The current residence was completely different from when he had first bought it.
From a distance, he could see the black roof tiles, white walls, blue bricks, and red pillars. The colors were clear and bright.
Facing the village road, there were two rows of lanterns hanging from the eaves of the double doors.
The courtyard wall was surrounded by a wooden fence that was as tall as a person. It was neat and clean.
After entering the courtyard, he saw a tree altar made of broken bricks under a tall cherry tree on the right side of the courtyard. Away from the tree altar was a wooden bench that faced the sun.
On the other side, there was a two-meter-wide and five-meter-long flower bed against the courtyard wall. There were all kinds of uncommon flowers and plants planted inside.
The rest of the open space was paved with blue bricks. It was clean and tidy without a trace of dust.
Two blue brick steps were added one meter away from the main room.
The three main rooms now had their own functions, and the division was very clear.
In the middle was the central room.
As soon as they entered the north door of the central room, they saw a big kang bed facing the east and leaning against the west wall. It was big enough for four people to lie down on. In the middle of the kang bed, there was a large dark red table with drawers. On the table, there was a big white porcelain fruit plate with peanuts, melon seeds, dried dates, and other dried fruits.
Behind the seats on both sides of the table, there were four dark red pillows embroidered with golden thread.
On the south side of the kang bed was a niche cabinet that didn't have a door. There were ten or so niche cabinets of various sizes that were rarely seen in a farmer's courtyard.
For example, wood carvings, root carvings, porcelain, and so on. It wasn't because they were expensive, but because to farmers, these things were only beautiful and had almost no use.
And these were the treasures that Su Shuiche had bought after strolling around the market for an entire day. It had cost her one tael of silver.
Next to the niche cabinet was a reclining chair. The chair was also covered with a thin red cotton mat embroidered with gold thread.
It could be said that it was very similar to the pillows and the furniture made of blood beech.
Below the large kang bed was the east wall. On the left and right were two large armchairs. In the middle of the chairs was a tea table with a pair of covered cups.
The central room's wooden doors facing south were wide open. Sunlight poured in recklessly and fell on the exceptionally clean niche cabinet, creating a dazzling multicolored halo.
The side room on the east side of the central room was now a bedroom.
The interior was filled with chicken wing wood furniture.
There was a two-meter-wide bed with its base facing south.
The bed was already covered with a fine cotton curtain with purple flowers on a white background. Two wooden hooks were loosely attached to the curtain.
On either side of the bed door was a low cabinet with drawers, each containing their undergarments and stockings.
On the ground in front of the bed between the low cabinets, there was a palm-high couch.
Behind the bed by the window, there were two clothes racks, a round stool, and a purple floral cotton curtain that matched the furniture, separating it from the rest of the room.
This place turned out to be a simple dressing room.
South of the big bed and against the east wall, there was a large chest of drawers that was as tall as a person, and a three-door closet with a pull-out shoe cabinet.
Leaning against the wall of the central room, south of the big bed, there was a set of three large suitcases stacked on top of each other, and a large open bedding cabinet that was taller than a person.
Then, there was a door leading to the central room. A floral curtain of the same color hung over the door.
A wooden hook was hooked from one side.
Under the south window of the bedroom, there was a large dressing table with drawers of different sizes. There were several pieces of jewelry, rouge, and face powder in the drawers.
On the dressing table, there was a large bronze oval mirror that was large enough to reflect a half-body image.
To the right of the dressing table, in the corner of the south wall not far from the bedroom door, there was a two-tiered flower rack.
On the lower shelf, there was a pot of five-headed chrysanthemum. On the upper shelf, there was a pot of water daffodils with green stems and white buds.
In the open space in the middle of the bedroom, there was a round table with one leg and four round stools around it. On the table, there was a fruit plate woven with fine vines. The plate was filled with pastries and crispy candies on a floral cushion.
The side room on the west side of the central room was now a study and an embroidery room.
Under the north window sill, there was a large multi-purpose embroidery rack. Su Shuiche had drawn a blueprint and asked the carpenter to make it.
It was her embroidery tool from now on.
On both sides of the embroidery rack, there was a row of short cabinets that were half a person tall and two meters long.
