I have been farming since I crossed over.

After returning to the thatched cottage, Lu Jintang invited Uncle Wu and his family again, and handed over all the matters related to raising the beams of the riverside house to Uncle Wu. Some of the boys in the Wu family stayed here to help with raising the beams and laying tiles.

Because the auspicious time for raising the beam is after one stick of incense has passed in the Chen hour, people would finish practicing early in the Mao hour, have breakfast directly, and then rush over to carry out the beam raising ceremony.

After everything was explained, everyone dispersed and went to bed.

On the morning of February 26th, at a little before the hour of Mao, Yang Mingxi was woken up by Lu Jintang again. Looking at Yang Mingxi with sleepy eyes, Lu Jintang for the first time thought of not letting Yang Mingxi join the morning practice.

"Why don't you not practice this morning? It looks like you haven't woken up yet." Lu Jintang said with concern.

Yang Mingxi stood up obediently with a somersault, put on her clothes and said, "No, my body is my own. I can hold on."

After finishing their morning practice, everyone trotted over to Old Yang's house for breakfast. Lu Jintang said, "Your house is almost finished. Have you figured out when to put up the beams? Once it's finished, just move over here so you don't have to run back and forth."

Yang Mingxi said, "I don't worry about this matter. My mother and uncle are here, so I don't need to worry about it. It should be done soon!"

After breakfast, Lu Jintang arranged for Lu Wu to lead the people of Changshan Village to Qianhuang Village, and arranged for Lu Si to help Uncle Wu put up the beams next to the house by the river. He took Yang Mingxi back to Qianhuang Mountain first.

When he arrived at Qianhuang Mountain, Yang Mingxi discovered that many houses had been built. In addition to the dozen or so small courtyards with three entrances, there were more than ten or twenty ordinary houses with three or five rooms on the side, and all of them had their beams put up on the same day.

Lu Jintang returned to Qianhuang Mountain and ordered Lu Daluer to call all the masters, as well as the people who were responsible for putting up the beams today. He would wait for the villagers from Changshan Village to arrive and then redistribute the manpower.

Soon, the construction workers arrived. The chief foreman was an elderly man known as Old Man Sun, who brought his four sons. The second-in-command was Uncle Yuan, who brought his three sons. The supervisor, Old Man Liu, also brought his three sons. Including the bricklayers, two people each laying the foundation and digging the foundation, there were exactly sixteen people in total. Each person led a team to build the main beams for the main house in a small courtyard. The others could continue after the main beams were finished.

Lu Jintang sat in the main seat, and Yang Mingxi stood beside him. He watched Lu Jintang make arrangements and said, "Old Man Sun, there are sixteen of you. Each of you will lead a team and be responsible for raising the beams and laying the tiles in one courtyard. Is that a problem?"

Old Man Sun stepped forward and said, "Master Thirteen, there shouldn't be any problems. At most there are a few tiles left. We can continue laying them tomorrow."

Lu Jintang asked, "If we want to finish the job in one day, how many more people will we need?"

Old Man Sun looked at the group of people behind him and saw that they had no objections, so he said, "Adding six more people to each group should be no problem."

Lu Jintang said, "Master Lu, separate 16 people from the transport team to cooperate with Father Sun. The rest will follow you and you will make the arrangements."

Lu Da responded and left to arrange for the personnel. In this temporary house in Qianhuang Mountain, silence suddenly fell, and no one spoke.

Yang Mingxi stirred and was about to go out for some fresh air when she heard Lu Er come in and say, "Master, my nephew is here."

Lu Jintang sat still and said, "Just tell him to come over here! Has he brought anyone with him?"

"Yes, there are many people following me." Lu Er said and prepared to go out.

Lu Jintang stood up and said, "I'll go!" Then he turned and went out, and Yang Mingxi hurriedly followed.

"Uncle, how are your preparations going?" Tang Jiahang joked when he saw Lu Jintang from afar.

"We'll put up all the beams together later, lay all the tiles today, and then let them air dry for seven days before we can move in. There's no problem with the time at all." Lu Jintang said.

Tang Jiahang's eyes widened in shock. He said in disbelief, "Aren't there only about 50 people following you? How come you're moving so fast? I didn't see you transporting bricks and tiles."

Lu Jintang shook his head and said, "To be exact, it's 52 people. All the houses here will be completed today. We will start building some ordinary houses around Qianhuang Mountain later. It will be completed in ten days at most."

