Read Novel Full Chapter 248
Chapter 248: Moving
The Luo and Dou families were indeed paralyzed with fear. Their faces turned ashen—a reaction typical of younger members. The elderly patriarch of the Luo family stood in stunned silence for a while, his lips moving but unable to utter the words “The Luo family is finished.” As he opened his mouth, a gush of old blood spurted out, and he fell backward, collapsing to the ground.
The chaos and disorder were, of course, undeniable.
…
Sang Luo was unaware of the court’s movements or the reactions of the Luo and Dou families. By the end of May, the Shen family’s estate, covering nearly three acres and constructed with the help of many local villagers over three months, was completed. Because of the imperial decree, a stele pavilion was erected outside the estate by the authorities. With a pavilion, some space was left in front of the estate, adding to the total area, which thus exceeded three acres.
In Da Qi, one acre is approximately 500 square meters. Therefore, including the pavilion and open space outside, the Shen family’s estate covered around 1,600 to 1,700 square meters. Of course, the actual living space was not exaggerated—consisting mainly of the main house and the east and west wings. The main area was still the courtyards, especially the back courtyard and the row of buildings behind it.
Outsiders might not understand why the Shen family built such a large estate with their relatively small household. The people of Daxing Village had some idea. Sang Luo was skilled in many areas, and this estate was prepared for future business. It was also heard that Sang Luo had already bought a shop in the city.
Sang Luo had underestimated the cost of building a blue brick and tile house. Even though the land and labor were free, the house was constructed with high-quality materials like blue bricks and tiles and was built very simply. The courtyard was even just a dirt yard. Despite this, the cost of the materials alone far exceeded Sang Luo’s initial estimates.
Bricks and stones were not cheap. Additionally, with no cement available in this era, the bricks had to be bonded with a glue made from glutinous rice juice and egg whites, which was quite costly. With only twenty taels of savings plus the emperor’s reward, Sang Luo had spent 120 taels on buying a shop, leaving just over 100 taels. She had thought that 80 taels would be sufficient for the construction and basic furniture, leaving her with an extra 20 taels. However, just completing the house and buying the bricks and stones, along with providing food for the laborers, cost a full 90 taels.
Fortunately, Sang Luo was well-regarded, and the shopkeeper selling the bricks and stones knew she was the one honored by the emperor for her contributions. Thus, she received a discount, or else the cost would have exceeded 100 taels.
Sang Luo wasn’t worried. Since April, the vetch had been ready for harvest, and the Zhao brothers were diligent. The land and fruit trees on the over forty acres were planted with vegetables and soybeans, and many vegetables were ready to be harvested. Aside from feeding the workers, the surplus was sold at the eastern market. Shen Ning, Shen Jin, and even Qin Fangniang regularly went to the market, earning about 60 to 70 wen daily. By the time the house was completed, Sang Luo still had 17 taels of silver.
She was quite relaxed about it. With 17 taels, she could buy the necessary furniture for her family of four and still have some left over. With the house finished, she could now focus on the shop. She wasn’t worried about money at all.
Sang Luo hadn’t spent any of her own money on the furniture. She was planning to choose the furniture from the city shop with Shen Lie and Shen An when they took their vacation. However, Concubine Fan had already sent the furniture.
To avoid suspicion, after Sang Luo secretly handed over the plans to Concubine Fan, they hadn’t met again. Nevertheless, it was no secret that Concubine Fan was awarded the title of Third-Rank Noble Lady for her contributions to the construction of Shezhou. This was something that could not be attributed solely to Zeng Ziqian’s own merits. The emperor had likely heard about it through the imperial envoy who had come to deliver a decree to the Sang family. The Sang family, having offered the plow, deserved commendation, which also enhanced Zeng’s political achievements. Therefore, it was quite normal for Concubine Fan to send a substantial gift for the housewarming.
In fact, not just Concubine Fan, but also the Wang and Chu families had prepared gifts, waiting to be delivered on the moving day.
Concubine Fan had a good grasp of the situation. Upon seeing the long procession of people carrying furniture, Sang Luo was surprised: “Why so much?”
Concubine Fan replied, “How is this a lot? Considering your family size, I’ve only prepared furniture for the main house and the east and west wings.”
Before Sang Luo could decline, Concubine Fan pressed her hand and whispered, “Don’t refuse. The emperor granted a reward for the water mill, so let me spend a bit. I would have even brought some boxwood if I wasn’t afraid of being too ostentatious.”
