Clan Leader Chen Xuan was the first to speak. "Chang Sheng, what are you trying to do?"
Chen Changsheng pointed at his house, wiped his sweat, and smiled. "I’m going to set up running water!"
Looking at their bewildered expressions, he could only continue to explain. "We dig a pool here, then use bamboo or iron pipes to guide the water into the house. If we make a copper valve, we can directly use the water inside the house through it."
Chen Fusheng shook his head and rolled his eyes, snapping back, "And then what? With all this fuss, you might as well just carry a few vats of water into the house every day!"
Clan Leader Chen Xuan also shook his head in speechless exasperation.
Chen Changsheng couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He said casually, "Wait until I’m done. You’ll understand once you come to my house and see for yourselves!"
Clan Leader Chen Xuan turned and left.
Chen Fusheng, however, didn’t leave. He took out his Waist Saber, jumped into the stone pit, spat out the blade of grass in his mouth, and asked, "Although it’s useless, I’ve got nothing better to do. Tell me, how are we doing this?"
Chen Changsheng was stunned, a sarcastic remark nearly escaping his lips. "I prefer the rebellious attitude you had at the beginning. Please bring it back!"
He wondered, "What happened to fighting me for the Clan Leader position? What happened to holding grudges?" However, having an extra Human around meant higher efficiency.
By evening, a third of the stone pit had been dug out.
Since Chen Fusheng had helped, Chen Changsheng naturally wouldn’t mistreat him, insisting he stay for drinks that night. When the moon rose above the willow trees, Chen Fusheng leaned against the wall, staggering down the mountain path while mumbling, "Chang Sheng, from now on you’re my own brother! I’ll do whatever you ask!"
The next afternoon, the four children all went to the County School.
The excavation of the stone pit was complete. The next step was the piping. He hollowed out a hole from the pool and connected hollow bamboo pipes, allowing the water to trickle out. However, joining the bamboo pieces was an ongoing issue; the seals weren’t tight enough, causing leaks.
Left with no other choice, Chen Changsheng rode to Chaoyang Town. He found a blacksmith shop, drew up blueprints for a copper valve faucet, iron pipes, cast-iron clamps, and an iron water tank, and commissioned the blacksmith to forge them. He paid a ten taels deposit, promising to pay the remaining twenty taels when picking up the goods on the tenth of the fourth lunar month.
Starting on the second of the month, Chen Changsheng began digging a septic tank on the southern slope and setting up a bathroom at home. The squat toilet was carved directly from a solid piece of bluestone, and the washbasin was similarly fashioned from a large block of bluestone. The walls and floors were tiled with smooth bluestone slabs. He dug a trench from the bathroom to the septic tank, lined it with bluestone, and covered it with bluestone slabs. This chapter was taken from novelping dot com without permission.
The four children went to the County School every day at 1:00 PM and returned home at 5:00 PM. The rest of the time, they fluttered around Chen Changsheng. The family couldn’t have been happier.
Over the following days, Chen Changsheng took some time to walk around the village. He paid off the debts the original owner of this body had incurred to renovate the house and buy a coffin for his late wife—ten taels of silver in total. He also took the children to visit relatives, stopping by his oldest sister’s home and his father-in-law’s home...
On the tenth of the month, he hurried to Chaoyang Town early in the morning to pick up his goods, hauling a cart full of pipes and fittings back with his horse.
He arrived back at his courtyard at 7:45 AM. Just as he entered the door, he heard laughter coming from the main hall. Looking closer, he realized the Clan Leader was drinking tea and chatting with County Captain Li.
"Come, come! County Captain Li is here in the village to distribute the bounties. The other Humans have all received theirs; you’re the last household! I bet he’s hoping you’ll treat him to lunch and drinks!" Clan Leader Chen Xuan explained County Captain Li’s purpose with a hint of teasing.
Chen Changsheng quickly set down his things and cupped his hands in thanks. "Sorry for the trouble, Lord Li. You could have just sent word to the town Humans, and I would have gone to the county town to collect it myself!"
County Captain Li set down his teacup, looking apologetic and somewhat helpless as he spoke. "Chang Sheng, I must first offer my apologies! I promised you back then, but now I’ve failed to deliver!"
