Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 202 - 200 The Emperor Inspects the Relocated Houses

Chapter 202: Chapter 200 The Emperor Inspects the Relocated Houses

No matter how beautiful the view outside a room is, people will only appreciate it at first sight, then perhaps just occasionally glance afterwards. Therefore, practicality and convenience within the house are the most important things.

The emperor truly appreciated the facilities in the suite, realizing how much convenience the house design brings to life.

The room’s design is very modern and minimalist. The living room contains a TV cabinet (though without a TV, a mural of a thriving garden is painted as a background), a sofa, a tea table, a screen, a dining table, and a liquor cabinet. On top of these objects, in the suitable spots, some ceramics, bonsai, flower arrangements, and other ornaments have been placed for decoration. The whole place exudes warmth, elegance, and neat comfort.

The meal Xiao’er prepared for the emperor and his entourage focuses on quality rather than quantity. It was lunchtime, and the emperor was here to experience the commoner’s lifestyle. Hence, he ate with his officials at the same table, something that was not exceptional for the occasion. Only, Shen Chengyao and Doctor Luo were added to the party.

Even after eating their fill from the dozen dishes on the table, they were left wanting for more.

The emperor regretted sharing the meal with everyone else. Many dishes he had only tasted a few bites of before they disappeared from the table.

"I’ve tasted many delicious foods, but I still think the cuisine of Marquis Shengping’s home is the most to my liking." Di Shaowei felt like he had finally returned to his peak.

"Now I finally understand why you both were so keen on running to Shengping County last year. Just for this meal, it is worth the trip!" Shangguan Xuanhao regretted not dining at the Marquis Mansion every day when Marquis Shengping was in the Imperial Capital.

"I have to thank Mr. Shangguan’s blessing to have a satisfied meal! On regular days, I can’t eat so many dishes!"

"These are not rare or expensive dishes. If Marquis Shengping wants to eat them, he can just ask his cook to make them daily!" The emperor didn’t understand why as per his knowledge, there was a little cash cow in Marquis Shengping’s family, so they shouldn’t lack silver to buy food.

"These dishes were prepared by my daughter and wife. My daughter believes that staying in the kitchen will make her a haggard housewife, so she rarely cooks. Instead, she spends a lot of time thinking about how to earn more silver. She even restricts her mother from cooking, arguing that if she turns haggard, I will dump her. She also says that men easily get corrupted once they have rich resources, so she told her mother to keep an eye on me if she has nothing much to do." Shen Chengyao replied honestly, feeling wronged deep within. His daughter doesn’t trust him.

"Hahaha..." Everyone broke into laughter after hearing his words.

"Campaigning Princess Rui’an is truly extraordinary, this kind of thinking probably only she can have." The emperor chortled, praising her after his laughter had subsided.

"Marquis Shengping, I notice everything in this house is so cleverly designed, practical and convenient. Was it also conceived by the legendary keenly intelligent Campaigning Princess Rui’an?" Zhao Youwei, the eldest son of the governor, recalled the little girl he had seen earlier. She was the girl with whom he had almost been engaged. He figured she must grow up to be a striking beauty. How unfortunate...

"Indeed, it was my little girl’s idea. In my family, she is the one brimming with ingenious notions." Shen Chengyao proudly responded.

"Marquis Shengping, you truly have a remarkable daughter."

Hearing these words, Shangguan Xuanyi lifted his head to glance at him, then lowered his gaze to continue sipping his tea.

The next day, Shen Chengyao accompanied the emperor and his entourage to the prefecture city.

The emperor wanted to inspect the progress of the land acquisition and house construction.

The relocated houses have been built. The Magistrate had chosen a land near the market for construction.

The location is by the river, where the city dwellers usually dump their living garbage. The Magistrate had been wanting to clean up the area for a long time, and the construction of the relocated houses provided a good opportunity to do so.

A total of twenty-six households were acquired. Among them, six households chose the compensation of sixty taels of silver, forgoing the houses.

These six households had long been wanting to leave the city and return to their countryside residences. With ten or eight taels of silver, they could build a new house and buy some farmland. Life would be much better than living in the city!

Their homes were small and shabby, on the verge of collapse, located in a slum. They had been unable to sell them for a long time, so when someone wanted to acquire them, they quickly accepted the silver and went on their way.

Xiao’er made a design for the remaining twenty households, building five four-story houses in total. Each house is facing north from the south, offering excellent lighting conditions.

Xiao’er also built a row of single-story houses, each row divided into five rooms. There were four rows in total which served as the kitchen for each household.

The kitchen space is large enough to accommodate a sink, a cupboard for dishes, a dining table, and the stove, allowing the family to dine there.

The floors are extended by a meter to create a walkway, ensuring that even on rainy days, you wouldn’t get wet walking back from the kitchen to your house.

Originally, Xiao’er was worried that they would find it troublesome. However, when she showed them the design, everyone had no objections. Who would consider walking a few steps from their house to the kitchen a bother?

Many even pointed out that their old houses were too small. In large families, people had to sleep in the kitchen. But now, each compensated household has a full area of up to one hundred and fifty square meters with four rooms, two halls, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Each household also received additional compensation of two taels of silver. This was indeed a golden opportunity!

Although they had never lived in such a house before, those families were really the most difficult households in the city, mostly crowding around a pit. They wanted to build another room but had no money. Now, with separate rooms to live in, who wouldn’t want this?

A deep well has also been dug at each corner of the courtyard, equipped with a water pump. It’s much more convenient than carrying water from a long distance as they had to do before.

The biggest disadvantage is the proximity to the market, and the shared courtyard can be noisy on market days, but everyone argued that this isn’t a big deal. Having a big courtyard before didn’t mean much to them when they didn’t have grains to dry!

The people have moved in. When the emperor asked some of them, they all said the new house was much better than the old one, at least not leaking wind in winter and rain in summer.

The emperor was extremely pleased to hear this.

Xiao’er had her eye on the large courtyard but small houses where they used to live. The houses were irregularly built with yards scattered here and there, filled with garbage. Some industrious families had opened it up and planted vegetables. However, due to the distance from the water source, the vegetables didn’t grow well. There were several deserted slopes, which were a waste of space.

Now, all the old houses in the area have been demolished, and the slopes have been flattened. Now, it’s in the stage of digging foundations.

Shen Chengyao showed the emperor and his entourage an architectural render.

"This row and this row facing towards the road are all shops. There are more than twenty of them, some with their own independent courtyards." Shen Chengyao pointed to the blueprints as he explained.

"The houses on the inside are all small villas with three-story gardens like the one in my house. Each family will have their own small courtyard and also a shared large garden." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"These five blocks are multi-story buildings just like the relocated houses, but they are all six stories high."

"How much silver would it sell for one of these houses, and how much per room for these? Those who have silver don’t lack houses, and those who don’t can’t afford a house!" Zhao Youwei, who unlike the emperor, had not heard Xiao’er’s plan before and doubted whether people would buy these houses, raised his question.

No need to mention the shops. They are sure to be profitable and won’t be difficult to sell.