Chapter 51: Chapter 49: Preparing to Build a House Chapter 51: Chapter 49: Preparing to Build a House After dinner, the family discussed things that needed to be done next.
Xiao’er rembered that they hadn’t told Mr.
Shen and Mrs.
Shen about their plans to build a house, so she suggested, “Dad, I bought a set of clothes for Granddad and Grandma, could you give it to them and at the sa ti, let them know about our land purchase and house building plans.”
Rembering the incident that happened before dinner, and now having to go to the main bedroom, Shen Chengyao felt nervous.
This was an invitation for a scolding, “Xiao’er, why don’t you go with ?”
He felt that his daughter was much better equipped to deal with his parents than he was.
Many tis, he could only hang his head speechlessly in front of them.
“I still need to draw toy designs, so I don’t have ti.”
Shen Chengyao glanced at Jingrui, who lowered his head, pretending to count the money they made from selling rag dolls today.
Then he looked at Jinghao.
Jinghao grinned and said, “Dad, I’m not going.”
Mrs.
Liu laughed at Shen Chengyao’s appearance, “You’re just going to tell mom and dad that we’re buying land and building a house.
This is good news; why do you feel like you need company?
Others might think you’re walking into a den of wild beasts!”
Xiao’er chuckled secretly, thinking that it really was like walking into a den of beasts.
Listening to these words, Shen Chengyao felt they made sense.
Buying land and building a house was a good thing, his parents would surely be happy to see their family prospering.
What was there to be afraid of?
“Alright, I’ll go.
I was just worried that mom and dad were still angry about the incident earlier.
But they should be happy once they hear we’re building a house.”
Shen Chengyao took a bundle and went to the main bedroom, “Dad, Mom!”
“Third Son, why are you visiting so late?
Is sothing up?” Mr.
Shen was sitting on the kang bed smoking, accustod to having a smoke before bed.
Mrs.
Shen was nding soles, looking at the size of the soles, they were probably for Mr.
Shen.
Hearing Shen Chengyao’s call, she didn’t even lift her head.
“We went to County Town today to sell things and made so money.
My wife bought a set of clothes for each of you.” Shen Chengyao passed the bundle over.
Mrs.
Shen finally lifted her head, took the bundle, and asked while unwrapping it, “Made so money, huh?
How much?”
“Not much.” Shen Chengyao didn’t know the exact amount since Jingrui was still counting.
“Now that we’ve divided the family, am I not your mother anymore?
Are you afraid to tell how much money you’ve made, afraid that I’ll ask for a cut?” Mrs.
Shen’s sharp eyes were fixed on Shen Chengyao.
Under such scrutiny, Shen Chengyao stuttered, “Mom, that’s not what I ant—I–I really don’t know yet, it’s still being counted.
I just ca over to give you the clothes first.”
“Is Liu counting the money now, did she send you over with the clothes?” Mrs.
Shen seed even angrier after hearing this.
Shen Chengyao didn’t quite understand why his mother seed even angrier.
Could it be because Mrs.
Liu didn’t co with him?
“She’s feeding the baby, so I ca alone.”
“It’s not that I like criticizing you, but how did I end up with such a blockhead for a son?
Liu intentionally sent you to deliver clothes when she’s counting money.
She’s trying to hide away our Shen family’s money!”
Looking at the clothes, which were made of satin and crafted with an exquisite design, Mrs.
Shen’s face finally softened a bit.
“She’s not that kind of person.” And anyway, it’s his money, it’s also Liu’s money.
Who would take their own money and hide it, especially when it was made by Xiao’er’s day and night work?
However, he also wasn’t foolish enough to share his thoughts with Mrs.
Shen.
“Oh, she’s not?
She’s quite cunning indeed!” Mrs.
Shen handed the set of clothes to Mr.
Shen: “Old man, try them on and see if they fit.
If not, I’ll alter them.”
Mr.
Shen took the clothes and imdiately took off his outer shirt to try them on.
They fit perfectly, as if they’d been custom tailored.
“The third son’s wife is considerate.” If she didn’t have them in mind, how could she buy such suitable clothes?
“Father, we’ve bought a patch of wasteland, and we are going to build a house.”
Mrs.
Shen was initially fumbling with the clothes to try them on, but upon hearing this, she stopped, forcefully threw the clothes back onto the kang bed, “What’s wrong, can’t you live in the current house now, are you tired of and your father?
