Chapter 174: Reclamation
Pan Youmin hadn't heard anyone calling his name for a long time.
Ever since he was dismissed from office and exiled for advising Emperor Kang, everyone called him Old Pan.
If his wife and daughter-in-law's family had not given them some money, their family would definitely not have had an easy time here.
Later, by chance, he met Chen Dabai. Seeing that he had a talent for being a craftsman, he became interested in materials and would tell him some craftsman knowledge whenever he had time.
Chen Dabai also respected Pan Youmin as his master.
"Girl, do you know me?"
Xia Xinger smiled and said, "Mr. Pan, I don't know you, but I've heard of your name!"
Pan Youmin looked at Xia Xing'er and her brother, and an idea came to his mind.
I think those who have heard of his name should be people from the capital. Looking at their clothes and demeanor, they must be people who were exiled here like them.
"Girl, you are also from the capital!"
Pan Youmin didn't mention exile because he was afraid that Xia Xing'er would feel uncomfortable hearing it.
Xia Xing'er also understood what Mr. Pan meant and smiled indifferently.
"Old Pan, we were indeed exiled from the capital. My father is Xia Chengsheng, the former Marquis of Changxin!"
Pan Youmin was shocked when he heard that the father of these two people was Xia Chengsheng.
Looking at their appearance again, they are somewhat similar to Xia Chengsheng.
I don’t know why Xia Chengsheng was exiled here?
"I see. Girl, I'll take over the house-building project for Chen Dabai."
He pondered for a moment and continued, "If we build it exactly according to your drawings, we'll have to use good materials. Otherwise, there's a risk of landslides if we're not careful. That's definitely going to cost a lot."
Pan Youmin knew very well the character of Emperor Shunkang. Anyone who was exiled would have his property confiscated. Even if it was given as a gift by relatives, he felt that it was not enough to build a house like this!
Like their family, they live a better life than ordinary people. The house they live in is built with a mixture of adobe and blue bricks, but the roof is still covered with tiles.
He felt that Xia Xing'er and the others were in a similar situation as them, and even if they were better, it probably wouldn't be much better.
When Xia Xing'er heard that he was worried about this, she couldn't help but smile.
Xia Xing'er would never lack money for anything, after all, the entire national treasury was in her space.
"Don't worry about the cost, Mr. Pan. As long as we can build the house as shown in the blueprint, that's all that matters."
Pan Youmin felt relieved when he heard Xia Xing'er say this, and he began to look at the drawing attentively again.
"Well, you pay a deposit of two thousand taels of silver first, and let Dabai prepare the materials."
Xia Xing'er didn't know the price of the materials, so she followed Pan Youmin's instructions and took out a silver note worth two thousand taels from her pocket and handed it to Chen Dabai.
Chen Dabai looked at the stack of silver bills, all with a face value of one hundred taels. It was the first time he had seen so many silver bills in decades.
This is two thousand taels. When they were building a house, the most silver note they saw was only one or two hundred taels at most.
He was suddenly asked to take so many banknotes, and he was afraid to accept them. If he accidentally lost them, he wouldn't be able to afford the compensation even if he sold his whole family!
Pan Youmin rolled his eyes at his useless appearance, reached out to take the banknote from Xia Xing'er's hand, and stuffed it directly into Chen Dabai's arms.
"This is the cost of buying materials for building the house. It's not for you. You look so ignorant!"
Chen Dabai held the twenty hundred-liang silver notes and grinned foolishly.
Aunt Chen looked at her husband's silly look and poked him with her elbow.
Chen Dabai quickly put the banknote into his pocket and said seriously, "I understand, Mr. Pan. Don't worry, I will definitely buy the best materials."
Pan Youmin looked at his silly expression and continued, "To build a house like this, you don't have enough people under your command. How are you going to get the manpower?"
When Chen Dabai heard Pan Youmin's words, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.
He only has twenty people under him, which is enough for building an ordinary house, but not enough for this big project.
He looked at Xia Xing'er and asked, "Miss Xia, what are your ideas? Can we use someone from our village?"
He knew that life was not easy for the people in his village, so if there was a way to make money, he would definitely put the villagers first.
Xia Xing'er didn't know the situation in Shitou Village, and she didn't have any requirements for hiring people. She just wanted the house to be built for her.
"Uncle Chen, you can use the villagers as manpower. I only have one request, and that is that the quality of this house must be guaranteed. I can't hire people who try to take advantage of the situation. After all, I have to pay them, right?"
“And how is the labor salary calculated?”
"When we go to work in town, the wages for skilled workers are 30 cents a day, and for unskilled workers, 20 cents a day, with lunch included! If lunch isn't provided, skilled workers get 35 cents a day, and unskilled workers get 25 cents a day!"
Xia Xing'er and Xia Qingyu looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes: I don't know, I don't understand!
Pan Youmin looked at the exchange of words between the brother and sister and instantly understood that these two people had no idea about the market!
"Girl, this price is very fair. Dabai is an honest man and he didn't lie to you!"
Xia Xing'er knew Pan Youmin had misunderstood, so she smiled and said, "Mr. Pan, Uncle Chen, you've misunderstood. We're a new family here, and we're not familiar with the wages here. I trust Uncle Chen's people. A skilled worker is paid 36 wen a day, and a laborer is paid 26 wen a day. Since we're in this situation, we can't cook, so we won't provide meals! As for how many people to hire, it's up to you, Uncle Chen. We'll pay the wages every ten days. What do you think?"
Chen Dabai was very happy when he heard that Xia Xing'er had increased everyone's wages by one penny.
Don’t underestimate this small penny, one penny can buy two big meat buns!
"Sure, sure. Tell those guys about the wages and they'll definitely be happy!"
Xia Xing'er thought of the weeds on the ground around her and asked Aunt Chen again.
"Aunt Chen, I want to find some people to reclaim the wasteland. You are familiar with the people in this village. Can you help me find some people? I will pay them 20 cents per person per day, is that okay?"
When Aunt Chen heard that the daily income for clearing the wasteland was still only 20 cents per person, she was surprised and happy.
The villagers usually have nothing to do except tinkering with their own land. Now that there is such a good thing, they will definitely rush to do it.
"Okay, twenty cents is a lot!"
The farmhands working on the landlords' estates in town only earned twenty cents a day.
Xia Xing'er emphasized again: "Aunt Chen, you are the first person I have met since coming to this village, and we get along really well. So I will leave the task of finding someone to you. But as I said before, I don't want anyone who cheats and cheats to get a salary, and who also doesn't provide food!"
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