Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

The village head took the house plan drawn by Tang Chengyu. The plan was clearly marked, and the locations of the main hall, rooms, and kitchen were obvious at a glance.

Although he wasn't particularly skilled in calligraphy, his children had learned some characters from Tang Chengyu and could barely understand the basic content on the drawings.

The more the village head looked, the more surprised he became. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Su Su, your house is really big! The main hall is spacious and bright, the kitchen even has a dining area, everyone has their own room, there's also a separate study, two guest rooms, and a large courtyard outside. Even the outhouse and bathroom are planned. This is more impressive than any other house in the village!"

After the initial amazement, the village headman began to estimate on his fingers, his tone solemn: "Such a large house, including the courtyard, would require at least 90,000 mud bricks. Not a single one less, and we also have to factor in the wastage."

Tang Susu nodded and slowly explained her house-building plan: "Uncle Village Head, that's what I was thinking too. The children are growing up and will get married and have more children in the future. It's better to build a bigger house from the start so that we don't have to redo it later if we don't have enough room."

"Those two guest rooms are for two purposes. One is for Young Master Lu, since he can't stay in the village all the time; the other is for Yu'er, so that if he needs to take the imperial examination or receive guests in the future, he will have a respectable place."

"I also plan to plan the courtyard well, to pave a stone path and plant some flowers, grass and fruit trees on both sides, which will not only look nice, but also allow us to pick fruit to eat in the fall; the backyard is connected to those dozens of acres of wasteland, which I want to use to raise poultry, so that it can be separated from the living area and keep the yard clean and odorless."

The village head nodded repeatedly, praising, "Well thought out! Well thought out! With this plan, it will be comfortable to live here in the future. Come on, let's go and take a look at the foundation. I'll also check the geology for you."

The two arrived together at the 41 mu of wasteland on the edge of the village, which was the site that Tang Susu had chosen to build her house.

The wasteland is backed by a small hill, offering excellent privacy and quietness. There is only one path in and out, and few people come and go.

The village head looked around, frowned, and reminded her, "Susu, this place is a bit far from the village. If there's an emergency and you want to ask your neighbors for help, it won't be very convenient. Why don't you reconsider?"

Tang Susu smiled and shook her head, her tone firm: "Uncle Village Head, I value this place because it's far from the village, quiet, and close to our fields, making it convenient for tending the fields and feeding the poultry. As for emergencies, with our family working together and Young Master Lu here, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Seeing her resolute attitude, the village head stopped trying to persuade her. He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, rubbed it, and said, "The soil here has a high sand content. When laying the foundation, we need to dig it deep, otherwise the house won't be sturdy and it will easily run into problems. It will probably take three days to lay the foundation."

Then, he estimated the manpower: "Our family can make about 600 mud bricks a day. If the whole family works together, it won't take much time. It will take about two months to make 90,000 mud bricks."

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu pondered for a moment and said, "Two months is too long. The busy farming season has just ended. While the weather is good, why not ask the capable men in the village to help with bricklaying and foundation digging? Give them thirty copper coins a day, without providing meals. This way, we can finish the work faster."

The village head's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "That's a great idea! Now that it's the off-season for farming, everyone has nothing to do. As long as we pay them and don't have to provide meals, the villagers will definitely be eager to do it. I can get enough people by just one call."

The two then discussed the house-building process. Tang Susu said, "We can first hire someone to make adobe bricks. After the adobe bricks are made, we can put them in the yard to dry. While the bricks are drying, we can arrange for someone to build the foundation. The foundation can be made of stone bricks. This way, we won't delay either side and can save a lot of construction time."

The village head nodded and added, "That's right, this arrangement is the most reasonable. Let me tell you about the price of stone bricks. When we build the foundation, we can use cheap bricks, one foot square, which cost two copper coins each. If it's for the floor inside, the bricks will be more expensive, costing six copper coins each. The high-grade bricks that Master Liu used to build his house cost more than ten copper coins each. We don't need to use such good ones."

Tang Susu quickly calculated in her mind: the courtyard and the house together would be about 700 square meters, requiring 1,500 to 1,600 stone bricks. If cheap floor tiles were used, it would only cost a little over 3,000 copper coins, which was more than enough to cover the cost. The biggest expense in building the house was the labor cost.

After thinking it through, Tang Susu immediately decided on a plan: "We'll use cheap floor tiles for the foundation, and the labor cost will be calculated at thirty copper coins per day. I'd appreciate it if Uncle Lizheng could help us find people, and we'd like to start work as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, Susu, leave this to me. I'll go to the village first thing tomorrow morning to promote it, and I guarantee the project won't be delayed." The village head readily agreed.

After discussing the house construction, the two walked back together. When they passed the Yang Family Ancestral Hall, it was already full of children. After the busy farming season, the school started earlier, and the children were very enthusiastic about learning after this period of study. They arrived at the ancestral hall early to wait for Tang Chengyu to teach them.

