Chapter 93: Building a New House (Part 1) [VIP]
Three days later.
While Lu Xiufang was having dinner in her yard, she received a letter from Chen Yao.
Chen Yao stated frankly in the letter that she was willing to split the velvet flower business with her 40% to 60%.
"Mrs. Shen has quite a big appetite." Lu Xiufang's husband couldn't help but make a suggestion when he heard his wife reading the letter halfway.
"This stuff still relies on the people in your embroidery building to run around and sell it. She just sits back and reaps the profits and takes 40%. In my opinion, 30% is enough for her."
However, Lu Xiufang did not listen to her husband. As an outsider, how could he know the ins and outs of the women's business? After reading the letter, he put it in his arms and continued to eat.
The 40%/60% ratio proposed by Chen Yao meant that the embroidery building would get 40% of the profit, which was not what her husband had in mind.
A few days ago, when Huang Songbai and the other two came to deliver raw silk, she specifically asked about it. They were going to Jiangnan with the tea merchants to sell furs and velvet flowers.
Brother Xiaotian had a long-term vision. He did not choose to leave the velvet flowers in her embroidery building to sell, but chose to take them to Jiangnan to try his luck.
Jiangnan is even richer than Fang County. It is said that there is gold everywhere there.
If this velvet flower sells well, her traction building will be the only one of its kind in Baihe Town.
Besides, she had seen the quality and style of the velvet flowers with her own eyes, so Lu Xiufang felt that this business was feasible. Even if the embroidery shop only made a 40% profit, it would still make a lot of money.
After finishing her meal with her husband, Lu Xiufang hurried back to the embroidery building to write a letter to Chen Yao, and asked Li Niang to prepare a counter specifically for her to put up when Chen Yao sent her velvet flowers in the future.
It drizzled for five days before it cleared up.
After nightfall, Huang Mei's mother and son and Miao's mother and son helped the Shen family pack up.
If you don’t move, you won’t know that the family has stored so much food and bought so many things.
Shen Qingshan looked at those old items and was reluctant to throw any of them away. Huang Xing couldn't persuade him and could only use some means to force him to throw them away.
Yang Wenying put her and A Yao's clothes on the ox cart in the yard. When she turned around, she saw Huang Dongsheng attacking the chickens she raised. The chickens were chased by him and flew around the chicken coop with a clucking sound, but he didn't catch any of them.
"You're so stupid! How come you can't even catch a chicken now?" Yang Wenying rolled up her sleeves and strode towards the chicken coop.
Huang Dongsheng was pushed out of the chicken coop by Yang Wenying. There were still a few feathers stuck in his hair. He was panting with exhaustion: "Wenying, these chickens you raise are simply spirits. They are too difficult to catch."
Especially the big rooster. Every time he caught it, he would wait for the right opportunity, but it would easily slip away. Look at its smug and proud appearance, if you don’t know it, you would think it is the general among chickens.
As Yang Wenying kept calling "cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo", the leading rooster immediately came over with the hens and chicks, and asked Yang Wenying for food.
Yang Wenying took the opportunity to grab the rooster's neck and turned around by its feet.
"Wenying is awesome. You've done what the book says: Capture the leader first." Huang Dongsheng couldn't help but give her a thumbs up.
Yang Wenying held up the rooster and rolled her eyes at Huang Dongsheng: "What are you looking at? Hand me the cage quickly."
Soon, the two of them worked together to catch all the chickens in the chicken coop.
After Shen Qingshan, Yang Jizong and Tian Baolai moved the grain and wooden boxes from their home, they counted the quantity again, and then asked Tian Baolai to deliver the things to his third brother's house first.
Seeing Yang Jizong driving an ox cart closely behind, Chen Yao also wanted to go with him to her uncle's house to help. However, before she could climb onto the ox cart and sit with him, Yang Jizong leaned over to stop her.
"Ayao, you stay at home. The three of us can take care of the unloading." Yang Jizong was wearing shorts, and his front and back were wet with sweat.
Chen Yao felt a little sorry for him. Seeing that her cousin had already come over, she could only whisper, "Then unload the food slowly, don't hurt your waist."
"I know." After Huang Dongsheng got on the ox cart, Yang Jizong drove the ox cart loaded with large and small bags to his home.
After everything was packed up, the elders felt a little melancholy when they looked at the empty places, and the scenes of their past gatherings at the Shen family came to mind vividly.
The three members of the Shen family have lived in this house for decades. It is impossible to say that they have no feelings for it.
No matter how dilapidated the house is, it is still their home.
"Sister, my third sister-in-law must be very tired. Have some water and rest in the yard for a while." Huang Xing poured a bowl of cold tea for everyone.
"By the time your house is built, they should be back from Jiangnan." Huang Mei took a sip of tea and looked into the distance.
"That's for sure. Zi'an has asked Carpenter Hong. We have all the wood, stone, and bricks and tiles. The transportation won't take long, and we have enough manpower. As long as the weather is good, the house can be built in three months at most."
"Then you'll be sleeping in the courtyard for the next three months. Isn't that inappropriate?" Miao glanced at the courtyard. "It doesn't matter if they're men. You and Ayao Wenying should stay at my and my eldest sister's house."
"Okay, I'll definitely come and stay here later." Huang Xing didn't refuse.
When Yang Jizong and the other two finished unloading the goods and returned to Shen's house, Huang Mei and Miao were gone.
Come to Shen's house to help cook.
The next day, just after daybreak, everyone in the family got up one after another, carried the wooden beds in each room outside, rolled up the reed mats on the beds, and went to wash up and have breakfast.