Sang Luo couldn’t help but smile lightly but accepted the gift, thanking Concubine Fan.
At this point, Sang Luo’s pregnancy was evident. Concubine Fan, who hadn’t seen her in three months, was quite surprised: “Are you pregnant? It looks like you’re four or five months along.”
Sang Luo smiled, “The pregnancy was confirmed in January, so it should be nearly six months. I haven’t gained much weight, and my belly isn’t very large.”
If it weren’t for the baby being so active lately, Shen Lie would have been worried that building the house was too stressful for her. He had even made three chickens for her in May for nourishment and she had been drinking a lot of goat milk.
Concubine Fan was pleased to see Sang Luo pregnant. They had collaborated on such a big project, and even though they avoided meeting in person to avoid suspicion, they were quite close at heart. Concubine Fan had children of her own, though she couldn’t keep them with her. She was excited and shared her experience: “It’s good that you’re not gaining too much weight. It makes labor easier and recovery quicker. Don’t think you need to overeat during pregnancy. It’s better to control weight gain in the later stages. Otherwise, you’ll suffer. I have an experienced old midwife. I’ll have her visit you more often in the last two months.”
“Does she know how to deliver babies?” Sang Luo asked instinctively, as there were no doctors to assist with childbirth in ancient times, and she was understandably anxious.
Concubine Fan smiled, “Yes, she delivered my son, Heng’er. If you trust her, I’ll have her stay with you during labor.”
“That’s perfect. How could I not trust her?” Sang Luo was delighted and held Concubine Fan’s hand, saying, “To be honest, I’m a bit nervous.”
Concubine Fan understood that the Sang family likely had no remaining members and was possibly the only one left. Feeling sympathetic for Sang Luo, who had no family around, she patted her hand reassuringly: “Don’t worry. She’s an experienced old midwife from my family. My mother specially arranged for her to come along.”
After a few more words, they moved away from the door. Sang Luo, who was pregnant, was concerned about the risk of bumping into furniture movers. She looked at the furniture sets for the main house and let Shen Ning choose sets for the east and west wings. She then handed over the task of moving and installing the furniture to Shen Ning and sat with Concubine Fan in the pavilion outside to rest.
Looking around Daxing Village, with several large flower fields visible, Concubine Fan was curious. She didn’t recognize the vetch but had seen similar flowers in the countryside, perhaps wild grasses? She asked Sang Luo about them.
“These are vetch flower fields,” Sang Luo explained. “On one hand, they’re economically beneficial. On the other hand, more than seventy acres of the emperor’s bestowed fertile land couldn’t be cultivated in time. Vetch is a good fit, and my shop will have honey for sale.”
In fact, not only did Sang Luo grow vetch, but Daxing Village also had many families with mountain lands. With Sang Luo’s pregnancy and the house being built with help from the village, the villagers, including the elderly and women, took turns helping with meals for the workers. After years of mutual support, Sang Luo had shared beekeeping methods with the families, so each had grown a good amount of vetch, resulting in the scene Concubine Fan saw upon entering Daxing Village.
Sang Luo found the economic aspects of farming and breeding quite fascinating. However, Concubine Fan knew her boundaries. She had no intention of probing into the secrets of such profitable ventures or asking Sang Luo to share them. With a smile, she said to Sang Luo, “With your temperament and leadership, it’s only a matter of time before the entire Daxing Village prospers.”
Although Concubine Fan had sent a lot of furniture, the number of people delivering it was also substantial. Since Sang Luo and her family were living in the south wing, which had been finished first, and the main house and east and west wings were still empty, setting up the furniture was quick. In just a little over an hour, everything was arranged.
Sang Luo informed everyone that the housewarming banquet would be held on the tenth of June. Concubine Fan considered it and declined, saying, “If I come, it might make others uncomfortable. I’ll skip that day.”
Concubine Fan advised Sang Luo to rest more and not worry too much. She then took her leave with her entourage.
As soon as she left, the villagers gathered around to see the excitement. They admired the main house and the east and west wings, clearly envious.
Wei Lingzhen, recognizing the value of the furniture, mentioned to her mother-in-law, “The furniture that the governor’s wife sent today probably cost even more than the money Sang Luo spent on the house.”
