flstandardbreds Chapter 165 Can a woman have her own land?
Chapter 165 Can a woman have her own land?
Li Laosan naturally also likes big houses, but he thinks anything is fine as long as he lives comfortably.
Li Yuer knew that the old lady would probably make the final decision, so she went over to lobby her.
"Grandma, my house looks big from the inside, but not very conspicuous from the outside. Besides, you see, we have more and more children. My eldest cousin, eldest brother, and third uncle are getting married soon and will have more children. If each of them has two children, that means six. This house will be full in less than two years."
The three brothers didn't expect that the criticism would be directed at them. Li Erlang was about to retort, but then he remembered that living in a big house was more important, so he finally shut up.
Li Laosan and Li Dalang were too embarrassed to talk about getting married in public. If you didn't know, you would think they were in a hurry to get married.
When people get old, what they like most is to have many children and grandchildren. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Cai immediately preferred to build a courtyard house.
"Yu Baoer is right. We will definitely have more children in the future. What should we do if we don't have a house to live in? If we build another one, we might have to pay a bribe. It's better to build it all at once."
Li Yuer smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that Wu Baopi's name could still be used in this way, which could be regarded as recycling garbage.
Li Yuer struck while the iron was hot and went on to introduce his design in detail.
"Look, this public bath is designed in this way to separate wet and dry areas, and separate men and women, making bathing convenient. There is also a fireplace, which can be used to heat water and keep warm in winter, killing two birds with one stone."
The bathroom with modern design looks fresh, convenient and practical.
Old man Li also said with satisfaction: "That's good. I don't have to go without a bath for the whole winter anymore."
Fishermen have no houses and do everything on the boat. In the summer, they can go to Baishe Creek to wash, but in the winter, not only do they suffer from hunger and cold, but they also have to endure not taking a bath for the whole winter. In addition to itching, they are also tortured by lice bites.
"This bathroom is great, we definitely need it."
Li Erlang looked at Li Laosan and felt a little envious of him because he could own a big yard.
Women love beauty and are naturally happy to take a bath, but that doesn’t mean men don’t like cleanliness. Everyone likes a bathroom.
Li Yuer then started selling all kinds of good stuff crazily.
What kind of toilet is it? What kind of automatic flush ceramic toilet is it? What kind of sofa is it? What kind of desk is it?
When talking about the kang, Old Man Li stood up excitedly.
“It’s such a good thing!”
The taciturn Boss Li opened up and said, "If we really have a heated kang, how many fewer people will die in winter in our village, our town, no, in our entire Cangyuan Dynasty."
Old Mrs. Cai was very experienced and said, "This is a big deal. I will go back to Fushui Village tomorrow to discuss it with your uncle. You must remember this and don't tell anyone else."
Li Yuer then realized that an ordinary technology from his previous life could have a bearing on the fate of the country here.
However, their Li family does not have the ability to bear the blessings brought by this technology.
The Li family members all realized the seriousness of the matter. Li Erlang looked at Li Laosan and said, "Uncle San, don't tell your brothers for the time being."
Li Laosan stopped arguing with Li Erlang and nodded seriously, "Of course."
After Li Yuer's hard work in promoting the project, the construction of the courtyard house was a done deal.
Old man Li added, "We bought 40 mu of land this time, all good farmland. Each of the five men will get 8 mu. It's not all contiguous, so you can discuss how to divide it when the time comes. If you can't agree, you can draw lots."
Mei'er on the side was a little anxious, but she was also a little hesitant.
Li Yuer guessed what she was thinking and said, "Grandpa and Grandma, can we buy the land ourselves? You can do it together."
"Why do you girls buy land?" Old Mrs. Cai was a little puzzled.
Li Yuer said: "You can save up your own dowry. The things written on the dowry list will become your private property in the future, and your husband's family can't take them away.
Look how miserable Sister Juanzi is now. Women can’t just rely on men. If they meet unreliable men, they will have no money and no one to rely on.”
This statement is considered to be against secular etiquette in this era.
Everyone was silent.
Li Yuer didn't expect them to support her, but she didn't want them to stop her either. If they really wanted to instill in her ideas like the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, it would only push her further away and cool their relationship.
It was the first time that Old Mrs. Cai looked her little granddaughter in the eye. In the past, she only thought that she was precocious, smarter than other children, and had some clever ideas. It was the first time that she felt that her granddaughter was really different.
How to put it, to use a person as an analogy, it would be like Empress Dowager Pang of the previous dynasty.
This idea of hers also shocked Old Lady Cai. They were just ordinary people, how could they be compared with Empress Dowager Pang?
But the feeling is very similar. Empress Dowager Pang was an extraordinary woman who was unprecedented and unparalleled. During her regency, she opened many girls' schools, encouraged women to serve as officials in the court, encouraged them to learn agriculture and sericulture, and supported commerce. The previous dynasty under Empress Dowager Pang was the most prosperous period of the Cangyuan Dynasty.
By the time of this dynasty, the emperors of all dynasties were most afraid of hens crowing at dawn, women interfering in government affairs, and foreign relatives monopolizing power.
All these were what Old Mrs. Cai heard from her younger brother. Old Mr. Cai had been able to read and write since he was a child, and he was particularly interested in history. The two siblings had a very good relationship, so he would naturally tell her some historical stories.
Old Mrs. Cai didn't want to judge some things by right or wrong. Although she had not achieved anything great in her life, she still had some understanding of human nature.
When you are alive, your fate cannot be determined by right or wrong, good or evil.
Otherwise, why is there an old saying that good people don’t get rewarded?
"If Yu Baoer and Mei'er want to buy land, just tell me. I will write down the quantity and report it together. But don't buy too much at once, as it will cause trouble." Old Mrs. Cai said earnestly.
Li Meier said happily: "Thank you grandma."
Li Yuer understood that the Li family's affairs could be handled so smoothly only because of the mediation of the clerks. Otherwise, the bribe of three taels of silver would definitely not satisfy the appetite of the higher-ups.
So, Li Yuer and her sister each bought four acres of good farmland.
Li Yuer asked for an extra half tael of silver as a thank you gift to the village chief and the clerk.
The land has been purchased, and Old Mrs. Cai has also found someone to build a house.
The craftsmen who built the house were introduced by the clerk. The skilled worker was paid 20 wen a day, and the foreman was paid one tael of silver a month, with one lunch provided.
The workers were hired from the villagers of Fushui Village, all of whom were friendly families of the Cai family, or honest people recommended by the village chief, and they were paid ten cents a day.
Mrs. Cai gave the cooking job to Zhao, paying her 15 cents a day. Zhao refused to take it at first, but Mrs. Cai said that if she didn't want the wages, she could find someone else to do the cooking. Only then did she accept it.
The foreman calculated that three houses would cost thirty taels of silver each, and the construction period would be two months. If they wanted to finish it faster, they would have to hire more laborers. Finally, Mrs. Cai gritted her teeth and went to the village chief to recruit fifteen more helpers, and the construction period was shortened to more than one month.
Houses in the countryside are cheap, but a yard this big would cost at least eighty taels of silver in the town.