Chapter 55: Old Brick House

Zhang Jinlan’s mouth hung wide open.

Her fingers trembled as she opened the money pouch.

Inside, there were indeed eighteen taels.

She staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Thankfully, Zhu Yingqiu was right beside her and caught her quickly.

“Mother, be careful, sit down and rest a bit.”

Hearing this, Sun Pingmei hurriedly brought over a chair.

Zhang Yanzi squatted by her mother-in-law, gently rubbing her chest to calm her breathing.

Two or three minutes later—

Zhang Jinlan finally recovered.

“My son, when you sold the ginseng, no one saw you, right? What if bad people set their eyes on our family?”

Sudden wealth had made her deeply anxious.

“It’s fine. Eighteen taels may sound like a lot, but there are plenty of wealthy households in town. Some folks might spend twenty taels just on a single meal at the restaurant. Who would bother coming all the way to our village over your eighteen taels?”

Jiang Shoujia, usually the calmest of them all, was the one most at ease.

After he said this to Zhang Jinlan, he added,
“But your mother’s worries aren’t wrong either. We must never speak openly about the ginseng. The people in town may be rich, but here in the village, every family struggles. If word spreads, others might target us. All of you—keep your mouths shut. Do you understand?”

Normally quiet and taciturn, Jiang Shoujia’s words carried the weight of an imperial decree when it mattered—no one dared disobey.

“Yes, Father—”

“Grandfather, I definitely won’t tell anyone.”

“Yes, Grandfather—”

“…”

Everyone answered in unison.

After another quarter hour of talking about the ginseng—

Zhang Jinlan finally turned to her eldest son. “Dahe, how did things look in town? How much are tiles selling for now?”

Though it wasn’t raining, she wanted to prepare for the future.

She still hoped to roof the house with tiles, so rainwater wouldn’t seep in through straw and planks when storms came.

“The price has gone up. Thirteen wen per tile. Covering one room is manageable, but if we build several, the money won’t be enough.”

After speaking, Jiang Dahe drank some water to moisten his throat.

“That is rather expensive. But if we’re going to build, it must be done well. Here’s what we’ll do—Mother will give you another three taels. Tomorrow, you and Eryong go again, place the order, and ask the shopkeeper to send the materials over. Then hire a few helpers from the village. Go cut some timber on the mountain to store, and prepare the beams early under the sun.

As for clay, dig from the other side of the mountain. That soil is sticky, not loose. The rest, decide yourself. If you don’t understand something, ask your father. Remember this—when you hire helpers, make it clear: we don’t provide meals. Better to pay them an extra wen than feed them.”

Zhang Jinlan’s tone was heavy with caution.

Grain in the household was precious.

Much of it even had polished rice mixed in.

How could it be wasted on outsiders?

The Zhang Jinlan who had been so generous yesterday had now returned to her frugal ways.

“Mother, in that case, why not build with old bricks? It’ll cost more, yes, but we won’t need to store so much wood. Freshly cut timber still has to be dried, and building with mud takes at least three months. With old bricks, it would take at most two months, and the house would be sturdier—strong enough to last until Fubao’s grandson is born.”

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Dahe spoke slowly.

“Old brick houses? I’ve never heard of that. Are there even old bricks for sale in town? How much?”

Hearing his mother ask, Jiang Dahe explained,
“Last year, quite a few shops opened in town, run by merchants from outside. They bought houses, tore them down, and rebuilt them. All the old bricks were sold off cheaply.

When I was asking prices this morning, I saw someone buying them. Old bricks are just two wen apiece. If you buy more than eight thousand, you get a discount—one wen cheaper per brick. I can butter up the shopkeeper, maybe even get some old tiles too. That way, we’ll save another good sum. Mother, once the old bricks are gone, there won’t be more. We can’t miss this chance.”

After her son finished, Zhang Jinlan began calculating in her mind.

The family needed to add five rooms.

That way, the eight children could each have their own.

Even at the smallest size—just one bed, a cabinet, and a table—five rooms would need at least ten thousand bricks.

According to her son’s words, buying over eight thousand would earn the discount.

That meant just ten taels of silver.

Not counting other costs.

But old bricks weren’t available every year. If they missed this chance, building a new stone-brick house would cost ten taels per room.

The difference was enormous.

“Only thing is… in that case, three children would still have to sleep in the old house.”

Zhang Jinlan’s voice carried some worry.

They couldn’t build eight rooms all at once.

“Grandma, I’ll stay in the old house. I’m the eldest brother—let my younger brothers have the new rooms.” Jiang Tongjin noticed her concern and volunteered first.

“I’ll do the same as big brother. I’m older than Tongtu—I’ll let him take a new room.”

Jiang Tonghuo followed suit.

“Grandma, let the younger ones sleep in the new house. I can sleep anywhere.”

Eight-year-old Jiang Tongji had already learned to be considerate.

“Build eight rooms directly! If three stay empty, we can store things there. And if Sanhe comes back one day, we’ll have a place for her and her children too.”

Seeing her grandsons’ sensible behavior, Zhang Jinlan waved her hand decisively.

From the still-warm money pouch, she pulled out two taels, handing the rest to her eldest son.

“If the rooms are built a little smaller, with old bricks, old tiles, and paying for helpers, eighteen taels will be enough. We can’t favor one child over another. As for whatever’s left, I’ll save it.”

Her heart ached bitterly.

The sixteen taels in her pouch, plus the two she gave her eldest son yesterday—

a full eighteen taels.

All gone.

But then she reminded herself—after all, it was thanks to her granddaughter’s lucky find.

It was like getting eight stone-brick houses for free.

Thinking that way, she felt much better.

“Mother has always been fair.” Zhu Yingqiu praised with a smile.

“Mother, since we’ve made so much from the ginseng, tomorrow let big brother and Eryong buy some meat. We should eat well to stay strong for the building work. Besides, Fubao’s been craving meat too, right Fubao?”

Second Aunt scooped little Fubao into her arms.

Seeing her second aunt drooling in anticipation, Fubao obligingly nodded.

“Grandma, I want to eat. Meat is tasty. Buy a little, and Fubao will find lots and lots more ginseng in the future.”

Once again, Jiang Fubao began painting big promises.

And her dear grandmother believed every word.

“Alright, alright, if Fubao wants meat, Grandma will buy it. I’ll fetch some coins later. Tomorrow your eldest uncle can bring back a jin of meat. We’ll celebrate Fubao moving into a stone-brick house.”

Zhang Jinlan’s smile overflowed with love.

That evening, after supper, the Jiang family went to bed early.

At dawn, Jiang Dahe and Jiang Eryong set off for town.

That day, Jiang Fubao didn’t follow Grandma to dig wild vegetables.

She planned to collect the eggs from the pits.

The weather was getting warmer.

Eggs wouldn’t keep long, and if they spoiled, it would be a big waste.

Carried by her second cousin, Jiang Fubao arrived at the inner mountain half an hour later.