Chapter 116 Prey
116 Prey
Yang Gongbing followed Yang Quanzi to his new house. Before he entered, he could smell a clear wooden fragrance.
He walked closer and was immediately stunned. The pillars that were glowing with golden light were actually made of golden sandalwood.
Yang Gongbing discovered a golden sandalwood, followed by countless golden sandalwood. In the end, he was completely dumbfounded. The entire house was actually built with top-grade golden sandalwood.
No wonder he could smell the wonderful aroma before he even got through the door.
How could the entire house made of golden sandalwood not be fragrant!
Now that he thought about it, he had seen that every house seemed to be built of golden silk cedar wood.
Some of the houses were larger and could use up dozens of thick golden silk cedar trees at once. Based on the official price of top-grade golden silk cedar trees, these beautiful houses were like mountains of gold.
No wonder Landlord Xiong had such thoughts.
If he succeeded in making his teacher listen to them, he would be able to obtain endless returns.
Yang Gongbing looked at the house for a long time and finally came back to his senses. He wanted to praise it for being low-key and luxurious, but he eventually said, “Teacher’s residence is so fragrant!”
He also wanted to own one.
Yang Quanzi smiled smugly, thinking that he was talking about the golden plums in the courtyard. He stroked his beard. “It’s all thanks to Old Master Sheng who sent someone to transplant a lot of golden plums. Let’s go in and take a look!”
Golden plums were fragrant and were one of the more expensive types of flowers.
Along the way, Yang Gongbing saw that almost every family had planted golden plums at the entrance. There were so many of them that even the entire Woqian Town could not compare to it. He could not help but marvel at Master Sheng’s wealth and connections.
Yang Gongbing smiled and flattered, “It’s so fragrant. I’m really lucky to be able to enter Teacher’s house to admire it.”
Yang Quanzi laughed and led him into the house.
As soon as he entered the house, Yang Gongbing was shocked by the heat.
It was like two seasons inside and outside the house. It was so warm that he almost thought that winter had suddenly turned into summer.
He stood in the house, stunned. The attendant walked over and smiled. “Please follow me to the inner room to change, my lord.”
After a moment of shock, Yang Gongbing asked in surprise, “This is ground heating?”
It was rare for wealthy families to install ground heating because it cost too much money. It was better to burn charcoal in the room.
The charcoal in Woqian Town was even more expensive than in the city, because he had taken all the silver in the house to buy food for his teacher and the others. His wife was understanding and refused to use too much charcoal. When he was not around, the house was like an icehouse. His wife already had a cold body, but she could only drink hot water and use the soup to warm herself.
When Yang Gongbing returned to the residence the day before after finishing his work early, he realized that the house was as cold as an icehouse. When he met his wife’s deliberately hiding gaze, he felt guilty and heartache, so he p.a.w.ned the jade pendant that he had been wearing for many years and asked the servants to change it to high-quality charcoal.
Although he had never enjoyed the warmth of the ground, he had been a guest at other people’s house. This was the first time he had seen the entire house so warm.
Yang Quanzi smiled and said, “Yes, it’s there’s ground heating installed at home, so it’s a little hot. It’s not suitable for you to wear this. Go inside and change your clothes.”
Yang Gongbing followed his servant to change into thin clothes before coming out. “It’s so warm with the ground heating.” He had just changed his clothes in the inner room and specially stepped on it with his feet. He wished he could sleep on the ground.
Especially when he took off his heavy clothes and changed into thin light clothes. Smelling the fragrance coming from the room, he felt like he was about to ascend to immortality.
Yang Quanzi laughed and said, “This is all Madam Bai’s design. If Madam Bai agrees, your residence can also be as warm as my house.”
Although Yang Gongbing was envious of the comfort of Yang Quanzi’s new house, if he found someone to install ground heating, not only would it cost a large sum of money, he also couldn’t afford to burn charcoal for heating. After thinking for a moment, he tactfully rejected, “My family doesn’t have many people, so charcoal is fine.”
Yang Quanzi knew what he was worried about. As he led him into the open study on the first floor, he said, “The ground heating designed by Madam Bai only needs two bundles of firewood every day. Wouldn’t it be better for you to use it instead of charcoal at home?”
A bundle of firewood only cost a few copper coins. Only two more bundles of firewood were needed to heat the ground in such a big house!
Yang Gongbing looked at Yang Quanzi in disbelief. “Isn’t it heated using charcoal?”
Yang Quanzi smiled and said, “Every family in our village has floor heating. If we had to burn charcoal to heat up, there wouldn’t be so many charcoals in the entire Woqian Town for us to use.”
Yang Gongbing immediately revealed a surprised smile. If that was the case, that would be great.
After entering the study, Yang Gongbing sat down with Yang Quanzi. The servants served hot tea. Yang Quanzi smiled and said, “Please.”
When Yang Gongbing picked up the teacup, he realized that there was a golden wintersweet flower in the cup. The petals that unfolded were beautiful. His eyes lit up. He sniffed it and closed his eyes in satisfaction. He took a small sip.
The mellow fragrance of the flower echoed between his lips. It was sweet and refreshing, with a hint of bitterness.
Yang Quanzi smiled and asked, “How is it?”
Yang Gongbing only said two words. “Great tea!”
Yang Quanzi laughed. “Bring some for your wife when you get back.”
Yang Gongbing cupped his hands. “Thank you, Teacher. If my wife tastes it, she will definitely like it.”
Yang Quanzi nodded and looked at the window. The servant brought them each a cloak and said, “Sir, my lord, I’m going to open the window. Be careful of the cold.”
Yang Gongbing put on his cloak. The window opened, and the beautiful scene of winter plums in the snow suddenly appeared.
He sat in the warm house with his teacher, drinking flower tea and admiring the scenery outside the window. It was a double enjoyment of his body and mind.
His teacher was enjoying himself.
Yang Gongbing praised, “This place is too beautiful!”
Yang Quanzi took a sip of tea and smiled. “All the beautiful scenery we can see sitting here is because of Madam Bai.”
Without Bai Wutong, they would not have gathered at the Jade Spiritual Mountain.
Yang Gongbing nodded in agreement. “Madam Bai is a great woman of her generation!”
Yang Quanzi suddenly smiled proudly. “This is only a little of Madam Bai’s ability!”
And this was just a little bit of her ability!!!
Yang Gongbing’s curiosity about Bai Wutong reached its peak.
…
In the Jade Spiritual Mountain, Bai Wutong was leading everyone to check the traps set up.
...
Chu Tianbao looked excited. If he could catch a rabbit, he would be able to eat fragrant roasted rabbit meat that day.
His wife’s roasted rabbit was the best!
Soon, they arrived at the first trap. Huang Zhong sniffed and knew if there was prey inside. His eyes lit up and he said happily, “There’s a prey! And it’s alive!”
Everyone immediately surrounded him, wanting to see what kind of prey it was.