The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household - Chapter 29
Chapter 29: A Chance Encounter with a Dagger!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Li Kui thought for a moment. “That depends on what materials you use, how big your house is, and more. You have to tao the master in person.”
“Ok.”
Qian Sishui thought, ‘Sure enough, there are specializations in every field!’
“I’ll take you to see the master first! His surname is Xu, and he’s famous in our area. He works hard, but he charges a little more expensive than others.” Li Kui, who was walking in front, said, “But there are advantages to being expensive. His skills are unquestionable.”
“Ok.”
Qian Sishui silently followed behind Li Kui. After passing through the alley, she stopped at a house whose door was open.
“Is Master Xu at home?” Li Kui greeted loudly. Even hen that was about to lay eggs was so frightened that it could no longer do so!
The hen thought, ‘This barbaric human! Aiyo, it hurts!’
“Yes, come in.” A middle-aged woman walked out.
“This is Sister-in-law, right? We’re looking for Master Xu to build a house.”
Seeing that there was business to be done, the woman quickly ushered them in warmly. She carried stools for them to sit on and even brought water over.
“Where are you from? How big a house are you planning to build?” Master Xu came out with a pipe.
Li Kui and Qian Sishui were at a loss for words.
These two idiots didn’t even know how to answer the simplest of questions!
Li Kui didn’t know how big a house Qian Sishui wanted to build, so he chose to shut up when Master Xu asked. However, Qian Sishui didn’t have any idea either!
The two idiots looked at each other, both waiting for the other party to answer.
Fine! Master Xu finally understood. These two people did not bring their brains.
“Hey, take out your family’s floor plan.” Master Xu said to the woman. He then turned to Li Kui and said, “I have a blueprint here. The style is different. Take a look first.”
Qian Sishui thought, ‘How considerate.’
On the other hand, Li Kui thought, ‘I guess there is a reason his services are expensive.’
This was the first time the two of them had seen a blueprint, and they stared at it like two country bumpkins.
“You’ve drawn it really beautifully. The roof looks like a roof, and the wall looks like a wall! Look at this window, it’s all decorated!”
It was like an uncultured man suddenly meeting a beautiful woman and saying,
“Look at the woman in front of you. Her neck looks like a neck, her butt looks like a butt, and her chest looks like a chest! And she has long legs! How exciting!”
However, what would A cultured scum say? He would pose beautifully and look into the distance, his eyes twinkling. He would say, “A graceful lady is a good match for a gentleman. Or perhaps, her beauty is enough to cause the downfall of a city and shock the world.”
On the contrary, a hooligan would only say, “Damn! She’s so beautiful. I like her!”
The current Li Kui belonged to the second type.
Qian Sishui wondered, ‘Is this a compliment or a derogatory remark?’
Master Xu was already used to it. He was just waiting for the two people in front of him to make a decision.
In the end, Li Kui sighed and said, “Sister Qian, which one do you like?”
Only then did Master Xu understand that it was this woman who wanted to build a house!
“This.” The one she had chosen was neither too big nor too small. It was exquisite yet practical.
“I think that’s good too. There’s only two of you. There’s no need for the house to be too big. You can always think again once your children grows up.” Li Kui also thought that Qian Sishui’s choice was right.
“What material should we use?” Master Xu put away the other blueprints and looked at the blueprint Qian Sishui had chosen.
“The good stuff.” They were going to stay there for a long time. It was too troublesome to repair the house.
“I’ll include all the good stuff for 250 taels! No bargaining,” Master Xu replied.
Li Kui gasped. “Two hundred and fifty?”
Qian Sishui huffed. ‘You’re the idiot. Your whole family are idiots!’
Master Xu did not insist. “How about including half of that for 180 taels?” Seeing that Qian Sishui had not spoken, he thought that she might not have that much money. “I can use the materials from the village to build the house for just 90 taels! That will include everything.”
That meant that he would arrange for all the doors, windows, brick beds, and everything necessary for a family! The owner only needed to buy furniture and daily necessities to move in.
After Master Xu explained himself, Qian Sishui felt that 250 taels was not that expensive.
“You can arrange for a supervisor to follow us the entire time, but you have to pay 200 taels in advance. You just have to pay the rest after the inspection.”
Li Kui couldn’t help but marvel, ‘It’s so easy to make money by building houses!’
Qian Sishui too thought, ‘Ancient people are so smart!”
