A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

In the following days, Amber indeed did not mention the jade pendant again.

She practically glued herself to her study, her fingers flying across the page from the first light of dawn to the last twilight, only taking a short break during meals.

Sometimes Chen Wanxing would stroll over and see that her eyes were red from staying up all night, so he would pick up his needle and thread to help her and embroider some edges.

But after sewing a few stitches, Amber frowned and looked over, gently taking the embroidery pouch back from her hands, her voice a little hoarse, "Sister, go play, you don't need to help me, I'll do these myself."

His tone was gentle, yet carried an undeniable insistence.

Yunzhu, on the other hand, often watched quietly from the side. The little girl stared longingly as the colorful silk threads transformed into flowers and birds in Amber's hands, her eyes filled with wonder.

After being stared at for a while, Amber would occasionally stop, pull out a strand of multicolored thread and hand it over, giving brief instructions on how to straighten them by color and thickness.

Yunzhu then learned to do it, carefully categorizing and winding the silk threads onto the board.

Granny Li mostly worked in the kitchen and main room. Occasionally, she would bring hot water or food over, glance at the scene inside where one was engrossed in needlework and the other was quietly organizing the thread, and then quietly retreated, closing the door behind her.

As for Yunzhu not staying by the young lady's side to serve her all the time, the young lady had no objections, so she certainly wouldn't say anything.

In the courtyard, the only sound was the faint rustling of autumn wind through the leaves, interspersed with the continuous, fine sound of needle and thread passing through silk.

That afternoon, Granny Li returned from outside and found Chen Wanxing, saying, "Miss, the walls of the courtyard in the east of the city have been reinforced and repaired according to your wishes."

Today I went to deliver lunch, and Master Zhao said he'd be finished by the afternoon. He asked me to come and ask the young lady if I should go over and check it this afternoon.

"Okay, now that it's all set up, I'll go over and take a look for myself."

Chen Wanxing looked up from the calligraphy practice book, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes. She carefully dipped the brush in the basin of water and swirled it around, then stood up and called Yunzhu over.

"Yunzhu, wash this brush carefully, the ink stains will be hard to remove once they dry."

After saying that, she led Granny Li out the door with light steps and headed straight for the east of the city.

Before even entering the door, one could hear the rustling sound of brooms scraping the floor and sporadic tapping sounds coming from inside.

The newly built courtyard wall, made of blue bricks all the way to the top, with straight and tight mortar joints, looks about three meters long and appears very solid and sturdy.

In the courtyard, two experienced craftsmen were squatting on the open ground where the main house was originally located, sorting out the dismantled beams and pillars and stacking them neatly according to their categories.

Meanwhile, the other five laborers were busy sweeping up broken bricks and tiles, putting the last bit of construction debris in the corner of the yard.

Upon seeing Chen Wanxing enter, everyone stopped what they were doing.

Master Zhao dusted off his hands and came forward. "Miss Chen is here. Look, the courtyard wall is all done as you instructed. It's sturdy and there won't be any problems."

Chen Wanxing strolled slowly along the newly built courtyard wall, his gaze carefully sweeping over the base of the wall. Occasionally, he would reach out and press the newly applied plaster to check its dryness and hardness.

Master Zhao followed beside her, and seeing her cautious inspection, his expression became even more serious. He took the initiative to explain:

"Don't worry, young lady. There are more intact blue bricks in these three main rooms than we expected, so we dug the foundation half a foot deeper and plastered it inside and out to make it moisture-proof and sturdy."

Chen Wanxing walked to the former site of the main house, which was now empty, with only the solid foundation remaining. She looked around the spacious courtyard and finally spoke:

"Thank you all for your hard work. The wall is well-built and the work is meticulous. I am very satisfied. I will have Granny Li settle the wages with you later. If we need to rebuild this house again in the future, we will definitely come back to you two craftsmen."

When the two men heard Chen Wanxing say she was satisfied and even promised them future jobs, their faces immediately broke into smiles, and they said repeatedly, "Don't worry, Miss, we'll be there whenever you call."

The yard was almost tidied up. Master Zhao pointed to the slightly rotten wooden beams and pillars salvaged from the old main house, which had been neatly arranged in the corner, and said to Chen Wanxing:

"Miss Chen, these materials are quite old, and some are even infested with insects. They won't be of much use for building a new house. Would you like me to take them out and throw them away, or...?"

At this moment, Master Sun from the other side interjected, "It's a shame to throw it away. Although it can't be used as beams or pillars, it's excellent for firewood; it burns for a long time and is resistant to fire."

With this pile, a careful splitting should yield four or five loads of good firewood. These days, a load of this kind of hardwood costs at least twenty copper coins.

Chen Wanxing's gaze fell on the pile of wood; there was indeed a lot of it.

She doesn't live here now, but if it's just piled up in this open yard, and it's going to snow in a few days, the good wood will get wet and rot faster, and in the end it will just become a pile of rotten wood that can only be thrown away, which would be a real waste.

Instead of wasting resources, we should make the most of them. We can chop them into firewood and bring them back to our current yard so we can burn them this winter, which will save us a lot of money on firewood.

Even the smallest fly leg is still meat; throwing it away is not Chen Wanxing's style.

Thinking of this, she looked up at the five laborers in the yard who had just finished their work and were taking a break. Since there were workers here, she decided to ask them directly without bothering two others.

"I'm thinking of getting rid of this timber. Does anyone have the time to help me chop it into usable firewood and then deliver it to my place in Baishi Lane in the south of the city?"

She thought to herself that twenty coins would be fair for the job of chopping and transporting firewood, which was equivalent to their daily wages.

The laborers exchanged glances, their faces showing hesitation. This was extra work, and since the employer hadn't mentioned payment, they didn't dare to agree rashly.

While he hesitated, the son of the father and son looked at his father, who nodded slightly, then stepped forward and respectfully said to Chen Wanxing:

"Master, my father and I can do this job. We're strong enough to make sure we chop it into small pieces and deliver it to the right place where we can neatly stack it."

Seeing that they had agreed, Chen Wanxing nodded: "Alright, then I'll trouble you two. Once you're done packing, just take it to the destination and hand it over to Granny Li."

When the father and son saw that she had agreed, they smiled honestly and quickly responded. They immediately prepared to get the axe and rope and get to work.

"You two, don't rush. Master Zhao, you brought this axe and rope with you. Could you wait until I've used them up, and then I'll have Granny Li return them to your craftsmen's guild?"

"OK."

Upon hearing Master Zhao's reply, the young man stepped forward, picked up the axe, and gestured for his father to adjust the ropes. He then took the lead, straining against the thick timber beam with swift and effortless movements.

Chen Wanxing nodded slightly in his heart; this father and son were indeed hardworking and honest people.