Family Cultivation: My Ancestral Home Gets Infinite Upgrades

The next morning.

Jiang Fu'an ate breakfast hastily, carefully stuffed the twenty taels of silver into his pocket, and then pushed open the door and walked towards the county town.

Yesterday, he had already persuaded his neighbors.

Without spending a single copper coin, the transfer of a thousand acres of farmland was settled.

Sun Xiuyuan promised yesterday that he would help with the remaining trivial procedures of transferring ownership and signing documents.

This became the first thing he did upon entering the city that day.

Secondly, they invited official craftsmen to survey the site for building the house.

This idea was also Sun Xiuyuan's.

If a family has a child who is a cultivator, hiring government craftsmen can bring some benefits.

Thirdly, he needs to acquire some tools.

Invading a cultivator's cave at night is no child's play; one must have some means of self-defense.

As soon as he stepped out the door, he saw the two Xu brothers squatting by the stone roller in the threshing ground, their necks hunched over.

Upon seeing him come out, the two hurriedly got up and ran over.

Xu Lao Er rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold, and asked expectantly:

"Brother Jiang, when can we start construction on our house?"

Seeing their hurried appearance, Jiang Fu'an found it somewhat amusing.

He gestured with his chin towards the village entrance:

"Let's talk as we go. Today I'm going to the county town to ask the official craftsmen to survey the terrain and draw up the construction plans."

"If you two are free, why don't you go together?"

"Official craftsmen?"

Xu Laoda followed half a step beside Jiang Fu'an, his steps somewhat hesitant:

"Would they be willing to help me build a house?"

Official craftsmen generally only served the imperial court and high-ranking officials; poor families like Xu Laoda's could never even dream of such a thing.

"Don't worry, I've thought it all out."

Jiang Fu'an continued walking, recounting the plan he had devised the previous night:

"This time, I plan to combine the adjacent homesteads of you, me, and Uncle Xu into one place to build a large mansion."

"On the surface, the property rights are all in my name. But once the house is built, you will naturally be allocated a side courtyard to live in."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lao Er's eyes widened, and he blurted out:

"Isn't this still building a house for your own family? Can't you build us a smaller one separately?"

Jiang Fu'an naturally wouldn't agree to build it separately for them.

The reason he wanted to bring the three families together was because he valued the Xu brothers for their honesty, filial piety, and trustworthiness.

He also hoped that the two men would become the guards of his household.

Once a house is built in one place, they will treat the entire courtyard as their own property and protect it.

This is much more cost-effective and reliable than hiring a high-paying job.

However, this thought cannot be openly expressed at the moment.

Jiang Fu'an remained calm and explained unhurriedly:

"If we build them separately, we won't be able to hire official craftsmen. If we hire private craftsmen, the expenses will be enormous, and where would I get that much money right now?"

"Besides, just think about it, if such a magnificent mansion were built, how proud you would be when you were arranging marriages in the future?"

"How could a young lady not be pleased upon seeing this family's home?"

Xu Lao Er's furrowed brows relaxed slightly upon hearing the words "arrange a marriage."

He smacked his lips, seemingly finding the argument to be reasonable.

Old Xu still felt something was wrong, but when he looked at his younger brother and thought about their ages, he realized they really couldn't afford to delay any longer.

He sighed softly and said nothing more.

The three of them walked in silence, but quickly entered the county town.

They first went to the county government office to pay a visit to Sun Xiuyuan.

Upon hearing about the transfer of land ownership, Sun Xiuyuan readily agreed and immediately summoned a clerk, giving him detailed instructions.

The originally complicated and time-consuming document handover was completed perfectly in less than an hour with the clerk personally leading the way.

As Jiang Fu'an walked out from under the high, gray walls of the county government office, he stopped and said solemnly to the Xu brothers:

"From now on, when we're out in public, you should call me 'the boss.' When you talk to people, just say that I hired him to look after the house."

Both of them were taken aback. Old Xu asked in confusion:

"Why is that?"

Jiang Fu'an had already prepared his explanation and calmly said:

"From now on, I will have a lot of miscellaneous tasks. From surveying to construction, I will need your help and supervision at all times."

"With the title of 'guardian of the courtyard,' you will have a more legitimate reason to deal with those officials and craftsmen and give them orders."

The two brothers exchanged a glance, pondered for a moment, and agreed that it made sense.

Little did they know that once they assumed the role of "guardian," it would be for life.

Then, Jiang Fu'an led the two to the official residence of the craftsmen.

After some negotiation, the construction period and remuneration were finalized. He then asked the Xu brothers to take the official craftsmen back to the village to conduct a survey, while he turned around and went into the bustling market.

He had to go and procure the necessary items for his nighttime exploration of the cave on his own.

These past few days, he has been pondering things over and over again, and has already come up with a comprehensive plan in mind.

The first thing to do is buy a pair of thick felt boots, and then find a blacksmith to hammer iron nails into the soles.

In this way, even when walking on icy and snow-covered mountain roads, one can stand firmly and not slip.

The second thing is to buy a bag of strong, throat-burning liquor.

In the deep mountains, the night is so cold that even the bones can freeze. In a pinch, you need to take a sip to revitalize your blood and prevent your body from stiffening.

Finally, there are weapons.

A dagger kept close at hand, and a long sword that is easy to wield.

Snowy nights are not always completely silent; there's always the chance that starving wild animals will come out to hunt for food. If you encounter one, you'll need to be prepared to fight.

As for thick clothes to keep warm and leather armor to protect the body, he was an old hunter and already had them at home, so there was no need to spend any more money.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

From that day on, Jiang Fu'an was so busy he barely had time to breathe.

During the day, he had to oversee the officials and craftsmen surveying the foundation, discussing the plans, and moving materials;

At night, someone needs to patrol and guard the construction site to prevent wild animals or thieves.

However, he and the three Xu brothers took turns patrolling at night.

It was during this process that Jiang Fu'an naturally suggested that since they were going out to patrol at night, they might as well take a few more steps and also check on the old houses where the three families were still living.

The Xu brothers thought about it and realized it was indeed a convenient matter, just a few extra steps away, so they agreed.

With someone helping to guard the courtyard, Jiang Fu'an's last worry about sneaking into the cave at night was dispelled.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

The season has reached Minor Cold.

On this day, a biting wind swept by, the sky darkened, and in the afternoon, large snowflakes began to fall, swirling and fluttering.

It was bitterly cold outside; breath turned to ice. The craftsmen, huddled up, finished their work and hurried back to their warm homes.

As night fell, the snow continued to fall.

Jiang Fu'an first finished "cultivating" Su Wanqing, and only after she fell asleep from exhaustion did he quietly get up.

Dressed neatly—in a thick fur coat, nailed boots, and leather armor—they also carried the prepared basket on their shoulders.

He didn't tell anyone about his plans for the evening.

At dusk, he casually asked the Xu brothers to keep an eye on his own courtyard while they were watching the construction site, to guard against petty thieves.

He gently opened the courtyard gate, then turned around and closed it again.

Jiang Fu'an's figure silently disappeared into the swirling snow.