Chapter 90 Chapter 90-Two-in-one contract craftsmen prepare to build a house...
Sun Hu is at home today. They have just finished building a house and are preparing to rest for a few days.
He was a little surprised when he saw Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying come in. After he asked last time, the two of them hadn't come back to see the house they were building, so he thought they wouldn't come. Now that he saw them, he greeted them with a smile: "Mrs. Lin! Brother Pei, come in and have a seat."
Lin Chuntao was also a little surprised. She remembered them after just one meeting. She smiled and said, "Brother Sun, we came to see you for a quote."
Thinking of their last conversation, Sun Hu smiled and said, "Please sit inside. We also made one after my wife mentioned it last time, but it's not too detailed."
"That's fine, let's talk about it."
After sitting down, Lin Chuntao handed the paper she had drawn to Sun Hu. Although it was almost certain that the house would be built with adobe bricks, she still wanted to ask how much it would cost to build it with bricks.
Sun Hu looked at the simple picture drawn by Lin Chuntao and looked at them in surprise.
"Madam Lin, your yard is quite big, right?"
Lin Chuntao nodded. "This piece of land is less than an acre, but close."
The last time they came, they asked for the price and said it was in the countryside. Sun Hu thought they were just going to build two or three houses for themselves, but he didn't expect them to build such a big yard.
Sun Hu counted the houses along the way and found that there were many of them. If he continued to build them, he estimated that it would take at least two months.
"Madam, do you want to use adobe or bricks?"
Lin Chuntao said, "We plan to build it with adobe. If we use bricks, it will cost a lot more money to build this yard, right?"
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 and measure the house to see exactly how big it is so we can make a more accurate estimate."
Sun Hu said he wanted to go and see it in person, so Lin Chuntao naturally had no objection.
He went back and carried the backpack, and also carried all the meat, vegetables, bones, etc. that he would use tomorrow.
"Chun Xing, the craftsman wants to check out the homestead. Let's go back first. You can come back soon after you finish your work."
"good."
Lin Chunxing responded and continued to work.
Sun Hu went to measure the homestead, and his wife Yu went with him.
It was the first time she met Lin Chuntao. She had a round face, and her smile was extremely friendly, and she spoke very familiarly. She recognized Lin Chuntao as soon as they met, and then started talking nonstop.
"Mrs. Lin, your noodle soup is delicious, and so are your braised eggs. The kids keep asking for them, but we live a little far away, and if we go too late, we won't be able to 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 in from other places, so the population is dense."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Madam, you are too kind. It's just a snack to satisfy our cravings."
Yu Meixi waved her hand hurriedly: "Mrs. Lin, don't be so modest. If I were to tell you, if your noodle soup shop were to become a shop in the future, you could open three or five locations in our county, and the business would definitely be very good."
"Also, don't be so polite. I look a few years older than you. Madam Lin, if you don't mind, just call me sister-in-law."
Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "What's your surname, sister-in-law?"
"My last name is Yu Meixi."
Lin Chuntao also smiled: "My name is Lin Chuntao, sister-in-law, just call me Chuntao."
Yu Meixi smiled and called her Sister Chuntao.
Because Sun Hu and his friends went together, they drove their family's donkey cart. Pei Ying and Sun Hu sat in the front, with a backpack full of things in the middle. Lin Chuntao and Yu Meixi sat in the back, with their backs leaning against the backpack.
Before Lin Chuntao could answer, Sun Hu, who was sitting in front driving the cart, said, "Madam Lin, your sister-in-law is very clever. There is a very famous wine shop in our county called Chen's Craft Beer. They have opened shops in many county towns. At first, the shopkeeper carried the wine from village to village. We all love to drink. Once, your sister-in-law accidentally bought some wine. After taking a sip, she told people that the wine was delicious and that the shopkeeper would definitely become the owner of a winery in the future. In less than a year, the shopkeeper saved enough money to open a shop by selling wine on a basket. She opened the first wine shop in our county, and the business was very good. Later, she opened a second and third shop and made a lot of money!"
Hearing this, Lin Chuntao laughed. Hearing her laughter, Sun Hu looked back.
Perhaps thinking Lin Chuntao didn't believe him, he continued, "Mrs. Lin, don't disbelieve me. There's not only this wine shop, there's also a tea shop that's similar."
Lin Chuntao said, "I believe it. If I really open so many shops in the future, I will invite my sister-in-law to taste every new dish I make!"
Yu Meixi said, "As long as you invite me, I will definitely go."
We kept chatting all the way to the entrance of the village.
Yu Meixi is very talkative, even asking questions like whether the corn husks on the roadside have silk, whether the soybeans have sprouted, which areas have been harvested, and how the harvests are going in different areas this year.
She can talk about anything.
