I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 64. The Beginning of Change (2)
“By the way, is making a roof frame really difficult?”
“Not particularly. It’s not much different from ordinary mat-weaving. The only difference is that you have to do it hanging from the roof.”
Shim answered kindly, deftly turning the conversation toward So Yeon-hui.
A “roof frame” was something like a wooden board laid over the rafters—once earth was packed onto it to keep out the rain and stones added for reinforcement, only then could roof tiles or thatch be installed.
In essence, it was the foundation work of the roof.
‘In modern times, you’d just lay plywood with insulation and call it done. But here you have to weave mats and plaster with clay to fill the gaps. No wonder building a house in this place is such an undertaking.’
Especially since timber wasn’t standardized here, making a proper roof frame demanded considerable labor and was genuinely difficult work.
That was likely why So Jin had asked the Shim Household people, who made their living splitting wood and weaving mats, for help.
“Then let the Shim Family handle the roof, and the three of us will take the window frames and door frames.”
“Very well.”
“But are you really going to build the walls with brick like that?”
“If that weren’t the plan, we wouldn’t have purchased so much material, would we?”
The workers shook their heads at So Jin’s words, but soon enough they threw themselves back into their assigned tasks without complaint.
When they were given rice with meat dishes or meat soup at every midday meal, they hardly had the luxury of shirking work.
Shim and the other men of the Shim Household also found a spot in the courtyard and began preparing to weave the roof frame.
True to their heritage as master mat-weavers, their hands moved with extraordinary skill—splitting wood along the grain and matching each piece to a uniform size.
Jeong, watching the work, let out an exclamation.
“Well, you have to respect Elder Shim’s skill! I’d like to ask for your help repairing our roof too, sometime.”
The old man held two wooden rods side by side, comparing their length and thickness, and spoke.
“This is why you have to be meticulous with the foundation work—so the roof won’t slant. If you just throw any old wood up there and weave it haphazardly, later the roof will shed earth everywhere, leak rain, and cause no end of trouble.”
So Yeon-hui watched his hands with quiet admiration.
Without even a lathe, matching timber thickness and length perfectly by hand—it was genuinely remarkable.
“I’ll have to put more thought into today’s side dishes. Who knew roofing could be so complex and demanding?”
At that, Jeong, the chattiest of the three workers, laughed heartily.
“Haha! Roofing is indeed the master of all crafts. But making door frames and window frames is awfully important work too.”
“Is that so? You’ll have to make our doors very square and true. Otherwise the wind will seep in during winter.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ve been making door frames for over ten years. I’ll make them nice and square, guaranteed!”
Jeong pounded his chest emphatically, proclaiming it loudly.
Yet the reactions of his fellow workers were decidedly lukewarm.
“You have to hand it to him—the man does love to boast.”
“Who wouldn’t? Still, thanks to his boasting, we’ve got good spirits for the work. That much I’m grateful for.”
“Hey, you two scoundrels!”
It was only natural that Jeong would roar out in protest at this tag-team mocking from Yu and the others.
* * *
After a wave of laughter had passed through the courtyard, So Yeon-hui handed the vegetables she’d bought at market to her mother and rolled up her sleeves once more, stepping back into the yard.
Since yesterday’s meal had been rather extravagant, today’s lunch had been agreed upon to be as simple as possible.
Thanks to this, even her usually busy mother and grandmother were able to set aside their usual work, consuming only some pre-prepared vegetables and miso soup before focusing for a while on mending the bedding.
How could the eldest daughter possibly rest while they worked?
So Yeon-hui had resolved to put her own skills to proper use for once.
Before the space where the new wall would stand, she laid down a board on level ground, mixed sand and slaked lime with a small amount of clay, and used a hoe to blend them thoroughly in their dry state.
Traditional three-part earth with a touch of lime, twisted ever so slightly by So Yeon-hui’s modern sensibilities—her own version of clay mortar.
‘For a while there, everyone was talking about eco-friendly housing and such, selling this clay mortar at premium prices.’
The elderly couple named Kim, who had recently moved to the rural community of Yeongcheon-ri where she’d been living, had even broken open five savings accounts to build a house using only clay bricks and clay mortar.
