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Black bricks were very expensive. As of now, no homes in this village were built using black bricks.

In this entire area, only the wealthiest two to three families had homes made out of black bricks. Everyone else’s homes were made out of mud.

Not only were black bricks expensive, but they were also hard to find.

!!

The Xie Villagers weren’t too jealous to learn this news. After all, every family made money recently. At the very least, each family made around 10 taels of silver with some families making even more. Therefore, people weren’t really jealous, more so curious about how much the rebuild was going to cost.

“Yunjin, how much is it to build a courtyard using black bricks?”

A lot of families now also wanted to use black bricks for their homes once they made more money. Buildings with black bricks were much more attractive than mud houses. Plus, bricks last longer and can be passed on for generations. Mud house starts to crack after a few decades and must be rebuilt.

Though Xie Yunjin knew black bricks were expensive, he wasn’t sure how much everything would end up costing. He answered vaguely, “Around 10 taels of silver. It really depends on the size.”

“We’ll save for a while longer and build one ourselves.”

“Once leech keeping takes off and we get a steady source of income, every family in this village can build a home using black bricks.”

The Village Leader’s words overjoyed all the villagers.

Lu Jiao listened to the chatters and couldn’t help but think about this. Black bricks were expensive, complicated to make, and difficult to produce. Therefore, it would be almost impossible to mass-produce them. This was why they were so costly. In comparison, red bricks were easy to produce and can be manufactured. Production would be efficient and the price for those would be cheaper.

It wasn’t a bad idea to start a red brick kiln.

Lu Jiao then thought of her oil mill, cosmeceutical store, and her pharmacy.

She should save her energy. Those three were enough to get her busy.

Inside the yard, the Village Leader said to the villagers, “Yunjin’s yard is too small and it’ll need to be expanded a little to the east. I plan on hiring some people to help him get the foundation. If it were up to me, I would ask for volunteers. However, Yunjin insisted on paying. Those who help out will get 30 tokens a day plus lunch.”

A villager shouted, “We don’t need money. Lunch is enough.”

Someone else stood up, “Jiaojiao, let my man help you. You don’t have to pay.”

After Aunt Guihua’s offer, many people indicated that they didn’t need money.

The Lin family and the Xu family all stood out.

Xie Yunjin declined. He said to the villagers, “Everyone here works hard. You shouldn’t work for free. If you want to help me, then do as I said. I will pay 30 tokens a day and I’ll cover lunch. If you don’t want money, then I’m too ashamed to ask for help.”

Since Xie Yunjin had said this much, nobody persisted. They were silently very happy about the pay and the lunch.

At once, many people volunteered to help.

Even Xie Laogen, Xie Daqiang, Xie Erzhu, and Xie Yunhua offered to help.

Xie Yunjin didn’t reject them. He didn’t care who was involved as long as they worked.

In the end, Xie Yunjin gathered a group of 20 to help with the foundation.

During this era and in this village, the first step to building a foundation is to create rammed earth by using tree stumps that were whittled into cylinders. Ropes were tied around the stumps and swung around by several people until they gathered enough strength to toss them and allow them to free fall to the ground.

Lu Jiao remembered that in the 60s and 70s, people used stones to ram the earth. Foundations built on earth rammed by stones were likely sturdier and stabler.

Lu Jiao didn’t want to interfere with this. However, thinking that this was the future home of the four little ones, using stones would be better.

She went up to Xie Yunjin and whispered to him, “I think making rammed earth with stones would be more beneficial than using wood.”

Xie Yunjin knew Lu Jiao’s real identity so he knew right away that she was sharing how her world built foundations. The logic made sense to him. Stones were sturdier than wood. But how do they make that work?

Xie Yunjin asked Lu Jiao, “How do we do that with stones? They’re very hard to move.”

Lu Jiao gestured around, “First, find a rock that has a hole in it. Put a rope through the hole. Everyone here grabs onto the rope. Under the leader’s lead, everyone tosses the stone into the air and lets it fall. The strength of a stone is much stronger than that of wood.”

Xie Yunjin understood right away. The technique of rammed earth was the same. However, it would be very hard to find a rock with a hole.

He agreed, though, that Lu Jiao’s method of using a stone would create a better foundation.

Xie Yunjin asked people to go into the mountains and find such a stone.

“I’ve asked some people to try and find a stone like that.”

Lu Jiao nodded. Honestly, she had a drill in her space. In front of Xie Yunjin however, she couldn’t bring that out. She decided to go into the mountains herself and see if she can find a rock naturally with a hole first. If she succeeds, they’ll use that. If she fails, she’ll try to create a hole with her drill.

“I’ll go with them.”

Lu Jiao then got up to sort things out for lunch. Xie Yunjin stopped her and cautioned, “If you go into the mountains, be careful.”

Xie Yunjin surprised himself after making such a statement. Lu Jiao was just as surprised but answered, “I will.”

The two of them then went their separate ways. Behind them, the villagers chuckled, “First Born, look at how loving your parents are. Do you want your parents to give you a little sister?”

Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao snapped their heads at the gossipy villagers.

Other than the villagers here to help with the foundation, the wives of each family also came and volunteered to clean the yard and help with lunch.

The wives were teasing the four little ones, who were over the moon to hear that possibility.

The four little ones grinned from ear to ear, “I do want! I don’t care if I get a little sister or a little brother, I will dote on them! I will love them!”

“I will give all my toys to my little sister or brother. I will play with them all the time.”

“I will give her new clothes to wear and feed her food.”

“When I grow up, I will make money for my sister to spend. I will buy my sister food and toys!”

The four little ones’ promises made everyone laugh. The wives couldn’t help but compliment, “Ah, you guys are such nice kids. Your future younger siblings are very fortunate!”

“These four kids get more loveable the way you look at them.”

The wives saw Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao look their way and teased them as well, “Yunjin, Yunjin’s wife, you should work hard to give the four little ones younger siblings. Look at how much they want a little brother or a little sister.”

The four little ones looked toward Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao with much anticipation. They even nodded in unison.

That was right. They wanted younger siblings. If they could get a little brother or sister, it would mean their parents have made up. That would mean their mommy would stay with them and not leave. Their grandma told them that.

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