The family chatted for a while longer, and as it grew darker, Cheng Yue suggested leaving. Wu sighed, "Our house is too small. Otherwise, you could all stay overnight."
Cheng Yue linked arms with her mother, her face full of affection: "Brother and sister-in-law, haven't you made money? Building a big new house is easy enough, right? Just remember to leave us two rooms when you get there!"
Liu smiled gently, "What my little sister says is true. This house will be completed by next year at the latest, and we'll definitely save it for you!"
They have money, and besides Cheng Jun's tuition, they'll definitely use the rest to build a house. They also need to arrange marriages for their two children!
Cheng Yue nodded and said, "We plan to build the house in the next two months, a bigger brick house."
Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu were overjoyed. A brick house! They never dared to dream of such a thing before.
Then he asked, "Then we'll need to hire a master chef. Do you know anyone like that?"
Chen An chimed in, "Mom and Dad, I've built houses for people before and know several master craftsmen in town. We'll go ask them tomorrow if they have time, and we can finalize things in the next couple of days."
He and A-Yue had already discussed it. Lai Xinglaiwang had already gotten the hang of things at the shop, so after the holiday he could stay home and train his apprentices while also making furniture.
Besides making pastries and delivering goods to the county town, A-Yue spends the rest of her time focusing on building the house.
Mr. Cheng said, "We've found the head chef, so let's find the laborers in the village. It's the off-season for farming, so it'll be easy to find people."
If we lived nearby and didn't need to set up a stall, we could have gone to help out, but it looks like that's not going to happen now.
Cheng Yue laughed and said, "You guys just focus on making money. There are plenty of people to build houses, so there's no need for you to work so hard."
Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu laughed, "We're afraid we won't have time to work, so we can only wait until you've finished building it and go see it!"
Cheng Yue straightened up and said firmly, "What's the point of just looking? Once it's built, we'll bring you here to stay for a few days."
Madam Wu glared at her with a smile, "What are you saying? What kind of family members stay at a married girl's house? People will laugh at you to death!"
"Let whoever wants to laugh laugh! What business is it of theirs if I'm filial to my parents?"
Chen An chimed in, "A-Yue is right. Nobody dares to say anything. We'll keep rooms for Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister-in-law, Xiao Jun, and Xiao Feng. You can stay as long as you want!"
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely go!"
Mr. Cheng and Mrs. Wu were quite pleased to hear this. Their daughter didn't say anything, but their son-in-law agreed with her, which meant that their daughter was doing well and could make the decisions for the family!
Cheng Yang and Liu Shi laughed too. How could they not be happy when their younger sister's husband was thinking of them?
Cheng Feng, however, gaped and exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie and Uncle, how big of a house are you going to build?"
My aunt and uncle's family of five, and they even reserved a room for them. That must be at least six or seven rooms. And if you add up all the other rooms, how big is that?
Cheng Yue tapped Cheng Feng on the head and laughed, "You'll see when you get there!"
Madam Wu smiled indulgently, "Stop keeping me in suspense. It's getting late, you should head back quickly. I'm worried about you if it gets dark!"
"Okay, we'll be going now. We'll come pick you up when the house is finished!"
"Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt, Cousin Feng, we're leaving now!"
Cheng Yue waved to the children, Chen An raised the reins, and the family drove the oxcart home.
The Cheng family stood at the door for a while before going back inside.
That's great! They've all made money, and my daughter's family is building a house. Life is getting better and better!
...
The next day.
Because they had agreed to go to town to find a master craftsman to build a house, Chen Ancheng and Yue set off early in the morning.
At that time, the master craftsman was equivalent to a modern architect, and was also called a craftsman. He was mainly responsible for the construction and design of buildings.
Cheng Yue wanted to build a two-courtyard house. Although she had seen many houses and knew what they looked like, architecture was a very complex matter, and she only knew a little bit about it.
He knows nothing about other things, such as building materials and drainage systems, so the master craftsman has to keep an eye on things.
When it comes to houses, the sturdier the better.
The two had a clear goal. Chen An knew the master chef's address and went to visit him directly. However, both families said they were busy with work and couldn't find the time.
It wasn't until the third house that Cheng Yue and Chen An were invited inside.
The chef's surname is Ji, he is about fifty years old, looks quite serious, and has a stern expression.
Chen An went to those two places first because they were cheaper, their skills weren't bad, and they were easygoing.
Unlike Master Ji, who is typically skilled, expensive, and has a sour face.
Chen An understood this all too well; he wouldn't have come if he could find someone else.
Master Ji thought Chen An looked familiar, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "Aren't you that little carpenter? The one who built houses for me?"
Chen An answered honestly, "That's right."
Master Ji nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He had worked with many people building houses, and he didn't remember who was who.
Those who do odd jobs usually don't earn much money, and even if they build houses, they can't build them very big. Why did they choose him?
However, he was just a house builder and disdained doing the kind of work where people were treated differently based on their status. He would take any job that suited him.
"You want to build a house? How big? Where?"
Chen Andao said, "We need to build a two-courtyard house in Houshui Village."
"A two-courtyard house?" Now it was Master Ji's turn to be surprised. He remembered that Houshui Village was quite poor, so how could they afford to build a two-courtyard house?
Master Ji glanced at Chen An and Cheng Yue again and saw that their expressions were normal and their clothes were appropriate, so they probably weren't exaggerating.
"The layout of the two courtyards is similar, but people have different habits, so the internal layout is slightly different. Do you have any specific requirements? We can discuss the price after we agree on these."
Although the master craftsman had a stern face this season, he was probably a good person. He wouldn't look down on them just because he knew a lot, nor would he put on a superior attitude just because they were farmers.
Cheng Yue then slowly explained her thoughts, mainly regarding the functional division of the house; she couldn't think of anything else.
Master Ji listened and nodded. Although she was a woman, she was clear-headed and knew exactly what she wanted, which was truly rare.
After Cheng Yue finished speaking, Master Ji asked again, "Will you provide the bricks, tiles, and timber yourself, or should I buy them?"
"We'll provide the timber ourselves, but we'll have to trouble Master Ji with the bricks and tiles."
They have their own timber, including the pillars and beams of the house and the furniture, so they don't need to spend money to buy it.
They weren't familiar with the places that sold bricks and tiles. Master Ji, who was in this business, must know people and could get a better price for the goods. Rather than spending more money on bricks and tiles, they might as well let Master Ji earn that money.
If you can earn some money, you can still work hard.
Of course, the main reason is that the price of bricks and tiles is very transparent. Chen An also knows Master Ji well. He has a bad face but good character. He would definitely not embezzle their money. If it were someone else, Cheng Yue would definitely have bought them herself.
Master Ji sat up straight upon hearing this. “The price of bricks and tiles is the same, two yuan for one coin. The bricks and tiles for your yard alone will cost eighty or ninety taels.”
Once the goods arrive, you can check them yourselves. If there are any discrepancies, just come to me.
He does technical work, and if he wants to go far, he has to rely on integrity; cheating and deception will never work.
“Okay!” Cheng Yue replied. This was about what Chen An had predicted. Master Ji’s words clearly showed that he was open and honest.
The three then discussed Master Ji's wages and how to hire a few helpers.
Once the matter was settled, Master Ji asked to go home with Chen An and Cheng Yue to check out the site selection. If possible, they could take the measurements and then draw up the blueprints.
Master Ji was very thoughtful, and Cheng Yue thought to herself, "I really found the right person!"
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