The matter of building the house was finally settled, and Qiao Zilin handed the entire responsibility for sourcing construction materials over to Old Man Guan.
There were no ceramic tiles in this era, and Qiao Zilin had no plans to waste time searching for something that didn’t exist. Besides, they lived in the countryside and spent their days farming, so fancy flooring wouldn’t be practical anyway. She decided to leave all those details for later, after the structure itself was completed.
Old Man Guan was experienced in whitewashing walls, and since no one else in the group knew much about construction, Qiao Zilin felt far more comfortable leaving everything in the hands of a professional.
Naturally, the wages she offered were extremely generous.
Each craftsman received thirty copper coins a day without meals included, while Old Man Guan, acting as the foreman, earned fifty coins daily.
Under normal circumstances, laborers only made fifteen to twenty copper coins a day, and even then, the host family would provide just one simple meal. Qiao Zilin found the idea of cooking for dozens of workers every day exhausting, so she simply doubled the wages instead.
Old Man Guan was delighted, and the craftsmen were even happier. None of them had ever worked for such a generous employer before. With such high pay, everyone threw themselves into the work wholeheartedly.
Two days later, after selecting an auspicious date, construction officially began.
That morning, the sound of crackling firecrackers echoed across the hillside. Long Zhenting performed the ceremonial first dig, shoveling the first scoop of earth before the craftsmen stretched measuring lines and began excavating the foundation.
To celebrate the occasion, Qiao Zilin secretly retrieved half a side of pork from her farm space and prepared a lavish meal for the workers.
Inside the kitchen, she and Qing Mei busied themselves nonstop. She sliced the mountain of pork into large chunks, planning to turn the entire batch into red-braised pork.
The wok heated quickly as she poured in oil and caramelized sugar. Her movements were smooth and practiced, and before long, the rich aroma of simmering meat drifted out of the kitchen.
The craftsmen digging the foundation immediately began swallowing hard.
What kind of meat was the mistress cooking? It smelled heavenly.
Even though they hadn’t tasted it yet, the fragrance alone nearly drove them mad with hunger.
Listening to the bubbling stew, Qiao Zilin turned to Qing Mei.
“Qing Mei, go let Grandpa Guan know they don’t need to prepare lunch themselves today.”
“Yes, Madam!”
Qing Mei quickly ran toward the construction site.
“Master Guan!” she called out loudly. “Madam says everyone can eat here at noon today!”
The workers instantly lit up with excitement.
Their silent prayers had actually come true.
At lunchtime, steaming bowls of glossy, mahogany-colored braised pork were carried out before them.
The moment they tasted it, shock spread across every face.
The pork wasn’t just fragrant, it was unbelievably delicious. The fatty meat practically melted on the tongue, while the lean portions stayed tender and juicy.
Old Man Guan had spent his entire life building houses, but he had never encountered a host as generous as Qiao Zilin.
Even wealthy households usually served plain food with barely a trace of meat. Yet Qiao Zilin had cooked an entire basin of braised pork, accompanied only by a simple plate of wild greens.
The craftsmen silently vowed to work even harder. No one wanted to disappoint such a generous employer.
With twenty men working together, the foundation for the four-bedroom courtyard house was completed in only four days.
Although Qiao Zilin had originally said she wouldn’t provide meals, she still often steamed buns for them or sent tea to the worksite. During the scorching afternoons, she even had Qing Mei boil large pots of mung bean soup every day before carrying it over once it cooled.
The workers became more motivated with each passing day.
Once the foundation was complete and the blue bricks arrived, construction of the walls officially began.
Time passed steadily, and after half a month of nonstop work, the new courtyard on the hillside was nearly ready for the roof beam ceremony.
Meanwhile, the rice seedlings at the foot of the mountain had grown considerably over the past two weeks. In another half month, they would be ready for transplanting.
But the most surprising progress came from the chili seedlings growing in the courtyard.
They seemed to change every single day. In less than a month, the tiny sprouts had already grown over ten centimeters tall.
Because of this, Qiao Zilin spent the last few days leading everyone to clear and prepare land at the base of the mountain. Once the soil was arranged into neat ridges, it would finally be time to transplant the chilies.
The bell peppers and long chilies could be planted fairly close together, but the bird’s eye chilies would grow into much larger bushes and needed wider spacing.
After two days of work, they cleared roughly one mu of land, enough to plant over a thousand chili seedlings.
Before planting, Qiao Zilin secretly brought out two bags of organic fertilizer from her farm space to use as a base fertilizer. She poured it into the buckets normally used for watering vegetables and had Long Shiyi and the others carry them to the fields.
“Madam, what is this stuff?” Long Shiyi asked, pinching his nose in disgust. “It’s black as mud and smells terrible!”
Qiao Zilin burst out laughing.
The smell of fermented manure really was awful, but it worked wonders for crops.
“It’s organic fertilizer,” she explained. “It’s made from fermented livestock waste. It smells bad, but plants love it.”
The moment Long Shiyi heard it would help the crops grow better, he stopped complaining and obediently scattered it according to her instructions.
Once the fertilizer was spread, Qiao Zilin brought out several rolls of black plastic mulch.
Without herbicides, weeds would quickly overrun the fields if the soil wasn’t covered. The workers were already amazed by the foul-smelling fertilizer, and now this mysterious black material appeared out of nowhere.
Still, no one questioned her anymore.
Whatever the Madam said, they simply followed.
After laying down the mulch, they finally began transplanting the chili seedlings on the evening of the third day.
Before starting, Qiao Zilin had Long Zhenting carry over buckets of water to thoroughly soak the seedlings first. Then, using thin bamboo splints, they carefully loosened the roots one by one.
Qing Mei handled the delicate task of prying out the seedlings while Long Shiyi transported them to the field. Qiao Zilin personally led the planting process.
Each hole received a single seedling.
The bell peppers and long chilies were spaced twenty centimeters apart, while the bird’s eye chilies were spaced forty centimeters apart.
Before planting began, Qiao Zilin also brought out a special hole-punching tool she had asked Long Zhenting to make. Shiwu used it to stamp perfectly spaced planting holes into the mulch.
Once again, everyone was astonished.
The strange black ground cover was already shocking enough, but this neat and efficient planting method completely broadened their horizons.
They all felt the Madam’s mind worked differently from ordinary people.
After the holes were prepared, Qiao Zilin picked up a seedling and demonstrated while cheerfully singing a little rhyme she made up on the spot.
“In a tiny hole, dig a tiny pit, plant a tiny chili seedling, then grow big chilies to eat every day.”
Her playful tune made everyone laugh.
Following her example, the others dug small pits beneath the mulch and carefully planted the seedlings one by one. Afterward, they watered each plant thoroughly so the roots could settle properly into the soil.
“Madam, is that all?” Shier asked eagerly. “How long until we can eat chilies?”
He was already dreaming about all the dishes she had described before, chili stir-fried pork, tiger-skin peppers, roasted chili sauce, and spicy chili paste eaten with steamed buns.
Qiao Zilin smiled helplessly.
“About two months. Don’t rush it. You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry.”
“Two months?” Shier groaned dramatically. “That’s way too long!”