binnovel Chapter 115 Building a House
Chapter 115 Building a House
Zhao Fei's loss this time was too heavy. Song Chunlin almost emptied his family assets. The cash he could use was greatly reduced. He couldn't bribe officials as usual. However, he was thick-skinned. Thinking of the fact that he could use the power of the Zhao family to bully others in the capital in the past, he now wanted to put pressure on Jingzhao Prefecture as before.
But the newly appointed prefect of Jingzhao didn't buy his talk at all. Every time he went there, the governor would promise to do his best, but as soon as he left, they would do what they were supposed to do. As for the theft in Zhao's house... the things were lost from his house, so he should just let him investigate it himself.
If Zhao Fei could find out by himself, he would have done it long ago. He also suspected the Song family whom he had set fire to before, but the Song family members were never in the capital, so it couldn't be that they set the fire from a distance, right?
He had been thinking hard these days, wondering which deity he had offended, who had such great powers that he could come to his house and set fire to it, and who appeared and left without a trace every time. Not to mention being a suspect, there wasn't even a footprint left at the scene.
Zhao Fei, who had never believed in gods or Buddhas, was really scared this time. After he came out of Jingzhao Prefecture, he turned around and went to the most famous Sanqing Temple outside the city, intending to find a master to ask.
After staying in the Taoist temple for an entire afternoon and donating several thousand taels of silver, Zhao Fei returned home with several yellow talismans as if he had found a treasure.
He pasted the yellow talismans in the room where he slept, and he indeed had a good night that night, and the mansion was safe for several days in a row. Zhao Fei was so grateful that tears filled his eyes, as these days without fire were so precious.
Of course, this was not because Song Chunlin was willing to let him go, but because their family was building a house and Song Chunlin was too busy to take care of Zhao Fei.
The fire turned the old house into ruins. While there was no work going on, Song Dazhuang hired someone to clean up the ruins, and Song Chunlin was responsible for replanning the structure of the house. The Song family had bought an existing house before, and the layout was one of the common ones in ancient times. It was spacious, but for Song Chunlin, there were still some places that were not so convenient to use.
For example, the Song family didn't have a toilet originally. Their toilet was dug after they moved in. It was right next to the pigpen. When Song Chunlin went to the toilet, the pigs would watch nearby. It was called a toilet, but in fact it was just a big pit covered with a few wooden boards. Every time Song Chunlin went to the toilet, he was trembling with fear, fearing that the boards were unstable and he would fall down. That would be a real pain.
So this time he strongly requested to build a toilet in a modern way. It just so happened that he had a flush toilet in his space, which might be a certain brand of goods. He had a full container of toilets of various types and styles, and even a box of special waterproof glue, which was enough for them to decorate the house.
With a toilet, there naturally needs to be a sewer pipe. For this kind of thing, Song Chunlin can only draw a blueprint and hand it over to craftsmen who can make pottery to make it.
Song Dazhuang had bought clay jars for jam from that man several times. The man naturally smiled from ear to ear when he saw Song Dazhuang, his big customer, and he also became interested when he heard that Song Dazhuang wanted to make specific utensils.
After taking Song Dazhuang's drawings and taking a look at them, I found that I didn't understand them. After Song Dazhuang's explanation, I realized that this was a sewer pipe. The joints and bends were all set with strict dimensions, and each section was linked together. As long as they were aligned, it would not leak easily.
This was reproduced by Song Chunlin with reference to some documents. In ancient times, some skilled craftsmen made similar sewer pipes, which could still be used after being dug out hundreds of years later.
Song Dazhuang customized a large number of pipes this time. The craftsman frowned, thinking that the order was too large and the size requirements were so strict, which meant that the loss rate during the firing process might be very high.
The craftsman told Song Dazhuang about the risks involved, but Song Dazhuang didn't care.
"We only want the best, no matter the price."
With these words, the craftsman felt confident. Song Dazhuang paid the deposit, and the two parties agreed on the time to pick up the goods. This was better than a done deal.
After solving the most troublesome problem, Song Dazhuang immediately went to order bricks and wood.
At this time, the floor plan of the house drawn by Song Chunlin was also completed. After the family had finished their meal, they gathered around to watch it. Song Chunlin pointed out to them one by one where everyone's room was.
