Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

The next afternoon, He Yuzhu greeted his master Wu Baotian and went to his home in Qudeng Hutong as agreed. On the way, He Yuzhu went to Fudi Dongtian to take out 100 silver dollars. When He Yuzhu arrived at his house, his house had become a construction site, with bricks piled up in the yard.

When Yangshi Lei saw He Yuzhu, he stopped what he was doing and walked over. He shouted to the inside of the house, "Old Song, stop what you are doing and come out. The boss is here."

He Yuzhu saw an old man who looked to be in his sixties walking out of the house with a pencil stuck in his ear.

"Boss, this is Mr. Song, the carpenter in charge of your renovation. Mr. Song's ancestors have been carpenters for generations, and they also built the Forbidden City like my family. I have told him your requirements, and you two can discuss the price. I will be busy now, and you can call me if you need anything later."

"Hello, Master Song. Master Lei must have told you about the situation of my house. If you have any questions, you can tell me directly while I am here to save you trouble later."

"Lao Lei has already told me about the situation of your house. I basically understand it. Now the main thing is to choose the wood. It depends on whether you have any requirements. If you don't have any requirements, I will use beech wood to make windows and doors for you. Elm wood is generally used, which is strong and durable, and the price is also more reasonable."

"Master Song, I don't know much about wood. If it's convenient for you, please explain it to me."

"Beech wood is hard, and has good water resistance and durability. Doors and windows exposed to the outside will inevitably be hit by wind and rain, so it is better to use beech wood. One more thing, I heard from Lao Lei that you plan to build a loft above the main house. The wall of your main house is relatively high. After leaving 3 meters below, there is still enough space of 2 meters above. Which room do you plan to put the stairs in?"

"Let's keep it in the east room. Then we can use beech wood. Can you calculate how much it will cost to renovate these rooms with beech wood?"

"It cost 120 silver dollars to make the windows, door, ceiling and stairs in your house. It's more expensive because you use double-glazed glass for several windows."

"The price is fine. I'll go with the price you mentioned. But I'll trouble you to check the quality. I don't have that much money on me today, so I can only give you 20 silver dollars first. You can take it as a deposit. I'll give you 80 silver dollars tomorrow, and I'll pay you the rest after I finish the work. How about that?" He Yuzhu took out 20 silver dollars from his pocket and handed them to Master Song.

Master Song took the silver dollar and looked at it in his hand. "Okay, I'll do as you say. Just for your sake, you can rest assured. If something goes wrong, I, Old Song, will not be able to stay in Peking anymore."

"By the way, Master Song, I have something else to trouble you with. Can you make a waterwheel?"

"The waterwheel you're talking about is the big one used by the river, right? It's not hard to make that thing, it can be made, but it takes a lot of effort. And that thing can only be used where there's running water, so you don't have access to that thing at home."

"It's OK as long as you can make it. I'm definitely not going to use it. I'm asking for someone else. My hometown is in the mountains in the north. There happens to be a river in the village. I want to build a waterwheel by the water. I plan to build a waterwheel with a diameter of 3 meters. How much do you think it will cost? You don't have to install it. You just need to bring it to my house after you make it, and they will take it back and assemble it themselves."

Master Song calculated in his mind, "In this case, a waterwheel will cost 80 silver dollars, but it takes a lot of effort to make a waterwheel, and the wood used is also very particular because it will be soaked in water for a long time."

He Yuzhu heard the price and felt it was acceptable. "The price is negotiable. If I ask you to do it, how many days will it take to complete it?"

"If you are sure you want it, including your housework, it will take at least half a month to complete."

"Then it's settled. I'll come to give you the deposit tomorrow. But I'll have to trouble you to mark the joints between the wood when you make the waterwheel, so that they can assemble it together when they return. Go ahead and do your work. I'll go find Master Xia Lei."

He Yuzhu walked over to Yangshi Lei who was working and said, "Master Lei, I have finished talking to Master Song. Why don't you stop what you are doing and let's go over there and talk for a while."

Yangshi Lei stopped what he was doing and followed He Yuzhu to the open space next to him. He Yuzhu took out 10 silver dollars from his pocket and handed the rest to Yangshi Lei. "Master Lei, there are 70 silver dollars in here. Please count them. I will pay you the rest when the work is done. What about the things I asked you to use in the toilet yesterday?"

Yangshi Lei took the silver dollars and counted them. "It's exactly 70 silver dollars. After I left you yesterday, I went to Panjiayuan to ask someone about the things you planned to put in the toilet. The things can be made, and the boss felt that your idea was very good after seeing the drawings you drew. The boss said that he wanted to produce the things according to the style of your drawings as the specialty products of their store in the future. If you agree, he will give you these things for free, and also give you an extra water tank for the toilet. I dare not make the decision for you, why don't you go and talk to the store owner."

