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墨書 Inktalez
The chaotic noise was incessant, and the woman's sharp voice made Liu Qingxi's head throb. At that moment, all she wanted was some peace: "Can everyone please take turns?"
Perhaps Liu Qingxi's shout shocked everyone, as the scene immediately fell silent. Song quickly stepped forward to mediate: "Everyone, please don't rush. Let Qingxi handle one person at a time!"
She even winked at Liu Qingxi: "Look, I've brought you so many people. Not bad, right?"
Understanding the meaning in her eyes, Liu Qingxi felt grateful; she truly didn't know where Song had found so many people.
What she didn't realize was that farmers in this era had a hard life. A single piece of clothing could be worn for three years new and three years old, patched up and then turned into children's clothes.
Building a house was even more challenging; the effort, manpower, resources, and finances required were enormous. Now that they heard someone could repair it, wouldn't they rush over?
It should be noted that after repairs, continuing to use the house could save a significant amount of money. The crowd seemed to have found a remedy for their ailments; even a glimmer of hope was worth trying.
Although the girl in front of them wore patched-up, oversized gray clothes and looked thin, there was no denying her determination.
"Alright then, from San You's Family, we all came because we believe in you! You won't deceive us, will you?"
"What would I deceive you about? You all know I repaired my house a few days ago; look now, everything is fine!" Song boasted proudly.
What she was most proud of now was that despite having similar doubts before, she ultimately believed in Liu Qingxi.
"Uncles and aunts, please take your time. Don't worry; I'll do my best to solve your problems one by one. Can we form a line?"
As soon as Liu Qingxi finished speaking, the previously noisy crowd immediately lined up in an orderly fashion.
The first person in line was a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed in coarse cloth shorts with dark skin and strong arms—clearly someone used to hard labor.
"Uncle, what's wrong with your house?"
"Our house is similar to San You's Family; there are many chunks falling off at the base of the walls, and it feels like it's going to collapse. Our house was built at the same time as San You's Family."
The man rubbed his hands together, feeling suddenly nervous as the young woman in front of him asked seriously, stumbling over his words.
"Don't worry, Uncle. If the situation is similar, it can be handled. However, I need to take a look first to determine what needs to be done!" Liu Qingxi did not make any promises outright.
"No problem! When will you be free?" The man grinned, asking eagerly and excitedly.
"I'll check your situation first. If I have time today, I'll take a look. But about the fees..."
Since Liu Qingxi had the idea of helping people repair their houses, she had been struggling with this issue.
If she charged too little, it wouldn't be worth her time; if she charged too much, most people probably wouldn't have enough money.
Unexpectedly, the man was straightforward: "Liu Family Girl, just tell me how much!" To him, it was definitely cheaper than building a new house. He had inquired about how much San You's Family spent, which was less than a hundred coins in total.
At this point, even if it were two hundred coins, he would choose to repair rather than rebuild.
"Let's decide on that after I take a look!" Liu Qingxi carefully noted down the middle-aged man's address.
Next came a woman. Before Liu Qingxi could ask, she started chattering: "Our situation is different from theirs; there's a crack at the window. I didn't pay attention before, but now there's a big gap. Can it still be repaired?"
She seemed anxious and a bit apprehensive, also somewhat doubtful. Could repairing a house be like seeing a doctor? She had never heard of such a method but still came with a glimmer of hope to take a look.
Liu Qingxi's responses were all similar; she couldn't give a definitive answer without seeing the house, just like a doctor wouldn't prescribe medication without reviewing test results.
Next, there were cracks appearing in the corners, splits under the roof beams, and various other forms of damage on the walls.
Liu Qingxi understood this well because door and window openings, corners, and the areas beneath the roof beams are all weak points where stress tends to concentrate in a house.
The strength of the soil itself cannot compare to that of reinforced concrete, and since most construction was done by family members, the quality of construction lacked strict standards and was mostly based on experience.
After understanding everyone's situation, Liu Qingxi had an idea in mind and confidently told everyone, "Don't worry, I will visit each house and will definitely help solve any issues!"
"Then Qingxi, you must take this seriously and make sure to fix our homes!" After spending some time together, they had become familiar with Liu Qingxi and addressed her by name.
"Uncle and Aunt, don't worry, I will do my best!" She then turned her attention to Song: "Aunt Song, I'm not very familiar with the roads, so I will need your help to guide me!"
"No problem, leave it to me! I know everyone in the three or five villages around here!"
"Oh dear, for San You's Family, that might trouble you. Please don't forget about our home!" joked someone familiar with Song.
"How could I forget? Do you not trust my character?" Song retorted.
In the end, Liu Qingxi decided to go to Zhang Dafuku's house first. The others, feeling disappointed but reassured by her words, returned home to wait.
According to Zhang Dafuku, there had been cracks at the corner of his house since last year, but this year they had widened significantly.
"You wouldn't believe it; the wind from outside can actually seep through this crack. Sometimes we fear that the wall might suddenly collapse!" They had managed for a year now; if it weren't for their fear of what might happen, they would have continued to make do.
"Uncle, when you built your house, didn't you add anything at that corner? Like a wooden column?" Liu Qingxi was puzzled as to why everyone's houses lacked Structural Columns.
"What is a wooden column? Is it just a vertical stick?" Zhang Dafuku asked, confused.
Well, Liu Qingxi was at a loss for words; it turned out that everyone had no idea what a Structural Column was.
"We build houses like this. According to my grandfather, his grandfather used to build houses without Mud Bricks; they just piled mud to create a roof. Later on, Earthen Houses came about. This method allows for faster and sturdier construction!
However, over time, it's still not enough. If it breaks, we have to rebuild it, which costs money!"
Zhang Dafuku shared what he knew, and Liu Qingxi distilled the core information from this: there were no Structural Columns or similar methods here.
Research shows that whether it's an Earthen House or the earlier rammed Earthen Houses, adding Structural Columns can greatly enhance their integrity and stability, improving durability.
But these measures are applicable during the construction process; later reinforcement isn't needed: "This is somewhat troublesome!" Liu Qingxi thought with a frown.
At that moment, a shabby yet very clean courtyard appeared before them, with three Earthen Houses pitifully holding themselves up.
Liu Qingxi noticed a wide crack from afar.
"Uncle Zhang, what about this crack?"
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