"The main hall is in the middle, the two grandfathers live in the room on the east, my parents' room is next door, and this is where my brother, I and my younger brothers live. The kitchen and warehouse are on the other side of the yard, and there are corridors on both sides, so we don't have to worry about rainy days."
"There are also toilets. I plan to put one in each room, so that people don't have to go out in the middle of the night, and it will be more convenient to wash and brush their teeth."
The family looked at the blueprint and thought that the plan was good, but they were still a little uncomfortable with having the toilet in the room.
Grandpa Song was a little embarrassed: "Chunlin, can your toilet really make the toilet odorless?"
The others also looked at him intently, expecting to get a definite answer from him.
Song Chunlin confidently told them: "Grandpa, don't worry, as long as you remember to flush the toilet every time after using it, there will basically be no smell. I also opened a small window in each toilet, so you don't have to worry about ventilation."
After knowing that the toilet would not have any smell, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to worry about how to get the water into the water tank.
As a result, Song Chunlin smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes."
In order to start construction as soon as possible, Song Dazhuang hired people to work overtime to clean up the ruins. Seeing the home that he had built up bit by bit burned to ashes, Song Dazhuang felt a dull pain in his heart every time he saw it.
Song Qin is now the family's key protected person. Song Xiaojiu recently received a new task, which is to supervise Song Qin to eat nutritional supplements on time every day and strictly follow Song Chunlin's instructions. He knows exactly when to eat and how much to eat every day. Sometimes Song Qin herself forgets, and it is Song Xiaojiu who reminds her.
"Mom, take folic acid!" Song Xiaojiu handed the bottle of folic acid to Song Qinshi, and the little follower next to him also said along with his brother.
"Mom, take folic acid."
Seeing the two little kids urging her to take folic acid in a baby voice, Song Qin's heart melted. She quickly took the bottle and took one. After taking the folic acid, she drove them to the room to sleep like a duck.
Several children now live in the same room. Song Chunlin does not need to sleep most of the time at night. He is responsible for tucking in the corners of the quilts for the two little ones in the middle of the night, and then continues to work in the space.
He explored the entire forest and picked a lot of mountain products every day. Sometimes he would eat them at home, and most of them would be taken out to dry. After the house was built, he would store them in a warehouse. As long as the dried products were not exposed to moisture or insects, they could be preserved for a long time.
Because the Song family has been drinking spiritual spring water all year round, they have rarely been sick, except for Song Xiaobao last time. The main illnesses are caused by lack of nutrition. Dabao said that spiritual spring water can temporarily enhance a person's physical fitness, but there are certain limitations.
"The heavens are watching us from above. Something that can cleanse our essence and marrow is really too against the will of heaven. If such a thing really existed, and everyone drank a sip, wouldn't there be many masters everywhere? What a mess the world would be in then."
Song Chunlin: "So there really is no such thing as heaven-defying stuff?"
Dabao was silent for a long time before he spoke again: "Yes, it is deep in the mountains, but you need a great opportunity to find it. Even I can't tell you where it is."
Even he can't know?
Song Chunlin raised his eyebrows slightly. He was now more interested in the mountain.
While the Song family was gearing up to build a house, in other parts of Dajing Dynasty, every county that was allocated sweet potatoes and potatoes had a bumper harvest.
Each of the county magistrates happily wrote a memorial to report the matter and sent it to the emperor as soon as possible.
Looking at those memorials, the per-acre yields on them were all astonishing, and almost every county magistrate's statement was filled with unspeakable joy.
The emperor laughed almost the entire day while reading the memorial, and even woke up laughing in his dreams at night.
The next day, he specifically talked about this matter at the court meeting. When he heard that almost every place could produce over a thousand kilograms per mu, every one of the old ministers who had opposed it at the beginning showed an expression of disbelief.
"Master Li, don't open your mouth so wide, or you might lose your last tooth."
Upon hearing this, Lord Li immediately shut his mouth. He was sixty-four years old this year and had lost all but one tooth the year before last. This matter had always made him feel very ashamed, and now that it was brought up in front of him by the emperor, his wrinkled face turned visibly red.
The other veteran officials also retracted their expressions with caution, fearing that they would be the next ones to be named.
The most fierce opposition at the beginning came from the group led by Lord Li. Now, after hearing the emperor personally read out the yield reported in the memorial, they found that the yield per mu was over a thousand kilograms, and the yield for a good harvest was as high as fourteen hundred kilograms, which was more than the first time Song Dazhuang planted.
