Chapter 166: Chapter 134: Jingzhe, All Creation Stirs, Sweeping the Mountain

The personal residence was simpler, after all, so they finalized that plan first. The construction company’s quote for the rough structure and interior finishing was over 630,000, but with Yao Yao and Zhao Xueqing helping to haggle, they got it down to 600,000.

Of course, this was also because of the major "Garden Saint Realm" project next door. For that massive undertaking, the company’s initial proposal was quoted at over nine million. However, many aspects were still up for discussion, and the price seemed a bit inflated. Li Xiang and the others suggested numerous revisions and asked them to prepare another version for review.

Additionally, they needed to have renderings made. Although this would cost a little extra, the renderings would provide a more intuitive visual and serve as a reference for the final inspection.

If the finished product deviated too much from the initial renderings, it would be unacceptable.

A more conventional company might have sought bids from three different parties, but Li Xiang was the boss himself. He was satisfied with this supplier’s attitude and capabilities, so as long as the final price wasn’t too outrageous, he was ready to sign.

With the economy in a slump, the construction company was more than willing to take on an eight-to-nine-million-yuan project. Thus, they continued to meticulously revise and perfect the plan. Meanwhile, the contract for the personal residence was signed first. Following the procedure outlined in the contract, they would pay 30% upfront for the team to begin construction, another 30% after the rough structure was completed, and the final 40% after the interior finishing was done and passed inspection.

Once the money was transferred, the company moved quickly. The construction crew was on-site in no time and even enthusiastically helped them move.

It wasn’t just the construction crew helping; many villagers also came over to lend a hand and watch the Li Family’s house get demolished.

Li Jinyu, Jiang Jianguo, Li Yucheng, Third Granny... you could say that nearly two-thirds of the village showed up. It was a rare, lively moment for Li Family Village.

"Ai, what a shame. They just reinforced it last year and spent so much on bricks and tiles. Now, just a few months later, it’s being torn down," an elder lamented, feeling it was a great pity.

Someone next to him chimed in, "No matter how well you reinforce it, it’s still an old house. Our Xiang Ya is rich now, so of course he’s going to tear it down and build a new one. Otherwise, when he gets married and has a wedding... pfft, how embarrassing would a shabby old house like this be!"

"Exactly! He’s the village chief now, and a big boss with his own company. He can’t look too shabby."

"Hey, what about those girls? Who do you think Xiang Ya has his eye on? They’re over at his place every other day. Sometimes two or three of them show up at once and just flock around him!"

"What, you got a problem with it? It’s none of your business what these young people do."

"Times have changed. Back in our day, who would’ve dared to be so bold?"

"I don’t think they’re dating. I heard he hired them all as employees!"

"Oh, my... this... this..."

"This what?"

"I think Xiang Ya is trying to turn back the clock and build his own imperial harem."

"Well, that’s because he has the skills for it. It’s not like there’s a shortage of rich and powerful men with wives, concubines, and all sorts of mistresses these days, is there?"

"Don’t talk nonsense! I think Xiang Ya is an upright young man. He’s not that kind of person!"

"Keep spouting that garbage and in a few days when the spring bamboo shoots are harvested, Xiang Ya won’t help you sell yours!"

"Look at this mouth of mine! My mistake, my mistake, haha! But if it were me, and I was this young and handsome with so many girls fawning over me, I’d definitely go for all of them..."

"You’re daydreaming! Watch out or your old lady will slap you silly. Now hurry up and go help our village chief move furniture."

Li Xiang set up a large tent next to the corridor, temporarily storing all their belongings in the corridor and the tent. He would sleep in the tent outside, while his grandmother slept in the storage room next to the kitchen. Once tidied up, it was quite comfortable.

In any case, it was just a temporary arrangement.

There were some old items in the house that Li Xiang had wanted to declutter—just throw them out or use them as firewood—but his grandmother couldn’t bear to part with them.

This one was good, that one had sentimental value... so Li Xiang kept everything for her.

This was especially true for a set of dowry furniture from his grandmother’s wedding, which included cabinets, chests, a table, a bed, and a dressing table. Though the style was old-fashioned, the pieces were still very sturdy and featured carved patterns. After a good cleaning, they looked quite nice and had a vintage charm.

Since his new house was in a traditional Chinese style, placing some antique furniture in his grandmother’s room wouldn’t look out of place.

Newly bought furniture often contains formaldehyde, but his grandmother’s dowry set was handmade from pure solid wood—very healthy and environmentally friendly.

The only issue was that the lacquer had peeled off in many places. Li Xiang figured he would help her restore it by hand when he had time. Of course, he wouldn’t buy formaldehyde-based paint, but traditional lacquer.

Even though the house was a messy construction site, Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui still came over often.

Zhao Xueqing was busier; besides managing the National Tea House, she was also preparing to open a cafe and a milk tea shop. Lei Xiaohui was also a contracted employee, and he couldn’t just let her sit idle while paying her a salary. So, Li Xiang had her assist Zhao Xueqing. The two of them could work together and support each other.

Besides, Lei Xiaohui preferred spending time with Zhao Xueqing. She couldn’t stand Yao Yao’s foxy attitude.

