When Chen Feng came out, he found that the kitchen was in an even worse state, with water covering the entire floor.
Chen Feng's house was built a long time ago, and the floor inside is still rammed earth without tiles, so it's all muddy now.
Chen Feng even wondered if weeds would grow inside the house in a couple of days.
"Yesterday's storm was so strong that I haven't been able to find any leaks in some places, and parts of our roof were blown off."
"Let's ask Dazhuang to help us out then, but I don't know how much it will cost."
Liu Ping shook her head, feeling a little distressed about the money. "How could such a perfectly good house leak like this? We've only lived here for less than twenty-five years!"
Chen Feng sat on a stool in the kitchen, lit a cigarette, and pondered.
This house was built when my mother got married. Back then, everyone built thatched houses, and only a few particularly wealthy families would build brick houses.
As time went by, fewer and fewer thatched houses remained in the village, and most of them were now brick houses. Some, like the village chief, even built a two-story house.
Now, of the several hundred households in the village, less than ten thatched houses remain, and half of them are no longer inhabited.
Is there any need to repair this house?
Since we'll have to build one sooner or later anyway, we might as well take this opportunity to build one.
When Li Dazhuang arrives, we'll discuss it with him.
After the two had breakfast, Chen Feng called Li Dazhuang.
Li Dazhuang started as a bricklayer, and gradually worked his way up with some fellow workers, eventually taking on smaller jobs.
In the end, he became so experienced that he was able to build an entire house; he built houses for more than a dozen families in the village.
Other jobs that weren't contracted out by him would also involve hiring him to do bricklaying.
Overall, Li Dazhuang is a good person, and his prices are relatively fair, so he is well-regarded in the village.
Li Dazhuang quickly waded across the water.
"Brother Li, come in and have a seat," Chen Feng said, gesturing for him.
"The rain was so heavy last night, the whole village is covered in mud now," Li Dazhuang said, sitting down beside him.
"Brother Li, my house is leaking. Look at the water on the ground and on my kang (heated brick bed). Can you fix it?" Chen Feng said, offering a cigarette.
Li Dazhuang stood up upon hearing the words, took a drag of his cigarette, paced back and forth in the room, occasionally pressing the walls and looking up at the ceiling.
After a long pause, Li Dazhuang spoke up: "To be honest, it can be made up for, but I personally don't think it's necessary."
"What do you mean?" Liu Ping couldn't help but ask upon hearing this.
"From what I've observed so far, if you want to repair this house, it will cost at least three thousand yuan, and it will be very difficult to repair because there are too many leaks. I've seen quite a few right now."
"Moreover, I suspect that there are not only these on the surface, but also sand holes inside the wall that cannot be repaired."
"Even if we patch it up, it'll only be a makeshift place, and it might leak again someday."
Li Dazhuang explained everything in detail.
"What should we do then? How long will it last if we repair it?" Liu Ping frowned when she heard Li Dazhuang say that.
"I can't guarantee it. I can only say I'll try my best to do it right for you. But you know, sometimes what looks like a leak in the wall might actually be seeping in from another wall."
“If you don’t address the root cause, simply blocking the wall might not work in the blocked area, but other areas might start leaking.”
Li Dazhuang sighed. He had encountered this situation far too many times in all his years of work, and it was also the kind of job he disliked the most because of the sheer amount of trouble.
"What can we do? We can't just stand by and watch it leak. This house is like a waterfall. If it rains, we can bring a bottle of shower gel and take a shower right here." Liu Ping was a bit of a headache.
If this house can last for another two years or so, Chen Feng will be getting married soon, and then we'll build a new one.
"How much would it cost to build one?" Chen Feng asked Li Dazhuang, offering him a cigarette.
"It depends on how big you want to build," Li Dazhuang replied, holding the lighter Chen Feng offered him and lighting a cigarette.
"It doesn't need to be too big, how about a normal size?" Liu Ping asked from the side.
"The cheapest option is around 70,000 to 80,000 yuan, which is about the size of your house now. The materials don't need to be particularly good, and the interior decoration is simple. The packaging materials are all the cheapest."
“A slightly better one might cost over 100,000 yuan, and it would be much bigger than yours, with nicer renovations. You forgot who that is? The one I built, it cost 140,000 yuan in total,” Li Dazhuang said, pointing in a direction.
"Over ten thousand yuan," Liu Ping said hesitantly.
"If it's like the one at the village chief's house, how much would it cost?" Chen Feng asked curiously.
"Oh my, that's quite a lot. His two-story house, including construction and decoration, cost a total of 450,000. Don't tell anyone, he told me not to reveal it."
"But to be honest, the money was well spent. That little building is really impressive. I'm envious. I've built houses for so many years, but I've never lived in such a luxurious place." Li Dazhuang said with some envy.
“Four hundred and fifty thousand…” Chen Feng narrowed his eyes.
If he's going to build something, he should build the best. Don't even mention the village chief's house; what kind of place is that?
I have to build a house that's bigger and more impressive than the village chief's, otherwise it would be a waste of time to build one.
"How long did it take to build the village chief's house?" Chen Feng asked.
"Six months. Back then, we didn't have much experience, and we weren't fully staffed."
“If you were here now, I could expedite the process and get the village chief’s house in four months,” Li Dazhuang said confidently.
"Hey, Brother Li, I want to build a house that's bigger than the village chief's house, about a third bigger, and it also needs to have a warehouse, pigsty, a place for chickens, ducks, geese and dogs, and a garage."
"I want the renovations done to the highest standards. You can research it for me and tell me how much it will cost."
As soon as Chen Feng finished speaking, Li Dazhuang's eyes widened like a bull's. If Chen Feng hadn't looked so serious, he would have thought Chen Feng was joking.
No, Chen Feng was just joking!
It's even more impressive and bigger than the village chief's house. Li Dazhuang couldn't even imagine how much money it must cost.
And it also needs to have pigsties and dog kennels, and a garage. Even the village chief's house doesn't require a garage. This is too extravagant.
"Dude, are you serious?" Li Dazhuang scratched his head, his eyes filled with surprise.
"I'm not joking, Brother Li, go back and do some research, then give me a price quote." Chen Feng threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out with his foot.
Actually, he didn't need to extinguish the cigarette at all; the ground was full of leaking rainwater, and the cigarette butt was extinguished as soon as he threw it away.
"Why do you need such a big one? That would cost at least 500,000 yuan. You can build a bigger one after you get married. Just build a small one to live in for now," Liu Ping quickly said to Chen Feng, nudging him.
What Liu Ping really wanted to say was, "500,000 yuan? What are you going to use to pawn it?"
Even if you sold me, I wouldn't be worth 500,000!
She was too embarrassed to say it because Li Dazhuang was there.
Chen Feng didn't turn around when he heard this. He gestured to his mother to be quiet and continued to look at Li Dazhuang.
Li Dazhuang hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Chen Feng was not joking, he slowly nodded and stood up.
"Okay, I'll go home and look into the quote. I'll get back to you by tonight at the latest."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com