Opening the backyard door reveals a hot spring bubbling with hot water. The hot spring is surrounded by flowers, plants, and unusual rocks, as well as wooden clothes racks. A wall encloses the hot spring.
After locking the door, the two took out their clothes, then took off their outer garments and went inside to soak in the hot spring.
An Shuyi lay inside and said, "It's so comfortable. It's been so long since I've had such a comfortable bath. I miss modern bathtubs."
She and Huahua used to love taking baths. Their big bathtub could fit even ten people, but sadly, they can't anymore.
"There's no use in missing it, but you can have someone make a large bathtub for your room so you can take a bath." Their previous bathtubs were just plastic tubs and couldn't be used at all, so they had to be made a new one.
An Shuyi thought about it and agreed. Thinking about it more was useless; the important thing was to hurry up and make a bath tub. "Huahua, when we get back, let's find a carpenter to make a few more."
This is a bathing area after all, and it's impossible for several people to share one. For hygiene reasons, it's better for each person to have their own. Besides, she doesn't want anyone else to use her things, except for Huahua.
"We'll buy it when we get back. Also, we need to put some water pipes in the carriage when we go back. We'll bury them tonight and clean them up afterwards. We'll come back to buy things tomorrow and move them in tonight."
For over a year, she endured harsh conditions and had nowhere to sleep. Now that the house is built, she can't wait to move in.
After the two had finished soaking, they changed into clean clothes, put their old ones in the warehouse, and drove away in their carriage. As they left, they could still see the tenants working in the fields.
Upon arriving in Jinnan City, the two went to buy bath tubs, but none were as big as theirs, so they had to be made to order. Moreover, since they ordered a lot, they had to wait several days to pick them up. After paying the deposit, the two left. On the way, Xia Hua put water pipes into the carriage until it was half full before she came out and sat outside the carriage.
When they returned to the village, the villagers of Xinglin Village and Master Yang and his group had already left. After getting off the carriage, the two told everyone not to unload the things inside, but to eat first, and then to clean the house. The workshop work could be done tomorrow.
It's still light out, so it's a bit early to eat. But once things get busy, there won't be time to eat, and I can't go hungry, so I'll finish eating early to get back to work.
After finishing their meal, An Shuyi called her father outside. Once she was sure no one was around, she said, "Dad, you should know who Li Xiao is, right?"
Seeing that An's father nodded, she continued, "Later I'll take the others to install the water pipes. You just keep an eye on Li Xiao and don't let him leave the cafeteria." An's mother and sister-in-law are also busy these days, either making braised meat or cooking.
Brother An no longer needs to be a teacher; he works in the Xuan paper workshop. An Shuyi suggested that he go to Jinnan City to see if he could become a teacher again, but he refused, saying that he didn't particularly like being a teacher. He was happy with making Xuan paper now, as it not only brought in more money but also gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
An Shuyi didn't say anything more. Huai Jin wasn't working in the workshop; he was reading every day. He was currently only a student and was busy taking the exam to become a scholar. Next year would be the autumn provincial examination, which was held every three years. If he couldn't take the exam, he would have to wait another three years. Meanwhile, Huai Xu and the other children from the village had already been sent to the academy.
An's father was not idle either. He did not work in the workshop, but instead worked with the elders in the clan to make furniture. Although he did not know how at first, he learned well later and was happy every day.
Looking around, An's father said, "Shuyi, why did you bring this second prince here? Is he going to be our future backer? Isn't he a bit useless?"
He's a prince, after all, yet he doesn't even have a single subordinate. Can someone like that be their patron? Although he has Shuyi and Xia Shi now, and isn't as worried as before, his eldest grandson is taking exams, and he can't sleep well every night, fearing the same fate as in his previous life.
"Father, Hua Hua and I will handle these matters. Don't worry. We are still observing whether this Second Prince is useful. Just keep an eye on him, and make sure he doesn't see certain things."
Father An nodded, “Don’t worry, I will take good care of him. He’s just lame and can’t go anywhere. It’ll be easy to keep an eye on him.”
"Then leave it to Dad, I'll get busy!" He then led the people to move the water pipes.
"Wood, we'll go install the water pipes. You take the rest of the people and clean the house thoroughly. Clean everything carefully, wipe down any areas that need wiping, and clean the floors completely, making sure there's no dust."
She brought only men with her; the women and children were all there to clean the house.
Village Chief Lin nodded, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I'll make sure they clean it up properly."
An Shuyi and Xia Hua felt relieved and went to install the water pipes. They started burying them at the pool. One person was responsible for installing the water pipes on the pool, while the others started digging. Several other people were assigned to bury the pipes. They buried two water pipes, and when they got to the houses, they split them into four. When they got to each village, they reinstalled one pipe and pulled it into the house.
To avoid being discovered, the water pipes were installed in the backyard and then led into the kitchen, where a small water tank had been built. The water pipes were placed inside the tank, and the pipes were turned on only when needed. The tank was also covered with something.
If there's a lot of water in the tank, the water pipe will still be submerged and no one will see it.
By the time all the water pipes were installed, it was already midnight. However, the houses were not yet cleaned. The clansmen who installed the water pipes went to clean the rooms. There were four rows of houses. The front row and the back row had seven houses, while the two middle rows had only six houses. This was because there was an open space between the two rows of houses, which would be converted into a garden.
The previously agreed-upon twenty-five houses have become twenty-six, because An Shuyi and Xia Hua live in one house, not with their son and daughter-in-law. This is because they want their own space, and leaving an empty space doesn't look good.
Now the open spaces around the houses have also been planted with crops. Village Chief Lin said that in the future, when the population grows and people want to build houses, they can buy open spaces to build on. The land now cannot be wasted.
Moreover, every family now has a two-courtyard house, so it's impossible that there aren't enough rooms. If there aren't enough in the future, we'll deal with that later.
By the time everything was cleaned up, it was already past 3 AM. An Shuyi told everyone to go to sleep quickly, otherwise they would have to get busy again at dawn. So everyone went back to the workshop, found a place to sleep, covered themselves with their clothes, and went to bed.
When it got light, the clansmen went to work in the workshop. An Shuyi instructed a few people in charge of registration to check the accounts when they had time today. They would move into the house tonight and then distribute the silver.
Especially Wenqing, who had been the source of funds for building houses in the village during this period. The amount of money needed to be calculated, and Changwu also needed to calculate his share, separating the cost of food from the cost of braised meat.
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