Chapter 24

The Zhou family’s house was finally completed after a month and a half.

It was a beautiful, grand five-room house made of blue bricks and large tiles, standing out as completely different from all the other houses in the village.

The eaves of the veranda were designed like those of wealthy households, with carved railings and painted beams.

The details were meticulous, from the intricate carvings on the window lattices to the ancient beast knockers on the lacquered red doors, all crafted with such lifelike precision and artistry that they seemed almost magical.

The entire house was enclosed by high walls, effectively cutting off the view from prying eyes outside. The tops of the walls were lined with iron spikes, pointing outwards.

The furniture in the house was also custom-made in the town, featuring the latest designs of this era.

It wasn’t that Zhou Jing couldn’t draw or design modern styles from later eras; rather, he believed that the ancient, traditional style of furniture from this period had more charm.

He didn’t think it was necessarily inferior to the designs of future generations.

Moreover, for Shen Mo, who was born in this era, he preferred the items of his time. The modern designs from future generations were too novel, and in Shen Mo’s traditionally-minded view, they looked somewhat out of place and awkward.

According to custom, when a new house was completed, the owner was supposed to invite the villagers for a warm meal to celebrate.

However, after building the house, Zhou Jing had little silver left. He needed to save what remained for his small business ventures.

So, he told the workers that the tenth day of the next month was an auspicious day, perfect for hosting a banquet and blessing the household.

He promised to hold the feast then.

Neither the carpenters from town nor the men from the village had any objections.

In fact, after spending more than a month working alongside Zhou Jing, some of the village men had not only changed their opinions of him but had even begun to regard him as a brother.

The Zhou family’s new house had a total of five rooms: one was a kitchen that also served as a dining room, one was a bathroom, two were bedrooms, and a special room was set aside as a guest hall specifically for receiving visitors.

At that moment, the three of them were sitting in the guest hall.

Shen Mo and Shen Lin, even after several days, still found everything fascinating.

They were utterly amazed by the newly built blue brick, large-tiled house, marveling at every detail with great curiosity.

“Brother Jing, it feels like a dream,” Shen Mo said, unable to hide the joy in his voice.

Shen Mo continued: “I never thought in my entire life that I would live in such a grand house. Before, I always felt that as long as I had a thatched hut that didn’t leak, I’d be content!”

His smile never left his face as he continued, laughing: “Our house here is even better than the Village Chief’s—it’s so refined! It’s almost like the kind of place only the wealthy lords in town could afford to live in.”

Zhou Jing, full of pride, said: “This is just the beginning! Wait and see, the good days are still ahead!”

Shen Lin, who was sitting nearby, gulped down the bowl of sugared water and dampened the mood, saying, “Can you stop bragging? You just got lucky and dug up something valuable. Now, with buying the house and the land, what do you have left?”

“Xiao Di, you already have your own bedroom. Why are you still hanging around in your big brother’s room? Haven’t you been weaned yet?” Zhou Jing teased.

“This is the guest hall, not your bedroom,” Shen Lin shot back without missing a beat.

Zhou Jing, smiling mischievously, said, “You make a good point. Well then, your big brother and I will head into the bedroom. Little kids shouldn’t follow us in.”

Shen Lin glared at Zhou Jing with an annoyed look, thinking to himself:  ‘That Zhou Jing is definitely up to no good, he’s pulling my brother into the room again.’

Ever since he had come to the Zhou family, they had all stayed together in one room because there hadn’t been any other room available.

Because of this, Zhou Jing didn’t have a chance to do anything bad to my brother. But now, he finally had an opportunity…..What a shameless rogue!’

Zhou Jing pulled Shen Mo inside the room and immediately fetched a face mask and hand cream for Shen Mo.

“These past few days, with Shen Lin acting like a big lightbulb, nothing has been convenient. Even your skincare routine got interrupted. Just look at your face, it’s still dry even now. Sometimes it even flakes and feels painful. You can’t skip it anymore. If you stick to it, you’ll definitely see improvement in just a month.”

Shen Mo,  easily applied the face mask, lay back on the bed, and suddenly asked, “What does ‘big lightbulb’ mean?”