The cabinets were divided into several compartments that could be used to place all kinds of embroidery needles, embroidery threads, and rags.
The cabinets could be used to place neat bolts of cloth.
Near the south window, there was a large desk with drawers. In front of the desk, there was a large armchair covered with a thin, soft cushion embroidered with dark red and gold threads.
Of course, there was also a thicker cushion of the same style that Su Shuiche kept in the cabinet. When the weather turned cold, she could change it.
On the desk, there was a large pen holder, an ink slab, and a woman's vase with a round belly and a thin neck. There were several osmanthus in the vase, and the faint fragrance permeated the entire room.
On the left side of the desk, there was a large porcelain painting tube. Inside the tube were two half-completed ink paintings. They were the paintings that Su Shuiyin was going to embroider on her winter clothes.
On the right side of the desk, there was a large bookcase leaning against the wall. Now, the upper level was neatly arranged with a row of thread-bound skill books about farming, farming, and cooking.
On the lower level, there were a few books about the geography of the Dahui Kingdom.
Well, when she was browsing the books, Su Shuiche only wanted to buy some farming books. She didn't expect that she would find a few books about the geography of the region. She couldn't help but buy them.
Who told her to like reading books that talked about exotic customs, local specialties, interesting things about the people of different places, and miscellaneous talks about foreign things.
The three taels of silver had gone out in a flash.
Fortunately, Lin Siyao never said anything about it. It was as if she didn't spend money.
In the end, she was the one who spent the money, and the one who felt heartache was also her.
The curtains on the north and south windows of the study cum embroidery room, as well as the door leading to the central room, were different from the pink and purple cotton curtains in the bedroom. Instead, they were rolled up curtains that Su Shuiche had woven with rattan grass.
The rolled up curtains were thicker and more textured than cloth curtains, but because rattan grass felt coarser than cotton, it wasn't suitable for the bedroom.
In addition to the three main rooms, there was a side room near the fence on the west side. It was now the kitchen and dining room for the two of them.
Although it was a side room, the space inside wasn't small.
The stove by the north window was rebuilt. It was freshly painted and looked refreshing.
Next to the stove was a separate cupboard with two levels.
The lower level could be used to store basins, buckets, and bottles for washing vegetables. The upper level was used to store bowls, chopsticks, and soup.
Su Shuiche chose a set of bowls and plates that were made of imitation blue and white porcelain. She carved the wooden spoon and chopsticks herself out of nanmu. At first, she only carved two sets. Later, she thought that there might be guests coming to eat, so she added four sets.
The chopsticks were carved with orchids with a cute mushroom head on top.
On the wooden spoon, there was an oriole perched on a branch. The spoon was thin and wide until the tip became a flat leaf with clear texture.
As for the two pairs of chopsticks and wooden spoon that she brought back from the forest, they became the two wolf pups' special cutlery.
In the future, the big bowls for their meals were the two nanmu soup bowls that Su Shuiche asked Feng Laoliu to help her make.
The dining table was placed under the south window.
The square table was placed against the window. Two chairs with backs and no armrests were placed facing each other under the table.
The chairs were also covered with a thin cushion of the same color.
Of course, there were a total of six chairs like this in case there were guests. The other four chairs were temporarily placed in the corner of the bedroom's dressing room.
There was a mini bottle with a thin neck on the table, with a goose yellow rose stuck in it.
Between the dining table and the stove, there was a short cupboard. In the cupboard, there were all kinds of seasonings, flour, eggs, and other ingredients.
On top of the cupboard, there were several rattan woven fruit baskets of different sizes.
Next to the short cupboard, there was a washbasin rack that could hold five or six washbasins of different sizes and a drying rack with four cloth towels hanging from it.
In the corner, there was also a big bathtub.
It must be used for bathing.
Walking out of the south door of the kitchen, there was a winding path made of green bricks. It merged with the path from the central room in the center of the front yard to form a path that was about one meter wide. It continued south to the riverbank.
The front yard was about four main rooms wide and two main rooms long.
Now, it was divided into four areas by Lin Siyao.
The kitchen was about four or five meters long. Close to the west wall, there was a west pavilion, surrounded by a circle of dark green bamboo.
People who didn't know would think that this was a place to rest.
