She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 171 - 170: Facing Professionals

Chapter 171: Chapter 170: Facing Professionals

Ugh, Ye Xinyan felt helpless—complimenting her was one thing, but why bring Wong Qiao into it? This was just inviting animosity.

Qi Younian chided, "Fourth Brother, you still don’t watch your words. Ah Qiao’s child is just fine; how could you speak of him like that? I think Ah Qiao is quite remarkable, even more promising and capable than we were at his age. It’s impressive that Ah Qiao understands the ’Construction Regulations.’ Not to mention, he’s also skilled in surveying and calculation."

Huh? Ye Xinyan’s eyes widened in surprise, turning to look at Wong Qiao. What had happened during the half-day she was absent? Had Grandfather and others dug up Wong Qiao’s complete background? Did Wong Qiao understand the court’s industry regulations regarding construction? And he knew measurement and mechanical calculations?

No way? Isn’t he a child from a poor family? To think he was educated, and had studied mathematics—a subject not very sought after in this era. If there was money to spare, didn’t everyone prefer to send their children to proper schools to learn classics, history, and to prepare for the imperial examinations to become officials?

Question after question flowed in Ye Xinyan’s eyes, perhaps too many to maintain her usual composure, such that even Qi Younian teased her with a smile, "How about it? You’ve met someone more skilled than you, right? Ah Qiao never attended school, nor followed any teacher. Since his youth, he has been working on engineering projects in the Water Wood Workshop, and he’s been exposed to many skills related to construction. Learning bit by bit, he actually got the hang of it."

"Indeed, indeed. After all, I have been taught to read and can understand books. Wong... Uncle is more capable than I am."

Ye Xinyan nodded hastily. If that was true, Wong Qiao was far superior to her. Without having attended school or having a teacher, he understood construction industry standards and was capable of engineering calculations. That was impressive!

Self-taught expertise, indeed. Ye Xinyan now regarded Wong Qiao with a brand new perspective. The power of perception was truly formidable; with just a few explanations from the elders like Qi Younian, Wong Qiao even seemed to possess a scholarly charm that ordinary craftsmen lacked.

Forget it, forget it. Ye Xinyan waved her hand unconsciously; how could a grown man have such a scholarly charm? Her scientific mind still struggled with word usage—better to focus on the matter at hand.

"I should talk about the tents. Grandfather, did you say the carpenters have prepared the timber?"

"Yes, they’ve prepared flexible ashwood. It just depends if there’s enough," Qi Younian said.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Wong Qiao; she hadn’t had time to learn about Cheung Wusi and Wong Qiao’s specialties yesterday. She needed to go to town early this morning for business, so she had taken the liberty to instruct the workshop to prepare more flexible wood for building tents before leaving.

She looked at Wong Qiao again, thinking if she had known there was an expert who was familiar with the court’s ’Construction Regulations’ and was skilled in engineering calculations, she would not have taken the initiative.

Cheung Wusi, ever impatient, urged, "Ye Zi, why do you keep looking at him? Your Grandfather says you’re exceptionally clever, and you always have your own ideas. What’s your plan? Let us know so we can get organized and start working, right?"

"Well, facing Wong Qiao, who knows construction and understands engineering calculations, I feel a bit intimidated," Ye Xinyan admitted.

"What! Wong Qiao, he’s your Uncle," Qi Younian reproached.

"Yes, yes, Uncle," Ye Xinyan corrected herself with a good-natured attitude, then plowed on, "I was thinking, since the cattle shed is still sufficient, we should hold off on that work and start building our own house first. As for the specifics, how to arrange everything, you three are more knowledgeable than I am, so you just go ahead and organize it.

As for the tents, I’ll just share my initial thoughts, which might not be correct. Wong... Uncle, in the end, we’ll still do it according to your ideas."

Wong Qiao laughed and said, "Ye Zi, you’re giving me too much credit. I’ve only spent a few more years following the Water Wood Workshop head and picked up some superficial knowledge; I dare not claim to be an expert. Just go ahead and share your ideas, and we’ll do our best to get things done."

Ye Xinyan nodded repeatedly, thinking to herself, smart people really do know how to talk.

"I was thinking, although willow wood is prone to warping, it has excellent flexibility. If we split the willow wood and join narrow strips with different grains together, we could limit the warping of the wood to some extent. Using such composite wood as the tent’s ’dragon bone’ should be feasible. We’ll discuss the specific angles and shapes of the dragon bone later. We can sketch a rough diagram as we talk and then have Uncle Three and Grandfather Cheung take a look at its feasibility.

The rest involves the purchased tent canvas and oilcloth. Once we finalize the size and shape of the tent, we can cut the canvas and oilcloth accordingly and make simple buckles for the connections between pieces of canvas. It would be best if we could have an inner layer of canvas covered by an outer layer of oilcloth to keep out moisture and provide insulation, making it more comfortable to live in.

Inside the tent, we could make a large and low platform bed, something like a communal sleeping area, suitable for both sitting and lying down. The bottom layer would be straw, topped with sheepskins, cotton mattresses, and sheets—just like the beds at home, good enough to last until the house is built."

Having spent many years immersed in the Construction Industry, Wong Qiao naturally had extra knowledge and interest in construction-related matters. Hearing a woman like Ye Xinyan going through construction details with such ease piqued his interest greatly.

"Ye Zi, what you’ve mentioned is very practical; it doesn’t seem like something that would come from someone in the food industry. Shall we draw that skeletal diagram you mentioned, right now?"

Qi Younian and Cheung Wusi looked at each other. Are we already sketching diagrams? Having worked in the Construction Industry their whole lives, they felt completely out of step with the two youngsters, unable to get a word in.

Cheung Wusi said to Qi Younian, "Brother, shall we go check on the work at the construction site instead?"

Qi Younian nodded, "Let’s go. We’ll tidy up the cattle farm construction site a bit and get ready to start on our own house tomorrow."

Qi Jia had been playing outside with Zi Ning for a while, but finding it dull, she came back and leaned over the table set up in the courtyard to watch Ye Xinyan and Wong Qiao draw up the rough diagrams for the tent framework. More accurately, it was Ye Xinyan sketching timidly, while Wong Qiao watched intently.

Ye Xinyan had an engineering background, with courses in material mechanics and engineering mechanics in her major—though she later switched to project management and forgot many theoretical formulas and data. Still, she remembered the gist of many things.

Ever since Qi Younian began working on construction projects—what the ancients called Imperial Workshops—Ye Xinyan was concerned that Qi Younian’s age might lead to physical constraints and oversights. She specifically purchased a set of Construction Regulations published by the court, a canon called "Construction Regulations." So her sketching of the tent’s dragon bone diagram wasn’t too difficult; despite feeling a bit nervous in front of professionals, it wasn’t too shabby or off the mark.

Ye Xinyan roughly outlined a general shape based on her ideas while explaining it to Wong Qiao.

Although the diagrams Ye Xinyan sketched were simple and rough, they had a profound impact on Wong Qiao.

Wong Qiao shifted his gaze from the sketches on the table to Ye Xinyan.

Construction Diagrams were complex and tedious. Even someone who had served many years as a workshop head in the Imperial Workshops might not master everything. But Ye Zi, the daughter of his uncle’s family, was just a woman, and wasn’t she in the food industry? How could she understand the craftsmanship of large woodwork?