Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 2020. Carpentry Tables and Chairs
Qin Shi brought the convoy back to Lanchi Palace.

Entering the Orchid Pool Palace, she felt a distinctly cool breeze and a refreshing humid air. She stood there, being waited on by the Chi Nu and the others, wiping her sweat, changing her clothes, serving her tea and fruit... She felt a certain uncertainty.

The CEOs in TV dramas wear suits and ties all year round. The reason is that they are picked up and dropped off by cars when they go out and they never stay in places without air conditioning and heating.

Now that time and space have changed, she is living this kind of life.

There is an ice mirror in Lan Chi Palace, and people go in and out by carriage. For example, during the hottest time of today's trip, we were looking at fabrics in the yard.

But at the same time, some people held up the canopy and some held fans.

Is it hot? A little hot.

Can you bear it?

Even in the two private gold and jade vaults in front, when she entered, there were people holding ice mirrors.

From this we can see how important the King of Qin’s love and respect is!

...

After a busy wash, change and pack up, Qin Shi finally sat down and waved to Fu Cai who was eager to try it on:

"Have you looked at all the fabrics?"

Fu Cai blushed slightly and nodded heavily, "I've seen it! Lady Qin has fair skin. Once I lead someone to make her new clothes, she will surely look even more graceful and beautiful!"

Since the Lord of Qin entered the palace yesterday, Chi Nu Wu Zi has been accompanying him all the way. She also praised Yi Ming highly and enjoyed the orchid soup.

Even though Mr. Qin requested that the mugwort and orchid soup be extremely light and could not be smelled unless at close range, this still showed his respect for the medical expert.

And Qin Jun's clothes...

Fu Cai gritted her teeth secretly: She finally had a place to use her skills, she must make it with all her heart and make sure Qin Jun would be amazed when he wears it!

Qin Shi could understand the anxiety of a new employee who didn't get assigned tasks by his boss, so he encouraged her, "I see that the color combination of your hair accessories and clothes is very beautiful and coordinated. Clothing is your forte, so just go for it."

"Just one thing, try to make something loose and easy to move around in. You can also use my clothes as a reference."

She blinked. "You know, I don't really fit in with the current model of a noble lady."

It's not just that he can't adapt. Now Qin Jun doesn't like to kneel, and would rather sit on the edge of the low couch. His manners...

I dare not speak nonsense about Fu Cai.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

After Fu Cai withdrew, Wu Zi hesitated for a moment, looked at Qin Shi who was now sitting casually with his knees bent beside the couch, and asked, "Then... would you like to hire a craftsman to weave a thick mat for you?"

Nowadays, people kneel and sit on mats, which are woven by craftsmen from cattail reeds. But they are not thick, at least not the thickness that Qin Shi wanted.

She just remembered and said quickly, "Don't hire weavers anymore—is there anyone who can do carpentry? Hire a few more people."

With Zhou Ju's instructions, as soon as Qin Shi made his request, a eunuch immediately went to the Shaofu to summon the engineer.

She had been running around all morning, so of course she was hungry - although breakfast was late, the side dishes, vegetables, porridge, and an egg at the end were not enough to fill her up.

But now, on the lacquered table in front of him, there are only oven-baked cakes and fruits.

Qin Shi was silent.

Yes, Qin Chao only ate two meals a day.

Before, traveling in the carriage didn’t consume much energy, so she could handle two meals a day. But now, the days are so long, she really can’t get used to it.

And based on her limited understanding of the King of Qin, she thought that he should be very tolerant of such small matters in living habits.

So she ordered: "I am used to eating three times a day. From now on, prepare a lunch for me at noon every day, okay?"

Chi Nu immediately apologized: "It's my fault..."

"No." Qin Shi comforted her: "You are all very careful and considerate, I like it very much. It's just that I'm new here and my habits are different from here. I will slowly get to know it."

"I'll tell you if I need anything."

Chi Nu was actually very happy to have a master who was willing to express his needs directly. She knew that Qin Shi was impatient to repeat himself, so she stood up quickly and asked: "Is there anything that Qin Shi likes?"

Qin Shi thought for a moment and said, "None of you can make what I like right now, so let's work on it later. First, bring me a bowl of soup noodles with some sunflower greens. If you have shrimp, you can put some in. If not, just boil an egg in the soup."

People who care about their health can’t do without high-quality protein for their three meals a day. As it’s so hot today, the cost of sending fish and shrimp to the palace is too high, and Qin Shi can’t guarantee that there will be fresh ones now.

We can only rely on eggs.

As for why we don’t use pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese…

She was too hungry. She couldn't say anything good about the cooking method and quality of the ingredients, and she didn't have time to wait. She would talk about it after dinner.

Today's soup noodles aren't even noodles; they're just dough cut into small pieces, cooked in a pot, and then mixed with salt, vinegar, and sauce.

Qin Shi's lunch requirements were modest, so the food came out quickly. By the time she finished her plate of vegetables, poached eggs, and noodles, the carpenter summoned from the Ministry of Personnel was already waiting outside the palace.

...

There were a total of 10 carpenters recruited this time. Most of them had dark and yellow skin, thin bodies, rough and big hands, and strong arms.

At this moment, he was waiting in the main hall wearing sackcloth, looking extremely respectful.

The gossips from the Xianyang Palace could not reach the Shaofu in a short time. They only heard that the nobleman from the Lanchi Palace was recruiting, but they didn’t know which nobleman it was, so they came here trembling with fear.

However, when he knelt down and carefully pricked up his ears, he heard a woman's voice.

"Look up—what are your names? What are you good at?"

Everyone looked up and saw a noble lady in strange attire sitting on a high platform in front of them.

With the lacquered table blocking the view in front of them, they could only see each other's round and plump cheeks, smooth and flawless skin, and even their voices were like the clear spring water.

Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and announced their names one by one: "Sir, I am a humble man, good at carving and inlaying."

"A villain's trick, good at using heavy objects and axes to cut..."

"A mean person is good at mortise and tenon..."

Qin Shi wrote them down one by one, and then asked, "I want to make a chair."

This new word left everyone confused.

The craftsmen looked hesitant, but Qin Shi was already demonstrating: "A flat wooden board about 2 feet long and wide, with four pillars underneath. The pillars are of equal length, also 2 feet."

"There's a backrest at the back, which can be made straight or slightly curved - it's about 3 feet high."

Although the data was a bit rough, when the finished product was made and she leaned on it, the craftsmen would roughly know its use.

She won't have to worry about how things progress after that.

She just knew more than these carpenters, but in terms of professionalism, she was far inferior to them.

"Do you understand?" she asked.

The craftsmen below looked at each other in confusion. After a long pause, someone cautiously asked, "Excuse me, sir, is this all that is required?"

Someone spoke up, and the others grew a little bolder. "Excuse me, do you need to do the lacquer? If you only do the lacquer, it will take half a year."

The lacquerware craft is complicated, and they only dare to say that it has only been half a year, and they have some reserves.

"Do you have a preference for carving?"

"Is it a mortise and tenon joint, or does it require hollowing out the entire wood?"

Qin Shi smiled helplessly - the requirements she put forward were too simple for these craftsmen to believe, right?

On time today!
There is no mini encyclopedia today!

If you don’t want to get involved in court affairs so quickly, start with your living environment.

(End of this chapter)