‘But concrete itself is a fairly eco-friendly material that’s been used since ancient Rome.’
Still, no matter how eco-friendly concrete might be, implementing reinforced concrete methods in this ancient era posed considerable difficulties.
So Yeon-hui had decided to find and apply something between the modern and the ancient—a new hybrid method.
“Hmm. Still, with clay mixed in, plastering should definitely be easier.”
Unlike wet sand, which crumbles away, this had a slightly sticky consistency.
Of course, the strength would be somewhat compromised by the added clay—but that didn’t matter. After all, she’d only be applying it to the parts in direct contact with the wooden frame and base.
“Sister, is this the right way to hold the chalk line?”
“Yes. Keep it as taut as possible so it marks clearly. I’ll start making the hooks to hold it steady.”
So Yeon-hui then retrieved a handful of nails she’d set aside when building the chicken coop before.
Placing them between two adjacent bricks and tapping gently with a hammer, the nails soon bent into a neat fish-hook shape.
“But why do you snap the chalk line? The bricks are rectangular, so you could probably just stack them roughly and it would be fine.”
“Even so, you need a center line. And if you’re going to hang a plumb line, this reference line is essential.”
So Yeon-hui smiled at her brother’s question and gently drove nails into the ceiling and floor where the chalk line had marked.
She then connected them with string and installed plumb bobs at 1.5-meter intervals.
Since each wall was only 3 meters long, there was essentially one plumb bob per wall.
After double-checking the vertical reference with a level, So Yeon-hui spread mortar generously on the bottom and sides of the brick and laid the first reference brick at each end of every wall.
With string tied to the bent nails marking a horizontal line, the prep work for laying brick in earnest was finally complete.
It was around that moment when her father, who had been helping the Shim Household with the roof frame weaving, approached.
“Why are you starting work without a word? Each brick carries considerable weight.”
“Father, I haven’t really built anything yet—I’ve just stretched a plumb line.”
Besides, she hadn’t even mixed the proper cement that should go between the bricks.
‘I was hoping to lay a few courses before Father noticed. Ah, that plan’s gone to pieces.’
So Yeon-hui quickly smiled sheepishly and clung to her father’s arm.
Though he wasn’t patriarchal by nature, he disapproved of his children taking on dangerous work, so a scolding seemed likely.
Sure enough, So Jin frowned and spoke to So Yeon-hui.
“Give me that trowel. No matter what, I’m the head of this household—I can’t pass such heavy labor on to my children.”
“I was about to ask for your help from this point anyway. Just as you say, laying brick is heavier work than I thought.”
Watching his eldest daughter glibly make excuses without batting an eye, So Jin felt a sudden urge to press her: ‘How is it you know such things so well?’
But how could he dare ask such a thing? He was a poor father who hadn’t even been by her side as she grew up.
‘And yet, recently she’s been kindly initiating conversation with me.’
So perhaps, going forward, he could gradually coax open that tightly closed heart of hers.
Holding onto that fragile hope, So Jin softened his tone.
“From now on, whatever you do, do it alongside your father. Whether it’s clay or lime mortar, if I don’t learn how to mix it, it’ll be difficult to make again next time.”
“We’ll be making it again as we go anyway. At any rate, we need to make standard lime mortar next, so I’ll teach you how.”
So Yeon-hui swept the clay mortar to the side, clearing space, then poured sand and slaked lime in a 3-to-1 ratio generously into it.
Blending it thoroughly with the hoe in its dry state, she asked So Jin a question.
“You know that limestone is burned at high heat to make quicklime, and adding water to quicklime produces slaked lime, don’t you? And that when slaked lime is applied to a wall, it hardens more and more over time?”
“Of course. That’s why we apply lime wash to the outer surface of finished walls.”
“Then what happens when you mix sand and burned lime and add water to harden it? And when that mixture bonds the bricks together?”
At So Yeon-hui’s provocative question, So Jin’s eyes widened.
A general who had spent years building city walls could hardly fail to grasp what a fifteen-year-old girl had perceived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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