Yang Jili, as for the school, he had already assigned homework to the students and would check on them regularly.
As for Zhao Xiaofu and other students, Yang Jizong asked them to do it, and would explain any questions they had when they arose.
There was no other way, he had to stay at home and supervise the construction with Shen Qingshan. He designed the new house of the Shen family himself. If there were any problems, he could discover them in time and communicate with Carpenter Hong.
The first batch of bricks and tiles had already been pulled back by Yang Jizong and Shen Qingshan in an ox cart, and the remaining three batches of bricks and tiles were still being produced.
After being washed by rain, these green bricks and black tiles became even cleaner and shinier, and were neatly stacked in a corner of the yard.
"Ayao, I'll pick all the vegetables from this field for you. I'll help you plant more when we open up a vegetable patch later."
"Pick them, mother. They were planted for everyone to eat."
At this time, the eight strong men found by Huang Mei and the three men from Xiahe Village also arrived at the Shen family. Together with the two apprentices brought by Carpenter Hong, there were enough people to build the new house.
After Carpenter Hong suggested, they also had to find a carpenter to work with him to make doors and windows.
As for the wages, they were all agreed upon privately. Except for Carpenter Hong who received 500 coins a month, everyone else received 8 coins a day, plus a lunch included.
In the Shen family yard.
Shen Qingshan and the fellow villagers who came to help him said that everything should be arranged according to Master Hong's arrangements.
Hong Lu opened his bag and took out tools from it. Then he took two apprentices to measure the Shen family's old house from front to back.
"If we build according to your blueprints, we'll need to expand further. Can the wasteland behind be under your name?"
Chen Yao took out the land deed from her bosom and showed it to him: "Master Hong, don't worry, all the formalities are complete. Can you see if there is anything else missing?"
"Master, we're still short of glutinous rice mortar." Carpenter Hong's apprentice inspected the stones, bricks, tiles, and wood in the yard, but didn't see any glutinous rice mortar.
"Zi'an, what is glutinous rice mortar?" Everyone in the yard looked at Yang Jizong, the most knowledgeable person in the family.
The so-called glutinous rice mortar is lime, glutinous rice paste, tung oil, sand and gravel mixed together and used for building walls.
Hong Lu nodded to indicate that he was right, and asked the Shen family to go to the city to buy materials. As for how to mix them, he and his two apprentices were left to it.
"I'll go to the city to buy it, Zi'an, you stay at home." Shen Qingshan felt that it was better for Yang Jizon to stay at home than for him.
But Chen Yao didn't think so: "Dad, Zi'an and I will drive the ox cart of my uncle to buy some. He knows what to buy. We are running out of fresh pork at home, so I will go and buy some more meat. You can stay at home."
"Okay, then you go early and come back early." Shen Qingshan stopped hesitating and asked Carpenter Hong what he wanted them to do next?
"First, tear down all the old houses, and then you can dig the grooves according to my measurements." As soon as Carpenter Hong finished speaking, no one in the yard dared to move.
It was not until Shen Qingshan gave the order that everyone dared to pick up the tools in their hands and tear down the house.
When the ox cart drove out of the country road, Chen Yao saw that her mule shed and chicken coop had been demolished. Yang Wenying, with red eyes, followed the aunts to pick and wash vegetables.
"Zi'an, why don't we take Wenying with us." Chen Yao adjusted the sunshade hat on her head and picked up the palm-leaf fan to fan the two of them.
Yang Jizong held the reins and looked ahead, saying seriously, "No, there's no room for her in the car."
How could Yang Wenying not be able to take the empty space in the rear panel car? I'm afraid someone is unwilling to do so.
Chen Yao leaned forward slightly to get in front of his eyes, but before she could say anything funny, Yang Jizong took the opportunity to kiss her.
"You, you're not afraid of being seen." Chen Yao covered her face with a palm-leaf fan, looked around and found that there was no one on the country road.
The ox cart has already stepped onto the stone bridge and left Xiahe Village.
"So what if someone sees you marrying me personally?"
Chen Yao poked his waist with a fan and laughed angrily: "Slick mouth!"
After riding an ox cart into the city, the two bought all the ingredients for making glutinous rice mortar, and then went to the butcher's shop to buy ten pounds of fresh pork belly before returning home.
The old house had been completely demolished, leaving only bare ground. The thatched roof had been torn to pieces, and the kitchen had become open-air.
I saw his father and his uncles who were helping him dig the groove together.
When Shen Qingshan saw the ox cart returning to the village, he hurriedly asked Yang Jizong to unload the things quickly, as Master Hong and his apprentice were waiting to use them.
Hong Lu looked at the sacks of materials on the ox cart, and without saying a word, asked his apprentice to cook the glutinous rice paste first.
One of the large iron pots in the house was requisitioned, so Huang Xing could only use the other pot to cook. She had to go to her third brother's wife's house to steam the rice, which would then be brought back.
There are many men in the family, so the job of steaming rice is given to Chen Yao and Yang Wenying.
Chen Yao handed the meat she bought to her mother, and then went to her aunt's house with Wenying to steam rice.
"Ayao, after steaming the rice, we have to go to your aunt's house to feed the chickens. We can't let them starve." Otherwise, they will not lay eggs.
"Well, I'll do as you say."
The steamed rice was placed in a large wooden basin, and Yang Jizong pulled it home on an ox cart.
Everyone looked at the lunch prepared by the Shen family. The greasy dishes were even more sumptuous than those during the Chinese New Year, so they worked harder in the afternoon.
The weather was hot, so the Shen family also prepared cold tea and fruits for everyone, so that they could eat and drink at any time whenever they were hungry or thirsty.
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