Zhou Jing replied, “It refers to someone who specifically disrupts others’ romantic moments but can’t get married themselves—a real nuisance!”

Shen Mo chuckled in response.

However, Zhou Jing poured the remaining silver and copper coins onto the table and began to count them carefully.

“We spent 25 silver coins on the land for the house, 15 silver coins for building, furniture, and some small items, 2 silver coins on Shen Lin, and 1 tael for our food and drinks these past few days. That totals 43 silver coins. We’ve also had some other expenses, and now we’re left with 6 silver coins and two 200 wen,” Zhou Jing recounted.

“We spent too much on building our house. In our village, a good five-room earthen house can be built for just 4 silver coins. A solid brick house would cost around 12 silver coins, yet we ended up spending 15 silver coins!”

Zhou Jing said. “Still, it’s worth the price. Our house is unmatched when it comes to warmth—not just in the village, but even in the town and the prefecture. We have four stoves in the kitchen: one for heating our warm wall, one for the underfloor heating, and two for cooking in the summer without a flue, so it doesn’t get hotter as we cook. The expense comes from the underfloor heating and warm wall, but those two features are complex, so it’s reasonable that they cost more.”

In fact, there was another great heating method in the Northeast: the kang, or heated bed.

However, Zhou Jing couldn’t sleep on one. Once, someone had invited him to a farm stay in the Northeast during winter. He spent the night on the warm kang, and at first, it was fine, but by morning, his mouth was covered in blisters.

He tossed and turned in the heat during the first half of the night, and by the second half, it had cooled down, leaving him freezing. So even though it was an option, it had never been in Zhou Jing’s consideration from the start.

Zhou Jing said, “It’s fine for household matters. Tomorrow, I’ll head to the town to buy some meat. We can prepare sausages at home, and in a few days, we can sell them in town. That way, we’ll have some income again.”

Shen Mo didn’t voice his concerns, wanting to avoid dampening Zhou Jing’s enthusiasm. However, he remained unsure about the idea of making and selling sausages.

Although he believed it was tastier than what the chefs at the town’s restaurants made, Zhou Jing did not know whether the food he prepared would appeal to the public.

Moreover, they did not have a shop, and could only set up a roadside stall.

Many wealthy families looked down upon roadside stalls, considering them unsanitary, and therefore refused to buy from them.

In this era, lean meat cost only 15 copper coins per pound, while the mixture of lean and fatty meat was 20 copper coins per pound. However, the sausages were expensive, priced at 35 copper coins per pound, which were 15 copper coins more than fatty meat.

Who among the lower-income families would be willing to spend such unnecessary money on sausages? After all, they could eat meat, it’s all just the same!

Zhou Jing tucked the silver coins away, setting aside 1 tael of silver and 200 wen. He extinguished the oil lamp and, guided by the bright moonlight, climbed into bed.

“Hey hey…” Zhou Jing chuckled mischievously. “Xiao Mo, we’re going to sleep now!”

Such things were perfectly normal; every couple did them. Yet, when they came from Zhou Jing’s mouth, they sounded particularly lewd, leaving Shen Mo feeling very embarrassed.

After a night filled with passion, Zhou Jing finally indulged in ‘meat’ without feeling overwhelmed, and it wasn’t until the later hours of the night that things gradually came to a stop.

Zhou Jing felt sorry for his little wife, who had been tossed about like a pancake last night, so he got up early to make breakfast.

He chopped the meat into tiny pieces, adding a bit of chopped green onion, and wrapped it into wontons.

Concerned that a meat soup would be too greasy in the morning, Zhou Jing prepared a clear broth for the wontons.

When the wontons were ready, he sprinkled them with chopped cilantro, green onions, shrimp skins, and seaweed.

He added a little bit of vinegar and soy sauce, a pinch of salt, and a few spoonfuls of hawthorn sauce to replace the chili with some spice. Soon, a steaming bowl of bright red wontons was ready to serve.

Shen Lin rubbed his sleepy eyes and, upon seeing the wontons Zhou Jing had made, rushed over and took a deep breath.

“Wow, it smells amazing! How did you manage to make such delightful farm-style food that we don’t often eat?”

Zhou Jing swatted Shen Lin’s outstretched hand away.

