Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 83 - 83 084 Building a New House_1

?Chapter 83: Chapter 084 Building a New House_1 Chapter 83: Chapter 084 Building a New House_1 The workers’ hearts tightened as they watched Muniang, their expressions tinged with nervousness. The mistress wouldn’t expect them to work at this pace every day from now on, would she? That would be the death of them!

But Muniang simply said, “Let’s call it a day for today. Get up early tomorrow morning—I’ve prepared the seeds. You’ll plant them according to my requirements. You know how to work properly now, don’t you?”

The workers nodded again and again: “We understand! Lady, rest assured, we definitely won’t slack off!”

“I’m not a mistress who likes to be harsh. If you hadn’t gone too far today, I wouldn’t have gotten so angry. Just work diligently, and those who do well will have plenty of good things in store.”

“Yes!”

After giving a few more instructions, Muniang left, leaving the exhausted workers to dejectedly head off for dinner and sleep. Today’s lesson had indeed been effective.

When Muniang got home, she immediately arranged for Dazhu to take charge over there. He was always quick and diligent, honest in character, and not one to shirk work, making him perfect for the job.

Dazhu clearly hadn’t expected to receive such favor from his mistress, thanking her profusely and too excited to sleep all night.

Although Muniang wanted to plant hybrid fruits and vegetables in the fields, they wouldn’t need special care until the seedlings came up. For now, it was fine to plant ordinary vegetables; these matters didn’t require her close attention. The long-term laborers also had experience with farming, so it seemed better to take the opportunity to build the house now.

There was no rush to tear down the small thatched cottage since they still needed somewhere to live. Muniang planned to build a large mansion next to the cottage and then enclose a bigger courtyard. Once the mansion was completed, she could slowly figure out how to make the courtyard beautiful after moving in.

But constructing a house required a vast amount of materials, and things like bricks and tiles were indispensable. Muniang didn’t know much about these matters, so she went to seek advice from Mrs. Du.

Thinking it over, Muniang took a basketful of eggs and went to Mrs. Du’s house.

Upon seeing Muniang, Mrs. Du hurriedly welcomed her in: “What brings you here today? I heard you bought a thousand acres of land. You’re now a great wealth-holder in the village.”

Muniang smiled and said, “I just got lucky and stumbled upon a great deal. I have workers to help me with the fields, so I’m not too busy with that. These days I happen to have some free time, so I thought about getting the house built first.”

“Your family is building a house?” Mrs. Du exclaimed with joy: “I was just saying, with all that silver coin you have now, how can you still live in that tiny, broken-down cottage?”

“It’s only because this year has been so busy,” Muniang replied. “Otherwise, I would have fixed that house up long ago. However, I’m not familiar with these matters. There’s a lot I don’t understand, like where to buy good bricks and tiles, which is why I wanted to ask Mrs. Du if you had any connections.”

Mrs. Du laughed: “It just so happens my cousin is apprenticing with a city craftsman. If you’re okay with it, I can help bridge the connection and invite those craftsmen over. They are professionals in this field and are naturally familiar with the materials needed. You won’t have to worry about things like bricks and tiles.”

Muniang understood. This meant the craftsmen could directly manage the entire construction of her mansion, which was even better. She’d have less to deal with, so she immediately agreed: “That would be best. Please help me ask them, Mrs. Du.”

Mrs. Du laughed: “My child, you really have come a long way. Your family was so poor before, and in just a few months, you’ve earned so much silver. Now, who in the village dares to look down on you? Once your mansion is built, many will be green with envy.”

“That won’t happen.”

Mrs. Du huffed, “Not to that extent? Just wait and see. When your family built that extended house, countless people were openly and secretly jealous, you know. There aren’t many tile houses in Tupo Village!”

Muniang smiled and didn’t bother with these matters. The village was full of gossipers, why should she care about such things? She pushed the basket she was carrying to Mrs. Du, “As for the craftsman matter, I’ll have to trouble you with it.”

Mrs. Du refused with a push, “I’m just passing on a message; there’s no need for these things, please take them back.”

But Muniang said, “But you still need money for the carriage rides to town, right? Besides, Mrs. Du, you have helped our family so much before, I’ve never treated you as an outsider. I certainly won’t be taking these eggs back.”

“How much do all these eggs cost? That’s way too much.”

Muniang then addressed Mrs. Du’s daughter-in-law, Mrs. Liu, “Sister-in-law, please help me by accepting this basket of eggs. Auntie seems reluctant to accept my gratitude; it seems she wants to become estranged from me. Sister-in-law, you can’t start becoming estranged from me too.”

Mrs. Du couldn’t help but give a bitter laugh at Muniang’s words, while Mrs. Liu just laughed outright and took the basket, saying to Mrs. Du, “Mother, let’s just accept it. Otherwise, Muniang will feel really aggrieved. Besides, Muniang is making good money now; what’s a little bit of money for eggs to her?”

Mrs. Du glared at her daughter-in-law disapprovingly before giving in.

Mrs. Du was also efficient. Just yesterday, they had agreed on the arrangements, and by noon today, she had brought the head craftsman to visit.

Mrs. Fang immediately prepared tea to welcome the guest when she saw visitors arriving. The man who came appeared to be in his early twenties, his skin somewhat tanned, but with fine and rugged features. Holding the teacup, he drank without restraint, gulping it down in one go.

“Muniang, take a look. This is Zeng Gang, the head craftsman from over there. He’s come today to survey your land, so tell him what kind of house you want to make their work easier.”

Muniang nodded and said, “I would like a residence with three courtyards, front and back. As for the house, make it as large as possible. As for the specific structure, you’re all professionals. Make it elegant; you can make most of the decisions.”

Zeng Gang said, “That’s easy enough. However, for such a large residence with three front and back courtyards, I fear it will cost an estimated three to four hundred taels of silver to build.”

Muniang replied, “That price is still acceptable.”

Mrs. Du added, “I’ve already negotiated the labor wages for you, and since we have connections, we got a lower rate—sixty-eight wen per person per day. What do you think?”

Muniang smiled, “Alright, then thank you all for your hard work. When can we start the construction?”

“We can start tomorrow morning. I’ll go today to reserve the bricks and tiles and have them delivered together tomorrow.” Zeng Gang was forthright and decisive in his actions, exactly to Muniang’s liking.

“Great, I’ll prepare a meal for the start of construction in the morning.”

And so the matter was settled.

The next morning, a group of more than ten craftsmen marched into the village in high spirits, accompanied by several carts loaded with bricks and tiles. As they passed through the village, many envious eyes followed them.