Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Through Li Taifu's introduction, Zhang Youtie found the garden's designer, Master Qian. Before going, Zhang Youtie was filled with trepidation. To his surprise, upon meeting him, he found Master Qian to be very amiable and frankly stated that Li Taifu had already spoken to him about the matter.

After chatting for a while, Master Qian suggested that he go to Zhang Youtie's house to take a look.

At the scene, Zhang Youtie talked about the workshop his family planned to open, as well as some requests made by Xia Yu. An apprentice next to Master Qian was holding a notebook and writing down the Zhang family's ideas and requests one by one.

Finally, Master Qian pointed to the large expanse of wasteland opposite Zhang You's iron gate and asked...

"Does this piece of land already have an owner?"

"We'll have to ask the village chief to find out."

“I think this courtyard would be even better if you bought this piece of wasteland across the street. I suggest building the silk reeling workshop there,” Master Qian said, pointing to the empty land.

"That's enough for today. I'll go back and sort out your ideas to see which ones are feasible. I'll come back in a couple of days." After saying that, Master Qian led his apprentices back.

"Master Qian, it's almost noon. You've had a long morning. Why don't you have lunch here before you go back?" Zhang Youtie hurriedly invited him to stay.

"No, I have some ideas now and I need to go back and draw them out right away." Master Qian hurriedly said this and got into the carriage he had come in.

"Brother, please don't be offended. That's just my master's personality. He probably has some ideas right now and is eager to write them down or draw them out." Seeing his master like this, one of the disciples quickly spoke up to explain to Zhang Youtie.

Hearing this, Zhang Youtie finally understood why Master Qian had acted so strangely earlier, and quickly became polite.

"Master Qian truly deserves to be called a national-level construction master. His serious attitude is admirable."

After seeing Master Qian off, Zhang Youtie went straight to the village chief's house without lingering for a moment. After confirming that the land was unclaimed, Zhang Youtie said he wanted to buy it without even asking the price.

The village chief originally planned to come back the next day to measure the land, but Zhang Youtie couldn't wait. He grabbed the village chief's sleeve.

"Uncle, you're my uncle, so please go to your troubles today and help me measure it. Get a few more people to help, and I'll treat everyone to drinks tonight."

Well, urged by Zhang Youtie, the land was measured that very afternoon, totaling fifty-eight mu (approximately 1.6 hectares), which Zhang Youtie bought without hesitation. He paid the village money, and that evening, he had Uncle Ma deliver the newly purchased land to Master Qian's house. Early the next morning, Uncle Ma drove a mule cart with the village head to the county town to complete the land purchase formalities. That afternoon, Zhang Youtie received the land deed for the newly purchased land. The speed was remarkably fast.

After Master Qian returned that day, he didn't come over for several days. He came twice more later, and they discussed some details of the residence several times. Most of the remaining minor matters were relayed by his apprentice. It wasn't until ten days later that all the architectural designs for the houses were completed, forming a thick stack of drawings.

Seeing the exquisitely designed and detailed blueprints, Zhang Youtie exclaimed that this master was truly exceptional, and immediately paid the fee of one hundred taels of silver.

After receiving the blueprints, Zhang Youtie's family began recruiting. This time, they were hiring fifty people, with a daily wage of thirty coins, excluding meals. Those with experience working for the Zhang family would be given priority. The job posting was written by Xia Yu.

Most of the villagers were illiterate, so they didn't really read the job postings. The news spread quickly by word of mouth, and the story became known far and wide.

"Tsk tsk, how did the third son of the Zhang family suddenly become rich? It's really strange," said Passerby A.

"Yeah, I heard he only has a few ponds, selling fish and shrimp and such. How come he's so rich! Look at that job posting, the pay is higher than the garden that the big official in town is paying!" said Passerby B.

"I heard that the blueprints he used to design the house were designed by the same person who designed the house for that big official in town," said Passerby C.

"That can't be right. They have more than just one scholar in their family. How could they possibly hire such a big shot to design their house?" said Passerby A.