If you don’t know them, you might think they are old acquaintances who have known each other for several years.
In fact, this was the first time she and Yu Meixi met.
After entering the village, Lin Chuntao planned to take them home to have some tea and chat while drinking water.
But as soon as they entered the village, Sun Hu started asking about the location of the homestead. Since it was close to the village entrance, Lin Chuntao pointed it out. Yu Meixi then said, "Then let's go straight over and take a look first."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Let's go home first, have some tea and come back later."
Yu Meixi waved her hand: "There's no rush to drink tea, let's go and see first, let's get the business done, sister-in-law can drink tea anytime."
Since that was the case, Lin Chuntao just let them do as they pleased.
She thought about accompanying the two of them to the homestead first and put the backpack aside.
Pei Ying felt it would be bad to leave the basket of chicken mushrooms, along with so much meat and vegetables, drying in the sun, so he said to Lin Chuntao, "I'll carry the basket back home first. You 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, "Well, you guys take a look first, I'll take it back and put it away and come back."
The main thing is to estimate the size of the house so that you can make a budget.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go and see it first."
Yu Meixi smiled when she heard that, and they immediately got off the donkey cart, unloaded the cart, and found a fir tree nearby to tie the donkey to.
Sun Hu held a measuring rope in his hand. According to the sketch given by Lin Chuntao, he found the correct direction, then pulled the rope and determined the size of the house with Lin Chuntao.
After coming to an idea, Sun Hu fell into deep thought. After thinking for a moment, he asked Lin Chuntao, "Mrs. Lin, how many people are there in your family?"
Lin Chuntao: "I have three younger sisters, plus my husband, so there are five of us."
Yu Meixi, who was standing next to him, was slightly startled when she heard this. She had also looked at the sketch and the layout of the house. She thought there were at least three rooms and the whole family lived in one.
Lin Chuntao probably guessed what they were thinking, but she showed no emotion. She just smiled and said, "Our parents are gone, and my three sisters are not very old. I have to leave them a room each. When they are older and ready to get married, I hope to find a few boys to marry into my family."
Hearing her words, Yu Meixi looked at her warmly.
"If Sister Chuntao has this plan, that's perfect."
What she planned in her sketch was that even if the family split up in the future, each family would have a place to live.
Lin Chuntao said, "Apart from the three areas in the front yard, I haven't decided on the internal layout of the left and right. I might need to ask Brother Sun and Sister-in-law to help me think about it. I want to use the backyard for work, so it probably doesn't need a normal living space like this."
Yu Meixi nodded.
"Whether it's bricks or adobe, and the bulk will be on the exterior walls, we can roughly estimate it. Sister Chuntao, if you have any detailed requirements, please let me know. I'll take note and draw a blueprint for you when I get back. You can take a look at it then, and we can discuss the price."
Lin Chuntao said, "No problem, but you sisters-in-law do this often, so you should know at a glance how much it costs to build a yard like this. I'm not very well off right now, so I'd like to trouble you to give me an upper limit. Otherwise, you'll be busy for a long time, but I can't afford the money, which will waste your time."
Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Sister, your yard is quite large. If you decide to use adobe for the exterior walls, you can get mud, straw, and thatch nearby. This will save you a lot of money. The main expenses will be on the labor costs, as well as the cost of wood for the floor, doors, and windows. If it's done well, the carpenter's wages will also be included. The whole thing shouldn't cost more than fifty strings of cash. Of course, the specific requirements will depend on your requirements. For example, whether the front compartment is made of wood or mud bricks will definitely affect the price."
Lin Chuntao's plan was to pay no more than fifty guan, but the price was quite different from the actual price. After pondering for a moment, she asked, "Sister-in-law, fifty is still a bit too much. Is it possible to pay within forty?"
Yu Meixi smiled as usual upon hearing this and asked, "What about the construction period? When are you planning to move in?"
"We'll move in in winter at the latest." Lin Chuntao paused and said with a smile, "If possible, October would be even better."
Yu Meixi smiled and said, "If it's October, then it will take more than a month. Girl, a little over 40 should be enough, but it's a bit uncertain if it's below 40."
Lin Chuntao nodded and asked, "Sister-in-law, what kind of wood are we using to make the doors and windows?"
Yu Meixi: "We have pine, fir, elm, and nanmu. Nanmu is less common, but we have doors and windows made of pine and fir. You can choose the styles. Don't worry, the quality of our doors and windows is guaranteed. Many people come to buy them on weekdays, but we dare not sell them much. We want to save them for people to use when they build houses."
Lin Chuntao had seen it last time and it was indeed very good. She remembered that Zhang Dayong seemed to have said that their craftsmanship was good and they were reliable people.
