I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 65

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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 65. The Beginning of Change (3)
“So you don’t just stack the bricks—you apply this mortar and bind them together as you go?”
“Yes, that’s right. When you mix water into it, the slaked lime changes to a grainy texture and then hardens solid. It acts as an adhesive that bonds the bricks together firmly.”
She said so, then paused before pouring water into the well-mixed dry lime mortar.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot that.”
“Forgot what?”
“My own special secret ingredient. I suffered for it since dawn today. We nearly had a disaster on our hands.”
When So Yeon-hui winked at the twins, So Yeon-su and So Yeon-u dashed into the house as if they’d been waiting for the signal.
They returned bearing that fateful “secret ingredient” So Yeon-hui had prepared beforehand, before heading to the Five-Day Market.
“Huh? This is… isn’t this rice porridge?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s glutinous rice paste.”
“Glutinous rice paste in mortar? That’s something I’ve never heard of.”
So Jin gazed down at the glutinous rice paste the twins had brought, looking fascinated.
So Yeon-hui’s shoulders lifted with pride, and she spoke in a voice brimming with confidence.
“This is the secret of secrets—a method that keeps mortar from crumbling even after hundreds of years. With this, you could easily build a wall as long as the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles.”
“Build a wall as long as the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles? Now I see your dreams are quite ambitious. In that respect, you’re the spitting image of your old man.”
Though So Jin had made his name as an undefeated general, he was, strictly speaking, a master of Fortress Defense and an expert in Fortress Construction.
It was said he had built over ten earth fortresses in the Northeastern Border Region alone.
How could such a man not be pleased to hear talk of the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles?
‘That Yeon-hui. If she studied under Master Taebaek, she should have devoted herself to the classics. Yet she’s learned Fortress Construction as well, just to help her old man.’
In that moment of emotion born of misunderstanding, So Jin gazed at his daughter with eyes that had grown quite moist.
Whether it was jealousy sparked by his tender affection, So Yeon-u suddenly thrust his lips out in a pout and cut in.
“I like building fortresses too! When I play with the Shim family kids, we’re always building sand castles.”
“Is that so? It seems you’ve all inherited your old man’s interest in fortification arts.”
“Not me. I prefer going out and settling things with my fists rather than sitting still and defending.”
“Ha ha ha! That trait you’ve inherited straight from my father—your grandfather. All three of you carry the spirit of the So Household quite strongly indeed.”
The fact that he could misinterpret not only So Yeon-hui’s casual remark but even So Yeon-su’s rather crooked comment as ‘my children are remarkable’ spoke volumes.
At this rate, was Father actually the notorious doting parent everyone said he was?
So Yeon-hui was startled by this new side of her father and shook her head slowly.
In that warm and harmonious atmosphere, So Yeon-hui began mixing the glutinous rice paste and water into the slaked lime compound, working it with the trowel.
She mixed it smoothly until everything was well combined, and before long, a mortar of perfectly suitable consistency was ready.
“The texture is finished at about this point. If the mixture is too thin, it’ll slide off the bricks; too thick and it becomes a nightmare to work with. This is just the right consistency for good mortar.”
After showing So Jin and the younger children the consistency by letting chunks fall, So Yeon-hui transferred the mortar into a wooden basket and set it down beside the place where the bricks were to be laid.
Then she flexed her wrists once and began to demonstrate how to lay the bricks in earnest.
“The method of laying bricks is simple. You scoop the mortar thickly with the trowel, spread it smoothly on the ground, and then tap the brick into place as you stack it.”
So Jin watched silently, arms folded, as So Yeon-hui demonstrated.
The explanation might seem overly simple, but every technique she displayed matched her words precisely.
First, she spread the mortar evenly on the ground with the trowel, then placed each brick in its proper position according to the plumb line and level, tapping it gently to fix it in place.
Next, she scraped away the excess mortar squeezed out from the brick joints with the trowel, then spread it smoothly along the side of the next brick to be laid.