"What are you saying? What do you mean there's only one Xiucai? Is that an ordinary Xiucai? That's the top scholar. He might even become a Juren after this year's autumn examination." Passerby C scoffed at Passerby A's ignorance. Not all Xiucai are the same.

"Yes, that's very true. We also have a scholar in our village who tried to pass the imperial examinations his whole life but never succeeded," said Passerby B in agreement.

"..."

The conversation quickly shifted from why Zhang Youtie's family was so rich to the question about the scholar.

Regardless of what outsiders say, in the eyes of the villagers in the surrounding area, Zhang Youtie is someone they can no longer reach.

The 26th day of the first lunar month is auspicious for breaking ground, construction, laying foundations, travel, and trading.

That day, more than a hundred people stood outside the Zhang family's courtyard. Some were there to work, and some were there to watch the excitement. In addition, there were more than a dozen skilled craftsmen introduced by Master Qian. Zhang Youtie treated them all with courtesy and paid them one hundred coins a day.

At the chosen location, offerings were placed on an altar. At the auspicious hour, Zhang Youtie led the group in a groundbreaking ceremony. Construction officially began only after the ceremony.

This construction project includes not only dedicated silkworm rearing workshops, but also dedicated silk reeling workshops and cloth weaving workshops. The three workshops are connected together, but each workshop also has its own independent courtyard, so they do not interfere with each other.

On the site of Zhang Youtie's residence, three more courtyards were built to the north, with additional courtyards added to the east and west sides of each courtyard, even including designated areas for his grandchildren. Furthermore, a garden was planned behind the three courtyards. This garden was quite wide, extending north to the foot of the mountain and connecting to Zhang Youtie's residence to the south. Master Qian also brought in running water from the river and built small bridges, pavilions, and terraces in the garden. The overall style of the house combines the grandeur of the north with the gentle elegance of the south, featuring flowing water and bridges.

In addition, each room was equipped with the underfloor heating system that Xia Yu had requested, and each courtyard had a bathhouse. The drainage system was also built according to Xia Yu's requirements, using an ancient-style sewer system. Furthermore, two bathrooms were built near the pond, one for men and one for women, specifically for the household servants.

This year has been the most lively and busiest year for Xia Yu's family, or rather, for Zhangjia Village.

During this time, Xia Yu contacted Shen Jingheng once through Shijiu, mentioning that her family wanted to grow cotton and chili peppers. Shen Jingheng's reply was simple, just one word: "Agreed." He also sent a silver note for 20,000 taels of silver. Xia Yu couldn't figure out what he meant. Did he want to buy their cotton and chili peppers or something? Zhang Youtie and Liu Shi were the same; they didn't quite understand the meaning of the silver note.

Xia Yu's view is that if you can't figure something out, don't think about it, just do it.

After the first month of the lunar calendar, Zhang Youtie's family bought another 80 mu of wasteland to grow cotton and chili peppers. The previous land was all top-quality farmland, and they continued to grow grain there.

With more land available, clearing the wasteland was beyond the Zhang family's capacity. Zhang Youtie hired many day laborers, providing room and board for twenty copper coins a day. Many villagers who hadn't been selected for house construction came to work for the Zhang family. These were mostly people with little land who regularly sought work elsewhere. The day labor at Zhang Youtie's house suited their needs perfectly, allowing them to care for their families without having to travel far.

In addition, many people came to Zhang Youtie's house asking for watermelon seeds. Zhang Youtie explained to the villagers all the situations his family had considered before, including the price and potential problems that might arise during the sale. If they were still willing to grow them, Zhang's family would sell them watermelon seedlings for five copper coins each.

Although the words were made very clear, the villagers, seeing how Zhang Youtie's family had made a fortune from watermelons, remained enthusiastic about growing watermelons.

Finally, the village chief spoke up, saying that although watermelons are profitable, grain is the foundation of our livelihood as farmers, and we should not forget our roots.

The village chief's warning had some effect. At least no one was crazy enough to use all their land to grow watermelons anymore.