"Nice to meet you, young lady. I heard from Lifu that you're building a new house. Could you take me to see the land first?"
Mr. Huang was in a hurry and took out paper and pen to register.
"Okay, let's go see the land first and then we can talk in detail."
Wei Yuyan nodded, got up, and led Master Huang outside to check out the location.
"Not bad, not bad. This place is just some weeds, so building a house here won't be difficult."
Master Huang looked at the geology and nodded, worried that if he encountered hard soil or lots of rocks, it wouldn't be suitable for building a house.
There were no problems, and everyone returned to Sister Xiuhua's house, where she made tea for everyone.
"Master Huang, take a look at this drawing. I drew it myself, but I don't really know much about these things."
I want to entrust everything to you and see how much it would cost to build this house.”
Wei Yuyan took out the blueprints and showed them to Master Huang.
"Well, I need some time to calculate this. Do you want to know today, or tomorrow?"
Master Huang looked at the blueprints. This required calculating the materials and labor costs, which would take some time.
"Give me a rough estimate today. If I think it's close to the price I'm looking for, then you can calculate it in detail when you get home."
Wei Yuyan wanted to sign a contract with the other party if the price was right.
"Okay, wait a moment."
Master Huang picked up a stick and started drawing on the ground. Wei Yuyan wasn't in a hurry and went to pick vegetables behind Sister Xiuhua's house.
About half an hour later, Master Huang said he had finished the calculation.
"Girl, I've roughly calculated that it would cost thirteen taels of silver to complete, including labor and materials, but that doesn't include my commission."
The kickback is that after the house is built, you have to give me a red envelope with a minimum of three hundred coins.
Master Huang calculated everything very carefully.
Wei Yuyan looked at Brother Lifu. She didn't understand this matter and didn't know whether it was expensive or cheap.
"If you ask me, your labor costs are too high."
Zhang Lifu shook his head after seeing his quote, saying that the labor cost was a bit too high.
"Oh dear, my sister is in a hurry to finish this house. It needs to be done before the New Year. I definitely need to choose someone with good skills and who can do it quickly."
Besides, meals aren't provided. I need to arrange for someone to cook, otherwise how will the workers get food?
Master Huang explained that if you're not in a hurry, or if it includes meals, the price can be lower.
"If you ask me, with the New Year approaching, everyone is scrambling to make money to celebrate, even if it's just twelve taels."
Zhang Lifu immediately deposited one tael of silver and looked at Master Huang.
"Oh dear, you've shortchanged me by one tael of silver! This is putting me in a difficult position."
Master Huang frowned.
"Sister-in-law, actually my younger brother from my family also works in this industry, and he suddenly knows someone who sells bricks. Would you like to consider it?"
Before Sister-in-law Xiuhua could finish speaking, Master Huang interrupted her.
"Alright, alright, I won't make any money off you this time. For Li Fu's sake, twelve taels is the lowest price."
Master Huang knew that if he didn't do it, there were plenty of others who would. Li Fu was right; the New Year was just around the corner, and everyone was eager to make money for the holiday.
"Okay, when you get back, arrange for someone to come and press down the ground. Then we'll sign the contract and get the deposit on that day."
Wei Yuyan thought she would have to study the contract carefully when she got back.
"No problem, but where do I find you? Where do you live?"
Master Huang thought he couldn't keep coming to Zhang Lifu's house.
"Just ask me for her, and I'll call her over for you. She's staying temporarily right now, so it's not convenient for you to go to her place."
Zhang Lifu quickly replied, "It's inconvenient for Master Huang to go over since my sister-in-law lives alone at home."
If the villagers saw us, they would gossip, so it's better to meet at home.
"Okay, I understand. I'll try my best and should be here the day after tomorrow."
Master Huang nodded, indicating that he would go back and inform the staff, and work could begin the day after tomorrow.
"Is a deposit of two taels acceptable?"
After Master Huang left, Wei Yuyan asked Zhang Lifu if the deposit should not be too large.
“Sure, pay two taels first, and when he orders the materials, pay another six or seven taels. The rest can be paid after the work is completed.”
Zhang Lifu confessed.
"Okay, Brother Lifu, I'll need you to give me your opinion on this house construction."
After Wei Yuyan finished speaking, she stood up and prepared to go home.
"Don't worry, Master Huang is very capable. He'll definitely build it beautifully for you. Of course, I'll also help you check it out."
Zhang Lifu still had great faith in Master Huang's abilities.
Back home, Wei Yuyan began writing the contract; to be precise, Xiao Lei was writing it.
Wei Yuyan recognizes traditional Chinese characters, but her calligraphy is not good. Xiao Lei's handwriting, while not beautiful, is still quite neat.
The contract roughly stated that all matters related to building the house were entrusted to Huang Longyan, and that Master Huang must complete the work with high quality and quantity, otherwise his commission would be deducted.
The amount of money was clearly written down, just in case there were any disputes later.
"Okay, not bad. Add one more witness, make three copies. Xiao Lei, thank you for your hard work. Your sister-in-law is going to cook."
The witnesses were about to have Li Fu sign the document, but Wei Yuyan handed the task over to Xiao Lei.
A day later, Sister-in-law Xiuhua came to call Wei Yuyan, saying that Master Huang had brought people to press the ground.
Wei Yuyan took two taels of silver with her and went with Sister Xiuhua to the location of her new plot of land.
Besides himself, Master Huang had brought nine other laborers who were already clearing weeds from the ground with hoes and other tools.
"Here you are, girl. We're starting work today. I'll record each day's work in my notebook."
You can also check at any time to see if there are any errors or misreported numbers.
Master Huang opened his booklet for Wei Yuyan to see. Wei Yuyan glanced at it and was surprised to find that Master Huang's handwriting was actually quite good.
"Master Huang, Brother Lifu, this is the contract I had someone write yesterday. Please take a look and see if there are any problems."
Wei Yuyan took out three contracts and showed them to the two of them.
"Hmm, not bad, that works."
Master Huang glanced at the contract, nodded, and immediately signed and sealed it.
"Master Huang, this is a deposit of two taels of silver."
She handed the money bag to Master Huang, who opened it, looked at it, and then put it away. He even wrote a receipt for Wei Yuyan.
Wei Yuyan couldn't help but sigh, Master Huang really is very organized in doing things.
"Then it's up to you."
Seeing that everything was alright, Wei Yuyan prepared to go back.
"Oh dear, sister, Lifu, there's another problem. The workers don't have easy access to water, so they might have to come to your house to get water from you."
Master Huang suddenly remembered this matter and wondered where the young lady lived.
It's best to get water from Lifu's house; it's close by and convenient.
“Sure, you can get water from my house. I’m home most of the time, and if I’m not, my sister-in-law will bring you water.”
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