Chapter 60

Carpentry isn’t difficult for those who know it.

Its preceding phrase is difficult for those who don’t know it.

This is different from the rough and simple construction of a chicken coop, where you beat the joints into the ground and then fix them with hemp ropes.

The couple looked at each other, a bit confused at first.

Sang Luo: “First, it needs three upright pillars.”

Shen An: “Four? Look, our table at home has four legs, and it stands more stable with four.”

Sang Luo shook her head, “You’re wrong about this. A triangle is the most stable.”

Shen An’s son: “Big sister-in-law, you’re right, whatever big sister-in-law insists on is right!”

Shen An immediately nodded, “Okay, three!”

“Then, each layer needs horizontal beams to connect and fix them.” Having seen a lot of modern assembled furniture, Sang Luo was quite sure about this. It’s just replacing nails with mortise and tenon joints, “Mortise and tenon joints aren’t difficult either, we just need a sample first, and I need to calculate the dimensions.”

As she spoke, “Xiao An, bring your sandbox out, let’s draw it.”

Shen An got up and went back to fetch the sandbox. In a moment, he brought it out, smoothed the sand surface, and the two of them squatted beside it, really starting to draw and measure the dimensions of the round winnowing baskets inside.

After drawing for a while, Sang Luo looked at the pile of wood of varying lengths and shook her head, “I think it would be simpler and more convenient to use bamboo poles for this.

Bamboo is hollow, right? We can use thick bamboo poles as the three main pillars, cut notches where the mortise and tenon joints need to be, and insert the horizontal bars. Isn’t that easier than using wood?

With the plan and dimensions set and waiting for Shen Ning to return, Sang Luo and Shen An went to cut bamboo with their curved knives, and after a while of fussing around, they dragged back two bamboo poles from outside the courtyard.

Once the dimensions were calculated and matched with the blueprint on the sandbox, making a simple four-layer triangular drying rack wasn’t difficult. The main thing was time-consuming; sawing the pillars and horizontal bars was the same task. This time, they didn’t need to split them open. After nearly two hours of tinkering, when they successfully made the first finished product, they weren’t pricked with bamboo thorns again, but… it seemed unstable. If you pulled one of the main pillars to the side, it was easy for it to collapse accidentally?

Sang Luo, Shen An, Shen Ning:…

One big and two small, three stunned faces.

“We need something to hold the three pillars together from the outside, right?”

“It should… right?

See, this is the benefit of directly hammering the foot of the pillar into the mud when building a chicken coop last time; there wouldn’t be such a problem now.

Staring at the triangular frame, not, pondering, how to fix it from the outside.

Drive bamboo nails?

Sang Luo was afraid that if she drove a bamboo nail, the entire pillar would split.

When Chen Youtian returned with an empty tofu basket on his shoulder, what he saw outside the Shen family’s courtyard was a family of three staring at a bamboo structure.

“What are you doing?”

At the sound of this voice, all three turned their heads in unison.”

“Expert!”

“Uncle Youtian, come and take a look, how should we do this?”

“Uncle Youtian, help us see how to do this.”

The voices of the three were unusually harmonious.

Chen Youtian walked closer, put down his burden, and stared at the bamboo frame, “This won’t work for the upper and lower layers, it’s not stable. What are you making this for?”

Sang Luo almost couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up, “You’re really an expert, you spotted the problem at a glance. We’re making this drying rack to put the large round winnowing baskets I bought inside. This way, it takes up less space and we can dry more things.”

Chen Youtian thought to himself, aren’t you the expert here?

But how much stuff do they need to dry, and they even need to make a drying rack to put the winnowing baskets?

Thinking about what they’re selling every day, Chen Youtian didn’t ask. Most likely it’s something to eat, and they only dare to put it in the backyard to avoid others seeing it.

“It’s actually very simple.” He walked closer, took a bamboo stick to measure the size of the bamboo frame’s horizontal bars, then picked a bamboo pole that Sang Luo hadn’t used yet and started sawing, indicating where to cut. After sawing a notch into the thick bamboo, he gestured again and sawed another one. Finally, he narrowed both ends, and while doing this, he called out to Shen An, “Xiao An, go make a fire.”

Shen An ran into the kitchen to fetch some firewood, while Shen Ning helped to build the fire. In no time, the fire was burning.

Chen Youtian roasted the bamboo sticks over the fire where he made the notches, bending them as he roasted.

It was only now that Sang Luo understood, that’s how it’s done.

She had forgotten that bamboo could be bent by heating it over fire.

After both notches were made, Chen Youtian removed the original horizontal bar used by Sang Luo, and with the help of Sang Luo and the others, he held several upright poles steady. Using the notches as leverage, they securely wrapped one of the upright poles, knocking it to the right angle. Then they handled the second notch, wrapping the second upright pole, and using the notches Sang Luo had sawed, the narrowed ends of the bamboo pole fitted perfectly into the third upright pole. A bamboo peg was hammered in to reinforce it.

The problem that had puzzled the three for a while just now was solved directly.

