Crossing the famine, I am a poor fish, and my descendants have to work hard

It’s the same building materials store we booked before.

The shopkeeper saw her coming and welcomed her warmly.

Zhao Yuanzhen didn't know how to calculate the quantity of building materials herself, so she told the shopkeeper what she needed to build.

"I want to build two more rows of gatehouses. I will use blue bricks and ordinary tiles. There will be six large rooms in one row of gatehouses. The surrounding walls will be about 6 meters long and 210 meters wide, and three meters high. They will also be made of blue bricks. The ground of the gatehouse will be made of earth bricks. That's about it. Please calculate how much material is needed."

The shopkeeper calculated it skillfully.

Zhao Yuanzhen suddenly remembered that they had not dug a well yet, and wondered if they could dig a well now.

After the shopkeeper calculated the data, he told Zhao Yuanzhen, who nodded.

"Boss, can we dig wells now? I want to dig two wells."

"Well, if we want to dig a well, we can still do it now, but it will be difficult in a few days because it will be frozen and we won't be able to dig in."

"Does the shopkeeper know the man who digs the well?"

"Well, there are a few well diggers who come here frequently to buy materials. Do you want any?"

"Okay, please help me make the contact. I want to dig two wells. It would be best if they can provide all the materials and labor, and the process should be faster."

"Okay, I'll contact you later, and when I deliver the materials, I'll ask the well digger to come and check on you."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, boss."

Zhao Yuanzhen then paid the bill, spending a total of more than 80 taels of silver. The main reason was the wall tiles, which were in great demand.

It's almost noon now.

There is also a carpenter working at home.

Zhao Yuanzhen asked Qian Xiaohui and the others to go back first, as she was going to buy land.

Then he walked away leading his little black horse.

Zhao Yuanzhen was afraid that the government office would be closed at noon, so he hurried to the government office and found Lord Wu.

It so happens that the prefect is not here today, and Lord Wu is on duty.

Zhao Yuanzhen took out Zhao Yuanlan's letter and handed it to Lord Wu.

After reading it, Lord Wu nodded.

"You want to buy land on both sides of the Yellow River? How much?"

"Yes sir, I want to buy about 6000 acres. Each side of the river is 20 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide."

"Buy so much?"

"Well, yes, sir, look, how much is this?"

Zhao Yuanzhen stuffed a few gold leaves over as she spoke.

Lord Wu held the gold leaf in his hand.

Smiling.

"The land on both sides of the Yellow River is not valuable. It is flooded all year round, so no one likes that land. It has been left there. Since you want it, I will give you the entire area from the former Chenqiao Ferry to Zhengnan County downstream. It should be several acres. As for silver. This piece of land is not valuable, but it is large in area. I will give you 800 taels of silver."

This was much cheaper than Zhao Yuanzhen had expected, and he also gave away more than 4000 acres.

Zhao Yuanzhen paid 800 taels of silver for the land.

Zhao Yuanzhen stuffed a few more gold leaves into Lord Wu's pocket.

Master Wu quickly began to write the deed for her, and then stamped and signed it.

The deed was in two copies. Zhao Yuanzhen kept one copy and kept the remaining copy in the government office for filing.

Zhao Yuanzhen then said hello to Lord Wu and left.

Including the gold leaves given away, this land is worth 1000 taels. It's a profit.

Thinking there was nothing to worry about, I hurried back.

There are still a lot of things to deal with at home.

After returning home, Qian Xiaohui and her friends had already prepared lunch.

After dinner, Zhao Yuanzhen gathered everyone and the hired servants to hold a meeting.

"To make a long story short, you all have entered my house and are now considered my family. I will give you five taels of silver each for the money you earned from selling your bodies, and you will also receive one tael of silver per month. You can use this money as you wish.

But let me be frank with you. Now that you're here, you have to abide by the rules of the house and being loyal goes without saying.

You must not talk about your master in private, you must not fight in private, you must not tell others about family matters, you must not be sneaky or cunning, and you must do well what your master tells you to do. As long as you perform well, your monthly salary will increase in the future.

Yue Lianyun, you have been educated and can read, so you should follow Xin Shu and be his servant. You will be responsible for his daily life, study and so on.

The 16 new people will be divided into four groups. Zhang Shu, Zhang Dao, Zhang Zhi, and Zhang Nan will temporarily serve as team leaders, each managing a team. If there are any violations of discipline or regulations, report them directly. I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Of course, if the team leaders do not do well, you can also report them.

Now let me introduce you to the people in my family.

Zhang Xinbai, my eldest son, is also the head of this family. My second son is Zhang Xinnian, my third son is Zhang Xinshuo, and my eldest grandson is Zhang Zijin.

Qian Xiaohui, my eldest daughter-in-law, will be the housekeeper of the family in the future. You can go to her if you have any problems. She will be responsible for all your affairs.

Of course, the second daughter-in-law is also the deputy housekeeper of the family, and what she says is equally efficient.

Zhang Qingyan, from now on, even if you are the nanny by my side and are the one who conveys things for me, you should get to know each other.

Have you memorized them all?"

"Remember!" These people all answered in loud voices.

I didn't expect that when I came here, I would not only have good food and accommodation, but also silver, which was five taels, and I would even get monthly stipends. This monthly stipend was not small.

With such good treatment, how could I not be happy?

"Now that you have remembered everything, I will start distributing daily necessities to you. Xiaohui and Zhijuan, distribute the wooden trays, tooth powder, toothbrushes, cotton shoes, soap beans, wooden combs, wooden pillows, kerosene lamps, and lamp oil you bought this morning. One kerosene lamp per room. The rest will be distributed to each person."

