Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 281 - 182 Paying to Attach_1

Chapter 281: Chapter 182 Paying to Attach_1

In September, Qian Yixiu attended two feasts in the village. One was a celebration, as Lady Xu gave birth to another son, named Qian Yijin, or baby Jin. The other was a funeral; Second Grandpa, whom Qian Yixiu would call Second Great-grandpa, passed away. He was the eldest of the older generation in the Qian family.

Such is life, with births there are deaths, in a never-ending cycle.

The Qian family was known for their longevity in the region. Second Grandpa died at seventy-eight, which was considered a rare old age. Old man Qian was sixty-five, and Old woman Qian sixty-four, both still alive, a rarity in ancient rural areas. Especially Old woman Qian, who managed to survive a serious illness and, although movement was now inconvenient for her, she had a rosy complexion that was more radiant than many middle-aged people.

Now, Lady Wang was often invited to be the Quanfu at weddings because her in-laws and husband were alive and well, her son was the shopkeeper in the county town, and her grandson attended the best private school there. Although Qian Mandie had divorced, there was no shortage of families seeking to marry her.

Lady Wang’s father-in-law had died half a year earlier, so there were fewer requests for Madame Yu to be the Quanfu, much to her displeasure. The harmony between the sisters-in-law was no more, but due to the relationship with Qian’s third wife, Madame Yu dared not offend Lady Wang lightly. Regardless of how pleased or displeased Wang Lizheng and his wife were, they could not deny that Qian Sangui had become the most powerful person in Huaxi Village.

At the end of September, Wong Liang, who had returned from the regional capital, said that Old Great-grandpa of the Song family had died three days earlier. The family in Capital City would undoubtedly return to Xizhou Mansion to observe mourning, along with several members of the family who held official positions elsewhere, all of whom had to return to observe the rituals.

In Daqian, the mourning system stipulated that when parents died, sons who were civil officials must resign and observe mourning for twenty-seven months, while grandsons must request leave to return home for one hundred days. For military officers, they were not removed from their posts, but granted one hundred days of leave.

Only in special circumstances would an exemption be granted.

Song Huaijin, studying at the Imperial College, would certainly have to return, and it was uncertain whether Uncle Liang, who had just returned to Capital City, would come back.

Because of the relationship with the Song Mansion, Qian Sangui and Qian Yeejin also went to the regional capital to offer condolences.

By mid-October, the houses in Guiyuan were all completed. Master Zhao and his craftsmen went to work on buildings and pavilions for Moonlit Lotus Pond and Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, as well as on paving roads, with some paths on the mountain to be laid with wood. Since there were fewer buildings there, the pavilions and roads were simple and expected to be finished before the year’s end.

To save money, the household servants and workers would take the opportunity to go to the foot of the mountain to dig up trees and transplant them back home, mostly willows, toon, and camphor trees. They also purchased some osmanthus, plum, crabapple, and magnolia trees.

The family from the third wife’s side was still residing in the front courtyard, waiting for the furniture to be completed before moving into the new house.

Through a referral, Master Lu, who had previously made the wing-wood screen for their household, brought three apprentices to make furniture. Craftsmen as skilled as Master Lu typically did not accept projects from rural households, even wealthy ones.

Three months earlier, Master Lu had gone into the mountains to find quality wood and carelessly broke his leg. Although it had healed after a hundred days, he was not strong enough to exert much force. With his condition, he certainly couldn’t take on significant projects from wealthy families, but he was also unwilling to sit idle at home. Introduced by Master Zhao, he came to the Qian residence. He mainly supervised his apprentices, only personally intervening in the most crucial aspects.

Master Lu asked Qian Sangui what type of wood he wanted for the furniture. After some persuasion by Mr. Yu, Qian Sangui chose walnut wood, camphor wood, and elm; these types were not particularly fine, yet they were upper-mid-grade and mid-grade. After paying the deposit, Qian Sangui felt a pang of regret, but it was too late.

Master Lu and his apprentices worked on the furniture in the back courtyard, with Qian Yixiu occasionally checking in to make requests. She also asked Master Lu to find some quality wood because she wanted to commission a high-grade screen frame for her mother’s embroidery work. Moreover, she insisted that Master Lu personally create the frame.

The most important aspect of the screen frame was the carving, which was not too dependent on the legs, so Master Lu accepted the job, promising to find some small-leaf rosewood.

Her mother’s embroidery was already more than halfway completed, and even though it wasn’t entirely finished, Qian Yixiu was already stunned by it. She felt instinctively that this Extraordinary Masterpiece was an unprecedented finer work. Such an exquisite piece of embroidery, naturally, deserved the best screen frame.

To ensure Master Lu’s full dedication, Qian Yixiu sent her aunt away to another room and took Master Lu to the workshop to see the completed side of the embroidery. Upon seeing it, Master Lu was struck with emotion and tears of excitement flowed from his eyes.