"It's not a valuable thing. Please promise the boss on my behalf that I can give him my idea. That is, if I need to install another toilet in the future, he has to give me another one." The things on the blueprint drawn by He Yuzhu that Yangshilei mentioned were not actually designed by He Yuzhu himself. Instead, He Yuzhu modified them based on the appearance of squat toilets in later generations. He removed the water spout of the toilet and increased the inclination angle inside the toilet. People of that era found it strange mainly because the toilet had an S-bend at the drain. This design can not only prevent the odor of the sewer pipe, but also have a siphon effect and increase the suction force for downward discharge.

"Master Lei, I think it will take a few days for my house to be repaired. How did you check the roof?"

"There aren't many places in your house that need repairing. As long as it doesn't rain in the next few days, the courtyard wall and the gate can be finished in three days, and the decoration inside the house is expected to be completed in about seven days. I've arranged for someone to go up and take a look at the roof. The previous owner of this house used quite particular materials when building it. Except for a few broken pieces that need to be replaced, there are no problems with other places, so I won't charge you for this work. It's the water pipes buried underground in your yard that have rusted into slag over time. I've contacted the water company, and they've arranged for someone to repair it for five silver dollars. I'll advance the money for you first. The water we used for the work this morning was borrowed from the house next door." Yangshi Lei said, then he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu took the paper and saw that it was a receipt from the water company for replacing the water pipes. It said that they collected 5 silver dollars in total. He Yuzhu took out another 5 silver dollars from his pocket and gave them to Yangshi Lei, "Thank you for your trouble. I have other things to do, so I will leave now. I won't delay your work. Please continue with your work."

After leaving home and exiting Qudeng Hutong, He Yuzhu ran towards Shichahai. After reaching Shichahai, He Yuzhu found a cypress tree that looked lush and climbed up. After climbing up the tree, He Yuzhu found a cypress fruit. From the appearance, the cypress fruit had cracked. He Yuzhu judged that it should be almost ripe. He Yuzhu sat on the tree, picked a handful of cypress fruits, put them in his pocket, and then climbed down from the tree.

He Yuzhu put the picked cypress fruits on the platform inside the blessed land cave, and waited for the fruits to explode. Then he planted them on the northern slope of a mountain.

The next afternoon, He Yuzhu ran to the house again to give Carpenter Song the money for the water truck, and ordered a set of molds for making rammed earth walls from Master Song. He was planning to build a few small houses in the blessed land. With the molds, he would not need to prepare bricks to build the houses.

In the middle of the house renovation, He Yuzhu went to the vegetable market and Tong Ren Tang again and bought a box of bees from the owner of the vegetable market, Mr. Huang. At first, He Yuzhu did not raise bees because there were few flowering plants in Fudi Dongtian, and he was afraid that the bees would starve to death without sufficient food. But as more and more plants bloomed in Fudi Dongtian, there was enough nectar for the bees. After raising bees, on the one hand, it improved the pollination effect of plants, and on the other hand, it could also provide honey for the bees.

He Yuzhu ordered 500 kilograms of huanghuali tree seeds from Tong Ren Tang. Because Tong Ren Tang didn't have that much, He Yuzhu took 20 kilograms with him and agreed to deliver the rest in 10 days. He Yuzhu spent 50 silver dollars on so many seeds. Because he bought so many, Tong Ren Tang specially delivered them to He Yuzhu's door for free.

After buying the huanghuali tree seeds from He Yuzhu, He Yuzhu was busy every day. There were about 600-700 seeds in one jin of huanghuali tree seeds. At the beginning, He Yuzhu used a wooden stick to make a hole in the mountain, then threw a soaked seed, and covered the hole with his feet. It took He Yuzhu 20 days to plant 10 jin of huanghuali tree seeds. After the remaining seeds were delivered, He Yuzhu looked at the remaining 480 jin and thought that it would take at least 10 months to plant them. He Yuzhu had no choice but to change the method. So He Yuzhu decided that every night before it rained in Fudidongtian, he would soak the huanghuali tree seeds in water, and when he rested the next afternoon, he would directly scatter the seeds on the barren mountain. After the seeds germinated, they were transplanted according to the production situation. After 10 days, He Yuzhu finally planted all the huanghuali tree seeds. He Yuzhu was worried that the survival rate of the seeds he scattered was not enough, so he bought 200 jin.

In a blink of an eye, He Yuzhu's house was completed. On this day, He Yuzhu inspected the house accompanied by Yangshi Lei and Carpenter Song. After taking a look around, He Yuzhu stood in the renovated main room and said, "Master Lei, Master Song, your craftsmanship is really amazing. You did a great job. Here is the remaining wages. You two can keep them. Master Song, my house has been renovated. I will have to trouble you to buy me a few sets of furniture later."

After Yangshi Lei and Carpenter Song received their wages respectively, they said, “Thank you for appreciating our craftsmanship. If you have any questions in the future, please come to Labaying Hutong to find me. I live in Labaying Hutong, and you can find me by asking. I will take my leave first, and you can talk to Old Song about the furniture slowly.” After saying that, Yangshi Lei left.

