It's hard for my elder sister. I rely on the mountains to farm and pay off my debts.

Next, the Song family not only made cement floors in the main house but also in the east and west wing rooms.

Even the small yard was paved with cement, and fenced on both sides for growing vegetables.

A villager who came to the Song family to check out the kang saw the cement floor and asked Song Erzhu, who was working on it, out of curiosity:

"Hey, what is this ground made of? It looks very solid and smooth!"

Song Erzhu had become accustomed to being asked these past two days. He didn't even raise his head, but kept moving his hands as he spoke:

"This is called cement flooring. What I'm applying is called cement mortar, which is a mixture of cement and sand. As for how this cement is made, I have no idea."

"This cement was given by Ah Zhi!"

The villager continued to ask: "Is this thing expensive? I think this cement floor is easy to maintain. If it's not expensive, I want to have a kang at home, too.

“This looks so bright!”

"It's not expensive, it's not expensive. It's just that Brother Dashan thinks it's a waste to use blue bricks to pave the floor, so Azhi got this thing to mop the floor." A villager on the side answered quickly.

Tomorrow, Zhou the Carpenter will go to each household in the village to help build the kang.

At this moment, everyone was happy and excited. Now seeing the concrete floor, they felt even more itchy.

Since their houses have already been built, it is difficult to connect the stove directly to the interior.

Therefore, the only way to make a kang is to open a combustion port under the kang in the room.

However, in this case, when adding firewood indoors, firewood chips and ashes will inevitably be scattered.

If we had a cement floor inside the house, wouldn’t it be easier to clean?

After seeing the benefits of this cement ground, many villagers have this idea.

They went to the next door to look for Song Zhi, wanting to ask her where she bought the cement and how much it cost.

They also want to buy some to use as cement floors.

However, at this moment, Song Zhi and Wu were discussing the furniture making at Song Dahe's house, so he was not at home.

The villagers had no choice but to arrest Yang to inquire about the cement matter.

Ah Zhi once said that she had other plans for the cement, but Yang was not sure what her niece's plans were.

But she did know that it was not good to harm the child.

So when the villagers came to her, she just said that she would wait for Azhi to come back and ask.

......

At Song Dahe's house, Song Zhi was counting the things she wanted to order, "All the doors and windows in the new house, two tables, eight benches, as well as the wardrobes, desks, and small stools in the rooms..."

You wouldn't know unless you counted carefully, but once you counted, you would find that there are quite a lot of things that need to be bought for the new house.

When Mrs. Wu heard her granddaughter enumerating the dishes as if they were names, her heart began to beat fast. If they bought everything, it would cost dozens of taels of silver!

She hurriedly pulled her granddaughter's hand and advised, "Azhi, there will only be three of you sisters living in the new house, so there's really no need to buy so many sets of tables and chairs."

"The furniture for the back yard can be purchased later when someone moves in. It's not too late to buy the furniture for the front yard first."

Song Zhi did have her own plans. She patted Grandma's hand and said, "Grandma, you are right, but I also have my own considerations."

"Think about it, even though there are only three of us, we'll have to entertain guests once the house is built. If we don't even have a place to sit, wouldn't it seem like we're being inhospitable?"

"Besides, a new house should always have a new look. It's so boring to have it empty. Wouldn't it be more comfortable to have it fully furnished?"

"We'll reserve a room for you here in the future. If you want to come, you'll have to prepare everything!"

Seeing Wu's expression relax, Song Zhi continued, "As for the furniture in the backyard, I plan to do what I can. I'll first prepare a few basic items, such as tables, chairs, and desks for the guest rooms if necessary. The rest can be added gradually as the situation dictates."

When she said the last sentence, she leaned close to Wu's ear and said temptingly, "Also, if we can order more at one time, Uncle Dahe might give us a discount!"

"When making a lot of furniture, there will definitely be some leftover scraps. Uncle Dahe can piece them together and use them all, like making a few small stools or something..."

Mrs. Wu felt that her granddaughter's words made sense, so she nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, then I'll do as you wish."

Song Zhi praised sweetly, "I knew you were the wisest, grandma!"

The grandfather and grandson were whispering to each other, and at this time Song Dahe was also very excited.

Peace had just been restored to the country and the people did not dare to buy large amounts of household items, so the work he, a carpenter, could take was limited.

In addition, his leg was injured on the battlefield and he could not do any work that required him to stand for a long time, so he was extremely anxious.

If he takes this job, his income for the next six months will be secure.

Seeing that Grandma had been persuaded, Song Zhi turned to Song Dahe and said solemnly, "Uncle Dahe, we've already discussed it. We need your help with all the doors and windows of the new house. I'd also like to ask you for the tables, chairs, benches, and boxes I mentioned earlier."

When Song Dahe heard this, a bright smile immediately broke out on his face, and he promised repeatedly: "No problem, Azhi, don't worry! Uncle Dahe promises to make it strong and durable for you!"

He suddenly slapped his forehead, as if remembering something. "Look at my memory. I almost forgot to ask you, what kind of wood are you going to use to make these furniture?"

Song Zhi curiously inquired about the various types of wood and their prices, and Song Dahe patiently introduced them: "If you want to talk about the best choices for making furniture, then it is undoubtedly red sandalwood and huanghuali."

"Red sandalwood has a calming color, a dense and hard texture, and is wear-resistant and rot-resistant. Even after a hundred years, it remains as shiny and new, free of termites. Naturally, its price is quite high!"

"As for Huanghuali, it has clear and beautiful textures, a color as warm as jade, and is also corrosion-resistant. Although its price is slightly lower than red sandalwood, it is indeed not easily affordable for ordinary people."

"I don't recommend either of these two. As for more economical options, they are spruce, elm and birch." Song Dahe continued,

"Spruce is light, easy to work with, has a natural grain, and is affordable, while elm is tough, durable, and highly resistant to deformation."

"Although it is not as valuable as red sandalwood and huanghuali, it is more affordable and is the first choice for many ordinary families to build furniture."

"As for birch, it has a fine texture and strong plasticity, and is also suitable for ordinary families to make furniture, but it is slightly more expensive than spruce and elm."

When Mrs. Wu heard this, she was afraid that her granddaughter would choose the more expensive ones, so she immediately said, "Since many families choose spruce and elm, let's choose these two too."

"Dahe, can you calculate how much money it will cost?

Song Dahe said truthfully, "The exact cost of purchasing these wood materials requires me to carefully measure the dimensions of your house before I can determine it. However, if you want to make so much furniture, it will cost at least dozens of taels of silver!"

Mrs. Wu's heart trembled and she subconsciously looked at her granddaughter. In her life, how could she have spent so much money on furniture?

Song Zhi felt her grandmother's gaze and patted her hand to comfort her. She then took out a five-liang silver ingot from her pocket and handed it to Song Dahe, "Uncle Dahe, this is the deposit. I'll leave the furniture at home to you!"

Song Dahe took the heavy silver ingot of five taels from Song Zhi and said, "Don't worry, little girl Zhi, Uncle Dahe will definitely buy you the best furniture at the lowest price!"