Such construction teams typically handle both labor and materials, and require a project budget before construction begins.

Dong Qing took out a set of villa construction sketches from his bag and said, "Take a look at the figures. This project is not confused with the main project. I'll settle the account with you immediately after the construction is completed."

The manager nodded after listening, took the drawings, and had the technicians calculate them.

Not long after, the manager returned to his office and said, "The construction period is three months, including the later plumbing and electrical work and the interior decoration, totaling 120,000 RMB?"

The price wasn't particularly high, so Dong Qing readily agreed, signed the construction contract, and prepaid 50,000 yuan for the project.

Such a small project is nothing to a large construction company; they can build a villa on the side.

This small project was not confused with the main project. The finance department received the advance payment for the project and issued Dong Qing a receipt for 50,000 yuan.

The storefront in front of Li Yuzhu's villa no longer needs to be built separately; it will be built together with other storefronts in the future.

As they walked out of the construction site, Li Yuzhu said, "Dongqing, thank you for doing so much for my family."

Dongqing said, "Actually, I'm also trying to help myself. I hope your mother will agree to our remarriage soon."

Li Yuzhu said, "I hope so."

The two of them walked out of the construction site and headed towards Su Wei's house.

They arrived at Su Wei's house. The gate was wide open. They went inside; the yard was empty except for a few chickens running around. The door to the house was ajar. Dong Qing asked, "Is anyone home?"

Dong Qing asked three times before a response finally came from inside the house: "Who is it?"

They could easily recognize Su Wei's voice; it sounded like she hadn't woken up yet, suggesting she was sleeping in her room.

Li Yuzhu said, "It's me. You wouldn't be sleeping in the house during the day, would you?"

Su Wei quickly came out of the room, her long hair slightly disheveled. There was a pillow mark on one side of her pretty face, and her hair seemed to be bumping around like a little bird just waking up. She had just been woken up from her deep sleep. Her current state was like a fleeting glimpse of a girl who had been awakened, like a sleeping little bear that had been kicked into the human world.

Her beautiful, sleepy eyes shone with a dazed light as she smiled and said, "My younger siblings have gone to school, my parents are working in the fields, and I'm home alone, so I often doze off. What brings you all here?"

Dongqing said, "I promised you this spring that I would give you an advance on your salary to build a house, but I've been so busy lately that I forgot. Has your second uncle allocated the land for your house yet?"

Su Wei's family's land parcel had been allocated long ago, and since Dong Qing and Li Yuzhu had divorced, Dong Qing was too embarrassed to ask her for money unless she brought it up, so it had been left unresolved. She said, "My family's land parcel was allocated a long time ago; it's located at the east end of our village."

Dong Qing took out 20,000 yuan from his bag and handed it to Su Wei, saying, "Your second uncle has helped me a lot. This money doesn't count as your salary; consider it a gift from Yu Zhu and me. That tractor has been parked at the machinery factory. We'll need it to haul materials for building the house. Go and drive the tractor back to haul bricks for half a day, and tomorrow drive the tractor to the brick factory to haul materials for me for a day."

Su Wei felt more gratified than satisfied after hearing this; she wasn't that greedy.

He didn't ask Dongqing what the materials were for tomorrow; he just told her to do whatever the boss said. She said, "I can't accept that. Please pay me my wages. It's not my style to get something for nothing."

Li Yuzhu said, "How can you think like that? Your family has a hard life. Think about what you'll spend your salary on in a year. Besides, you're the only one earning money in the family. How will you cover the family's living expenses in a year? Listen to me, it's settled then."

Su Wei felt very complicated after hearing this. This complicated feeling stemmed from her simplicity and pride. She couldn't refuse the cash of 20,000 yuan, feeling guilty about accepting it. However, her pride made her hesitate for a long time.

Li Yuzhu was right. 20,000 yuan was equivalent to a year's salary for her family. How would they survive for a year? Finally, she said, "Thank you, I'll accept it. When will we set off to deliver the goods?"

Dongqing said, "The company is now running smoothly in all aspects, and many things are handled by the company departments. I'm not too busy these days, so you don't need to go on the next trip. Your sister and I will go. You can rest at home for a few days, bring back the building materials, and find a construction team to build the house."

With tears in her eyes, Su Wei said, "I won't say much more about my gratitude. I will remember your kindness forever."

Li Yuzhu reached out and wiped away Su Wei's tears, saying, "Don't be like this. Dongqing and I have always treated you like a younger sister. Don't sleep, it's still early. Go to the machinery factory, get the tractor, and call a few people to go to the brick factory to haul bricks."

Su Wei nodded after hearing this and said, "I'll go to the fields right now and tell my parents to go to the brick factory to get bricks."

“That tractor's sidecar won't be needed anymore. The sidecar is removable; you can have Chen Hong help you dismantle it to haul materials. It'll be easier.” Dong Qing paused for a moment and said, “Don't forget, tomorrow after breakfast, drive to the brick factory and haul materials for me for a day.”

Su Wei said, "I won't forget it. I'll drive there tomorrow."

The tractor's trailer with its high sideboard was really in the way when carrying materials. Su Wei said okay and saw the two of them out of the house.

After Dong Qing and the other person left, Su Wei went back into the house, picked up a comb to tidy her hair, changed into some work clothes, washed her face in the yard, and then walked out of the house toward the fields.

Su Wei went to the field. Her parents were working there. She told them to go directly to the brick factory to wait for the bricks to be loaded, while she would go to the machinery factory in the city to drive a tractor.

Dong Qing and Li Yuzhu walked back to the city. He said, "Let's go to the company first, then go back to the machinery factory and ask Sister Donghui if she's called back."

Li Yuzhu nodded after listening and walked towards Yusheng Company with her ex-husband.

Su Wei walked to the machinery factory, went to the workshop, found Chen Hong, and told him why she had come.

Chen Hong called two people to the backyard, and in no time they removed all the railings, restoring the trailer to its original state.

Chen Hong instructed two people to temporarily store the dismantled car railings in the warehouse.

Chen Hong said, "You go first, I'll come over after get off work to help you unload the truck, and we'll make another trip tonight."

"No need. Building a house doesn't require many bricks. It's enough for the three of us—my parents, myself, and them—to fill the truck."

After Su Wei finished speaking, she got into the car, started the engine, said goodbye to Chen Hong outside the car, and drove out of the machinery factory.

Su Wei drove to the brick factory, where her parents had already arrived. She parked the car in front of the bricks and turned off the engine.

Su Wei had hauled bricks here many times. Dong Qing needed a particularly large quantity of bricks, so she got a brick for 50 cents cheaper than others. The factory manager said, "You've come to haul bricks many times, so even if you're using them yourself, the price won't change. I'll still give you a discount of four yuan per brick."

Su Wei said thank you, and then she and her parents loaded bricks onto the truck.

It was too much work to load the bricks this way, so Su Wei went into the factory manager's office and asked him for three brick clips. Each brick clip could hold five bricks at a time, making it much easier to load the bricks.