Chapter 69: Plans for House Construction

Chapter 69: Plans for House Construction

Qin Xiaoyao smiled and patted Grandma's arm.

"Rest assured, I have confidence in the preserved eggs."

Seeing that Lady Liu still looked worried, Qin Xiaoyao continued, "We'll keep the cost under six taels of silver. Once we sell the first batch of preserved eggs and make a profit, everything will be easier from then on."

Lady Liu was startled.

Six taels?

She looked at Qin Xiaoyao.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

"We'll invest six taels of silver to buy eggs. After a month, our profits will at least double. By then, selling preserved eggs will earn us at least six taels a month."

Lady Liu and Song Yun were stunned.

"After the preserved egg business takes off, we'll pay back the debt to my father, and then save money to build a house."

This time, all three women were shocked.

"We'll start building the house after autumn arrives, making sure it's completed before the cold weather sets in. That way, this winter, we won't have to worry anymore."

In Lingquan Town, snow falls after winter begins, and sometimes there are blizzards.

When the snow is heavy, the rafters of the thatched hut might not hold up.

In previous years, there had been cases where villagers' houses were crushed by snow. She didn't want that to happen to their home.

"Besides, Yun'er and Ye'er are growing up, and it's not convenient for them to continue living in the same room with their mother. Building a house will allow them to have their own rooms."

Even if it's just a thatched hut, their current living space is very limited.

Yun'er now sleeps in the same bed as her grandmother, while Ye'er, although he has his own small bed, is placed in his grandmother's room.

The two beds are separated only by a straw curtain, leaving almost no privacy.

The issue of building a house must be resolved sooner or later.

Lady Liu's heart trembled.

"B-Building a house... It'll take quite a bit of silver to do so," she stammered.

Before their children's father passed away, they had discussed building a house.

But even when their situation was better, they couldn't afford to gather enough money for construction.

Now, with the family in such dire straits, her daughter-in-law was planning to build a house.

And she somehow felt that her daughter-in-law might actually be able to pull it off.

Qin Xiaoyao's lips curled upward.

"Building a house can be expensive or cheap, depending on how you do it."

"But since we'll be living in it for decades, I want to build it well, so we don't have to renovate or rebuild later, wasting money."

"How much... how much will it cost?" Lady Liu asked, her heart pounding.

"Hmm... If we want to build it with blue bricks and tiles, it would probably cost over a hundred taels."

She hadn't actually inquired about prices yet, but a hundred taels, converted into pre-apocalypse purchasing power, was roughly equivalent to one hundred thousand yuan.

For rural house construction, many materials could be sourced from the mountains, and labor costs were relatively low. Perhaps a hundred taels could cover it.

Of course, if it doesn't work out, adjusting the goal later would be fine.

Anyway, she would set the target first and find ways to earn the money.

"A h-hundred taels?" Lady Liu's eyes widened.

When she had discussed it with her late husband, the most they had ever calculated was forty-five taels.

Her daughter-in-law...

"There's no need to build it that well. If we follow the wooden structure of the neighboring house and build seven or eight rooms, maybe forty to fifty taels would suffice." Lady Liu reminded her.

"We'll see. If we have more money at the time, we'll build it better. If we don't have enough, a wooden house will also do." Qin Xiaoyao smiled at Lady Liu, reassuring her.

In her mind, however, she thought that if they were going to build, they should aim for something better.

It was only April now, and if they started construction in September, they would have nearly five months.

If she worked harder and the whole family cooperated and put in effort together, saving enough money to build a house was not impossible.

"Alright." Lady Liu agreed, nodding.

At the same time, she made up her mind that from now on, she would be more diligent and help her daughter-in-law wholeheartedly.

That night.

As soon as Qin Xiaoyao entered the room, Song Que looked at her.

After half a month of recuperation, Song Que's leg had improved significantly, and he seemed much more spirited. His attitude toward her had also improved considerably.

And Qin Xiaoyao, after demonstrating her strong adaptability, no longer lost her composure as easily in front of Song Que as she had before.

"Darling—" Qin Xiaoyao called out, smiling at Song Que.

Song Que naturally waved her over.

"Why so late tonight?" There was genuine concern in his voice as he spoke.

"Oh, I had some finishing touches on the fishing nets to do, and I spent some time weaving with Mother and the others."

As she spoke, Qin Xiaoyao moved towards the bedside.

Then she blew out the lamp and climbed into bed.

"Let's continue. Tonight, we should talk about the Land of Women." She continued.

Song Que, who had propped himself up slightly, quickly lay back down, ready to listen to the story.

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao begin to narrate.

"It is said that after bidding farewell to the villagers, the Master and his disciples proceeded westward along the road. After traveling not more than thirty or forty miles, they finally reached the borders of Xi Liang Kingdom..."

In the darkness, Qin Xiaoyao's voice was particularly pleasant, captivating her audience.

Song Que soon became immersed in Qin Xiaoyao's tale.

When, half an hour later, Qin Xiaoyao recounted how the Tang Monk and his disciples bid farewell to the Queen of the Land of Women and continued their journey west, Song Que felt a sense of loss.

"In Journey to the West, the Master and his disciples faced eighty-one trials before finally obtaining the true scriptures. People say that the easiest obstacle they encountered was in the Land of Women. What does my darling think?" Suddenly, Qin Xiaoyao asked.

Song Que was taken aback, returning from his reverie.

His eyes flickered.

"Not...not really?" He replied after a long pause.

Qin Xiaoyao turned her head, looking in Song Que's direction for the first time in the darkness.

Unfortunately, despite her good night vision, she couldn't discern any expression on Song Que's face beyond confusion.

She felt a pang of disappointment.

Then, Qin Xiaoyao turned her head back.

"Yes, it must be. Time to sleep." She said softly.

Following this, she closed her eyes.

But inside Song Que, there was a sudden constriction, and an odd sense of guilt welled up within him.

He rolled over and closed his eyes as well.

The next morning.

When Song Que opened his eyes, Qin Xiaoyao was already gone.

And afterward, she didn't come to help him wash up either.

Upon inquiry, he learned that Qin Xiaoyao had already set off for town early with Li Danni.

Hearing his sister chatter about how his wife planned to build a new house for the family after autumn, Song Que was somewhat surprised.

After the initial shock, he realized that the guilt he felt had intensified.

After Song Yun left, Song Que angrily pounded the bed.

Damn it, how could that woman not have told him about such a big thing last night?!

At that moment, however, Qin Xiaoyao, who had just finished delivering goods at the Lucky Arrival Building, was unaware of all this.

She packed some straw shoes for Li Danni, asking her to distribute them among Qin Dazhuang and Li Dacun on her behalf. Then, pushing her cart, she headed to Nan City with the remaining straw shoes.

Yes, she no longer went to sell straw shoes in West Market when entering the city.

This was mainly to reduce competition with her father and Li Dacun.

In Lingquan Town, both Nan City and North Market were also bustling places.

By alternating between these two markets to sell her goods, the straw shoes sold quite quickly.