Mrs. Xu was not surprised. She said, “Can it be more precious than that box of ‘Shangshu Zhushu’? That’s a collection of texts passed down only within the Zheng family, not shared with outsiders. In my opinion, our family and the few households in Daxing Village are incredibly fortunate. Even Yun Zheng has benefited immensely.”
…
In the afternoon of the same day, Chen Dashan and his team returned, bringing along a man about thirty years old. Sang Luo and Zhou Ge were making clothes for the baby when they heard Chen Dashan say they had found the family of Shi Erlang’s wife.
“They really know how to hide. Their entire clan lives in a huge cave. While it’s not as secretive as Yun Valley, it’s still deep in the mountains. Ordinary people would never venture there.”
He was dirty and didn’t come close to Zhou Ge and Sang Luo. After washing up, he continued, “We won’t be going into the mountains anymore. We’ve found most of what we could. The population outside Shezhou city has increased significantly. If there are any still hiding, they would come out on their own once they see the situation. So, we’ll stop the work for the yamen from today.”
“That’s fine,” Zhou Ge said cheerfully, not feeling disappointed about the lack of more money. “We made over thirty taels and got nearly a hundred acres of mountain land for twenty years. What’s there to be dissatisfied about?”
Sang Luo also smiled, “Don’t worry, we won’t be idle. We’ll rest for two months, then we’ll fence the courtyard. There will be plenty for you to do afterward.”
Chen Dashan and his wife’s eyes lit up, knowing Sang Luo was referring to the plan for the two families to partner in opening a shop. Chen Dashan asked Sang Luo, “Aren’t yams only harvested in winter?”
Sang Luo smiled, “There are other things, and it won’t be a problem.”
On the tenth of June, Shen Lie and Shen An began inviting people two days in advance. Apart from Chu Qichang and classmates from the prefecture school who had notified them early of their intention to congratulate, the rest were neighbors who had helped with the house construction over the past three months.
Sang Luo and Shen Ning were also busy. They harvested and dried reed grass for several days. Women skilled in weaving from the village came to help, making three new mats. Since cotton was not available for purchase, they asked Zhou Cunzheng’s wife to help clean and fluff old quilts, making several new bedding sets.
On the morning of the eleventh, chickens and rabbits were slaughtered. Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s team also managed to catch two wild boars, setting up sixteen tables for the banquet to thank the villagers for their help in building the house.
The banquet was plentiful, with enough meat and vegetables for everyone, and invited villagers to bring their entire families.
Over the past three months, each neighboring household had sent at least one or two people to help, with some assisting for more than ten days. The neighbors had worked on the house without any wages, so it was only right to treat them generously.
Wang Maolin sent his sixth brother, a classmate of Shen Lie, to offer congratulations. The steward brought several loads of gifts, including fine fabrics and silk that were hard to find. Chu Qichang also arrived with a servant carrying ten taels in red envelopes. The prefecture school classmates who knew Shen Lie also came. Unlike the villagers who went straight to the banquet, this group headed straight to the pavilion to view the emperor’s decree and calligraphy. They spent over fifteen minutes there with Wei Qinghe, Wang Yunzheng, and Shen An before finally sitting down for the feast.
Had it not been for the separate display of the decree and the emperor’s calligraphy, some might have wanted to see the emperor’s calligraphy up close and experience its dragon energy.
Of course, there were those who hadn’t seen Sang Luo before and were curious about what kind of person Shen Lie’s wife was. However, that was just wishful thinking. With Sang Luo being pregnant and so many people coming and going, including those with children, she dared not appear. According to the maid, she stayed quietly in the room.
When the dishes began to be served, everything was fine at first. The tables were mostly filled with Shen Lie’s classmates, who were among the first-year students admitted to the prefecture school. Few came from poor backgrounds; even the least wealthy were still well-off in Shezhou. So, the meats—chicken, fish, wild boar—and the dry rabbit meat, made by Shen Ning and Sang Luo, were well-prepared and acceptable.
It was only when unfamiliar dishes, including tofu, were served that the surprise began.
Tofu.
No, these people didn’t know it was called tofu. To those in the know, it was called Li Qi.
Chu Qichang: Oh no!
He quickly recalled whether he had mentioned to Shen Lie during his visit that Li Qi was unique to the Zheng family and was a status symbol often presented to guests?
Perhaps he hadn’t mentioned it?