Chapter 277: Add a Room

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Add a Room

Wufu returned home and prepared to immerse herself in her carving work, but before that, she discussed the matter of building additional rooms with Madam Zhou.

"Add two more rooms?" Madam Zhou looked somewhat bewildered and glanced at their current house.

"Does Mother not want to?" Wufu saw her surprised expression and couldn’t help but say, "Of course, if Mother doesn’t want to live here anymore, we can buy a residence in the town."

In the past, the silver she earned could make renting a house a little easier on their finances, but now, they could completely afford to buy one. Not to mention in the town, even a small residence in the county that cost a hundred taels was within reach, right?

"No, it’s not that. Just, why suddenly think of building more rooms?" Madam Zhou shook her head.

Wufu said, "Now that there are more people in our family and less living space, it’s not very convenient, and there’s no place to put things."

Indeed, Madam Zhou also felt that the household possessions had increased. Not to mention other things, there were two more chests alone.

However, she had never considered the idea of building additional rooms.

"If Mother agrees, I’ll look for someone to help right away," Wufu added.

"But to build a house, we need lumber, and we don’t have any of that."

Upon hearing this, Wufu laughed, "Mother, just be at ease. As long as we have silver, how could we not be able to build a house?"

Madam Zhou’s face reddened with some embarrassment, her hands rubbing together, as she hadn’t thought of the present-day Wufu’s ability to earn silver.

"Mother, or perhaps, we should buy a plot in the village and build a new one?" Wufu suggested after some thought.

They had lived in this house for quite some time, and it was still the old home of the Old Zhou family, repaired countless times, and it was located near the mountain edge, isolated; if something happened, they couldn’t call for help in time.

Of course, Wufu’s preferred choice was to live in the town or county, but seeing that Madam Zhou did not seem willing, she suggested building in the village instead.

In the village, it is after all a gathering place for people, convenient, and lively.

Yet, upon hearing this, Madam Zhou waved her hands in refusal, "No, we won’t move to the village. It’s quite nice living here. Peaceful."

Wufu watched her steadily.

Her tone was certain and urgent, but her eyes said otherwise; they were anything but, seeming rather downtrodden no matter how one looked at them.

Madam Zhou forced a smile, tugging at the corner of her mouth, avoiding Wufu’s gaze.

It’s not that she didn’t want to be close to others, but some people’s words were just too malicious and unpleasant to hear. She didn’t want to hear all that gossip.

They had gotten by all these years, and her daughter had grown up. Why go out and expose themselves to others’ criticisms and idle talk?

Better out of sight, out of mind, better unheard, better unspoken.

In fact, Madam Zhou’s way of thinking was rather dumbfounding. Everyone knew about their mother and daughter’s affairs. Wouldn’t people talk even if they weren’t in sight?

Wufu said, "Mother, how about we move to the town, the county?"

"Move to those places? We wouldn’t know a single person there. What’s good about that?" Madam Zhou continued to shake her head.

The contradiction in her words was evident. On the one hand, she talked about how peaceful it was living here, yet on the other hand, she said they wouldn’t know anyone in the county. But living here had not led her to many warm interactions with people.

However, Wufu did not call her out on it and only said, "Then let’s just add a few rooms."

Madam Zhou nodded in agreement, "Since we’re running out of space, let’s build. Zhang Facai and his brothers from the village have been in this trade for years, they are good people. Shall I ask for their help?"

Eager to help, Wufu couldn’t possibly object. She immediately replied, "That would be great. I also promised Shopkeeper Lin to finish the carvings quickly, so I’ll leave the matter of the house to Mother."

Being entrusted with such a task, Madam Zhou’s eyes brightened, and she eagerly nodded in agreement.