Chapter 295: Chapter 295 Start of Work Chapter 295: Chapter 295 Start of Work “Help my ass, it’s not my house anyway.” Old Lady Mo was green with envy, her heart heavy with resentment. After all, even when adding up all of the Mo family’s property, they lacked the means to build a single residence.
“Heard they’ve got quite a spread of meat and veggies ready for when they start work tomorrow.”
Mr. and Mrs. Mo Daoyan chatted excitedly, their faces alight with greed, as they remembered the feast of meat and vegetables they had last enjoyed at the Mo family, and they were still salivating at the thought.
“I’m their grandmother, wouldn’t it be outrageous if I didn’t help out and they didn’t even offer me a meal?” Old Lady Mo stated as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Mr. and Mrs. Mo Daoyan looked at Old Lady Mo with sheepish grins, ingratiatingly suggesting, “Mother, how about we all go with you when the time comes, wouldn’t that be great?”
“Good! We’ll all go together then.” Thinking of strength in numbers and that Madam Xie wouldn’t be able to deny them a meal without losing face, Old Lady Mo agreed without hesitation.
The next day, the old residence began to be dismantled, and preparations were made to start the new construction after selecting an auspicious day. Xuexue initially gave fifty taels of silver to the foreman, so he could purchase materials for the house.
Big Bull, along with a few villagers, set up a simple shed beside the old residence to cook and boil water for the workers.
Xuexue also hired a few rural women to help with the cooking, paying them fifteen copper coins each for a day’s work, which they found delightful. Cooking two meals a day was nothing for them, and they couldn’t believe they were able to earn money doing it.
“Xuexue, you’re a young lady with real talent. In just a few days, you’ve managed to build a residence.” The women praised Xuexue as they cooked.
Now, in their eyes, Xuexue was their God of Wealth. The husbands of two of the women were mason masters helping with the house, and just from wages, they made forty copper coins a day, so they worked all the harder.
“What talent? It’s all good luck,” Xuexue replied modestly.
“Right, Xuexue, who taught you how to plant garlic out of season? We’ve farmed our whole lives and never knew you could plant like that.”
“I figured it out on my own.”
“Xuexue is so clever, Big Bull is lucky indeed!” The women chatted and laughed cheerily as they cooked, creating a lively atmosphere.
There were five mason masters and a few apprentices to build the house, with over a dozen workers in total. Xuexue brought over more than 20 jin of pork. The cooking women were busily occupied, but also overjoyed, for they not only got paid but also had meat to eat—an unusually good deal indeed.
“Aunties, do you have any extra vegetables at home? I’ll buy them with silver. If not, take a walk around the village and see who has some. I’ll pay two wen of money per jin, buying ten jin a day.”
The women were thrilled upon hearing this; their homegrown vegetables weren’t worth two copper coins! Even if they sold them at the market, they couldn’t fetch such a good price, and they eagerly vied to say, “I have some, I have some.”
“No rush, no rush, let’s take turns from each family. We need a daily supply, and quite a lot of it. The house won’t be finished until a month from now.”
By Noon, with the collective effort of over a dozen men, the old residence had been completely demolished, ready for clearing debris that afternoon, and they could start the construction on an appointed day.
A few women brought tables from their homes and set them up on the open ground next to the old residence. Soon, the tables bore heaping plates of fragrant, steaming braised pork with green vegetables and rice, delighting the masons who rarely encountered such good food while working on other people’s properties.