Chapter 30: Salted Fish Have No Ideals

Qi Wu had only been an apprentice to Carpenter Liao for a few years, but despite only learning how to make coffins, he had a wealth of knowledge.

He was the type of person who was slow to grasp things but worked incredibly hard. While he hadn't memorized all those technicalities, he had absolutely mastered how to trim wood and plane it until it was smooth and level.

Some fastidious families forbade the use of a single nail, so he was also skilled at crafting mortise and tenon joints.

The Qi brothers were tall, strong, and powerful. Whenever Qi Wu had free time, he would go to the distant mountains to fell timber and drag it back himself to practice his craft. The tables, stools, and beds in his house were all handmade, possessing a simple, unadorned rustic style.

Yan Er was very satisfied. He just wanted a carriage shed—no frills, just durable and sturdy; that was his only requirement.

Qi Wu was a bit nervous.

He didn't know how to carve patterns or how to sand and oil wood; the things he made were blunt and plain, much like his own personality.

Few villagers interacted with his family, and Yan Er was the first person to commission him for work.

"Brother Yan Er, my master makes coffins. Are you... not superstitious about that?"

"Rising in rank and making a fortune—what a wonderful omen! Come, Brother Qi Wu, look at this drawing I made. See if you can build it?" Yan Er didn't waste words and showed him the blueprint directly.

This was a collaborative masterpiece produced by him and his daughter!

Qi Si and Qi Wu felt a sense of solemn respect.

Yan Er actually knew how to draw furniture blueprints?

Qi Wu spoke bluntly and honestly, "Brother Yan Er, I am illiterate and cannot read drawings. Can you explain to me what kind of shed you want?"

Qi Wu had been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of his master's drawings before; they were dense with tiny characters and small, indistinct diagrams that were hard to decipher.

How could he not need to look? He and his daughter had poured so much brainpower into this!

"Look, Brother Qi Wu, the shed I want is like this: the top needs to hold heavy objects. Ideally, it should be like the original carriage frame so that even if a few people lie down on it, it'll be fine. There should be a fence around the sides, and the fence should be somewhat high, about four feet."

"Isn't it simple? Just a matter of a few pieces of wood."

Qi Si leaned in. "Brother Yan Er, are you asking him to build a high-legged bed and put it on top?"

Yan Er let out an "Eh?" and looked closely; it did indeed look quite similar.

"Yes, just add a bed to it. Make the four legs a bit longer so people can move around underneath. With the bed and the fence, I want to put straw, grain, iron pots, luggage, and things like that on top. See? Isn't it simple?"

Qi Wu nodded. "I can do it, but Brother Yan Er, once it's mounted, it'll be very heavy. With all those things you mentioned, a single ox won't be able to pull it."

"Don't use solid timber. Use small wooden slats for the fence, and for the bedboard, just use planks instead of one large slab," Yan Er suggested.

Cutting corners on materials.

Qi Wu understood and began to contemplate based on Yan Er's instructions.

Truth be told, this way, it would indeed be much lighter.

"Also, this is a two-wheeled ox cart, and I'm afraid it won't be stable with heavy things on top. Add two more wheels to turn it into a four-wheeled ox cart. Brother Qi Wu, look at this drawing again—attach a small cart to the back, and secure the two carts together with planks. Then it's all done!"

Qi Si and Qi Wu: "..."

Qi Wu said, "Brother Yan Er, if we make it now, I'm afraid we won't finish in time. My family has some larger carts; I'll go back and see if we can connect them later."

If anyone else had come, they certainly wouldn't have been as nonsensical as Yan Er.

But that was the problem—Yan Er had chosen Qi Wu, an honest man who was taking his first custom order.

Not just Qi Si and Qi Wu, even Qi Da came to help.

Yan Er had no other pressing matters, so he stayed to lend a hand.

...

Last night, Li Xuemei and her husband had stuffed all the items in the house into cloth bags.

The main contents were various seasonings. To save trouble, salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and chicken essence were mixed together, and chili powder and cumin were packed into another single bag.

It was Yan Er who insisted on the latter; his daughter loved roasted meat, and with those two ingredients, any meat would smell delicious.

A person needs to have dreams, after all; who knows, maybe one day they could achieve "meat freedom."

Old Yan didn't ask where the rice, flour, and vegetables came from—they were all obtained through legitimate means—but the toilet paper was the only thing that couldn't be shown in public.

It couldn't be exposed at all; the color was too white and too glaring.

It had reached the point where, after their family dealt with their "major life matters," they had to dig their own holes to bury them.

Yan Er had smuggled a lot of straw into the house. Currently, Li Xuemei was doing the final task: stuffing the straw into the bundles to make them look full.

They had no choice; they were selling too much. If they wanted to take things out in the future, they needed some form of cover.

When Yan Yu came skipping back, she saw the house filled with large and small bundles.

At first glance, it looked like their family had quite a lot of assets.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Li Xuemei asked her daughter.

"It was great! Mom, sleeping in a bed is much more comfortable," Yan Yu said earnestly.

Li Xuemei smiled. "You were being lazy. Look at your father and me, we've only just finished tidying up."

Yan Yu asked casually, "Where's Dad? Where did he go again?"

"He went to the Qi house to build that carriage shed you drew."

"Haha! Mom, Dad probably hasn't had breakfast yet. I'll go bring some to him later."

"It won't hurt him to skip one meal. If you want to go, go, but don't bring anything. Those Qi brothers look very honest; if you go to deliver food, they will surely insist on hosting your father. It won't just be a simple meal; when villagers host guests, they bring their very best to the table."

Li Xuemei took the opportunity to teach her daughter.

"I understand, I'll go in a bit." She suddenly thought of something. "Mom, what about the characters on those bamboo slips that you couldn't recognize? I'll copy them down and go ask Uncle."

Li Xuemei thought for a moment and asked, "Xiao Yu, do you think we could just take those bamboo slips directly to your uncle? This is what I'm thinking: we'll say your father obtained them by chance. Since Yan Er still holds the reputation of a scholar, it wouldn't be considered improper."

Yan Yu shook her head like a rattle. "Mom, this is only Bamboo Slip Three. There will be Bamboo Slips One and Two, hand-copied volumes One, Two, Three... once there are more, it would be better to bring them all out together. If I only go to ask about a few characters now, Uncle won't suspect anything; he'll just think they are obscure characters from some book. It would also expose the fact that your daughter can read. Mom, I don't want to be an illiterate forever."

Li Xuemei pulled her close, re-combed her hair, and said softly, "Xiao Yu, you should know that in this ancient era, even if a woman is full of talent, she has no opportunity to use it..."

She was worried her daughter would experience a psychological letdown.

"Mom!" Yan Yu turned around abruptly, her eyes wide in a look of shock. "What are you saying? You don't think I have some grand ambition, do you? No, absolutely not! I just want to be someone who can read, look at books, and do some writing and drawing—it's nothing surprising. Just like that carriage shed I drew with Dad, I just want to use my little brain a bit so it doesn't get rusty."

Li Xuemei breathed a sigh of relief.

Yan Yu turned back to hug her, her face bright and radiant. "Let Dad support us! He works hard to make money outside, and we stay home looking beautiful. Hahaha! Mom, don't you think that sounds like a good life?"

Li Xuemei couldn't help but laugh. "It sounds wonderful!"