Chapter 90 - The Two-in-One Contract: The Craftsmen Prepare to Build a House...

Sun Hu is at home today. They just finished building a house and are preparing to rest for a few days.

He was a little surprised to see Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying come in. After asking them last time, the two of them hadn't come back to check on the house they were building, so he thought they wouldn't come back. Now that he saw them, he greeted them with a smile: "Madam Lin! Young Master Pei, come in and have a seat."

Lin Chuntao was also a little surprised that she remembered them after only meeting them once. She smiled and said, "Brother Sun, we've come to see you about the price quote."

Recalling their previous conversation, Sun Hu smiled and said, "Please sit inside. After my wife mentioned it last time, we also made one, but it's not very detailed."

"That's alright, let's talk it over and see."

After taking their seats, Lin Chuntao handed the paper she had drawn to Sun Hu. Although it was almost certain that they would build an adobe house, she still wanted to ask how much it would cost if the house were built with bricks.

Sun Hu looked at the simple drawing Lin Chuntao had made and was somewhat surprised.

"Madam Lin, your courtyard is quite large, isn't it?"

Lin Chuntao nodded. "This piece of land is less than an acre, but it's close."

When Sun Hu asked about the price last time, he mentioned that it was in the countryside. He thought they were just building two or three rooms for themselves, but he didn't expect them to build such a big yard.

Sun Hu counted the houses along the way and found there were quite a few. If they continued building, it would probably take at least two months to complete.

"Does my wife prefer adobe bricks or solid bricks?"

Lin Chuntao said, "Our plan is to build an adobe house. If we use bricks, how much more money will it cost to build this yard?"

Sun Hu nodded slightly: "It will cost a lot more money. I can calculate it for you."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Chuntao and the others and asked, "Are you going back now? I'll go with you to measure the house to get a more accurate estimate."

Sun Hu said he wanted to go and see for himself, so Lin Chuntao naturally had no objection.

He went back, put on his basket, and carried all the meat, vegetables, bones, and other things he needed for the next day.

"Chunxing, that craftsman needs to go check out the house site. We'll head back first. Come back early when you're done with your work."

"good."

Lin Chunxing responded and continued working.

Sun Hu went to measure the land for building a house, and his wife, Yu, went with him.

It was the first time Lin Chuntao had met her. She had a round face, a very friendly smile, and was very outgoing. She recognized Lin Chuntao as soon as they met and then started talking non-stop.

"Mrs. Lin, your soup noodles are delicious, and your braised eggs are just as good. The kids are always asking to buy them. But we live a bit far from here, and if we go too late, we can't buy them. Are you going to open a branch soon? Open one closer to us. Although this isn't the city center, there are a lot of people living here, and many of them have moved here from other places. It's a densely populated area."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Madam is too kind. It's just a snack to satisfy our cravings."

Yu Meixi quickly waved her hand: "Madam Lin, don't be modest. If you ask me, your noodle soup shop could open three or five locations in our county, and the business would definitely be good."

"Also, there's no need to be so polite. I look a few years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me sister-in-law."

Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "What is your surname, sister-in-law?"

Her surname is Yu, and her given name is Yu Meixi.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "My name is Lin Chuntao, you can just call me Chuntao, sister-in-law."

Yu Meixi smiled and called her Chuntao.

Because Sun Hu and the others went together, they drove their family's donkey cart. Pei Ying and Sun Hu sat in the front, with a basket full of things placed in the middle. Lin Chuntao and Yu Meixi sat in the back, with their backs against the basket.

Before Lin Chuntao could answer, Sun Hu, who was driving the cart in front, said, "Lin's wife, your sister-in-law has a silver tongue! There's a very famous wine shop in our county called Chen's Fine Wine. They've opened shops in many counties. At first, the owner was just carrying the wine around from village to village to sell. We all love to drink, and one time we accidentally bought some. Your sister-in-law took a sip and told everyone that the wine was delicious and that the owner would definitely become the head manager of a winery someday. Sure enough, in less than a year, the owner had saved enough money to open a shop by carrying the wine around. He opened the first wine shop in our county, and business was booming. Later, he opened a second and a third shop and made a fortune!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao laughed. Hearing her laughter, Sun Hu turned around and glanced at her.