Are you in such a hurry to build a house and move out?”
“It’s not like that.
The children in our family are gradually growing up.
While we have a bit more flexibility to our funds now, we bought so wasteland and planned to build a house.
This way, we won’t lack a house when the children grow up and we need to divide property.
Moreover, we can have four years of tax exemption if we start cultivating the land now, which should be enough ti to enrich the land a bit.” Chengyao had an instinctive feeling that he shouldn’t reveal how much wasteland he’d bought, so he spoke vaguely.
Mr.
Shen thought that, as his third son’s family had many children who were all hardworking, it was understandable they were planning to cultivate their own field as they probably had a little money but not enough to buy fertile land.
It was a good thing, and seeing his son considering his capabilities and plans for the future, he felt happy, “Buying land and building a house is a good thing.
When you need help, just call for .
I still have so strength and should be able to lend you a hand.”
Hearing Mr.
Shen say this, Chengyao felt very happy.
His father was indeed happy for him.
In fact, as children, anyone would be pleased to receive approval from their parents.
This joy held true for everyone, even Chengyao.
The father was an object of worship and affection in a child’s eyes.
Who wouldn’t seek acknowledgnt from soone they worshipped and loved?
Well, this was a beautiful misunderstanding.
Both Mr.
Shen and Mrs.
Shen thought that Chengyao’s family could only afford to buy five to six acres of wasteland at most.
Then, use one to two acres of land to build a house, and about ten taels of silver would suffice.
The family would also have ten taels after distributing the family property.
Recently, they had been digging up herbs to sell on the mountain and selling rag dolls, so they should have made so money, but not much.
Mr.
Shen felt that since they’d already divided the properties and spent the money correctly, it was fine for them to buy land and build the house sooner rather than later, and sooner the better to start farming.
But when it was ti to cultivate the land and build the house, he realized he was wrong.
When Chengyao returned to the west wing, Xiao’er was busy drawing designs for the house, Jingrui saw Chengyao return and asked, “Dad, did Grandma scold you?”
Chengyao glared at Jingrui, “What are you talking about?
What’s there to scold about?
Buying land to build a house is a good thing, and your grandpa is also happy for us.” He didn’t know if his mother was happy, but she didn’t object, so he guessed she was content.
And he didn’t repeat what his mother initially said to avoid dampening everyone’s spirits.
After hearing this, Mrs.
Liu also felt relieved.
Building a house was a big affair.
A person might only build a house once in their lifeti, so it was best if the whole family worked harmoniously.
Harmony brings wealth.
“Dad, co over and have a look; this is the house design I drew after collecting everyone’s opinions.
If you have any preference for the type of house, I can consider adding it to the design.”
Chengyao felt that houses were all the sa, except for the difference in materials used.
He said, “Why don’t we build a good one for once and make it a brick house?
Do as you like for the rest.”
“I also think we should build the best we can.”
“Yes, we should build a good one while we can afford to.
It will save us trouble in the future.”
Xiao’er drew the finished design and then seriously started drawing the construction plan, “Dad, I’ll finish drawing these plans; Tomorrow, you take the plans and go buy the materials.
Don’t worry about spending too much money.
I have ways to earn it back.”
Chengyao nodded, “How many people should we hire for the land clearing?”
Mrs.
Liu thought for a while and said, “It’s now the agricultural slack season, and many people in the village are idle.
We should hire villagers.”
Xiao’er hearing this, said: “We can hire people according to their labor.
We’ll pay 50 coins for every acre of land cleared of all the grass roots, tree roots, and stones, without providing food.”
“As for building the house, we can pay 30 coins a day, and include lunch, how does this sound?”
“Won’t this paynt be too high?
The highest labor cost in town is only 25 coins a day, and that doesn’t even include food.” Mrs.
Liu felt the amount they were planning to offer was too much.
“It’s not too high, it’s just that others pay too little.
Let’s consider it as accumulating rit.
Besides, if we pay more, people will work more carefully and more strenuously, which will get our house built faster.
In the end, the cost is similar.
You can’t expect the horse to run without feeding it grass, right?”
Hearing this, Mrs.
Liu also found it reasonable and didn’t say anything else.
The family discussed the details of hiring workers, clarified what each person had to do the next day, and then went back to their rooms to sleep.
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