what we were asking? No, how did you know it was us?"
The master rolled his eyes slightly. "I'm not blind. I can see for myself. Last time we started construction, and this time we're moving. Do I even need to think about it?"
Cheng Yue covered her mouth and coughed lightly, "Thank you, Master. How much will you accept?"
Last time you said you paid but didn't want it, you can't just not want it again this time, right? Master isn't doing charity.
The master then slowly opened one eye. "I don't want the money. I'll go eat instead, how about that?"
Cheng Yue would never refuse a meal without asking for money. Besides, this master seemed quite capable, so it would be good to make his acquaintance. There was no harm in it!
He immediately replied happily, "Of course! We would be extremely honored if you could come, Master. Your presence would surely bring great honor to our humble abode!"
The master's lips twitched slightly, "..."
There's no need for such flattery. If I hadn't tried your braised dishes and seen how good your skills are, I wouldn't have gone...
Chen An bowed and asked, "May I ask how you are addressed, Master?"
"Xuanhuai Daoren".
Cheng Yue thought to herself, "So he's a Taoist priest, studying the ultimate truth of the universe—metaphysics?"
However, she didn't understand these mystical things; after all, her own time travel was quite mysterious...
Chen An bowed again, and was about to tell him the location when Xuanhuai Daoist raised his hand and said, "I know the old house!"
This time, Chen An wasn't puzzled at all, since the master had known before that this location was a feng shui treasure land as he had described.
After leaving Xuanhuai Daoren's place, Cheng Yue and Chen An went to the braised food shop. The date was set, and they had a day off to go home together to celebrate the housewarming.
Then they went to the town's dock to find Cheng Yang and Liu Shi. When they heard that the house was finished, they were overjoyed and promised to help as soon as possible, and to suspend the stall for a day!
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