Because they were afraid of getting caught in the rain, there was no window. Instead, there was a small window that could be closed on the wooden door. The small window was usually open for ventilation, and it was closed when it was needed.
Inside, there was an exquisitely made, comfortable, leaky toilet bowl. The bottom of the toilet bowl was directly connected to the deep underground swamp.
This was what Su Shuiche had tentatively suggested when she recalled the bathrooms of the Su Family. In the end, the plasterer said that it was easy to use.
The swamp was covered by two large, heavy stone slabs that overlapped each other. It could also be opened and used to fertilize the swamp.
The west pavilion wasn't big. After removing the toilet bowl in the middle, there was a small cabinet in the front corner for straw paper.
In the other corner, there was a drying rack made of bamboo.
Originally, according to Su Shuiyue's intention, she wanted to put the bathtub here as well.
She wanted to turn the west pavilion into a bathroom. However, she thought that it would be too troublesome to bring hot water, so she gave up on that idea.
Fortunately, the kitchen wasn't small, so there was enough space for a bath.
Further south of the small west pavilion, there was a two-meter square plot of vegetable land that was now planted with chili peppers. It was the tall and plump jujube tree.
The bottom of the jujube tree was also surrounded by broken green bricks.
At the southern end of the jujube tree, there was a bench that was exactly the same as the one under the cherry tree in the backyard.
In front of the bench was an open space paved with green bricks. It was big enough to put down a large wooden couch. According to Lin Siyao's plan, Su Shuiche could lie here and bask in the sun during the winter.
On the southeast side of the courtyard wall, there were two chicken and duck houses built side by side. They were surrounded by a small fence that was half the height of a person. When spring came, they could buy some chicks and ducks to raise.
In the future, there would be more egg dishes on the dinner table.
The remaining open space in the front yard was the five vegetable gardens separated by the green brick path.
In the three vegetable gardens closest to the central room and kitchen, from east to west, there were potatoes, radishes, and other vegetables that could be eaten in winter. There were also leafy vegetables like mustard, cabbage, and other seasonings like shallots, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings.
The two larger vegetable gardens in the south were still empty.
She planned to take a few days to see if there were any vegetables that were suitable to be planted now and eaten in winter.
At the end of the green brick path was the spacious and clear river behind the house.
Because in the vicinity of the southwest side of the village road, apart from the isolated house that Su Shuiche had bought, if it wasn't an empty field, then it was a wild grassland.
Therefore, Lin Siyao only set up a few small traps along the fence.
Inside the fence, there was a circle of chrysanthemum that he had moved from the foot of Xiu Feng.
After passing through the gate of the courtyard, there were five or six steps made of stone slabs at the mouth of the river. It was flat and refreshing.
On the shore of the mouth of the river, there was also a large stone slab. Under the stone slab, there were wooden clubs, wooden brushes, and soap containers used for laundry.
The empty space on the shore wasn't small. After the plum blossom piles that Lin Siyao had designed took up a small portion of the area, the remaining space was more than enough to set up a bamboo clothes rack to dry clothes.
Lin Siyao also built a grape trellis on the narrow path between the kitchen and the west fence. He planted two black and purple grape vines that he had conveniently moved from Dashi Mountain. If there were no accidents, they would be able to eat grapes next summer.
On the north side of the grape trellis, there was a large water tank. Normally, it would be filled with water from the river for washing rice and vegetables. If it was raining, the water would flow along the roof tiles into the large tank. On one hand, it would store rainwater, and on the other hand, it would reduce the pressure of the rain on the doors and windows.
Next to the large water tank, there was also a large green stone slab. It would be convenient for picking vegetables and washing them.
In the empty space about three meters between the bedroom and the east fence, Lin Siyao planned to build a home for the two wolf pups.
However, the small wooden house that he had asked Feng Laoliu to build for the wolf pups was still incomplete.
Presumably, he would only be able to get it on the day of moving.
Just like this, purchasing property, renovating the house, creating furniture, decorating … After a series of calculations, Su Shuiche had spent a total of thirty-one taels of silver.
This didn't even include the biggest cost of the wood.
In two days, he would have to pay the inn's lodging fees for the past month. At most, he would only have fifteen taels of silver left.
That was why he said that money was really easy to spend.