Chapter 476 The Craftsman Who Refused to Help
"Miss Su, I am here to protect you on the orders of the host. Since you are not leaving, how can I go back alone?"
Jiang Baipin watched his brothers ride away on horseback, then turned back to glance at Su Qianqian and replied.
"Not leaving?" Qin Hanzhang turned to look at Su Qianqian.
"Grandma, aunt, let's go take a look at the wooden house. Let's clean it up and live there temporarily. And we can also take a look at the place I found to build a house."
Su Qianqian held Madam Qin's arm and walked slowly.
"Qianqian, don't you want to..." Madam Qin was surprised and moved.
"Grandma, if I go back to Xijing now, I'm afraid I won't survive more than three days. I'd better hide for now." Su Qianqian said with a smile, squinting her eyes.
Everyone followed Qin Hanyue towards the east of the city, and Su Qianqian stopped when they passed by the open space.
"This is where the people of Muchuan wanted to build a shrine for my grandfather. Although my grandfather stopped them, no one has used this land since then."
"And the wood is also prepared by the people for the construction of the ancestral hall. I would like to ask County Magistrate Zhou for permission to build a courtyard with shops in front and houses in the back. If we speed up the construction, we will be able to move in before the twelfth lunar month."
Su Qianqian described her blueprint with great confidence.
"Okay, I'll do it." After listening to what Su Qianqian said, Qin Hanzhang immediately took the initiative to take on the task.
Su Qianqian didn't hesitate. The group went out of the east city gate and walked for less than quarter of an hour before arriving at the foot of the mountain. A row of wooden houses appeared in the shade of the trees.
The wooden house has six main rooms, a kitchen, and a small side building. Although it is very old, the original wood color has been eroded by wind and rain without any trace, making it look more simple and heavy.
The second and third masters went in first and came out not long after, with happy expressions on their faces:
"This wooden house is really nice. We just need to clean it up and buy some bedding, firewood, rice, oil, salt, pots and pans, and we can start living."
Qin Shisan took the secret guards into the wooden house to clean up. Su Zi and Su Mu also got some water to wipe the place. The cook found the kitchen by herself. Fortunately, the stove was still intact.
The others divided the work among themselves. Su Qianqian told them what they wanted to buy, Qin Hanjue was responsible for recording, and then handed it over to Qin Hanjin and Zhuang Yan to buy.
Qin Hanzhang took Qin Hanyue back to the county government office. In just half an hour, they got the land deed and handed it to Su Qianqian.
"What do you want me to do?" Su Qianqian was puzzled holding the title deed.
"It was you who wanted that piece of land. The land tax has been paid, and the timber can also be used. I gave Lord Zhou enough silver to buy the timber." Qin Hanzhang's voice was filled with embarrassment.
The Qin family members pretended not to hear and were busy looking for things to do.
"Then I'll keep it first. I'll also ask someone to find the innkeeper and ask him to find craftsmen to start the work as soon as possible." Su Qianqian put away the deed and ignored Qin Hanzhang.
It was very convenient to collect firewood at the foot of the mountain. He came back with a bundle of firewood. There was a little sweat on her face, but her eyes were full of joy.
Qin Hanzhang took Qin Hanyue to go hunting again. They came back around noon with two pheasants hunted. The second and third ladies picked up some mushrooms.
After boiling water, the cook killed and plucked the chicken, and cooked a pot of pheasant stewed with mushrooms. She also blanched the wild vegetables picked by He and made a refreshing salad.
At this time, the wooden house had been cleaned up and the things they had bought had been moved in. Although it was a bit simple, it was no problem to live in. Everyone took a break and sat down to eat.
"Miss Su! Is Miss Su here?" someone outside called anxiously.
Qin Hanzhang was the first to recognize it: "It's the innkeeper."
Su Qianqian nodded: "He must be here to tell the craftsman about this. I'll go out and take a look."
Su Qianqian got up and went out, Jiang Baipin followed her out, Qin Hanzhang put down his chopsticks and also walked out of the wooden house.
The innkeeper was so anxious that he was sweating all over. He raised his sleeve to wipe it and saw that Su Qianqian was so ashamed that she couldn't raise her head.
"Miss Su, I am not doing my job well. I made a big promise but couldn't do it. The craftsman I am looking for...he refused to come!" The innkeeper stamped his feet in anxiety.
"Why doesn't he want to come? You said we would pay him a lot of money."
Su Qianqian understood that the craftsman the innkeeper was talking about was not a real craftsman, but rather someone similar to a construction engineer. She really needed such a person. After all, she knew nothing about construction.
"I had never said it originally, but after being rejected, I had to tell you what the lady meant. But the craftsman had helped the people of Muchuan before, but this time he refused to come no matter what."
The innkeeper rubbed his hands in embarrassment. He had wanted to do something for the Qin family, but he ended up losing face.
"It's okay. It must be that the craftsman is in trouble. Please tell us where the craftsman lives and we will go to invite him in person."
The shopkeeper quickly told an address, and Qin Hanjue wrote it down. The shopkeeper then breathed a sigh of relief and left.
In the evening, they cleaned up the delicate places and assigned rooms to everyone. Everyone had to squeeze into one room. Su Qianqian, Zhuang Yan and He Shi lived in the same room. There were many mosquitoes near the mountain at night, so Zhuang Yan distributed mosquito repellent incense to each room.
No one thought much after a tiring day. Having gotten used to the hard work on the road, they found the wooden house very comfortable. Even the simple bed like a plank bunk bed did not feel uncomfortable. After washing up, they all went to bed early.
The next day, Su Qianqian got up and had breakfast. She asked Su Zi to pack the clothes she brought, and then took Su Mu and Jiang Baipin out.
The craftsman lived in the south of the city. After entering the east gate and walking south, you will find a neat courtyard. The bamboo wall is very low and you can see into the courtyard at a glance. There is a bamboo sign with the word "Jiang" hung on the door.
This courtyard is obviously different from other courtyards. Although it is simple, it is carefully designed everywhere. However, when you look closely, there is no sense of artificiality.
Su Mu knocked on the door, and soon a woman in her twenties opened the door: "Who are you looking for?"
"Excuse me, is Mr. Jiang at home? We have something urgent to discuss with you, so we are taking the liberty of visiting you." Su Qianqian said respectfully.
"Which Mr. Jiang do you want? If you're looking for my father, he went out to have tea with others early in the morning and I don't know when he will be back." The girl looked at the three of them and said.
"Drinking tea? Does your father like drinking tea very much?" Su Qianqian asked.
"Of course I like it. Father can give up any food he wants, but he cannot give up this tea." The girl replied in a crisp voice.
"In that case, please tell your father that I have an important matter to ask of you. I would like to ask you to take the time to see me. I still have some 'Dianjiang Lips' in my hand. I would like you to taste them."
After Su Qianqian finished speaking, she bowed to the girl, said goodbye and left.
The next day, Su Qianqian deliberately went there late. From a distance, she saw a man in a brown robe standing outside the gate of the courtyard, looking around curiously.
As he got closer, he could see that the man was about the same age as Prime Minister Xue, with a very handsome and elegant appearance, which made him inexplicably trustworthy.
But the man stared at Su Qianqian intently until she greeted him for the third time: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Jiang?"
"That's right. May I know what this girl's name is?" the man asked seriously.
"I am Su Qianqian, and I have brought with me the rare 'Dianjiangchun'. I would like to ask you to taste it, sir." Su Qianqian took the small jar of tea from Su Mu.
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