As a result, when it came to filming videos, Lei Xiaohui collaborated more with Zhao Xueqing, while Yao Yao worked alone, sometimes coming to Li Xiang for help.

When they posted these videos on their own, the response was mediocre. But after Li Xiang shared them and promoted them through his channels, they became much more popular. The three women’s follower counts were slowly rising.

It’s good to be rich. The house went up quickly; the frame was finished in just a week. It was a reinforced concrete structure with a traditional sloped roof featuring upturned eaves and bracket sets.

Between a Qing-tile roof and a glazed-tile roof, he naturally chose the red-and-yellow glazed tiles. They looked better and, in ancient times, signified a higher rank.

The reason Korea’s Gyeongbok Palace has a Qing-colored roof isn’t that they disliked red and yellow, but because they weren’t qualified to use those colors, nor did they dare to.

Red-and-yellow glazed tiles are coated, and they glitter like gold when the sun shines on them. They also offer superior performance in waterproofing, drainage, and insulation.

Of course, they were also more expensive than Qing tiles. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The previous kitchen roof had five ridges and six beasts. This time, the main residence would use the Forbidden City’s standard. On each upturned eave, in addition to ten small Divine Beasts, there would be an immortal riding a phoenix, a corner beast, and a ridge-end beast.

Besides, nobody regulated this sort of thing anymore. It was like the door studs in ancient times: only the Emperor could have nine rows of nine for a total of eighty-one, or eight rows of nine for seventy-two (as on the Donghua Gate).

This was because the Emperor’s casket passed through the Donghua Gate. Life is yang and death is yin; odd numbers are yang and even numbers are yin. Therefore, the Donghua Gate used an even number, with one less row of studs.

A Prince could only use nine rows of seven, for sixty-three studs. A Commandery Prince had even fewer, only seven rows of seven for forty-nine.

A Duke and Marquis could have seven rows of five, for thirty-five studs.

Fourth to Fifth Grade officials could have five rows of five, for twenty-five studs.

As for officials below the Fifth Grade and commoners, they were not allowed to use door studs at all.

The main gate of Li Xiang’s house, and later the main gate of the scenic area, would of course have nine rows of nine for eighty-one studs, all of them coated in gold paint.

Nowadays, as long as you had the money, anyone could use eighty-one.

The scenic area’s main gate and surrounding walls were designed to look like a small city wall, which would make it a great spot for photos and check-ins in the future.

The rough structure was more or less finished and the roof was on, but they had to wait for the walls to dry completely before starting the interior work. The construction company recommended waiting one to three months, though they said it would be possible to move in after seven or eight days if he was in a hurry.

Li Xiang was in no hurry.

The previous kitchen was built quickly because it had almost no interior finishing. The design and finishing of the main residence, however, were naturally more complex. The plumbing, electricity, underfloor heating, and central air conditioning all had to be concealed within the walls. Many areas also required suspended ceilings, tiling, wallpaper, and hardwood flooring, so it would take more time.

...

「Thunder rumbled in the spring air as the rain poured down. It was the time of Jingzhe, when all of creation begins to stir.」

Li Family Village began to harvest spring bamboo shoots. It had to be said that bamboo had a powerful ability to reproduce. After digging up the winter shoots, they now dug up the spring ones, and yet by summer, the groves would still be dense with countless new, swaying stalks.

If they waited too long, the spring bamboo shoots would lose their tender, delicious quality. They were best during the first few days of thunder in the Jingzhe period, earning them the name "Thunderclap Shoots."

Li Xiang was quick and efficient, able to harvest in one day what would take others several. So, after just two days of digging, he stopped. He already had three to four hundred kilograms.

No matter how strong bamboo’s reproductive ability was, you couldn’t just drain the pond to get all the fish. He had to leave some buds behind.

The grove of Tier Two Golden Thunder Bamboo had also sprouted many spring shoots. Li Xiang didn’t dig up the small shoots there; instead, he directly chopped down the large bamboo stalks, gaining a good number of Achievement Points and the reward of a Tier One Exotic Grass Snow Skirt White Jade Mushroom.

He had actually cut down quite a few stalks off and on before, but he always maintained a stock of about a dozen. Now that many new Golden Thunder Bamboo Shoots were sprouting, he could afford to cut a few more.

This Tier One Snow Skirt White Jade Mushroom didn’t have much effect on him anymore, but for ordinary people, it was a top-tier supplement for nourishing the body—the kind of thing money couldn’t buy.

Not only was it beautiful, but its texture and taste were also excellent.

If someone combined it with a Breathing Technique, had the right talent, and could cultivate Spiritual Power, they could step into the Extraordinary realm.

The Spirit Wine he brewed last time was almost gone, and there were only a few stalks of Spiritual Medicine left in his system inventory. They had been consumed much faster than he’d anticipated.

He had originally expected them to last until summer, but now it was only early March and they were all used up. He had been polishing his Tier Three Realm for a long time and felt his foundation was incredibly solid. It was time to sweep through the Primeval Forest again, harvest more Spiritual Medicine, and break through to the next Realm!