Li Kui said, “Sister, forget it if you can’t. This is too expensive.” His mother might only have a little more than 100 taels after scrimping and saving for decades! How much money could the Shi Family have?
Qian Sishui took out the money she had earned today and placed it on the small table. There were four silver ingots, each worth 50 taels.
Li Kui’s eyes widened. “Sister, this is really 50 taels for sure!” He picked it up and touched it again. “I’ve never seen it before.” He only put it down when he was satisfied.
Qian Sishui looked at Li Kui. Although he was excited, there were no greed in his eyes.
Master Xu did not waste any time. He took out the contract and both parties signed it to confirm their agreement.
When Master Xu saw the young lady’s handwriting, he was surprised. It was obvious from her beautiful handwriting that she had been educated since she was young.
“Sister, your handwriting is so beautiful.” The handwriting of the scholars on the street who specialized in writing letters for others was not even as good as hers.
Qian Sishui took out another five taels and gave it to Li Kui. “For the supervisor.”
Li Kui jumped up. “No, you’ve already spent so much on the house. Keep this money. Hua needs it more than I do!” He pushed the money back into Qian Sishui’s hands.
“We villagers don’t take money when we help our fellow villagers build a house. We all help each other out. The villagers will hate me if I take your money!”
Qian Sishui was not good at dealing with such matters, so she just stared at Li Kui.
“Sister, I’m telling the truth. Don’t worry, I’ll do a good job as a supervisor for you. Keep the money.”
“When shall we start? Have you decided on the date?” Master Xu asked.
Li Kui quickly replied, “I haven’t. I’ll look at the dates when the girl’s husband comes back. I’ll inform you when the time comes. This will happen in the next few days.”
“Alright! We’ll only wait for you for five days. If you don’t come for five days, I’ll take someone’s business and you’ll have to wait.”
‘Are all masters so arrogant nowadays?’ Li Kui wondered to himself.
After leaving Master Xu’s house, Master Xu’s eldest son, Xu Tian, followed Li Kui to order materials. Once they left the house, they parted ways with Qian Sishui.
The young lady walked aimlessly on the streets. When she passed by a bun shop, she headed in to buy a bun.
She ate it as she walked around. Then, she passed by a fruit shop and bought pears, apples, and grapes.
When she set off on her way again, she passed by the blacksmith’s forge. She thought for a while and walked in to take a look.
There were all kinds of farming tools and kitchen knives inside. After looking for a long time, she didn’t find anything she wanted. But she turned to leave, she realized that there was a a dagger sat in a dusty corner.
“Young lady, you want this knife?” The blacksmith took out the dusty dagger.
“I won’t hide it from you. I haven’t sold this knife for a few years. This is the first thing I made after I finished my apprenticeship. I couldn’t bear to melt it, so I kept it here. If you it, you can have it for two taels of silver.”
When Qian Sishui heard this, she felt that it was very expensive. A kitchen knife only cost a few hundred copper coins.
“Too expensive?”
As he spoke, he waved the dagger at the kitchen knife beside him! With a loud clang, the kitchen knife broke into two.
‘Is this what they mean when they say that something cuts iron like mud?’
“This is why I can’t bear to melt it,” the blacksmith said proudly as he looked at the dagger.
“I’ll take it.” Qian Sishui was straightforward. She handed the money over with one hand and took the goods in the other. The blacksmith even gave her a sheath for the dagger.
She looked at the dagger with the sheath and thought to herself, ‘Ancient people are so smart when it comes to doing business!’
After obtaining a dagger, she felt inexplicably comfortable. She walked to the city gate and sat on the ox cart, preparing to return to the village.
Qian Sishui thought for a while. The stingy man should be back the next day or the day after tomorrow.
She touched her pocket. She had money in her pocket, so she didn’t panic.
In the middle of the night, Qian Sishui seemed to have heard a knock on the door and thought that she was hallucinating. She tossed in bed and went back to sleep.
Shi Jinhua looked at the door helplessly and thought to himself, ‘Forget it! I’ll just go around the gate and enter by climbing over the fence.’
However, Auntie An, who had woken up at night, saw him. It was too dark and she could only see his back. From the silhouette, she was very sure that it was a man!
This was terrible! Qian Sishui was the only woman in the Shi family!
Aunt An became nervous. She had long forgotten about the valiantness of Qian Sishui!
