Master Cen was very prudent and listed out the achievements of the master architect. He said, “Master Li Qinglian’s most prominent works are the Yaochi Palace in the Imperial Palace, the Yuewang Tower in Jiangzhou City, and also the Feixian Pavilion in Eastern Ling and the Gulin Pagoda in Western Zhou. These are from thirteen years ago…and he was the greatest architectural master of that time! How could he possibly have designed a mere house?”
“That’s right, and this is such a small house,” Master Hao looked at the small piece of land, feeling rueful.
The old man was confused now. He pointed toward the blueprint and had them see for themselves. “But take a look at the blueprint, all of you, and all the annotations, including the drawings of the tools. It doesn’t look like it’s from a brush or a charcoal pencil. This is his unique technique.”
The crowd, “…”
Master Dong had been keeping silent. Suddenly, he rubbed the white beard on his chin and said solemnly, “Perhaps the owner of this house is somehow related to Master Li Qinglian, they could be the master’s apprentice or even children…”
The foremen all raised their heads abruptly.
Their expression as they stared at Master Dong was as if they had seen an immortal!
Master Dong, “???”
‘Why the heck are all of you looking at me like this?’
They were hemming and hawing, not agreeing to what Master Dong had said but also not refuting either. Each of them held the precious blueprint and thought silently, ‘If it really was the master’s apprentice or child, then wouldn’t they now be working for the master? Oh lord, this is such an honor!’
From that moment onward, the crowd of workers became even more motivated.
They began working ten times more seriously compared to before.
Even without Jiang Yeqian acting as the supervisor, the foremen seemed to be constructing this house with a level of finesse that was comparable to that of building a palace.
When Jiang Yeqian went to supervise the building site the second time, he realized that the foremen were shockingly serious. He thought, ‘It seems that the money did the trick!’
As the foremen and the few dozens of workers were laboring, the village folk also occasionally dropped by to take a look. They wanted to know the difference between a professional team and themselves when it came to building a house. Was it not just linking some wooden pieces together?
However, when the villagers noticed that these masters and apprentice carpenters were hard at work every day, all serious and did not slack off in the slightest, they could not help but think to themselves, ‘They really are professionals!’
Qi Qingyao, who was indoors teaching her three children, suddenly sneezed. She gathered her clothes and privately thought, ‘Who’s secretly cursing me out!’
‘It must be the scoundrel, Jiang Bai. He must be complaining about how I’m making him supervise the workers on such a cold winter day.’
The cutie Si Jin would never complain about me putting him on carpentry duty…
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Qingzhou City, Jiang Family.
Qi Qingzhu was currently washing the young lady’s clothes outside of a small room when there was a shout from outside of the courtyard.
“Qi Qingzhu!”
Qi Qingzhu lifted her head and saw a woman in her mid-thirties. She hurriedly dried her hands with some of the dry clothes before standing up and greeting, “Big Sister Zhuang, you’re back.”
Big Sister Zhuang was also from Linquan Village who, like her, had been married off to Xingli VIllage. Big Sister Zhuang was the one who helped her get a job with the Jiang family in Qingzhou City. Being away from home, Big Sis Zhuang was like her family.
After Big Sister Zhuang came over, she sat on the platform next to Qi Qingzhu as she continued washing her young lady’s clothes.
Big Sister Zhuang was rambling about going home while Qi Qingzhu listened idly.
Finally, Big Sister Zhuang said, “Oh, Qi Qingzhu, let me tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Big Sister Zhuang replied simply, “You have a little sister called Qi Qingyao, right? The one that people call Eleventh Daughter.”
“That’s right. Have you perhaps met my sister?” Qi Qingzhu’s hands that were washing the clothes paused mid-motion. Immediately, they went red from the cold and she could not help bringing them to her lips and blowing on them.
“Do you know what I heard during my trip home this time?” Big SIster Zhuang asked mysteriously, building suspense.