By alternating between these two actions, a whole row was completed before long.
“How’s that? Pretty easy, right?”
Knowing full well it couldn’t possibly be easy, So Yeon-hui winked at her father while mimicking some architect’s catchphrase.
So Jin let out a sigh as if exasperated, but then he began pushing each brick exactly half a span, creating a staggered pattern for the next row.
“For the parts that touch the wooden frame, you need to use the clay mortar I prepared over there. Wood expands and contracts with the seasons, and if you use regular mortar, it hardens so rigidly that it’ll actually damage the wood by pulling on it.”
So all the outer ends of the walls needed to be sealed thickly with clay mortar. In the case of even rows where the bricks were offset by half a span, the end brick had to be split in half and fitted into place.
“Ah. It fits perfectly. That’s when the feeling is best, isn’t it?”
She had first learned brick-laying while repairing a fence under the village headman’s tutelage, and he had left her with this bit of wisdom:
“Young lady, you’ve got talent. When something feels ‘enjoyable,’ that’s what you should make your calling.”
Thanks to his words, she’d ended up taking on most of the village’s brick-laying work, becoming something like an apprentice in the process.
But without that shared work, she might never have adapted so smoothly to mountain life over the long ten years.
So Yeon-hui hoped her father and family could feel that same joy she had discovered.
Someday they would restore the family’s fortune and leave this barren land, but until then, shouldn’t they live with cheer in all things? Even if happiness were small, it would still be happiness.
Fortunately, So Jin seemed to appreciate his daughter’s positive spirit, for he smiled faintly and spoke to her.
“Well then, now give your old man a chance. I’m the head of the So Household after all—you weren’t planning to just keep me standing around like a decorative screen, were you?”
“N-no, of course not.”
So Yeon-hui hesitated for a moment, then handed the trowel to her father.
She did worry that as a beginner he might ruin the wall, but as he said, he was the head of this household.
To establish his authority, and to complete the work quickly, she had to give him his chance.
‘And to keep myself from falling into the same selfish habit of doing everything alone.’
She couldn’t repeat the mistake she’d made with the twins long ago.
So Yeon-hui stood beside the twins and quietly watched as her father worked.
“There’s definitely a difference between watching and actually doing it.”
Even as he said this, her father never lost his smile—he looked reassuring despite his uncertain skill.
‘Still, for a first attempt, his work isn’t half bad.’
True, his first two rows had rather uneven grout joints and needed correction—he’d had to remove and reattach the bricks several times.
But after repeating the same work two, three times, he began to improve markedly.
By the time he started the second row, he’d even built up some speed.
“What’s this? Why are you so good at it? The bamboo skewers last time too. Father, you have remarkable hands, don’t you?”
So Jin chuckled.
“Regretting that I didn’t become a craftsman instead of entering the military?”
“No, it’s not quite that far, but… I think Father would have made a name for himself in whichever trade you’d chosen.”
At his daughter’s teasing, So Jin smiled broadly and picked up the next brick. Perhaps because So Yeon-hui had prepared guide lines with string, the bricks rose in perfect, neat rows without a trace of wavering.
It seemed to deliver an unexpectedly visceral pleasure.
Just as So Jin was beginning to awaken to this new talent of his—
Suddenly, someone made a sound near the courtyard entrance.
“Is anyone home?”
Hmm? Who on earth was this? In the middle of their work?
The feast had ended days ago.
With the construction deadline still vaguely distant, there was no reason to expect visitors.
At the unexpected arrival, the gazes of So Yeon-hui, So Jin, and everyone working in the courtyard snapped toward the entrance.
Peeking over the fence came two men in plain clothes.
‘What. Those two again?’
Seeing the now-familiar faces of the two youths, a sigh escaped So Yeon-hui’s lips.
It was around that same moment that So Jin’s eyes grew sharp.

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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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