If you were to ask who has the best information in this area, it would undoubtedly be Uncle San.

You don't need to carry too much stuff. On the way home, you can stop at the supply and marketing cooperative, buy a handful of melon seeds, and leisurely stroll back to your yard.

As soon as the third uncle saw Wang Shouren and what he was holding, the topic of conversation started.

"Hey, Shouren, you seem to be in a good mood lately. I heard you're doing well at the factory," the third uncle said with a smile. Then, looking around, he whispered, "I heard you're getting married soon."

"Hey, Uncle San, your information network is quite impressive." Wang Shouren didn't stand on ceremony. He found a place to sit down next to Uncle San and handed him a handful of melon seeds.

"Hey, that's generous of you!" The third uncle didn't stand on ceremony and immediately accepted it.

If you were to ask who the most generous person in this courtyard is, then Uncle San would be the one with the most authority to say.

Xu Damao is one, and Wang Shouren is another.

When Xu Damao goes to the countryside, he brings back some local specialties and gives some to Uncle San.

This would shut up Uncle San, and besides, he usually came back from the countryside quite late. It was only right that we trouble him.

Wang Shouren simply enjoyed amusing himself with his third uncle.

The third uncle was happy to chat with Wang Shouren, so the two had a pretty good relationship.

According to the Third Uncle, their relationship can be considered a gentleman's friendship.

According to Wang Shouren, he and his third uncle were just drinking buddies.

"I have something to ask you."

"You tell me, there's no one around here I don't know," the old man patted his chest confidently.

To be honest, it's quite amusing that the old man did this.

"Here's the thing, I'm planning on doing *that*, so I want to tidy up the house properly. Do you know anyone around here who would be a good match?"

"Do you want minor surgery or major surgery?" the third uncle asked.

"How to do major surgery, and how to do minor surgery."

"For minor repairs, you know the general idea of ​​what to do, like repainting a wall. There are many craftsmen in this alley who can do that. For major repairs, you know the general idea, but you need to find a craftsman to do the specifics. There's only one left around here, and I heard he's a descendant of the Lei family of architectural styles. But that's very expensive."

Wang Shouren pondered for a moment and said, "It should be a major overhaul."

“That’s true. A person only gets married once in their life, so it should be done properly. I’ll give you an address. When you go, remember to say that I introduced you.” The third uncle didn’t dawdle and wrote down an address for Wang Shouren, leaving Wang Shouren stunned.

The old man chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe, it's just a side job, a side job, don't tell anyone."

Hey, this little old man.

The driver's surname was Sun, and he was in his fifties. The location was hard to find, a bit out of the way, and I had to ask for directions several times before I finally found it.

The house was quite large, filled with many things, but there were only two people inside: a father and son.

After Wang Shouren explained his purpose, while Master Sun was still considering, his son stepped forward and assured him, "Comrade Wang, don't worry, this is a family tradition. I promise you on behalf of my father, I guarantee I'll make it look beautiful."

Turning to his father, he advised, "Dad, please stop being so picky. You haven't taken any jobs in a long time. If this continues, we'll soon be starving."

Master Sun really wanted to slap this good-for-nothing.

Yes, he hasn't taken on any jobs for a long time. Is that his problem?

In this economic downturn, construction workers tend to cut corners if they can, and if all else fails, they'll hire some skilled craftsmen to do a quick job and call it a day. Those who come to them aren't small-time clients. This requires careful consideration.

She sighed inwardly, thinking that her son was still too young.

He felt somewhat helpless and heartbroken, but having business did give him a bit of a boost.

After packing his things, he went home with Wang Shouren.

He wandered around the room with his tools, occasionally taking out his notebook to jot down Wang Shouren's thoughts.

After a while, he rummaged in his pocket, seemingly a little annoyed.

Wang Shouren immediately took out a Daqianmen cigarette and handed it over.

Master Sun glanced at Wang Shouren, took the torch, lit it, and took a deep drag: "I basically understand your idea. Now, let's discuss how to do it and to what extent you want to achieve it."

"Please speak, Master."

"Let's talk about materials first. Can you get cement and bricks? Do you have the necessary receipts?"

"No." Wang Shouren shook his head. If he wanted to go to Director Li about this, there would probably be no problem, but it wasn't necessary for such a thing. Besides, going directly to his door to ask wouldn't fit his current persona.

"That's troublesome." Master Sun took a deep drag of his cigarette. Just two puffs and half of a Daqianmen cigarette was gone. In this era, masters smoked dry tobacco. This kind of tobacco was only strong enough to be passed through the lungs in an epic way. "I can get the materials, but the price will be very high, even more than double."

Wang Shouren had anticipated this, after all, cement was not something that ordinary people could obtain these days.

"Have you thought this through? With a ticket, a brick is two cents a piece. Without a ticket, it'll probably be seven or eight cents."

"Just tell me, how much would you like to pay?"

"One large and one small room, plus a bathroom. The plumbing needs to be modified. It'll probably take at least ten days to two weeks. That's the price." Master Sun gestured.

Wang Shouren was a little confused: "Master Sun, I'm not in your line of work, you can just tell me directly."

"200 yuan." At the end, Master Sun added, "Don't think it's expensive. The cost of the materials accounts for three-quarters of the price. I still have to visit quite a few places before I can even start working on the site."

“150,” Wang Shouren said without changing his expression.

“No.” A look of surprise flashed across Master Sun’s face: “The cost of materials accounts for three-quarters of my expenses.”

“Yes, you need to make a profit from materials too, there’s always some markup involved. I just graduated, so please let me save some money.” Seeing that the man had finished his cigarette, Wang Shouren offered him another one.

Master Sun hesitated for a moment, sighed, and took it: "170, how much will it cost so I can make a profit?"

160.

"Fine! I'll do it for the sake of this pack of cigarettes!"

"Can this be resolved before the end of the year?"

"Okay, but you should get these things sorted out as soon as possible, I still need to find the materials."

"Okay, I'll give you half as a deposit, and after you've done half the work, I'll give you half of that. Finally, if there are no problems during the final inspection, I'll give you the rest."

"Okay, it's settled then." Master Sun didn't say anything more, but before leaving, he asked one last question: "What about the furniture? Are you planning to replace it with some better furniture?"

Wang Shouren: ...

Good heavens! You've been waiting for me here.