"What kind of furniture do you need? If you don't mind things that have been used by others, I have a few old things."

"First of all, there's nothing in these rooms. I want to get a few tables and chairs, so that at least people will have a place to work when they come. What old things are you talking about?"

"After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, I collected some huanghuali and red sandalwood furniture from the homes of those Eight Banners children who had lost their livelihoods. I was thinking if you don't mind that they were used by others, wouldn't it look more elegant if they match the decoration of your house?"

"Where are the things? Can you take me to see them?" He Yuzhu was immediately attracted when he heard that they were huanghuali and red sandalwood.

"The things are at my house. If it's convenient for you, we can go there now." Although He Yuzhu didn't look very tall, because his soul was influenced by Yang Chenggang from later generations, Old Song felt that He Yuzhu was like an adult and didn't treat him as a child. Moreover, He Yuzhu was not short either, just half a head shorter than him.

He Yuzhu followed Old Song to his home. Old Song asked He Yuzhu to wait in the yard while he went to get the key. After a while, Old Song opened the door of the back room with a bunch of keys. "I have collected the furniture here for 10 to 20 years. I originally wanted to make some money by selling it. But I didn't expect that after just a few years, the Beiyang government was gone and the capital was changed from Beiping to Nanjing. I thought that the Republic of China government would bring peace to the world, so I sold it to the right person. I never thought that the Japanese devils came again. I was so scared that I dared not say anything. I finally surrendered the Japanese devils. Who would have thought that life would be even more difficult after the skinheads came back? Seeing that the world was about to go to war again, I lost my composure. I'm sorry to make you laugh."

He Yuzhu followed Old Song into the house, who introduced him to a rosewood step-out bed, a rosewood desk, a set of large huanghuali cabinets, a huanghuali carrying box, a pine carrying box, a set of huanghuali armchairs and eight-immortals tables, a set of rosewood armchairs and eight-immortals tables, a set of rosewood screens, a set of rosewood shelves, 8 drum-shaped rosewood round stools, and 4 pen holder-shaped rosewood round stools.

He Yuzhu looked at each piece of furniture carefully and found that they were well maintained. The more he looked at them, the more he liked them. "Master Song, to be honest, I like all the furniture in your room. Please name a price. If it's suitable, I'll buy it all for you."

"Xiao He, since you like them, I won't say anything more. I bought these furniture quite a while ago. Although I didn't spend much money at that time, silver dollars are not as useful now as they used to be. As long as you pay 500 silver dollars, I can send them all to your home."

"Okay, then I'll pay you what Master Song said. Here is the key to my house. I'll trouble you to deliver it to my house tomorrow and install it when you get there. Please wait for me at this time tomorrow and I'll give you the money. The bed will be placed in the west room, the cabinet in the east room, and you can arrange the furniture as you see fit. If you come across good things like this in the future, come back to me."

The next afternoon, He Yuzhu returned home and handed the prepared silver dollars to Old Song. After sending Old Song out, He Yuzhu immediately returned home to carefully admire the furniture he had bought. He Yuzhu looked at the empty house and felt a sense of accomplishment. In his previous life, he was born in a town in an ordinary fourth-tier small city. Although he became a Sichuan chef with an annual salary of more than 100,000 yuan when he grew up, he was still a loser in essence. He never thought that after traveling through time, he could easily accomplish what he had never been able to achieve in his previous life and have his own courtyard house in Peking.

After He Yuzhu had his own house, many things that were inconvenient before became convenient immediately. Although he still had to follow his master Wu Baotian to work in Fengze Garden every day, he could take the opportunity to go out and do his own things during the afternoon break. After He Yuzhu asked Old Song to deliver the waterwheel to his house, he could directly receive it in the blessed land. He Yuzhu also used his free time to assemble the waterwheel by the waterfall. After the waterwheel was installed, He Yuzhu changed the output mode of the waterwheel so that the waterwheel could switch back and forth between the stone mill and the roller.

In the summer, He Yuzhu bought a few piglets at the market by chance. The pigsty that He Yuzhu had built before was put into use. He Yuzhu had to go into the blessed land regularly every day to cut grass and feed the piglets. During this period, the bamboo and huanghuali tree seeds planted by He Yuzhu all sprouted. In his spare time, He Yuzhu went to the mountain to transplant the dense huanghuali seedlings. He Yuzhu also asked Lao Song to make several farm tools, including a windmill for harvesting rice, a thresher, a thresher, a bucket for collecting honey, a three-legged hoe for sowing, and a cart.

And in the summer, He Yuzhu happily discovered that he had his first wet dream, which meant that his penis began to grow. He Yuzhu felt that he could become a man who surpassed three 180cm in this life by practicing horse stance and eating eggs every day to supplement protein. (Do you handsome and suave readers know what three 180cm is?)