He guessed that Lin Chuntao didn't believe him, so he continued, "Mrs. Lin, don't disbelieve me. It's not just this wine shop; there's also a tea shop, which is similar."

Lin Chuntao said, "I believe you. If I really open that many shops in the future, I will invite you to try my new dishes every time!"

Yu Meixi said, "I will definitely go if you invite me."

We talked all the way to the village entrance.

Yu Meixi was very talkative, asking questions like whether the corn husks by the roadside still had tassels, whether the soybeans had already formed pods, which areas had already been harvested, and how the harvest was in which places this year.

She can chat about anything.

Anyone who didn't know them would think they were old acquaintances who had known each other for years.

In fact, this was the first time she had met Yu Meixi.

Once inside the village, Lin Chuntao planned to take them home for some tea and a chat.

But as soon as they entered the village, Sun Hu started asking about the location of the house plot. Since it was close to the village entrance, Lin Chuntao pointed it out, and Yu Meixi said, "Then let's go straight there and take a look first."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Let's go home first, have some tea, and come back to check on things later."

Yu Meixi waved her hand: "No rush for tea, let's go take a look first. Let's get the important business done. Sister-in-law can have tea anytime."

Since that's the case, Lin Chuntao decided to go along with them.

She decided to accompany the two to the site of the house first, and put the basket aside.

Pei Ying felt it wasn't good to leave a basket full of matsutake mushrooms, along with so much meat and vegetables, to dry in the sun, so she said to Lin Chuntao, "I'll carry the basket home first, and you can take Brother Sun and the others to measure it."

“That’s fine, you can carry it back and put it down before coming back,” Lin Chuntao said.

Pei Ying nodded slightly, "Okay, you guys take a look first, I'll take it back and put it away and come back."

The main purpose is to make a rough estimate of the house's size so that we can prepare a budget.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go take a look first."

Yu Meixi smiled upon hearing this, and they immediately got off the donkey cart, unloaded it, and found a cedar tree nearby to tie the donkey to.

With a measuring rope in his hand, Sun Hu found the right location based on the sketch given by Lin Chuntao, then pulled the rope and confirmed the size of the house with Lin Chuntao.

Having a general idea in mind, Sun Hu fell into deep thought. After pondering for a moment, he asked Lin Chuntao, "Madam Lin, how many people are in your family?"

Lin Chuntao: "I have three younger sisters, plus my husband, that makes five people."

Yu Meixi, who was standing next to her, was also slightly taken aback when she heard this. She had also seen the sketch and thought that the house would have at least three rooms, with the whole family living in one place.

Lin Chuntao roughly guessed what they were thinking, and she didn't show any emotion. She just smiled and said, "Our parents are gone, and my three younger sisters are still young. I need to save a room for each of them. When they get older and it's time to get married, I hope to find a few young men to marry into our family."

Hearing her words, Yu Meixi looked at her with intense eyes.

"If Chun Tao has this plan, then that's perfect."

Her sketch planned that even if the family were to split up in the future, each family would still have a place to live.

Lin Chuntao said, "Besides the three areas in the front yard, I haven't decided on the internal layout of the left and right sides yet. I might have to trouble Brother Sun and Sister-in-law to help me think of something. I'm going to use the back yard for work, so it probably won't be a normal living space."

Yu Meixi nodded.

"Whether it's bricks or adobe, whether it's a large quantity or for the exterior walls, we can get a rough estimate. Chun Tao, if you have any other specific requirements, just tell me, I'll write them down and draw up a plan for you when I get back. Then you can take a look and we can discuss the price."

Lin Chuntao said, "No problem, but since you do this so often, you should know at a glance how much it would cost to build a courtyard like this. I'm not exactly flush with cash right now, so I'd appreciate it if you could give me a budget. Otherwise, if you work so hard and I can't afford it, it would be a waste of your time."

Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Sister, your yard is quite big. If you decide to use adobe bricks for the exterior walls, you can get yellow mud, straw, and thatch nearby, which will save you a lot of money. The main expenses are the labor costs, as well as the cost of wood for the floorboards, doors, and windows. The carpenter's wages will also be included in the price. The whole thing will cost no more than fifty guan. Of course, the specifics will depend on your requirements, such as whether the front partition is made of wood or mud bricks, which will definitely make a difference in price."

Fifty strings of cash was within Lin Chuntao's plan, but the quoted price was quite different from the actual amount. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Sister-in-law, fifty is still a bit too much. Is it possible to keep it under forty?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Meixi smiled calmly and asked, "What's the construction schedule? When are you planning to move in, young lady?"

"We'll move in no later than the winter month." Lin Chuntao paused after saying that, then smiled and added, "If possible, October would be even better."

Yu Meixi laughed and said, "If it's October, then it'll be a little over a month of construction time. Girl, it should be around 40, anything less is a bit risky."

Lin Chuntao nodded upon hearing this and asked, "Sister-in-law, what kind of wood do we use to make the doors and windows?"

Yu Meixi: "We have pine, fir, elm, and nanmu. We make relatively few nanmu pieces, but we have finished doors and windows made of pine and fir. You can check out the styles. Don't worry, my doors and windows are of very high quality. Many people come to buy them, but we don't dare to sell them much. We want to save them for people to use when building houses."

Lin Chuntao had met them before, and they were indeed very good. She remembered that Zhang Dayong had said that their family had good skills and that the people were reliable.

Hearing Yu Meixi's words, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go back and discuss the details. I'll trouble you to make a drawing for me, sister-in-law. Once the plan is done, there shouldn't be any problems. Then let's talk about the price, and once it's settled, we'll choose a date to start construction!"

Yu Meixi smiled upon hearing this; Lin Chuntao's words practically meant that they were obligated to come and help build it.

"Okay, I'll write down the girl's requirements."

"Let's go inside and talk," Lin Chuntao said, and they walked together toward her home.

Yu Meixi and her colleagues have been doing this for over ten years. Especially in the countryside, if you ask them to build a house, it's a big deal. It's normal to have many discussions and hesitate for a long time. They won't put pressure on the other party just because they are hesitant or thoughtful, making them feel like they are the only option. These days, it's not easy to save money.

Therefore, there are many who hesitate and think, and very few who are decisive. It seems that this is the first time they have met someone as decisive as Lin Chuntao.

They prefer dealing with straightforward people.

When Pei Ying returned home, the yard was filled with laughter and conversation. Aunt Guizhi and the others were chatting while working, and no one knew what they were talking about, but everyone laughed.

Lin Chunhe brought out the table. Meng Yun had just finished arranging the remaining soybeans and chili peppers and was now counting them, writing on the table.

Lin Chunhe was picking beans with Aunt Guizhi and the others, while Lin Duo'er was fiddling with the potatoes they were going to eat.

Upon seeing Pei Ying enter, everyone snapped out of their daze. Lin Duo'er was surprised, "Brother-in-law, you're back?"

"Um."

Pei Ying was seen carrying a basket on her back and holding another basket in her arms, but Lin Chuntao was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's my sister? Hasn't she come back yet?"

Pei Ying: "They're back. They're at the homestead. The craftsmen came with them to measure the foundation."

Lin Duo'er was still holding the bamboo pole she used to pound potatoes when she heard Pei Ying's words, and her heart had already flown away.

"I want to go take a look."

Pei Ying said, "They should be back by now."

Lin Duo'er stopped in her tracks, chuckled, and ran out of the courtyard. She needed to see if he was really back.

Lin Chunhe got up, took an earthenware pot, scooped out half a pot of water, and put it on the stove to boil.

When Sun and the others heard Pei Ying say that she had come to measure the house site, they thought that Lin Chuntao was really fast.

