Chapter 324: Time to Make Furniture
Splash, splash.
Tian Dazhuang swung his strong arms and in just a few movements sprinkled the half bucket of spiritual spring water onto the cultivation beds.
“Xiaosi, do we need to go fetch more water from the ditch for irrigation?”
Yan Xiaosi waved her hand: “No need. Watering every two days is sufficient, one bucket each time.”
Tian Dazhuang’s gaze swept around the greenhouse.
“With all these rows of mushroom cultivation beds, Xiaosi, is one bucket of water enough?”
“It’s enough. Growing mushrooms is different from growing ordinary vegetables. Too much water isn’t good for mushroom growth.”
Every few days, she would need to find an opportunity to irrigate the greenhouse with spiritual spring water, so she couldn’t water too much with ditch water.
Fortunately, Tian Dazhuang had never grown mushrooms and wasn’t clear about their growing habits, so he believed her words.
After the two finished the work in the greenhouse and washed their hands at the nearby ditch, Yan Xiaosi said to Tian Dazhuang: “Brother Dazhuang, I’m going to check on my family’s new house.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No need. You go watch the old yellow ox and Red Cherry. I need to discuss some matters with Uncle Sanbao, then I’ll come find you.”
Tian Dazhuang thought she had something important to discuss with Wang Sanbao, so he didn’t go to disturb them.
Yan Xiaosi walked to the new house and saw Ms. Gao (Wang Sanbao’s wife) cooking lunch for the craftsmen.
“Aunt Sanbao is busy. Where is Uncle Sanbao?”
Ms. Gao looked up from the stove and pointed to the roof.
“Xiaosi, you’re here. They started laying tiles today. Your Uncle Sanbao is on the roof supervising the craftsmen laying tiles.”
Yan Xiaosi pursed her lips with satisfaction.
“Uncle Sanbao is really working hard.”
Wang Sanbao was the leader of the group of craftsmen. For hard and dangerous work like laying roof tiles, he could completely delegate it to his subordinate craftsmen, but his personal supervision on the roof proved that this person was, as Tian Dazhuang had said, honest, simple, and responsible.
Ms. Gao added a piece of wood to the stove and patted the ash off her hands: “Whether a small courtyard is built well depends on the tile laying. If the tiles aren’t laid properly, rain will drift into the house on rainy days, causing heavy dampness inside. No matter how good a courtyard is, once it’s damp, it’s uncomfortable to live in. Over the years, when your Uncle Sanbao builds houses for people, he personally supervises the tile laying, afraid that the homeowners will be uncomfortable living there in the future.”
“Uncle Sanbao is truly a good person.”
Yan Xiaosi genuinely felt this way.
Wang Sanbao was responsible for purchasing all the materials for building this small courtyard. From the material purchase lists Wang Sanbao gave to Ms. Zhong each time, Yan Xiaosi could see that Wang Sanbao was reliable.
Yan Xiaosi was fairly familiar with prices in Xize County, and every expense on those purchase lists was genuine.
Being recognized by the homeowner made Ms. Gao quite happy. She smiled and said: “This is what we should do. Since we’ve accepted the homeowner’s wages, we must do the work well. Only then can we have a steady stream of work.”
Building a good reputation meant not worrying about lack of work.
This principle, which many wealthy merchants of this era didn’t necessarily understand, was understood by the Wang Sanbao couple.
Yan Xiaosi looked at Ms. Gao approvingly.
“This house is almost finished. I have another important matter to discuss with Uncle Sanbao.”
Ms. Gao immediately shouted loudly toward the roof.
“Wang Sanbao, come down for a moment. Xiaosi is here.”
“Coming, I’ll be right down. Tell Xiaosi to wait just a moment.”
Wang Sanbao nimbly climbed down from the roof, washed the tile dust off his hands, and hurried to see Yan Xiaosi.
