"Miss Xiao, do you need a lot of bamboo for building the kitchen?"
"Yes, we're planning to put up a fence, and we'll need to cover it with thatch. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome when it rains."
"You're just having your family work on it? You can't do it. This is skilled labor; it requires both strength and technique. Your family of women and children won't be able to handle it," Qingsheng exclaimed. "Seriously, Miss Xiao, you're oversimplifying. You need to hire craftsmen for this."
"It's fine, we'll learn as we go."
People are driven by necessity.
Chun Nuan thought: If I had money, I would hire craftsmen, too. The problem is we don't have money, right?
If only a single penny could be stretched into ten, how could we have the means to hire craftsmen?
"It's true we can't manage it."
What we initially thought would be solved by cutting a few pieces of bamboo has turned into a major project.
Zhao Minghua paused for a moment after hearing this, then directly tossed his machete to the ground.
"Qingsheng, go call your father and your brother to help."
"No, no," Chun Nuan was startled. "Our family can do it ourselves..."
"Miss Xiao, are you sure you can handle it?" Zhao Minghua gave the girl in front of him a side-eye, stubborn as ever: "What can your grandmother, your mother, and your aunt and sister-in-law do? What can your siblings under ten years old do to help you? Don't forget, you still need to prepare Bianxia."
Preparing Bianxia requires time and effort.
Chun Nuan bit her lip; what he said made sense.
"But, I can't afford to pay the craftsmen, or provide them with meals."
"No, no," Qingsheng said cheerfully. "My father and brother are idle at the manor, let them come help, and it'll be done in two days."
"That won't work, I don't want to owe anyone a favor."
Zhao Minghua... such stubbornness.
Are all girls from the Capital like this, dying for face and living in suffering?
"I'll pay you a tael of silver for your work on the Bianxia; you can advance it, so you'll have money to hire craftsmen and provide food."
"That won't work either."
Zhao Minghua, hearing another refusal, rolled his eyes in exasperation. This won't work and that won't work, then what's the reason?
"Our family is all women and children; it's inconvenient to host craftsmen."
"Oh, what a trivial matter," Zhao Minghua said. "You don't have to provide food; just pay a little extra in wages, and everyone will be happy."
It seems to make sense!
"Qingsheng, go call your father and brother to help."
"Yes, young master."
Qingsheng dropped a big bag of Bianxia and ran off.
"This rascal, making the young master carry it personally."
Chun Nuan dragged the bamboo and led her younger siblings home, with Zhao Minghua carrying a bag of Bianxia following behind.
"Mr. Zhao."
The Xiao family was familiar with this young master who often freeloaded meals; Mrs. Xu, who was doing laundry, quickly greeted him.
"Auntie, continue with your work. I've brought medicinal herbs for Miss Xiao to process."
"So many?" Mrs. Xu was a bit worried her daughter wouldn't manage, given she already had to fry flower cakes daily, and everything depended on her.
"No worries, I'll deliver in half a month," Chun Nuan looked at Zhao Minghua. "In the future, if you have any medicinal herbs that need processing, feel free to send them over."
"Okay." Zhao Minghua noticed that with his presence, the women of the Xiao family seemed to avoid him: well, these people really — it's not like he's a monster!
They felt uneasy with him around, so he might as well leave.
"Once Qingsheng brings his father and brother here, just tell them what to do." Thinking for a moment, Zhao Minghua added, "Uncle Niu is an experienced bamboo craftsman; you might want to listen to his advice."
"Alright, thank you."
Zhao Minghua waved his hand, nonchalantly walking away.
Mrs. Xu, carrying a bowl of hot water, caught sight of the young man's back.
"Nuannuan..."
"Mother, it's fine. I invited Qingsheng's father and brother to help with the kitchen repairs." In an instant, Chun Nuan felt that money really did simplify many things.
All kinds of worries and anxieties dissipated instantly.
For now, she only needed to prepare the Bianxia and secure that tael of silver; that was the main task.
Opening the cloth bag, she suddenly smiled wryly: to prepare Bianxia, she still needed alum, old ginger, and lime.
Buying these also required money, so a tael of silver wasn't pure profit!
She first divided the bag of Bianxia into three parts.
Just as she was dividing it, Qingsheng returned with his father and brother.
"Miss Xiao, tell me how you want to build this kitchen?"
Chun Nuan explained her idea.
"Alright, I understand," Uncle Niu said to his son, "Da Niu, dig out the foundation and pile the excavated soil to the side; I have use for it."
"Okay."
Chun Nuan led them to chop bamboo by Old Master Zhang's bamboo grove.
"You know, Old Master Zhang has a kind heart. It's said that good deeds bring rewards, but Old Master Zhang hasn't been so lucky; his health has been poor, constantly seeing doctors and taking medicine. The doctors from Hundred Herbs Hall and Qianjin Hall, and even other doctors from Changzhou County, haven't been able to cure him. It's quite unfortunate." Uncle Niu was quite chatty: "Us poor folk have this advantage; we're healthy, can eat, drink, sleep well, the only worry is having no food to eat."
Chun Nuan smiled wryly at this, thinking it's also her wish now: poverty doesn't matter as long as you're healthy. Medicine is so expensive; they can't afford it.
Ah right, Old Master Zhang's health?
No wonder Chun Ning said to accompany her when renting fields.
He wanted her to have a look at Old Master Zhang's illness?
"Do you know what illness Old Master Zhang has?"
"Long-term cough, asthma, but specifics aren't clear."
Chun Nuan nodded.
Uncle Niu handled the bamboo chopping while his son, Da Niu, dug the foundation.
The previous foundation had a layer of stones, which were dug out one by one.
"With a bamboo wall, those won't be needed," Uncle Niu said, dragging the bamboo back. "Miss Xiao, can you find some straw?"
What would straw be used for?
"Cut it into small sections, mix it with the mud, and then use it to plaster the walls."
Chun Nuan still didn't quite understand, but she'd look for some.
She planned to buy it from her neighbors, the Luo family.
"Do you need wheat straw?"
"I'm not sure how much."
Aunt Luo didn't know either, so she went with Chun Nuan to ask the craftsmen.
"Not much, one bundle of straw will do." Uncle Niu explained what he needed it for, and Aunt Luo understood immediately: "Chun Nuan, it's just a bundle of straw; you don't need to pay me. People would laugh if they heard I charged for this."
"But..."
"My Xiao Gang mentioned that Chun Ning is teaching him how to read. We don't have much to give you, so if you need these worthless things, just take them. Really, don't offer money; we're neighbors, don't make it awkward."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Chun Nuan recalled what Chun An had said: There are still many good people in the world.
An expert's hand reveals skill, and Uncle Niu and his son worked with remarkable speed.
By midday, they stopped to go home for lunch.
"We'll come back in the afternoon to continue. Don't worry, we'll have it done in two days."