“Go brush your teeth and wash up. I’ll go call your brother.”

When Shen Mo was woken up by Zhou Jing and immediately felt embarrassed. He had previously claimed he was injured, and Zhou Jing, feeling sorry for him, did not want him to cook.

However, now that his injuries had healed, he still did not cook for his husband.

Instead, he needed Zhou Jing to prepare the meals and come to call him to eat. It was truly too lazy of him.

If the villagers found out, they would surely mock him for his laziness. Yet, behind his back, they would probably be just jealous of how much Zhou Jing doted on his wife.

Shen Mo sat down at the dining table, and his bowl had already been prepared by Zhou Jing.

The vibrant mix of red and greens in the dishes looked very appealing.

When he took a bite of the small wontons, which were perfectly sized for a single mouthful, he was met with a delightful blend of meaty, spicy, and scallion aromas, all infused with a hint of seafood’s freshness.

The fragrance was utterly enticing, making it impossible for him to stop eating.

Shen Mo ate two large bowls in one go before finally stopping, wiping his mouth, and letting out a loud burp.

At that moment, Zhou Jing also finished his meal, having eaten three big bowls. He turned to Shen Lin and said, “When you finish eating, wash the bowls. Your brother and I are going to the town to buy meat and seasonings for making sausages. We might be back a bit late for lunch, so don’t wait for us. If you’re hungry, just cook some of the leftover wontons first.”

“Mm.” Shen Lin nodded.

Shen Mo wanted to walk to save money, but Zhou Jing disagreed. He realized that although Shen Mo appeared strong, he was actually quite weak. Moreover, after exhausting him last night, Zhou Jing was even less willing to let him walk.

Since the mule carts in the village typically waited until ten people were gathered before departing, and farmers did not go to the town every day, they usually made prior arrangements among a few families.

Those like Shen Mo and Zhou Jing, who decided on a whim, had to hire a cart on their own. In the end, the two spent thirty-5 copper coins to arrange a round trip with Wang Gui.

The people in the town started their day late, so when they arrived, they were just in time to catch the morning market.

Zhou Jing navigated the familiar streets to find Butcher Wu, who sold meat during this time.

Seeing him, Butcher Wu smiled and said, “You’re back to buy meat again? How much do you need this time?”

Zhou Jing replied with a grin, “I’m here to buy meat today, but I’m also here to discuss business with you.”

Butcher had once seen Zhou Jing, who spoke with remarkable eloquence and demeanor.

When he inquired about Zhou Jing’s background and discovered that he came from a farming family, he could hardly believe it.

If it had been any other farmer proposing a business deal, Butcher Wu would not have taken them seriously. However, Zhou Jing managed to earn his genuine respect.

“What business?”

Zhou Jing said, “I plan to set up a small stall selling sausages. At first, I might not need much meat, but it will increase over time.”

Butcher Wu was surprised and replied, “Little brother, you have this skill? I really like sausages! If you succeed, I will definitely support you!”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance,” Zhou Jing responded.

The butcher, being straightforward, said, “Alright, if you get more than thirty pounds of meat from me, I’ll give you a discount of 3 copper coins per pound. Once your orders exceed fifty pounds, I’ll give you an additional discount. Also, I know you need skins for making sausages. I have plenty of those, so I’ll give you some for free to help you out. You’ll have more than enough.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” Zhou Jing agreed.

It’s just the beginning, so, Zhou Jing was uncertain about the market and did not dare to produce too much, so he bought eleven pounds of fatty meat and twenty-five pounds of lean meat, planning to make just over thirty pounds of sausage to test the waters.

He also purchased the remaining large bones and pig offal from the butcher. Since the rice at home was running low, and the laborers had left, he decided to buy less brown rice and more white rice.

Zhou Jing also ordered a small stall about half a person’s height in the town. This way, the sausages could be displayed on it instead of directly on the ground, making it more presentable. Even wealthy customers would not look down on it too much.

Zhou Jing found a place to customize the oil paper used for wrapping the sausages, printing the words “Zhou Ji Sausages” on it. He also specified some oil paper gloves according to his requirements.

They arranged to pick these items up in five days, and then Zhou Jing and Shen Mo returned to Wangjia Village.