Ms. Gao brewed a pot of coarse tea for Yan Xiaosi to quench her thirst. Seeing Wang Sanbao covered in sweat and tile dust, Yan Xiaosi poured a cup of tea and handed it to him: “Uncle Sanbao, you’ve worked hard.”
Wang Sanbao was quite thirsty. He took the tea and drank it all in one gulp, then had two more cups before finally quenching his thirst.
“Xiaosi, what did you want to see me about?”
Yan Xiaosi spoke directly: “Uncle Sanbao, having built houses for so many years, you must know quite a few carpenters, right?”
Wang Sanbao nodded.
“That’s right. Is Xiaosi looking for a carpenter to make furniture?”
With the new house built, the next step would be making furniture. This wasn’t hard to guess at all.
“Yes. Recently, I’ve visited several carpenter shops in Daxing Town, and the prices are all quite expensive. So I was thinking, could we invite a carpenter to come to our home to make furniture? We’d provide food and lodging plus wages. Does Uncle Sanbao know anyone suitable to recommend?”
The new house was currently empty. When a carpenter came, he could just lay out bedding anywhere in the house to sleep. As for meals, the carpenter could eat at the Tian family’s house daily. As for the wood needed to make furniture, they could cut it from Four Sisters Mountain, which was covered with tall trees everywhere.
Four Sisters Mountain belonged to no one. Villagers from several nearby villages could all go up the mountain to cut firewood, and those needing wood for furniture also went up the mountain to cut trees. Despite years of cutting, the mountain forests were still lush and green.
Wang Sanbao thought for a moment: “I know an old carpenter who lives right next door to my house. But he’s getting on in years and moves a bit slowly when working, so not many people are willing to hire him now. However, his woodwork is exceptionally good and particularly meticulous.”
Yan Xiaosi didn’t dare hire someone too old. If something went wrong and he died suddenly in the new house, it would not only ruin the house’s feng shui but also lead to a manslaughter lawsuit.
“Uncle Sanbao, how old is this old carpenter? Is he in good health?”
“Forty-nine years old, with a sturdy constitution. His hands and feet just aren’t as nimble as before.”
In this era, human lifespans were generally shorter. Men came of age at eighteen and could marry and have children. They were in their prime in their twenties and thirties, and could be called elders in their forties and fifties. Very few lived past seventy.
Forty-nine wasn’t old, and his bodily functions should still be fine, with a relatively small chance of sudden death.
Yan Xiaosi wasn’t afraid of him working slowly, just afraid of him doing poor work or dying suddenly.
“Uncle Sanbao, then I’ll go back to Daxing Town with you tonight to meet this old carpenter. Could you introduce us?”
“No problem.”
After discussing this with Wang Sanbao, Yan Xiaosi went to find Tian Dazhuang.
The two watched Red Cherry and the old yellow ox graze for a while. When both animals were full, they led them home.
At noon, while Ms. Zhong and the others did other work, Yan Xiaosi lay on the table, holding a writing brush and carefully drawing on yellowed paper, very focused.
In the evening, when the craftsmen finished work, Yan Xiaosi, Yan Shuyun, Liu Xu, and Wang Sanbao and other craftsmen all returned to Daxing Town together.
After arriving in Daxing Town, Yan Shuyun looked pleadingly at Liu Xu.
Liu Xu understood her meaning and said to Yan Xiaosi: “Xiaosi, after you meet with the carpenter with Uncle Sanbao, come directly to Xu Family Fur Store to stay. It’s already getting late today. Return to Shaoyao Village tomorrow morning.”
Yan Xiaosi didn’t know how long she would need to talk with the old carpenter, so she nodded to Liu Xu.
“Then I’ll trouble Third Brother.”
“We’re family. There’s no need for such formality.”
Yan Shuyun rode on the donkey’s back while Liu Xu led the donkey toward Xu Family Fur Store. Only after the two had walked far away did Yan Xiaosi withdraw her gaze to go with Wang Sanbao.