Feng Pingyuan came to report the house building matters to Bai Sheng, and Bai Sheng took the opportunity to ask him if there was anything that could make stone blocks stick firmly when building stone walls.
Feng Pingyuan smiled and said, "Of course there is. The 'Comprehensive Treatise on Agriculture' records a method for making mortar, which uses brick dust mixed with tung oil, lime, glutinous rice paste, white clay, and dried pig manure charcoal. Once dry, it is 'as hard as stone bricks'."
Bai Sheng was overjoyed. She wanted to build a very strong stone house, with stone blocks for the walls, except for the roof. This kind of mortar should be very suitable.
"Where can I buy this kind of mortar?"
Feng Pingyuan said, "This kind of thing is generally used by wealthy families when building houses, so it is relatively expensive. However, there will definitely be some in the county town or prefecture city."
Bai Sheng understood.
The house needed to be expanded a bit more, with several more warehouses added. Bai Sheng explained her house building ideas and requirements to Feng Pingyuan again.
Feng Pingyuan said that as long as the materials were in place, Bai Sheng didn't need to worry about any of the house building matters. He would build the house according to her needs and guarantee her complete satisfaction.
Bai Sheng felt much more at ease with Feng Pingyuan's confidence.
The next issue was to raise money.
Digging wells had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
In the evening, after closing the door curtain, Bai Sheng used her consciousness to tell Hengheng to have Lightning hide farther away, as she was about to enter the space.
She didn't want to see a terrifying giant silver snake as soon as she entered the space.
Lightning obediently hid, not finding anything wrong with it.
Hengheng, however, felt very sympathetic towards it, but there was nothing that could be done, as the master was afraid of snakes.
Bai Sheng quietly entered the space and walked to the bamboo forest, cutting down all the thick bamboo.
Unexpectedly, the moment the bamboo fell, a large silver snake darted away from the bamboo forest.
Bai Sheng was so frightened that her heart nearly stopped. She couldn't help but roar at the receding shadow of Lightning, "Lightning! Didn't I tell you to hide?!"
Lightning: Master, I did hide. I hid in the bamboo forest.
After Bai Sheng calmed her pounding heart, she tidied up the bamboo and then went to the forest to cut trees.
The forest was not very large, but the trees were dense, straight, and tall, looking very beautiful.
Although it was a shame to cut them, they were all good materials for building the house.
Thinking that they would grow back, Bai Sheng no longer felt heartbroken. She closed her eyes and urged her consciousness, and the sound of "crackling" filled the air as trees fell to the ground.
Through the gaps between the trees that crashed down, a silver snake struggled to survive, terrified and dumbfounded.
That was close! If it hadn't been slim enough, it would have been crushed to death by these trees today!
Bai Sheng's heart pounded again, and she yelled at the dumbfounded silver snake, "Lightning! Why do you have to follow me wherever I go? Didn't I tell you to hide? Don't you know how scary you look!"
This time, Lightning felt truly wronged. It crawled sluggishly over the fallen trees with a resentful expression: Master, I really did hide. But the space only has the bamboo forest and the forest as hidden places. Who knew you would be cutting bamboo and felling trees today?
Besides being wronged, Lightning almost developed self-doubt about its appearance. Why did the master always say it looked too scary?
In the past, in the snake world, everyone (snakes) said it was the most beautiful snake. Could those rascals have been spreading false propaganda, trying to ruin it?
Lightning decided to go to the stone pool and look at its reflection in the water to objectively assess its appearance.
After Lightning left, Bai Sheng tidied up the wood again and placed it in the space to dry.
With these bamboos and wood, it should be enough to build the house and make furniture.
All that was left was to wait for Lu Ye to return, retrieve the camel cart, and figure out how to transport them openly.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The three-tiered stone platform had been laid, and the stone walls were about to be built, but there was no mortar.
Bai Sheng asked Feng Pingyuan to temporarily suspend the work for two days, as she planned to go to the county town herself.
Firstly, she could sell the black stones that Lightning had brought. Secondly, she could buy mortar. Thirdly, she could take some of the grain from the space to sell. Anyway, the second batch of grain would be ripe soon, which was enough for the family to eat.
In the future, the amount of grain in the space would increase, and it couldn't be transported openly. If she sold it in Tianshui Town, she might encounter acquaintances and attract suspicion. It would be best to sell it in the county town, so this trip was also a chance to explore the grain market.
Du Min and Feng Pingyuan did not agree with Bai Sheng going alone, as in this savage world, there were many people who hunted humans for food.
But Bai Sheng's attitude was very firm, and no one could change it.
Early the next morning, after settling everything at home, she set off with a bundle on her back.
Everyone at Hongshu Slope stood on the sand dune watching Bai Sheng leave, until her figure became a small black dot moving in the desert.
After two consecutive days of rest, they still had food and water, and they were all deeply moved.
Du Min and Feng Pingyuan's hearts, however, were tightly clenched. They wondered if the madam would encounter any danger going to the county town alone.
When Bai Sheng arrived at the town, she took an open-top horse-drawn carriage to the county town.
There were several other passengers in the carriage, all of them sallow and dusty.
Seeing that she was alone and a young girl, they kindly asked her what she was going to the prefecture for.
Bai Sheng was constantly on guard, but her expression was very calm. She pretended to be mature and said that her husband was handling affairs in the county town and had been away for a long time, so she was going to visit him.
A thin woman in slightly more presentable clothing said, "It's right to keep a close eye on them. There are so many flashy vixen in the county town. As soon as they see an opportunity, they charm people, deceiving both money and sex. As for men, very few of them aren't blinded by greed."
Bai Sheng smiled faintly, "Auntie, you are right. I must keep a close eye on my man."
The middle-aged woman was delighted to hear the young girl call her "Auntie" and touched her cheek. It seemed she wasn't that old yet; even such a young girl thought she was just a sister-in-law.
A skinny, dark-faced uncle beside her was displeased. He glanced at the middle-aged woman and said, "Men are blinded by greed, isn't it because you women seduce them? Few women are good things!"
"Hey, what are you talking about! Are your mother, wife, and daughter not good things?" The middle-aged woman slapped her thigh, showing a posture ready to fight.
The skinny, dark-faced uncle was not to be outdone. He raised his fist and threatened, "If you keep yapping, old hag, I'll beat you to death!"
"Who are you calling an old hag! You old hag!" The middle-aged woman suddenly stood up. The carriage swayed unsteadily, and she tilted and fell onto Bai Sheng.
Seeing that the two were about to start fighting, and fearing that the commotion would affect her, Bai Sheng immediately changed the subject, "Auntie, from what you say, do you often go to the county town and are you very familiar with it?"
"More than familiar, I live in the county town! The middle-aged woman sat down, a sense of superiority of a city dweller appearing on her face. "Little girl, you have quite a good eye. My family sells cloth, and I often go to the prefecture city to see what's trending in the capital."