The lowest one weighs more than 1,100 kilograms, easily beating wheat and rice.
As fiercely as their opposition was at the beginning, they were as quiet now. Everyone kept silent. The smile on the emperor's face gradually faded, and he looked at the group of old ministers below with mockery in his eyes.
The kindness of the late emperor has encouraged the arrogance of these old guys, allowing them to rely on their seniority to make decisions in the court. Since he ascended the throne, his decrees have always been criticized by these old guys. It would be fine if they could come up with some meaningful suggestions, but they only raised some trivial problems, which gave the emperor a headache.
Now that there is a bumper harvest of sweet potatoes and potatoes, their hypocritical masks have been shattered. The emperor feels extremely happy, and at the same time, he becomes more and more determined to get rid of these rubbish.
The bumper harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes not only made the emperor happy, but Song Chunlin was even happier. He was so happy that he planned to build a workshop on the wasteland next to his house.
"Workshop? Chunlin, are we going to make a living by selling jam in the future?" Last year, jam sold well, and Song Dazhuang subconsciously thought that Song Chunlin built a workshop to make jam.
However, Song Chunlin shook his finger and took out several bags of starch, sweet potato flour and potato flour.
"Dad, I'm sure you've eaten these things before, so what do you think they're made of?"
Song Dazhuang said he didn't know. They had only eaten the sweet potato noodles among these things, and it was the instant version of hot and sour noodles. As for the black strips, Song Dazhuang just felt that they seemed somewhat familiar, but he didn't recognize them.
Song Chunlin pointed at the sweet potato flour and told Song Dazhuang: "Dad, this is called sweet potato flour. Authentic handmade sweet potato flour is this color, a little black. Although it looks hard, it tastes good when cooked."
Song Dazhuang was a little skeptical: "Really? What's that white thing next to it?"
"This is potato starch." Song Chunlin opened two bags of starch and showed them to Song Dazhuang: "This is potato starch, and this is sweet potato starch."
Both powders were white, and Song Dazhuang couldn't tell any difference.
"What's next to it? Is it the same?"
Song Chunlin opened the other three bags and said, "This one is corn starch, another one is wheat starch, and the last one is tapioca starch. They are all extracted from different ingredients."
"Each type of starch has its own uses. For example, sweet potato starch has many uses. It can be made into sweet potato vermicelli like this, and it can also be used in cooking. Dad, I built the workshop just to make these things. I want everyone to know that sweet potatoes and potatoes are not only edible directly, they can also be processed into various by-products."
Song Dazhuang probably understood what Song Chunlin meant: "You opened a workshop not just to make these things, you want more people to grow these things, right?"
Song Chunlin gave Song Dazhuang a thumbs up: "Dad, you are so smart. I just want to mobilize everyone's enthusiasm. It is true that these two things have high yields, but now everyone's way of eating them is too single. Eating too much will make you sick. Potatoes are better. They can be used as staple food or as a vegetable. Sweet potatoes are not good. Eating too much of this thing will also cause heartburn. If there is one more way to eat it, why not do it?"
Song Dazhuang: “Not many people in the village are planting sweet potatoes and potatoes this year, but next year they will probably be everywhere. If you build a workshop now, you can harvest sweet potatoes directly next year, right?”
Song Chunlin chuckled: "The one who knows me best is my father."
Song Dazhuang poked his son's head and said, "You little money-grubber, just wait, Daddy will bring you a few more carts of bricks."
Song Chunlin knew that he had agreed, and immediately jumped up with joy: "I knew that Daddy loves me the most."
Song Dazhuang couldn't stand it anymore and pulled his son down: "My little ancestor, please stop being a spoiled child. You are a spoiled child. If you continue to be a spoiled child, your father's wallet will not be able to bear it."
During dinner in the evening, Song Dazhuang told everyone about this. When they heard that it was Song Chunlin who proposed to open a workshop, the whole family had no objection and were even easier to appease than Song Dazhuang. Song Chunlin secretly thought it was a bad idea. If he had known that everyone would accept it so easily, he should have brought it up directly at the dinner table.
The matter of the workshop was put on the agenda, and the next day Song Dazhuang went to the village head's house without delay. After explaining his purpose, the village head's son took Song Dazhuang to the government office to handle the relevant paperwork, and the house could be built directly on the wasteland.