She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 172 - 171 Not bad, not too poor

Chapter 172: Chapter 171 Not bad, not too poor

Wong Qiao withdrew his gaze, picked up the sketch, and carefully spread it out one by one to examine, but failed to utter a single word for quite some time.

"Facing a professional from ancient times," Ye Xinyan felt unsure within, and she humbly inquired, "Well, I am a layman and only managed to do this much after looking over the Construction Regulations issued by the court these past few days. If there’s anything improper, Wong..." Ye Xinyan promptly swallowed the word ’bridge’, "Third Uncle, please feel free to point it out. We can make corrections according to the right direction, and I can learn a little more skill as well."

Wong Qiao did not immediately respond to Ye Xinyan’s words. He stared at the sketch for a good while before speaking with deep feeling, "Ye Zi merely looked at the regulations for a period of time and managed to achieve this level; it truly shames us craftsmen. I was praised by people for my natural gift in construction, but compared to Ye Zi, what am I really?"

As Wong Qiao spoke, he also shook his head in self-mockery.

Qi Jia, with his bright black eyes, looked here and there, then at the several marked sheets of paper. Seeing Third Uncle’s face full of disappointment, he couldn’t help asking, "Third Uncle, what is a natural gift?"

Wong Qiao’s sentiment was still fermenting in his heart when he heard Qi Jia’s question. He was caught off guard. How should he respond?

To explain the meaning of the phrase honestly, wouldn’t that be akin to boasting? And to boast in front of Ye Zi from his granduncle’s house? How thick-faced would he have to be to say such things?

Ye Xinyan didn’t care about all that; if her young brother aspired to learn, there was no reason not to answer.

She explained to Qi Jia with a smile, "A natural gift means that a person is very impressive and possesses unique talents and skills that ordinary people don’t have."

"Wow," Qi Jia’s eyes sparkled with countless stars as he looked at Wong Qiao, "Third Uncle is so impressive. I want to follow Third Uncle in the future and be like him."

With a bitter smile on his face, Wong Qiao complained to Ye Xinyan, "Ye Zi, how can you make such a joke with a child? If this spreads, how can I save face to be seen by others?"

Then, turning to Qi Jia, he said, "Your sister is being naughty again. She’s teasing you. A natural gift is what she described, but that’s not about Third Uncle. Third Uncle is just an ordinary craftsman. In the future, Xiao Jiajia, you should go to school, study for the imperial examinations, and serve the court. You cannot learn from Third Uncle."

"Oh." He had heard about top scholars, although he didn’t know what that was, but whenever people spoke of top scholars, their faces were filled with respect. Being a top scholar seemed quite good. Qi Jia nodded, seemingly accepting Wong Qiao’s explanation.

Wong Qiao pushed the sketch in his hands towards Ye Xinyan and said, "As a beginner, Ye Zi’s dragon bone structure is already very good, with no fatal flaws. What is most commendable is Ye Zi’s novel and clever way of supporting the dragon bone connections and pitching the tents. According to Ye Zi’s ideas, with some modifications, tent construction will be much simpler in the future, and we craftsmen can save a lot of time and effort. Ye Zi has really done a great service for us in the Construction Industry."

Ye Xinyan waved her hand and said, "Third Uncle, don’t praise me just yet; I can’t handle compliments, and they make me dizzy. Let’s focus on the dragon bone structure first. Are you sure there are no fatal mistakes?"

Ye Xinyan did not question Wong Qiao’s statement about connections and pitching, as she had seen various tents and even pitched them by hand many times; she naturally had relatively mature ideas regarding structure and support.

Her doubts were about the dragon bone structure; those angles and the interlocking support points, could they really pass the scrutiny of a professional?

Wong Qiao nodded deeply moved, "For Ye Zi to be a woman and yet show such brilliance in construction, it truly shames those of us who have been in the construction trade for many years."

"Not at all, not at all," Ye Xinyan chuckled humbly, feeling she was alright and not too shabby, right?

Wong Qiao, while altering Ye Xinyan’s draft, began to explain to her. He pointed out the deficiencies in support that didn’t conform to the Construction Regulations and the redundancies that not only wasted materials but also added to the dragon bone’s weight and the labor of the craftsmen.

By sunset, Wong Qiao had led the carpenters to neatly organize the wood for the tent’s dragon bones. The parts were glued and set, each component prepared to size, just waiting to start work the next day to interlock and outline the framework of the tent.

Ye Xinyan, with the help of several maidservants and old woman servants, following Wong Qiao’s drawn dimensions, had cut the tent and oiled cloth. The edges were folded and the fasteners nearly completed. It seemed by tomorrow, once the supporting frame of the tent was done, the tent cloth would also be finished without delay.

The people in the yard were so busy they even forgot to prepare dinner.

It was only when Nanny Zhou was folding edges and raised her head to glance at the evening sky that she suddenly remembered it was getting late and time to make dinner. She then led two old woman servants to make arrangements for the evening meal.

When Qi Younian and the other elders finished their work and returned, they saw that the goods and lumber in the yard had been nearly sorted out, neatly organized under the grass shed in the yard.

Qi Younian turned to Cheung Wusi and laughed, "Look, we’re really getting old, and we can’t keep up with the young people’s pace. This kind of work, if left to us, would take three to five days to even get an approximate shape out."