Wang Shuantou said, "That depends on what kind of wood you use. Good wood will naturally be more expensive."
"For ordinary households, the cheapest wood is cedar. I recommend ash, which is harder, but more expensive than cedar."
Old Man Ye said, "For the second batch, let's use ordinary Manchurian ash! What about water chestnut?"
As he spoke, he looked at Ye Caiping.
Ye Caiping knew about timber; there was plenty available, no matter how expensive.
But her wallet wouldn't allow it, and she didn't want to be too flashy. Besides, she wasn't particular about furniture; as long as it was sturdy and looked good, that was enough.
He then said, "I also use ash wood; it's sturdy and durable."
Wang Shuantou immediately started clicking away on the abacus, and after a while, he said:
“My eldest nephew will get 12 taels. My eldest niece will get 31 taels and 5 mace.”
Ye Erquan took a light breath, and in one go, he had 12 liang (approximately 600 grams)!
But he made quite a lot of things, including 12 doors, 10 windows, and a whole set of tables and chairs in the hall—a large dining table, 10 round stools, armchairs for entertaining guests, and a low coffee table.
There are also two sets of beds and cabinets in the room.
Wang Shuantou said, "It's already a very good deal. We can't cut down any wood suitable for making furniture on the mountain, so we have to buy it all. After that, we still need to wax it and cover the windows with oiled paper. We're just making a profit on the labor costs."
"If you want something cheaper, choose cedar wood. Don't use it for window coverings; make it with all-wood panels. That will save you about three or four ounces."
Old Man Ye glanced at Ye Erquan and said, "I'll take the ash wood ones. They're sturdier. The windows also need to be covered with oiled paper, otherwise no light will get in."
Now their window is just a wooden board; they have to prop it up with sticks to let in some air, and it doesn't look good either.
The house with its blue bricks and tiled roof has already been built; there's no need to choose inferior wood and windows just to save a few ounces. These are major items that we'll use for a lifetime, so we can't skimp on them.
Ye Erquan nodded in agreement.
Ye Caiping gave 5 taels of silver as a deposit, and Ye Erquan gave 2 taels.
The group chatted for a while longer before leaving.
Ye Erquan looked worried the whole way.
Old Man Ye took out five taels and stuffed them into Ye Erquan's hand: "Here, this is what your parents promised to give you."
Ye Erquan took the money, his eyes slightly red: "Thank you, Father and Mother."
"Second brother, do you have enough money? If not, I have more here," Ye Caiping said.
"No need, that's enough."
He was almost out of money; buying bricks, tiles, and limestone all cost money. Now, with his parents' help, after paying the remaining balance on the furniture, he would still have a couple of taels left.
The younger sister has already helped him enough. Those helpers eat only one meal a day, and they've spent five or six taels of silver on them during this time.
Ye Daquan said, "Little sister, we were just talking about tuition fees. Uncle Wang said it would be 400 coins. Why do we have to give 500 coins?"
Ye Caiping was speechless: "We're not just buying things and then leaving without a care in the world."
"Just because they're being modest doesn't mean we have to be so rude! Do we even want them to teach Yong'er anything?"
Once Ye Daquan understood, he scratched his head and grinned foolishly.
Ye Caiping then asked Old Lady Ye, "Mother, has the date for raising the roof beam been set yet?"
"I'm planning to consult a fortune teller tomorrow," said Grandma Ye.
"Then let's go ask together and try to choose the same day for me and my second brother to raise the roof beam, so we can hold the roof beam raising banquet together."
The house-raising ceremony is a feast for the workers. It's more convenient to hold the ceremony on the same day for both of them, and it also gives Ye Er the whole province's money.
Ye Erquan listened and gave Ye Caiping a grateful look.
The group returned home.
When Mr. Wei heard that so much money had been spent just on the doors, windows, and furniture, he felt a wave of dizziness.
Upon learning that Ye Yong had successfully become an apprentice, Madam Wei was very envious: "Yong'er is truly capable. There are still a few rooms in our house that don't have furniture, and we'll be counting on you, Yong'er, for them."
Ye Yong smiled and said, "Okay."
Mrs. Du rushed over: "Don't we need the materials?"
Mrs. Wei said, "We will prepare the wood when the time comes. Yong'er can practice on our wood when he wants to."
"As long as my aunt doesn't think I made it ugly, that's fine."
"No problem, no problem." This way we can save a lot on labor costs.
After dinner, Ye Caiping took out a bag of money: "Tomorrow is December, let's pay the workers in advance."
As he spoke, he gave two taels each to Madam Du and Madam Wei.
Du was stunned for a moment: "Your elder brother and I each pay 30 coins a day, which adds up to only 1.8 taels a month?"
"The remaining 200 coins are a bonus, 100 coins each."
Du and Wei were pleasantly surprised. Ye Daquan said, "My little sister has already spent a lot of money building the house, why are you giving her more?"
"Don't worry, I can afford it. If you do a good job, you'll naturally get a reward," Ye Caiping said with a smile.
Du looked at Ye Caiping with starry eyes: "Little sister is right, hehe, I will definitely work harder in the future."
"good."
After the meal, Ye Caiping went to see Ye Bajin and Ye Sanquan again, and in addition to their wages, she gave each of them an extra 100 coins as a bonus.
Ye Bajin laughed: "This monthly settlement is really good. Before, we were paid daily with no bonus. Now we get a monthly settlement."
The next day, Ye Caiping, Old Lady Ye, and Madam Du went out together.
They went to the town to find a fortune teller to choose a date for the roof beam raising ceremony, and finally picked the 6th day of the 12th lunar month.
Then, on the 8th of December, Ye Yong was asked to become an apprentice.
In addition, Du also asked a fortune teller to choose a wedding date for Ye Yong, and the wedding date was finally set for February 12th of next spring.
When I got home, the ceramic and stone slabs for making the outhouse had arrived.
Under Ye Caiping's supervision and guidance, Ye Erquan, Ye Sanquan, and Zhao Tieniu learned as they went along.
Five days later, the outhouse was finally finished.
Ye Caiping tested the flushing function, and it worked very well, a great success!
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