"Xiao Pei, have you agreed on the price yet?" Madam Sun asked with concern. Pei Ying replied, "Not yet, we have to wait for them to measure before we can discuss it."

Madam Sun nodded and laughed, "I'm getting old and my head is spinning."

Aunt Guizhi laughed upon hearing this, "Auntie, you're still strong and healthy, how can you be old?"

"I've also heard that hiring craftsmen from the county town to build a house requires a general price. I thought that the price was agreed upon before they even looked at the land."

Mrs. Hu, who was standing nearby, also said, "I thought so too."

As they chatted, Pei Ying carried the basket into the house. Lin Chunhe looked at the basket covered with straw and was about to reach out to remove the straw when Pei Ying said softly, "There are termite mushrooms in there."

Lin Chunhe's eyes widened. "So many?"

Pei Ying smiled and nodded, saying to her, "Let's sort out the contents of this basket first. I'll go wash my hands."

"Okay." Lin Chunhe replied, then asked Pei Ying, who was about to leave, "Brother-in-law, have you had breakfast? There's still some steamed bun and pumpkin cakes. Do you want me to heat one up for you?"

Pei Ying said, "We ate when we left this morning."

As she spoke, Pei Ying went to fetch water to wash her hands, and after washing them, she went back to her room to change her clothes.

Lin Chuntao and the others returned quickly. Yu Meixi and Sun Hu followed Lin Chuntao in. Lin Chuntao had said that there were only five people in her family, but as soon as Yu Meixi entered, she saw her grandmother and Aunt Guizhi.

Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Meng Yun saw Lin Chuntao return, smiled, closed her notebook, and stood up.

"Master, you're back."

Lin Chuntao paused for a moment upon hearing this address, then nodded.

Meng Yun packed up the notebook and writing materials and gave them to Lin Chunhe to store.

Sun looked at Yu Meixi and Sun Hu, and said to Lin Chuntao, "Xiao Pei said you went to measure the land for the house, did you finish?"

Lin Chuntao said, "That's about enough, Grandma. We'll discuss the rest later. We'll wait for them to make some blueprints, and then we'll prepare to build it soon."

Sun looked the two of them over. Yu Meixi listened to Lin Chuntao's address and tone of voice and felt that the old man was probably closer to her.

Lin Chuntao noticed Yu Meixi's gaze and smiled, "This is my great-grandmother, and the people next to her are my aunts."

Upon hearing this, Yu Meixi greeted them with a smile, joining Lin Chuntao in calling out to them. She also took the opportunity to introduce herself and Sun Hu, and then mentioned their hometowns.

Once the topic of hometown came up, everyone had something to talk about.

Lin Chuntao brought stools for the two of them, then went inside to get a bamboo tube to pour water, and the people in the yard started chatting.

Upon learning that they also had carpenters who could even make doors, windows, and planks, Sun's eyes revealed a hint of admiration. Yu Meixi had a round face, was slightly plump, and looked very young, probably seven or eight years older than Lin Chuntao. She actually had craftsmen and carpenters working for her.

"Young lady, what kind of wood do you use to make your doors and windows?"

"Grandma, both pine and cedar wood are useful."

As soon as Yu Meixi finished speaking, Madam Sun raised her voice and asked Lin Chuntao, "Chuntao, what kind of wood do you want to use for the doors and windows? If it's cedar, just go to the back mountain to cut some."

Upon hearing the old lady's words, Yu Meixi's eyes brightened slightly, and she asked with a smile, "Grandma, you have cedar trees here too?"

Sun replied, "Yes, our clan has planted a lot of it. Now some of it is so big that we can't even wrap our arms around it. Every family has a share. They cut down trees to use for building houses and other structures."

When Lin Chuntao heard Sun calling her, she hurriedly came out of the house.

She knew there was a large grove of cedar trees on the back hill, but she didn't know if her family owned any of them. When Sun said this, Lin Chuntao suddenly laughed. She looked at Yu Meixi, who was also excited when she heard about the cedar trees that couldn't be hugged with both hands.