For the top layer, Sang Luo didn’t let Chen Youtian do it. She could handle it herself.

With a smile, Chen Youtian put down his burden and confirmed the amount of tofu needed for the next morning, saying, “Use soybeans for these, I’ll bring them to you later.”

Sang Luo thanked him, and Chen Youtian then went down the mountain.

…

At the Zhou family’s home.

Zhou’s wife said to the man who had come back to rest at noon, “Today, I bought tofu again, guess who I bought it from?”

Zhou glanced at her and said, “From the Chen family? Or maybe from the Shi family or the Lu family, it’s no one else but these three families.”

Zhou’s wife:…

“You’re amazing, it’s indeed Chen Youtian, the one who sells tofu around the village. When he reached Sanli Village, I happened to run into him. There were only a few pieces left for sale, so I bought two pieces and asked him. He didn’t hide it; he said it was the Sang family that took care of his family’s livelihood.”

She paused for a moment and said, “You mean, Chen Youtian’s wife was selling vegetables with the Sang family in the county during that time, and they were selling this, right? And now the Chen family has set up two stalls?”

Zhou Cunzheng nodded, “It’s not surprising. Didn’t there used to be rumors that the Sang family was almost starving, and Shen An couldn’t even borrow grain from his third uncle, and it was only when the old couple from the Chen family voluntarily lent grain and sugar to the mountain that they saved Sang’s life? With such a debt of gratitude, it’s not excessive to show some consideration.”

You can see that good and evil will be repaid.

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife envied her: “They should be able to make a lot of money. With two stalls a day, the Chen family is on the rise.”

Zhou Cunzheng looked at the sky outside and muttered, “It’s good to rise. Only when you start living can you firmly establish roots and withstand storms.”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife scolded him with a glance, “What are you talking about every day?”

She continued enthusiastically, “Do you think our family can also ask the Sang family if they want to help sell tofu? We could have Mr. Sang take it to the county. The county town is quite big, so it shouldn’t interfere with the Sang family and Mr. Chen’s wife’s business, right?”

After asking for a while, the man didn’t respond.

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife saw that he was lost in thought, so she nudged him, “What are you thinking about? I’m talking to you.”

Zhou Cunzheng snapped out of his reverie, “What did you say?”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife repeated her words, and after thinking for a moment, Zhou Cunzheng shook his head, “It’s not our turn yet. What about the Shi family and the Lu family? With the Chen family having two stalls, did they even have time to help the Chen family and the Shi family who were building houses recently?”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife couldn’t believe it, “Really? With so many people, isn’t Sang’s family selling by themselves?”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled, “Finding out is simple. Go ask Brother Qi and see if the Shi family and the Lu family have asked Brother Qi for help.”

Going to the county town inevitably involves going through the local government office. If the Shi family and the Lu family want to set up stalls in the county, they can’t avoid going there to seek permission.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Cunzheng’s wife realized it was true and said, “I was just talking casually. I don’t need to go to Brother Qi to inquire. It’s not necessary.”

But in the afternoon, she went out and came back with excitement, “You were right. The Shi family and the Lu family went to Brother Qi for help the second day of the farming season. One is from the Gan family, and the other is from the Feng family.”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled and said, “Did you ask Brother Qi?”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife shook her head, “I asked Brother Qi’s wife. Brother Qi went to the county today. It was announced from above that all local officials are going to the county government today.”

Zhou Cunzheng’s expression changed slightly. His hands, which were originally resting on the table, unconsciously clenched into fists, “All local officials are going?”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife looked puzzled, “Yes, every time there’s something from above, all local officials go, right?”

Zhou Cunzheng closed his eyes for a moment, then rubbed his temples with his hand and remained silent for a while.

Finally, Zhou Cunzheng’s wife felt something was wrong and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Isn’t it normal for Brother Qi to go to the county?”

Zhou Cunzheng waved his hand, “Nothing, maybe I’m overthinking.”

After a moment of thought, he instructed, “If any grain merchants come, we won’t sell our grain this year.”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife finally realized something was wrong. Her indifferent expression changed, and she asked seriously, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Cunzheng shook his head, “I’m not sure. I’ll ask Brother Qi when he returns. Anyway, we won’t sell our grain this year.”

“Not even for a high price? Today, I heard in Sanli Village that grain merchants are offering seventy-three wen per dou for well-dried grain.”

This price was already higher than the current selling price in the grain store. The grocery store in Sanli Village adjusted its prices today after hearing the news.

Zhou Cunzheng’s expression darkened upon hearing the rise in grain prices, shaking his head, “We won’t sell it. Even if they offer one hundred and seventy-three wen per dou, we won’t sell it. We need to keep the grain this year.”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife nodded blankly. Since the man didn’t explain, she didn’t ask further, but she made a mental note of everything he said, “Okay, I’ll inform the others. If any grain merchants come, we won’t lead them home.”

In any case, when Seventh Brother returns in the evening, the man will confirm the news and surely tell the family.