Hearing Yu Meixi's words, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Then let's go back and discuss the details. I'll ask my sister-in-law to draw me a plan later. There's no problem with the plan. Then we can talk about the price, and then we can choose a date to start construction!"
Yu Meixi laughed when she heard that. Lin Chuntao's words almost meant that they had to come and help build it.
"Okay, then I'll remember the girl's request."
"Then let's go home and sit down and talk." Lin Chuntao called them and walked towards home together.
Yu Meixi and her colleagues have been doing this for more than ten years. Especially in the countryside, if you ask them to build a house, it is a big deal. It takes many talks and it is normal to hesitate for a long time. They will not put psychological pressure on people just because of the other party's hesitation and consideration, and force them to choose them. It is not easy to save money these days.
Therefore, there are many people who hesitate and think, but very few who are decisive. It seems that this is the first time they have met someone as decisive as Lin Chuntao.
They like dealing with straightforward people the most.
When Pei Ying returned home, there were sounds of conversation and laughter in the yard. Aunt Guizhi and the others were chatting while working. No one knew what they were talking about, but everyone was laughing.
Lin Chunhe moved the table out. Meng Yun had just arranged the remaining soybeans and peppers and was now counting and writing on the table.
Lin Chunhe was still picking beans with Aunt Guizhi and the others, while Lin Duoer was fiddling with the potatoes for their meal.
Seeing Pei Ying come in, everyone came back to their senses at the same time. Lin Duoer was very surprised, "Brother-in-law, you are back?"
"Um."
Pei Ying was seen carrying a backpack and holding another backpack, but Lin Chuntao was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's my sister? Hasn't she come back yet?"
Pei Ying: "I'm back. I'm at the homestead. The craftsmen are here to measure the foundation."
Lin Duo'er was still holding a bamboo pole in her hand, stirring potatoes, but when she heard Pei Ying's words, her heart had already flown away.
"I'm going to take a look."
Pei Ying said, "They should have returned."
Lin Duoer stopped, smiled and ran out of the yard. She had to see if he was really back.
Lin Chunhe stood up, took a clay pot, scooped half a pot of water and put it on the stove to burn.
When Sun and the others heard Pei Ying say that he was here to measure the homestead, they thought that Lin Chuntao was really fast.
"Xiao Pei, have you negotiated the price?" Sun asked with concern. Pei Ying replied, "Not yet. We have to wait for them to measure it before we can discuss it."
Sun nodded and said with a smile, "I'm old and confused."
Aunt Guizhi smiled when she heard this, "Aunt, you are still strong and healthy, how can you be old?"
"I also heard that hiring craftsmen from the county town to build a house requires a general price. I thought they would only look at the homestead after the price was set."
Mrs. Hu next to her also said, "I thought so too."
As they chatted, Pei Ying carried the backpack into the house. Lin Chunhe looked at the straw covering it and was about to reach out to remove it when Pei Ying whispered, "There are chicken mushrooms in there."
Lin Chunhe's eyes widened. "So many?"
Pei Ying smiled and nodded, then said to her, "Let's sort out the things in this backpack first. I'm going to go wash my hands first."
"Hey." Lin Chunhe agreed, and then asked Pei Ying who was about to go out: "Brother-in-law, have you had breakfast? There are also pumpkin cakes in the steamer. Do you want me to heat some up for you?"
Pei Ying said, "We ate this morning when we left."
As he spoke, Pei Ying went to scoop some water to wash his hands. After washing his hands, he went back to the house to change his clothes.
Lin Chuntao and the others came back very quickly. Yu Meixi and Sun Hu followed Lin Chuntao in. Lin Chuntao had said before that there were only five people in her family, but as soon as Yu Meixi entered the door, she saw Grandma and Aunt Guizhi and the others.
Before Lin Chuntao could say anything, Meng Yun saw Lin Chuntao coming back, smiled, closed the notebook and stood up.
"Boss, you're back."
Lin Chuntao was stunned for a moment when she heard the name, then nodded.
Meng Yun packed up the notebook and writing brush and gave them to Lin Chunhe.
Mrs. Sun looked at Yu Meixi and Sun Hu, and said to Lin Chuntao, "Xiao Pei said you went to measure the land at the homestead. Have you finished?"
Lin Chuntao said, "It's almost done, Grandma. We'll discuss the rest later. We'll just wait for them to make a blueprint and start building it soon."
Sun looked at the two of them. Yu Meixi listened to Lin Chuntao's address and tone of voice and felt that this old woman should be relatively close to her.
Lin Chuntao saw Yu Meixi's look and smiled, "This is my great-grandmother, and the ones next to her are my cousins."
Upon hearing this, Yu Meixi greeted them with a smile, and followed Lin Chuntao to call them. She also introduced herself and Sun Hu, and then where their hometown was.
When talking about hometowns, everyone had something to talk about.