Tang Jiahang acted as if he had just met his uncle. He said, "My uncle has made great progress. I brought 50 people with me and they can help us here." He turned to the person behind him and said, "Master Qin, you and your men will follow my uncle's instructions."

Master Qin stepped forward and said, "Follow Master Thirteen's instructions."

"Who are they and what can they do?" Lu Jintang asked.

Master Qin stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Master Thirteen, they are all well-known builders in the county, and they are all skilled builders."

"Okay, 16 people come out and follow Old Man Sun's arrangements. The rest of you will be responsible for raising the beams and laying the tiles of an ordinary house. I will assign four more people to each of you. Complete all the raising of beams and laying of tiles today." Lu Jintang said.

"I'm afraid it can't be completed in one day!" said one of them.

"My tiles are of new model. One tile covers the same area as twenty ordinary tiles, so there is no problem." Lu Jintang had just finished speaking when he saw Village Chief Zhang coming over with a large group of people.

Seeing that there was only a cup of tea left before the beams were put up, Village Chief Zhang urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't dawdle."

Coming to Lu Jintang, Village Chief Zhang said, "Mr. Lu, everyone is here, you can make the arrangements!"

Lu Jintang said, "Fellow villagers, you will mainly cooperate with the masters I have hired to help carry some beams and tiles and deliver mortar. Divide into teams of four and follow the masters of each team."

Village chief Zhang said, "Four in a row, hurry up." The villagers quickly formed four long rows, and then Old Man Sun came with his men, one person from each row, and followed them to the courtyard they were responsible for to prepare.

In the end, there were only more than 20 people left. Lu Jintang asked them to follow Lu Da, who would assign them tasks.

Tang Jiahang looked at Lu Jintang, who had made all the necessary arrangements, and said with a smile, "Master Qin, hurry up and preside over the beam raising ceremony."

Master Qin said, "Master Thirteen, which courtyard is the ceremony being held in? Let's go there now!"

The group arrived at the small courtyard in the middle. Lu Jintang pointed at it and said, "It will be held here."

Lu San hurried forward and handed the prepared items to Master Qin. Lu Jintang knelt down and heard Master Qin say, "The auspicious time is almost here. Are the offerings ready?"

Lu San stepped forward and said, "The offerings are ready. The sacrificial wine and offerings are also ready. The sacrificial red has been distributed to each person responsible for raising the beams. The sacrificial couplets have also been arranged and can be posted at your command. The sacrificial cannons are also ready. Now it is almost the auspicious time."

Master Qin looked at the sky and said, "Offer sacrifices and light incense."

Lu San arranged for people to carry the altar and set it up. Lu Jintang went over to take the offering, knelt down three times and kowtowed three times before placing the offering on the altar. Then he lit three incense sticks and knelt down to insert them into the altar.

Master Qin continued, "Today is a sunny day, let's raise the beams. The Lu family has built a beautiful hall, and the hall is built on Longfukou. Let's all work together to raise the beams."

Then he paused and said, "Tie the sacrificial red and post the sacrificial couplets."

"Offer a sacrifice."

Lu San handed a red-feathered rooster to Master Qin. Master Qin took out a knife, slashed the rooster's neck, and then threw the blood onto the beams. At the same time, he picked up grains and copper coins, sprinkled them on the beams, and shouted, "Fire the sacrificial cannon, and raise the beams."

The firecrackers exploded, the sound shaking the sky.

Lu Jintang knelt alone in front of the altar, prostrating himself on the ground.

Master Qin continued, "One step higher, you will enter the imperial court. Two steps higher, you will have twin phoenixes facing the rising sun. Three steps higher, you will have three top honors and a younger brother. Four steps higher, you will have wealth all year round. Five steps higher, you will have a good harvest. Six steps higher, you will have spring all year round. Seven steps higher, you will have seven stars shining brightly. Eight steps higher, you will have eight immortals floating on the sea. Nine steps higher, you will have nine sons passing the imperial examinations. Ten steps higher, you will have everything and you will enjoy eternal prosperity and wealth."

Lu Jintang knelt on the ground and said loudly: "Jintang, the thirteenth son of the Lu family, is here to bless you. Everything will be fine!" Then he knelt down and kowtowed nine times.

The beams on the roof had been put up, and everyone shouted loudly, "Good, good, good!"