Chapter 173 - 165: Blueprint
Chapter 173: Chapter 165: Blueprint
The Jin guard refused, no matter what. He had seen the wounds on his young master’s wrist with his own eyes—two sizable puncture wounds, bleeding so much they had soaked his entire sleeve.
The road back to Huangtuo Village was not smooth. The jostling of the carriage woke Bai Zhi about halfway there. She recalled the scene from before she passed out: Meng Nan had thrown himself on top of her, shielding her from the tiger’s sharp fangs.
She looked around inside the carriage. Besides herself and three bundles of Purple Silk Vine Leaves, there was nothing else.
’Where’s Meng Nan?’
She hurriedly climbed out of the carriage and asked Hu Feng, who was driving, "Where’s Brother Meng? How is he?"
Seeing her anxious expression and hearing her call Meng Nan ’Brother Meng,’ his brow furrowed slightly. "His wrist was bitten. The Jin guard took him back."
"Is it serious?" she asked, her face etched with worry.
Hu Feng shook his head. "I’m not sure. He lost a lot of blood, but Meng Nan himself said it was just a flesh wound."
She breathed a sigh of relief. ’It’s good if it’s just a flesh wound. It seems Hu Feng and the Jin guard must have arrived in the nick of time to save us.’
The carriage’s return to the village once again drew a crowd of onlookers, their gazes a mixture of envy and jealousy.
Upon arriving home, Uncle Hu hurried out to greet them, laughing cheerfully. "You’re finally back! Two people from the city came, said they met you there yesterday."
Bai Zhi was climbing out of the carriage, preparing to jump down, when she saw Hu Feng hold out a hand. She reflexively took it, using his support to hop down from the carriage.
Just then, two people walked out of the house. The younger one was Song Qingfeng, whom she had met on the street the day before. Beside him stood a tall, burly, middle-aged man with a dark complexion. The two looked quite similar; they were clearly father and son.
"Brother Song, Uncle Song," she said with a smile, walking over to greet them.
Song Qingfeng quickly introduced her to his father. "Dad, this is Miss Bai. She’s the one from yesterday who said she wanted to build a house."
A broad smile appeared on Song Gong’s face. He quickly addressed Bai Zhi and Hu Feng, "So you’re Miss Bai! I thought this boy, Qingfeng, was pulling my leg. I can’t believe it’s actually true."
Zhao Lan came out of the house and said with a smile, "Come on in. I’ve made some sweet tea, we can talk over a cup."
Everyone went inside. Bai Zhi invited them to take a seat, then went to the wooden cabin out back and returned with the blueprints she had just finished drawing the previous night.
Song Gong had been a mason his entire life, spending his days building houses, but he had never seen blueprints as detailed as the ones Bai Zhi held. They were incredibly neat, with every detail clearly defined and all necessary explanations clearly annotated. He had never built, or even seen, a house like this before, but with these blueprints in hand, he was sure he could do it.
"Miss Bai, who drew these blueprints?" Song Gong’s eyes were glued to the papers, as if he had just discovered a priceless treasure.
Bai Zhi gave a small smile. "I just sketched them out myself. They’re a bit rough, so please excuse the poor quality."
Song Gong finally tore his eyes away from the blueprints and stared in astonishment at the young girl before him, who couldn’t be more than twelve or thirteen. "You drew these yourself?"
Bai Zhi nodded. "Yes. Our building plot isn’t very large. I’ve measured it myself and calculated all the dimensions, so you can just follow the plans. Please make an estimate of all the bricks, tiles, and lumber required. I’d like you to handle sourcing everything. Just let me know what the total cost will be."
Song Gong sighed in admiration. "Miss, you have truly opened my eyes. Blueprints of this quality... I thought only the master craftsmen in the Capital City could draw something like this. I never imagined they would come from a young girl like you."