Chen Changsheng was taken aback. Although the Great Yan Dynasty was plagued by internal strife and foreign threats, it never reneged on bounties for killing Barbarians. Even if funds were embezzled, it was usually the local officials playing tricks. His bounty had been personally promised by County Captain Li, meaning there shouldn’t have been any issues from Great Fog County’s side. So where did the problem lie?
However, Chen Changsheng didn’t directly voice his doubts. Instead, his expression remained unchanged as he stepped forward to pour tea for County Captain Li and asked, "Lord Li, is it convenient to explain the situation to me?"
"Sigh... Chang Sheng, the Court acknowledges the debt, and both the county and the Commandery acknowledge the debt, but they are completely out of money!" County Captain Li reached out to stop Chen Changsheng from pouring, gesturing for him to sit down as he explained helplessly. "The other Humans’ bounties weren’t large, so it was easy to settle them with half silver coins and half grain. But for your bounty of one thousand four hundred and forty-five taels of silver, the county can’t even scrape together five hundred taels right now."
Chen Changsheng’s heart sank. Many of his future plans relied on this silver. He needed it to buy the Southern Slope of Yellow Earth Mountain and Spirit Medicine Seeds to cultivate some highly aged Spiritual Medicine, ensuring his breakthrough to the Postnatal Realm would be absolutely foolproof. He wanted to forge Weapons and Armor and fully renovate his house. He also planned to buy a house in the county town so that when his eldest son grew a few years older, he wouldn’t have to live in the doghouse of a dormitory at the County School.
Most importantly, now that he was somewhat prosperous, he wanted to find a breathtakingly alluring, vibrant stepmother for his children. Otherwise, all this hard work would be for nothing! It had been months, and he was still living the life of a widower. His ultimate goal was to have three wives and four concubines! Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
As for the claim that the county was out of money, Chen Changsheng could only sneer inwardly. The higher-ups had definitely allocated the funds to the county; the local lords simply didn’t want to hand over the silver. County Captain Li sitting right in front of him was absolutely one of the Humans taking a cut. Sure enough, in the face of money, so-called promises were worthless!
Seeing Chen Changsheng’s expression gradually darken, County Captain Li could only continue to explain. "Chang Sheng, the county has proposed a few alternative solutions and asked me to discuss them with you. Would you like to hear them?"
The Clan Leader also noticed Chen Changsheng’s slip in composure and quickly gave him a swift kick under the table. Chen Changsheng snapped back to reality and hurriedly apologized, "Lord Li, please speak!"
"Right. The first solution is that the county will issue three hundred taels now, and the rest will be compensated based on the situation after the autumn harvest taxes are collected. If there isn’t enough this year, they’ll make it up next year. It will definitely be fully paid off within three years."
After proposing the first solution, County Captain Li saw that Chen Changsheng showed no reaction, so he continued. "The second solution: three hundred taels of silver, a house in the county town, a courtyard with a storefront in Chaoyang Town, an unclaimed small mountain ten miles west of Chen Family Village, and a hundred acres of fertile farmland south of the village."
Chen Changsheng was somewhat tempted by the second option. With a mountain, farmland, and a storefront, he would be a proper little Landlord!
He immediately asked, "Lord Li, could you tell me the location and size of the house in the county town?
"Do I have a choice in the size and location of the courtyard with a storefront in Chaoyang Town?
"What is the general situation of the unclaimed small mountain? And exactly where are these hundred acres of fertile farmland?"
These details were crucial. The value of a house was always dictated by its location and size, and the same applied to the farmland and the mountain! If these assets combined added up to a value of one thousand four hundred taels of silver, he could accept the deal. After all, to him, silver was meant to be used for purchasing properties anyway.
Hearing this, County Captain Li smiled faintly and explained:
"The house in the county town is located in the East City district. It features three rooms and a courtyard in an excellent location, valued at over three hundred taels.
"The courtyard with a storefront in Chaoyang Town is situated at the north intersection. With Humans coming and going, it is quite bustling. It covers an acre and is valued at two hundred taels.
"The unclaimed small mountain doesn’t have any special mineral deposits, but it is densely forested. You can harvest Wood, hunt, and plant crops there, giving it a value of two hundred taels.
"As for the hundred acres of fertile farmland, it’s located just south of Chen Family Village. The soil is rich, and the water supply is plentiful. It’s premium paddy land, worth at least seven hundred taels."