The stone tables and stools were pulled by two ox carts. A total of four stonemasons masters carried them into the gate and placed them in the place under the jujube tree according to Ji Yuan’s instructions.
Together with the table, stools, and labor, it cost Ji Yuan a tael of silver, which could be said to be the most expensive item in this expenditure. The four stonemasons master collected the money and put away the things, and left Ju’an Pavilion without a word. Ji Yuan wanted to be polite and invited them for a drink didn’t say anything.
Now that Ji Yuan had a place to rest, he sat on the stone stool in the courtyard, watching the people in the main house and the side room busily at work. From time to time, he would give instructions on what to put where.
‘The market peddlers from olden days were actually quite professional, their hands and feets are so nimble!’
And look at those women and men who were cleaning the house. They simply don’t have to work so hard as it was originally said that they need half a day to tidy it up. But under his estimation, with their sweat-drenched method, at most it would be over in an hour!
What was interesting was that some stores came to deliver things but did not enter, like the one that sells quilts. Some clerks took the rest of money after moving things in and left without a word or even a glance, as if they have something urgent.
The people who he hired to clean were more normal. They were so attentive with the jobs at hand. Even if someone wanted to gossip, the steward would stop them. He was not aware that the working conditions here were so stringent.
‘The ancients were so hard-working!’
With a sigh in his heart, Ji Yuan propped his chin and continued to be in a daze.
Cleaning is basically a process of removing dust. They clean the dust off in each room, and then wipe it with a wet cloth and mop. Some people even specially re-pasted the paper on the windows.
Out of curiosity, Ji Yuan rubbed it and found that this kind of paper was very tough, almost belonging to the oil paper used for making umbrellas. It was not like what was shown on TV where you could pierce the window with a little spit and a little poke. Even if it was blasted by winds and battered by rain, the paper would have absolutely no problem at all.
。。。
He wondered how long it had been. Hearing the bustling and the hecticness of the people, Ji Yuan who was yawning, suddenly felt a chill. He subconsciously turned his head toward the well, frowning at it for a moment.
As water was needed for cleaning, the cover plate on the well had been removed. Just now, he felt a little chill in that direction. Looking at it, the surface of the well was darkened, he wondered whether it was from the shade of the tree.
As Ji Yuan opened his eyes slightly, the shadows under the surface of the well were seemingly awkward to look at and had a kind of foreboding feeling.
For some reason, he couldn’t help but recall some horror movies he previously watched, giving him goosebumps.
‘I really scared myself!!’
Rubbing his arms, Ji Yuan forced himself to stop thinking about it.
“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji?”
At this moment, the deafening voice seemingly came from the horizon, immediately scaring Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan woke up with a shake and only realized that he had fallen asleep on the stone table just now.
Turning around, those hired to clean the residence had already carried buckets and tools to the yard, and a total of eight people were standing beside him.
“Mr. Ji, we have finished cleaning. Can you take a look?”
“Finished cleaning? So fast?”
“Hic*, yes, please take a look. If you are not satisfied, we can clean again.”
Since they have said so, Ji Yuan also stood up from the stone stool.
“OK, let me see!”
He wandered around several rooms, wiping the gap in the window sill from time to time, looking under the bed and every corner. Basically everything was clean very well.
When he went to hire people today, many people shied away from coming when they heard it was at the corner of Tianniu street. This team came only after doubling the price. But now it seems that it’s worth it.
Out in the courtyard, the group stood waiting.
“Not bad, you have worked hard”
Ji Yuan took out the purse and put out a pile of five-tongbaos. He counted forty in front of them and then put two more on top.
“Here is the salary. The extra 10 coins, treat it as the money for tea!”
“Thank you, Mr. Ji!” “Thank you, Mr. Ji!”
“Then we’ll head out first?”
Amidst the sound of thanks, the leader quickly took the money and bid goodbye.
“Well, take it easy!”
Ji Yuan adopted a gentle and cultivated manner. He nodded with a smile. After all, he’s still not used to the role, might as well practice it.
However, the reaction of these people was almost the same from beginning to the end. They were all very enthusiastic. He couldn’t tell whether it was because of money or his poise.
It was not until the footsteps of a group of people was a little further away that Ji Yuan could hear some indistinct and fragmentary discussions.
“What a nice house!!”
“Hey, that Mr. Ji is very nice. He seems to be knowledgeable!”
“The name of this house sounded a bit familiar…”
The leader heard this and only prompted.
“Stop talking, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
“That gentleman, can’t tell how old he is, but he is very good-looking!”
“Still talk? Hurry up and go, what’s the use of good looks anyway?”
……
Good, he’s satisfied with the last few sentences. But what do they mean when they can’t tell how old he was? Could he still look older? What’s the use of good looks? It was better than being ugly!
At this time, the sun was setting and it was close to dusk.
Although the layout of several rooms was relatively simple, at least it was completely furbished. Ji Yuan sat in the courtyard and was somewhat lost in thought.
It’s a pity that there was no Internet nor phone, and there were no naive heroes who pestered him from time to time.
“Hah, I’m a little lonely… ss…”
Sighing, Ji Yuan suddenly turned his head to look at the well nervously, stood up and walked to the side, grabbed the wooden cover and “bang” to cover it again.
“Huh… much better. I should have watch fewer horror movies, I’m scaring myself!”
。。。
In the middle of the night, the watchman’s voice spread far in the silent night, and reached Ji Yuan’s ears.
“Dong… Dong Dong…”
“All is well~~~”
“Dong… Dong Dong…”
“All is well~~~”
……
He didn’t know why he was tossing and turning this evening and couldn’t fall asleep. He tried all kinds of tricks, such as counting sheep and doing exercise, but nothing worked.
As soon as the watchman tapped the clapper, Ji Yuan with his eyes closed, realized that it was already the third watch. He knew this because the clapper was tapped three times.
Although it was actually after 11:00 p.m., it was getting dark early and since there was no entertainment. It was reasonable to go to bed early and rise early.
‘Is it possible for me to have difficulty sleeping on a new bed? Or is it because of the excitement of owning a house? ‘
With this in mind, Ji Yuan suddenly felt that the temperature had dropped a lot unconsciously.
“Creak… Creak… Creak… Creak…”
The creaking of an old, wooden cover sounded from the courtyard outside the door. It was very faint, but it could not escape Ji Yuan’s ears.
Ji Yuan paused and kept absolute silence, hoping that it was merely an auditory hallucination.
“Squeak…”
The wooden cover at the mouth of the well, which was pressed against the stones, was overturned little by little, making a rattling noise that the cover could not bear.
Ji Yuan, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes. All kinds of associations in the day flashed through his mind. The chill on his back rushed to his head, and the sweat on his forehead came out like magic.
“Squeak…”
“Bang…”
It was the stone pressed on the wooden cover that fell to the ground, and Ji Yuan’s heart jumped violently along with the stone.
The wooden cover was pushed to the side, and the dense hair overflowed the mouth of the well…
“Gulu…”
As the chill became more and more serious, Ji Yuan swallowed a mouthful of water, pulled the quilt on the bed, and quietly covered his head with extremely slow movements.
‘Damn… Could it be that I’m this unlucky!!! Damn broker, f*ck your mother, f*ck your ancestor!!’
A dried up mushroom currently addicted to translating novels. Totally not on caffeine!
