Lin understood, and gestured with her hand on the paper, "Qing'er, do you mean this place is all houses?"
"Yes, that's right, they're all houses."
"My goodness, this house is huge."
"Yes, Qing girl, how much money did it cost to build such a big house?" Chen Zhanshan had never seen such a big house in his life, and he was almost speechless with astonishment.
Chen Qingqing shook her head and smiled, "Dad, you don't need to worry about the money. I want to ask you if there are any skilled craftsmen in our town. I want to make a call in advance so they can come and build a house for our family."
Chen Zhanshan frowned and thought for a while, “There are quite a few bricklayers in our Qingshui Town, but they can only build ordinary mud houses.”
If we're talking about skilled craftsmen, there are only the Lu brothers in the town. The eldest is Lu Neng, and the second is Lu Fang. They are craftsmen who specialize in building brick and tile houses. I heard that they used to go to the capital to build mansions for high-ranking officials and nobles.
However, these two brothers have many skilled craftsmen under their command. They always take on large projects and never accept small jobs. If you try to hire just these two brothers, you probably won't be able to.
Hearing this, Chen Qingqing was overjoyed. She had thought that building a house required her to do everything herself, but she hadn't expected that there would be such a professional house builder in the town. Since it was so convenient, why should she bother to work hard and worry?
“Dad, I want to meet the Lu brothers. If the price is right, we can entrust the entire house construction to them, so that we can save ourselves the trouble.”
"It seems that this is the only way. After all, apart from the Lu brothers, there are no other good craftsmen in our Qingshui Town. You should go and ask them first."
"Okay, I'll go in a bit."
Qingshui Town.
The Lu brothers were very famous, and after making a few inquiries, Chen Qingqing found out where they lived.
Before long, they arrived at the Lu brothers' house. Chen Qingqing jumped out of the car, went straight to the door, and knocked.
The door slowly opened, and a young man walked out, looking Chen Qingqing up and down. "Miss, who are you looking for?"
"Hello, sir. I'm looking for Luneng. I have something to discuss with Master Lu and Master Fang."
"My master is very busy. What do you need to tell me?" The man frowned. He thought Chen Qingqing was just a woman and probably didn't have anything important to say.
Chen Qingqing smiled nonchalantly and stated her purpose directly, "I want to build a house and would like to discuss the construction details with the two craftsmen."
"Okay, miss, please wait a moment." Seeing that a customer had arrived, the man dared not delay any longer and turned to run back.
Before long, a man with a dark complexion hurriedly came out. "Master, this is the girl. She said she wants to discuss building a house with you."
Chen Qingqing quickly introduced herself and explained her purpose, "Hello Master Lu, my name is Chen Qingqing. I've come to ask you for help in building a house."
The man greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Miss Chen, I'm from Luneng. Building a house is no problem, please come in."
Upon entering the hall and taking their seats, tea was served.
When Lu Fang heard that guests had arrived, he also hurried out to greet them warmly.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Neng smiled and asked, "Miss Chen, what kind of house would you like to build?"
Instead of answering directly, Chen Qingqing casually asked, "Master Lu, how much silver would it cost to build a two-courtyard house?"
Luneng paused for a moment, then said, “It can’t be generalized. It depends on how big the land you have to build your house on. For a normal two-courtyard house built on a one-acre plot, the cost would be around 180 taels of silver.”
Chen Qingqing was quite surprised to hear this. She had thought that the Lu brothers were famous and would ask for high prices, but she didn't expect them to be so approachable. Based on this, the two brothers should be trustworthy.
Seeing that she remained silent for a while, Lu Neng assumed she thought the price was too high, so he smiled and explained, "Miss Chen, don't worry, this is a real price, I didn't overcharge you."
“Master Lu, you misunderstand. I think the price is acceptable.” Chen Qingqing said, taking out a completed drawing from her pocket and handing it to Lu Neng. “I’ve drawn a simple plan. Please take a look. This is a little over four acres of land. I plan to build a three-courtyard house on the left, a workshop on the right, and warehouses on the east, west, and north sides. This row of houses will be divided into ten rooms, each with a large pot, and the entire area will be surrounded by walls…”
Luneng nodded repeatedly, "Miss Chen, this is equivalent to building two houses, and the price is not a small amount."
"Approximately how much silver will be needed?"
"Miss Chen, please wait a moment, let me calculate." Lu Neng took out paper and pen, and started clicking away on the abacus. After a while, he finally spoke.
“Miss Chen, according to your design, the three-courtyard house will cost 260 taels of silver. The workshop on the right is not as complicated, it only involves building a few rows of houses, so the price is relatively cheaper, but it will still cost 120 taels of silver in total. That makes a total of 380 taels of silver. If you think that’s acceptable, we can sign the building documents.”
Chen Qingqing didn't hesitate, "Okay, let's sign it then!"
Upon hearing this, the Lu brothers were both stunned. They found it hard to believe. In the past, those who came to them to build houses either complained about the price and haggled over it, or went back to think it over carefully. They had never encountered someone as straightforward as Chen Qingqing, which made them look at her in a completely different light.
Luneng handed the prepared documents to Chen Qingqing, saying, "There's an unwritten rule in our industry: once the documents are signed, you must pay a 30% deposit in advance."
"No problem, it's all the proper thing to do." To ensure everything went smoothly, Chen Qingqing confirmed again, "You are in charge of all matters related to the construction of the house. I am only responsible for supervision. No extra fees are allowed to be charged during the process."
"Don't worry, Miss Chen. My brothers and I would never do anything so dishonest or unethical. Besides, it's clearly stated in the document that if any part is not built to our satisfaction, we will definitely redo it."
"Good, that's good." Chen Qingqing carefully reviewed all the clauses in the document, and finding it satisfactory, she picked up her pen and signed her name. Then she took out one hundred and fifty taels of silver and placed it on the table.
"This is the advance payment."
Luneng was taken aback by Chen Qingqing's forthrightness and quickly asked, "Miss Chen is truly generous. But we don't know when you plan to let us start construction. With a definite time, we can prepare bricks, tiles, stones, and other materials in advance."
"Now you can prepare the materials in advance, and you can start construction as soon as the crops in the fields are harvested."
"Okay, the autumn harvest is estimated to be in about half a month. We can take advantage of this time to prepare materials." Luneng nodded in agreement.
After discussing some more details with them, Chen Qingqing got up to say goodbye and leave.
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