Seeing this, Lu Hao's eyes lit up. He strode up to the podium, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, "Children, I have good news for you! I've asked my father for some money and bought dozens of sets of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. In three days, during the exam, the top three students, whether in Class A or Class B, will receive a brand new set of the Four Treasures of the Study!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the children cheered and bowed to Lu Hao in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Lord Lu! Thank you, Lord Lu!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Hao frowned and quickly corrected himself, "Wrong, wrong! It's not thanking my father, it's thanking me! I begged my father for a long time before he agreed to give me this money. You should be thanking me!"

The children immediately realized what was happening and shouted in unison, "Thank you, Young Master Lu! Thank you, Young Master Lu!"

Seeing the children's enthusiasm, Lu Hao felt a surge of pride and satisfaction.

At this moment, Tang Chengyu walked up to the podium, nodded to the children, and Lu Hao tactfully stepped aside. Tang Chengyu picked up his book and began to teach, his voice loud and clear.

The village head stood aside, watching the children listen attentively to the lesson, and sighed, "Su Su, Yu'er is a good student and has a good temperament. I just don't know how long he can stay in the village. Now that the children love learning so much, I have an idea. Let's all work together to build a mud-brick school. It doesn't need to be too big, just three or four rooms will be enough. It can be built in four or five days, and then the children won't have to study in the open air anymore."

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu immediately agreed: "Uncle Village Head, this is a great idea! I was just thinking about this too, but there's a problem. Even if the school is built, we can't find a teacher. We can't let Yu'er suffer alone forever."

Lu Hao, standing to the side, curled his lip and said, "Building a mud-brick school is too outdated. Why don't we pool our money and build a brick and tile school? It'll be sturdy and presentable, and the children will feel proud to have classes there."

Tang Susu gently shook her head and retorted, "Young Master Lu, you don't understand the situation in the village. The villagers have just survived a drought and are struggling financially. They're lucky if they can even get enough to eat, let alone raise money to build a brick school. Although the mud-brick school is simple, it can provide shelter from the wind and rain, and that's enough."

As she spoke, she continued slowly, "The ancients said, 'This is a humble abode, but my virtue makes it fragrant.' The quality of a school does not depend on how grand the building is, but on whether the children can learn knowledge and whether the teacher can teach with dedication. A simple school can still produce learned children."

As Lu Hao listened, a look of guilt appeared on his face. He silently lowered his head and made a firm resolution in his heart: when he becomes an official in the future, he must build a spacious and decent school in every village so that all children can study in a good environment.

Just then, the clear and loud voices of children reading aloud came from inside the ancestral hall, echoing throughout the village: "The children may be poor, but their ambitions are not," "Like carrying firewood, like hanging horns," each sentence was read with exceptional seriousness.

Tang Susu stood to the side, listening to the children reading aloud, her thoughts drifting away.

She suddenly remembered that in this era, there was almost no cotton. Historically, cotton was not widespread and was only grown in small quantities in Xinjiang, Yunnan and other places. Moreover, it was mostly used as an ornamental plant. Villagers could only rely on thick hemp clothing and firewood for heating in winter, which was very hard.

In addition, she plans to dig a lotus pond in the yard and plant some lotus roots. In summer, she can enjoy the flowers and in autumn, she can harvest lotus roots and improve her meals. However, the lotus root seeds need to be specially introduced from the south. This way, the origin of the lotus root seeds can be reasonably explained and will not arouse suspicion.

However, these things cannot be rushed. Tang Susu secretly made up her mind to put aside other ideas for the time being and prioritize building the new house. After the new house is completed, she will slowly plan to introduce cotton and dig a lotus pond.

Back home, Tang Susu told her family about her plans to build a new house in detail.

Upon hearing this, the four sons became extremely excited, jumping and skipping around the yard, repeatedly chanting, "We're going to have a new house! We're going to have our own rooms!"

Looking at the children's excited faces, Tang Susu also recalled the past - before, her family squeezed into Old Yang's house, a dilapidated house with more than a dozen people living in it, where it was not even convenient to turn around.

After they separated their households, they moved into this dilapidated house that leaked wind and rain. In winter, the wind was biting cold, and in summer, it was unbearably hot and humid. On rainy days, they had to worry about the roof leaking, and they couldn't even sleep soundly.

Now, they are finally going to have their own new house, spacious and bright, with each person having their own room. They no longer have to squeeze together, and they no longer have to worry about the wind and rain. The children are so excited that they can't sleep, surrounding Tang Susu and asking her again and again what the new house looks like.

As night fell, a light drizzle began to fall, pattering softly onto the thatched roof.

Inside the house, the children lay on their beds, their minds filled with images of their new home. They tossed and turned, sleeping restlessly, but their faces were always adorned with sweet smiles, and they would occasionally mutter "new home" and "their own room."

Nothing happened that night. As dawn broke and the sky turned a pale white, the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room through the window.

The children got up early without anyone urging them. They ran to the yard, looking up, eagerly anticipating the start of construction on their new house, their eyes full of longing.

Tang Susu stepped out of the house, breathing in the fresh air after the rain, and looked up at the small river by the village. After the two rainfalls, the river was full of water, crystal clear, and several ducks were playing and frolicking in the water, quacking and occasionally lowering their heads to peck at the water plants, creating a lively scene.

Tang Susu looked at this scene with a relieved smile on her face, thinking to herself: Life will get better and better, we will have a new house, and good days will come.