He immediately said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister Chuntao, if you have any cedar trees here, you can cut them down for us, and I'll just charge you for your carpentry work."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, that would be even better."

Yu Meixi thought she would go to the forest to take a look, and if possible, she could buy some fir trees from them. It wasn't too far from here to the county town, and the road was relatively flat, so it would be easy to haul them back.

Lin Chuntao brought over a bamboo tube containing tea leaves.

After the water boiled, she quickly rinsed the tea leaves, brewed the tea, and brought it over.

Sun Hu brought a notebook, and Lin Chuntao explained the purpose and requirements of several houses to them, including ventilation and lighting. She also mentioned that the three houses in the front yard should all have attached floors, and the upstairs windows should be simple hinged windows, with a small door for people to enter and exit.

Sun Hu frowned slightly upon hearing this. He said, "Madam Lin, isn't it unsafe to leave the door open? If you open it,..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to bring her a piece of paper. She started doodling and sketching, and she also wanted to leave a corridor in the second-floor courtyard wall.

After looking at it, Sun Hu immediately smiled and said, "That's fine too, but it will take a little more effort."

Lin Chuntao had more requirements for the first few rooms for living, but not so much for the pigsty and storage rooms that followed.

The house in the backyard where they were going to make sauce was also not complicated. According to Lin Chuntao's requirements, it was a long house, without the need to divide it into several rooms, but it had to have doors and windows at the front and back for light and ventilation. There also had to be multiple stoves and chimneys inside. Perhaps the only special requirement was that she wanted the eaves to extend a bit so that things could be quickly brought under the eaves in case of heavy rain.

There's absolutely no problem with that either.

After explaining these details, Lin Chuntao asked, "Sister-in-law, does your family's carpenter make beds and wardrobes?"

Yu Meixi smiled and said, "If you need it, I can do it."

Listening to Yu Meixi's words, Lin Chuntao took a piece of paper and quickly drew a design of a bed and wardrobe, marking the dimensions next to it. The bed, table, and wardrobe were all in one set.

Yu Meixi looked at the dimensions and then laughed. No wonder it had to be custom-made; you couldn't buy a bed this big. She said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, I'll take this paper with me and show it to the master when I get back."

Lin Chuntao nodded.

Finally, Sun Hu suddenly asked, "Madam Lin, what about the courtyard wall? Do you prefer a bamboo fence or an adobe wall?"

"It should be made of adobe bricks, about six feet high. There should be a main gate in the front yard and another one in the back yard, plus two side gates on the left and right."

Having received the message and with nothing else to do, Yu Meixi and Sun Hu left.

As Lin Chuntao emerged from the room, Yu Meixi said, "Chuntao, we'll try our best to get the drawings out for you tomorrow, and then we'll come find you again."

"Okay, I'll probably be in the county town before 7 AM, and then I should be going home."

Yu Meixi responded with a sound of agreement.

Only after watching them walk away did Lin Chuntao return to the courtyard.

Aunt Guizhi and the others listened to Lin Chuntao and the two men talk for a long time. She had a clear idea of ​​how the house should be decorated. She was not even twenty years old, but she did everything in such an organized and orderly manner, which was quite admirable.

After seeing Yu Meixi and the others off, Lin Chuntao prepared to steam the beans and make a sauce after soaking them last night.

Meng Yun had already recorded how many beans and chili peppers Lin Jiahui had bought over the past few days. She gave the notebook to Lin Chuntao and asked Lin Chuntao for a new notebook to record the money spent.

Lin Chuntao took a look. Meng Yun's handwriting was very beautiful, slender but neat, and looked delicate and refreshing.

Lin Chuntao nodded, handed her a new notebook, and then said, "If you have something to do at home after you're done, you can go back and take care of it first. Wait for Jia Hui to come back later, and then you can come back. He might come back once at noon recently, then go out again in the afternoon and come back in the evening."

Meng Yun was somewhat surprised. How could she leave so soon on her first day of work?