"Okay, mother."

The two asked everyone to line up and come over to receive their items.

Zhao Yuanzhen quickly bought 30 wooden toothbrushes from the mall.

The toothbrushes in the mall are only 30 point for 1. The ones in the store are simply too expensive.

He took the toothbrush out of his sleeve and handed it to Li Zhijuan.

Li Zhijuan took the toothbrush and started distributing meals.

Soon everyone was holding a basin.

There were various daily necessities in the basin.

I didn’t expect the host to be so nice. I have never used this toothbrush and toothpowder before.

The main reason was that Zhao Yuanzhen felt uncomfortable seeing them not brushing their teeth.

They even gave me cotton shoes with such good workmanship.

Everyone feels warm in their hearts and thinks the future is promising.

"I will start making cotton-padded clothes, underwear, socks, quilts, mattresses, etc. for you this afternoon. In the future, I will give you a set of clothes every time the season changes. If you need the rest, you can buy it yourself. If there is nothing else, we can go our separate ways."

Then the servants left.

Zhao Yuanzhen took her children and grandchildren to her main hall.

She sat down. Then they sat down.

"As the number of people in the family grows, we need to have a set of rules. Xin Bai and Xin Nian will be responsible for supervising their work. We will start building walls and digging wells tomorrow. After all the houses in the village are built, we will build two rows of gatehouses. You two will arrange the manpower and try to ensure that everyone has something to do.

If you have nothing to do, go up the mountain to collect firewood. For the whole winter, with so many kangs and fire dragons, as well as cooking, a lot of firewood is needed. As for these matters in the inner house, Xiaohui and Zhijuan, you two can discuss it.

I will start making cotton-padded clothes and quilts first.

I'll leave these to you three, Xiaohui.

Okay, you all go get busy.

Zhijuan, please stay for a moment."

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Li Zhijuan didn't know why her mother left her alone. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that she had not made her mother angry recently.

"Mother wants to tell you that I feel that your sister-in-law, as the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son, is the chief steward of the family, and I am afraid that you may feel uncomfortable. However, I have other businesses to be handed over to you to manage in the future, and I will not favor one over the other."

"Oh, mother, you scared me. I thought I did something wrong. I reflected on it for a long time and it turned out to be this. Don't worry, mother. It is normal for the eldest sister-in-law to be the housekeeper. I know that the eldest daughter-in-law has been the head of the family since ancient times. I won't think too much. Don't worry, mother."

"Okay, as long as you don't have any ideas, go ahead and get busy. Sort out the things you bought this morning and send all the things to your rooms. Just ask Qingyan to bring mine back."

"Oh, okay, Mom. I'll go right away."

Afterwards, Zhang Qingyan and her friends brought over her jewelry box, tea sets, vases, jewelry, bathtubs, candlesticks, palace lanterns, bamboo curtains, and so on.

The furniture was delivered shortly after they arrived.

Several people put things in place.

The jewelry box was placed on the dressing table, the vases were placed on the tables and flower tables, and Zhao Yuanzhen placed all the jewelry in the jewelry box. The bathtub was placed in the bathroom. The candlesticks and palace lanterns were also placed in their proper places.

Zhao Yuanzhen bought 200 candles.

I kept some for myself and let them share the rest.

There are 4 candlesticks in the bedroom, 6 in the main room, 2 in the bathroom, 2 in the small kitchen, and 2 in Zhang Qingyan's room.

Let them divide the rest among themselves, and put the rest in the warehouse.

Then he asked someone to help Zhang Qingyan arrange the furniture in the room.

As soon as everything was set up, the people delivering construction materials and the well diggers arrived.

Zhao Yuanzhen followed him out.

"Master, how much do you think it would cost to dig a well?"

"The price for the labor and materials is 15 taels of silver per bite. How many bites do you think you need?"

15 taels of silver per mouthful.

It's not bad. I'm responsible for all the work and materials and I don't have to worry about anything else.

Then take two shots.

One is in front of the kitchen and the other is on the right back side of the house.

"How long do you think it will take to finish?"

"For two wells, it will take six days."

That’s OK, not too slow.

Then the two of them let it go and decided to come over tomorrow.

Zhang Xinbai had already taken his servants to unload the construction materials and prepared to start building the wall.

Zhao Yuanzhen then followed Qian Xiaohui to her room.

Several people are preparing to make quilts and clothes.

"Mom, you're here!"

"Well, let me see if you guys are missing anything."

“Maybe there’s not enough cotton”

"Well, okay, you take apart all the old quilts in your house, clean them, make new ones, and give them to the servants. Then use new ones for yourself. See how much cotton is still missing?"

"Okay, mother, let me count. There are 13 sets of old bedding in the house. Many of them were taken out by you. There are still 8 sets for the servants, plus 8 sets for ourselves."

Zhao Yuanzhen remembered that there were still a lot of quilts and bedding in her space.

Then take them all out.

This adds up to 23 sets.

After washing it and re-sewing it, it is enough to serve as bedding for the servants.

Just be your own.

So Zhao Yuanzhen and Zhan Zhao's quilt weighed 8 jin and the mattress weighed 4 jin, and they started to calculate. 8 sets equaled 76 jin.

Later, I will make cushions, pillows, etc.

Just take out 100 kilograms.

Cotton is cheap, one point equals 15 kilograms.

Mainly because the planting industry is well developed and large-scale planting is carried out, this point is one or two taels of silver, which is equivalent to 1000 yuan in modern times.

With this calculation, it seems that the system is still very expensive.

They began to cut cloth, fluff cotton and sew.

A set of assembly line operations was produced.

Zhao Yuanzhen looked for a while and then left.