CHAPTER 100: CHAPTER 88: BUILDING THE HOUSE AND ALL THAT COMES WITH IT

The Xiao family bought the old residence of the Zuo family and also purchased more than two acres of land behind the house from Old Master Zhang, and then began working on constructing the house.

Chun Nuan directly entrusted this matter to Chun Ning.

Naturally, Chun Ning sought help from Uncle Luo.

"When building a house, you must pay attention to feng shui, especially the orientation of the main gate, which is very important. It’s best to consult Mr. Xu, what do you think?"

"Okay."

Chun Ning once had doubts about Uncle Luo and Mr. Xu and felt a bit guilty, so this time he was determined to treat them hospitably.

Mr. Xu was once again invited to the village and sat in the old residence while Chun Ning quickly brought tea for him to drink.

"Did you really acquire the land behind it?"

Mr. Xu was actually quite moved, having seen many plots of land; the open space behind the house was truly a great spot.

It was said to be Old Master Zhang’s, who was a close friend of the master despite the age difference. It’s certain that Old Master Zhang knew well that the land behind was an excellent yang dwelling.

Otherwise, the Zuo family would have bought it back then if they wanted to expand.

Old Master Zhang knew it was a good yang dwelling, yet he still sold it to the Xiao family, which shows that the relationship between the two families is extraordinary.

"Old Master Zhang acted righteously by selling us the two acres behind."

"That’s your good fortune."

Mr. Xu believed that this was the accumulated virtue and blessing of the Xiao family’s ancestors that shaded their descendants.

"Before building a house, there should be an open space in front, backed by a mountain, facing water, collecting wind and gathering energy. Your house site is just like that."

Mr. Xu couldn’t stop praising this house’s foundation.

He then matched Chun Ning’s eight characters again and told Chun Ning that the main gate of the new house should be moved two feet left from the current gate location.

"The timing for breaking ground is to be in the morning..."

Mr. Xu also wrote on red paper a list of taboos and notices for Chun Ning to take note of.

A very important one was about installing the main gate.

For Mr. Xu’s hard work this time, Chun Ning gave a payment of one Silver Tael.

"Uncle Luo, there are still many things I don’t understand about house construction. Please give me some pointers."

"Hiring craftsmen to build a house has its considerations. Whether you’re providing meals or not affects this. If not, the wages should be higher." Uncle Luo naturally instructed Chun Ning without reservation.

"Uncle Luo, our family isn’t suitable for providing meals."

Besides the elder sister, everyone else is a novice at cooking. Being able to cook properly is challenging enough, let alone providing meals for a dozen or twenty workers, which is daunting indeed.

"Then don’t provide meals." Uncle Luo thought the Xiao family consisted mostly of women and children, so it really wasn’t suitable for providing meals: "Just increase the wages a bit appropriately."

"Who should we ask to help us, and will they come?"

"In our countryside, for building houses or major family events, there’s a kind of labor exchange called ’changing work,’ where no wages are required. You help me when I build, and I’ll help you when you do." Uncle Luo thought for a moment: "Since you haven’t been in our village long before moving away, many people aren’t familiar with you, so exchanging work might be difficult."

The truth is, the Xiao family consists entirely of women and children. Who would want to exchange work with their family; carrying heavy loads isn’t feasible, and feeding several mouths is a challenge.

Rural folks are simple but not foolish; they understand weighing the pros and cons.

"Then we’ll hire people, and I must trouble Uncle Luo to assist."

Chun Ning was well aware by this point that given their current standing in the village, it wouldn’t be so easy to find people willing to help.

"Chun Ning, I might have an idea." Uncle Luo suddenly remembered something.

"Uncle, please, go ahead."

"I have dozens of brothers at the wharf. During spring, there are fewer boats, and fiber-pulling work is scarce. They mostly lounge at the wharf for an entire day, hardly making any money. How about I ask them to come and help with the labor?" Uncle Luo said, "They are all robust and reliable for physical work."

Of course, their appetites are robust too, but not providing meals wouldn’t include these problems. Otherwise, it might indeed frighten their family.

"What about the craftsmen?"

"For carpentry, invite Carpenter Deng. His work is good, mostly mortise and tenon construction, and sturdy. The village girls look for him to build beds when they marry; for masonry, invite Mason Zhang. His stone foundations are well laid; for roof work, invite Roofer Zhong..."

After listening to Uncle Luo, Chun Ning understood that for each type of work, you need only hire a master craftsman. They will bring according to your family’s situation a few helpers or apprentices, and everything that needs doing will be arranged by the master craftsman.

"Finding the right master makes everything much easier, as the homeowner doesn’t have to worry about anything, and everything will be arranged properly."

Next is purchasing materials.

For Chun Ning, this was his first experience with such a big event, and he needed to buy stone, wood, and other materials.

Uncle Luo was a great mentor, taking him around comparing prices.

In fact, Old Luo was already familiar with several vendors in town, knowing which ones offered fair prices for quality materials. However, to ensure Chun Ning could learn more, he deliberately took a roundabout way to show him.

Throughout the purchasing process, Chun Ning truly learned a lot.

He couldn’t help but reflect deeply. Previously, in the Capital, as a young master, everything was given to him, managed by his grandfather outside, and his aunt inside. All he needed to do was study well.

At that time, he even felt that studying was hard work.

It turns out you don’t realize the costs of daily essentials until you’re running a household. The Silver from his elder sister was simply not enough to spend.

After all the purchasing, they had already spent eighteen taels of Silver.

Even Uncle Luo was a little worried for him.

"Chun Ning, how big is this courtyard you plan to build, you..."

Questioning whether there’s enough money isn’t appropriate because it implies doubting the family’s resources and finances.

You shouldn’t casually inquire about someone else’s financial situation.

"There are many people at home, and my elder sister has sent Silver Taels from the Capital, intending to make the house bigger because there are many siblings who are growing up. It’s not suitable for them to all live together."

Uncle Luo... My sons share a room, and my daughters share a room, is that really not suitable?

But we can’t compare with the Xiao family’s abundance.

Indeed, there’s truth to the saying: The emaciated camel is still larger than a horse.

Although the Xiao family fell on hard times, their direct granddaughter married in the Capital is constantly thinking of her family, and even the leftovers are enough to build a large house.

People, indeed, must remember not to bully a youth for being poor, as fortunes change over the decades. Don’t kick someone while they’re down just because they’re out of luck now. When they rise again, you’ll regret today’s decisions.

When Uncle Luo returned, he discussed it with his wife.

"A lone hero needs the right support; a fence needs the right stakes. Even a beggar has his brothers, let alone a prosperous family." Aunt Luo said, "If it wasn’t for their misfortune, people like us wouldn’t have stood a chance to make connections. Now it’s good to help them however we can. I’ve noticed Xiao Gang has also learned a lot recently following you. To be honest, I’m happy that the Xiao family is back in the village to rebuild their house. I think our Three-girl could learn a lot by associating more with Chun Nuan and Chunyan."