Lin Chuntao brought stools for the two of them. She went into the house to get a bamboo tube to pour water, and the people in the yard started chatting.
When Sun learned that they had carpenters who could even make doors, windows and boards, a hint of admiration appeared in her eyes. Yu Meixi had a round face and was slightly fat. She looked very young, probably seven or eight years older than Lin Chuntao, and yet she had craftsmen and carpenters on her staff.
"Girl, what kind of wood do you use for your doors and windows?"
"Grandma, we have both pine and fir wood."
After Yu Meixi finished speaking, Sun raised her voice and asked Lin Chuntao, "Chuntao, what kind of wood will you use for the doors and windows? If it's fir, we can just go to the back mountain and chop it."
Yu Meixi's eyes lit up when she heard the old lady's words, and she asked with a smile, "Grandma, do you have fir trees here too?"
Sun replied, "Yes, our clan has grown a lot. Now there are so many that we can't even hold them with our arms. Every family has a share. We cut them down to use when building houses or making board buildings."
When Lin Chuntao heard Sun calling her, she hurried out of the house.
She knew that there was a large grove of fir trees on the back mountain, but she didn't know whether her family's family had any of them. When Sun said this, Lin Chuntao suddenly laughed. She looked at Yu Meixi, and Yu Meixi was also a little excited when she heard about the fir trees that could not be hugged with both hands.
He immediately said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister Chuntao, if you have any fir trees here, please cut them down for us and I will just pay you for your carpentry work."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, that would be even better if that's the case."
Yu Meixi thought about going to the forest to take a look. If possible, she could also buy some fir trees from them. It was not far from here to the county town, and the road was flat, so it would be easy to pull them back.
Lin Chuntao brought over a bamboo tube and put tea leaves in it.
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 told them the purpose and requirements of several houses, including ventilation and lighting. The three houses in the front yard all had floors, and the windows upstairs could be simple detachable windows, but a small door should also be left for people to go in and out.
Sun Hu frowned slightly when he heard this. He said, "Madam Lin, it's not safe to leave the door open. Once you open it..."
He was halfway through his words when Lin Chuntao asked Pei Ying to bring her a piece of paper so that she could scribble on it. She also wanted to leave a corridor on the second-floor wall.
Sun Hu looked at it and smiled, "That's fine, but it will take a little more effort."
There are many requirements for living in the first few rooms, but Lin Chuntao doesn’t have too many requirements for the subsequent pig pens and warehouses.
The house in the backyard for making sauce is not complicated. According to Lin Chuntao's requirements, it is a long house that does not need to be divided into several rooms, but it must have doors and windows in the front and back for ventilation, and there must be multiple stoves and chimneys inside. Perhaps the only special requirement is that she wants the eaves to be longer so that things can be quickly stored under the eaves in case of heavy rain.
There is absolutely no problem with this.
After discussing these details, Lin Chuntao asked, "Sister-in-law, does your 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 pattern of a bed and wardrobe, marking the dimensions on the side. A bed, a table, a wardrobe, five sets together.
Yu Meixi looked at the size and 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 and show it to the master when I get back."
Lin Chuntao nodded.
Finally, Sun Hu suddenly asked, "Mrs. Lin, what about the courtyard wall? Do you prefer a bamboo fence or adobe?"
"It's made of adobe, about six feet high. There should be a big gate in the front and one in the back, and two corner gates on the left and right."
After getting the message and having nothing else to do, Yu Meixi and Sun Hu left.
When Lin Chuntao left the house, Yu Meixi said, "Sister Chuntao, we'll try to get the map ready for you tomorrow. We'll come find you then."
"Okay, I might be in the county town before noon, and then I should go home."
Yu Meixi responded.
Only after watching them walk away did Lin Chuntao return to the yard.
Aunt Guizhi and the others listened to Lin Chuntao talking to the two people for a long time. She had a clear idea of what the house should look like. She was not even twenty years old, but she was so organized in everything she did, which made people admire her.
After seeing off Yu Meixi and the others, Lin Chuntao soaked the beans last night and prepared to steam the beans to make the sauce.
Meng Yun had already recorded how much beans and peppers Lin Jiahui had bought these days. She gave the notebook to Lin Chuntao and asked Lin Chuntao for a new notebook to record the money spent.
Lin Chuntao took it and took a look. Meng Yun's handwriting was very beautiful, a little slender, but very neat, and looked very elegant and refreshing.
Lin Chuntao nodded, handed her a new notebook, and then said, "After you're done, if you have anything to do at home, you can go back and deal with it first. Wait for Jiahui to come back later, and then come back. He may come back at noon recently, go out in the afternoon, and come back in the evening."
Meng Yun was a little surprised. How could he just leave like that on his first day of work?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com