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Shi Song not only built three brick houses but also established a pharmacy, intending to open a clinic. It was situated at the far eastern end of the village, in a secluded spot where no one would disturb him. The roofs were tiled, and the carpenters were still busy crafting furniture; it took them three days just to complete the medicine cabinet.
Next came the construction for the Qi Family. The village had only eight masons available, so Qi Yuan leveraged his connection with Xiao Master to hire twelve more. The local workers did not include meals or lodging in their pay, which was forty wen a day. However, the team organized by Xiao Master charged a higher rate, requiring an additional ten wen per person per day for meals and accommodation.
These workers had ample experience from building houses for wealthy families in the city. The foreman was Fang Jiyi, a man in his forties. When he held a stack of blueprints, he couldn't help but glance at Qi Chong a couple of times. Each room's dimensions were clearly marked—its width and height precisely noted.
He pointed to the indoor toilet and asked, "Isn't it going to smell terrible having the toilet inside the house?" Qi Chong found a full diagram of the toilet on the blueprints and showed it to him. Upon seeing it, Fang Jiyi understood immediately. It was designed with a three-chambered pit, a concept from Yu Chunmiao.
The family was busy moving their belongings onto the donkey cart, and since Shi Song's house was still empty, they temporarily stored their things there. Villagers of both genders came to help out; this was the first time such assistance had been offered to the Qi Family.
The family's funds were pooled together and divided into two portions, each carried by one of the brothers. That night, the brothers stayed at Tang's house while their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law lodged at Lin Qiujiu's home, costing twenty wen for the night.
The new stove in the courtyard was left intact for cooking purposes. After a month of bustling activity, the houses were finally completed. Chen Ruolan gazed at the two courtyards being built day by day and felt a surge of emotions within her. When her father-in-law planned to build tiled houses, he feared being mocked by his younger brother and hesitated to proceed. Now, this accomplishment fulfilled one of his long-held wishes.
Though she did not cry, she kept her longing for her husband deep in her heart. Qi Chong and Qi Yuan were also busy recently gathering firewood and making purchases in preparation for the younger brother's wedding; Qi Chong planned to bring Qi Rong along when he went to fetch the bride.
Lin Qiujiu came to visit the new house, exclaiming in admiration as he walked through it.
Ah, the County Magistrate probably doesn't live in a place as nice as this.
She had never seen the County Magistrate's home, but she felt that this house must belong to high-ranking officials or nobles.
Yu Chunmiao led her around slowly, and she walked from room to room.
Why is there a chamber pot under this chair, and inside the house? And what's with the pig slaughtering basin? Why is the stove built inside?
Yu Chunmiao chuckled and stepped forward to explain.
Well, after using the toilet, you just scoop a ladle of water and flush it down the chamber pot; it washes away everything. This isn't a pig slaughtering basin; it's a bathtub for bathing. As for the stove, it's naturally for boiling water. In our family, each of us has our rooms set up like this in both courtyards.
In one courtyard, Qi Chong and his mother each have three rooms, with this multifunctional ear room in between. The second courtyard belongs to Qi Rong and Qi Yuan, and it's the same setup. Each courtyard has a well for easy access to water.
Wow, you really know how to enjoy life, Lin Qiujiu exclaimed, filling the water tank. With such a setup for bathing, one wouldn't even need to step outside.
And these lattice windows are beautiful! How much must this long corridor have cost?
When it came to money matters, Gu Yu adhered to the principle of not revealing wealth. It didn't cost much; our family does business and knows some people, so materials are cheap—most of the wood is fresh.
In fact, Lin Qiujiu was just asking casually; she could estimate it herself. A house made of blue bricks and big tiles costs about five taels of silver per room. Each person has three rooms, plus an extra row of three rooms—there are a total of five rows with fifteen rooms altogether. Including materials, it must come to at least one hundred taels.
In reality, that figure was pretty close.
However, for the current Qi Family, it wasn't a big deal; they could manage it easily.
Today was their first day staying here, and Chen Ruolan and Gu Yu had specially prepared a sumptuous meal.
Unfortunately, Qi Rong wasn't around; he hadn't seen their new house yet. Ruolan didn't sound at all regretful about that.
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