Chen Xingling asked jokingly: "It's better than the lime factory you mentioned before, right? Did I introduce it correctly?"
"No." Ma Dali replied with a smile, "It couldn't be better! I've been to the lime factory and worked there for only a few days. The salary was quite high, but my hands and feet were cracked at the end of the day and I could hardly walk due to the pain. My whole face was white, my whole body was white, and even my eyelashes were covered with white ash. I was determined to work there for a month, but who knew there would be a better place like yours. If I had known, I would have recommended myself. I wouldn't need your introduction!"
Chen Xingling frowned when he heard this, secretly feeling sorry for his hard work and helplessness.
"In the future, don't go to places like that. If your health is at the cost of doing this, you can do it for a short period of time, but you can't do it for a long time."
Ma Dali disagreed. After all, when one is starving to death, health is no longer a consideration.
"To be honest, I feel a little embarrassed to receive two wages from you in one day."
Chen Xingling smiled and explained: "I hire others as well as you. You treat my house as your own and are so dedicated and responsible. I can't express how happy I am. Besides, you were not idle at all when you were on guard at night. You were doing two jobs at once, and I got a great deal!"
Ma Dali smiled gratefully: "I don't need to thank you for your kindness, so I won't say much."
He tightened the bottle of medicinal wine and seemed to remember something.
"By the way, Lingling, there's something I almost forgot to tell you."
Chen Xingling moved his ankle and found that it was not as swollen and painful as before.
"What's up?"
Ma Dali explained: "I was sweeping the floor at the door early one morning, and a gray-haired old man was looking in from outside. He said that the house was very beautiful and asked if he could come in to see it. I invited him in and explained that it was designed by you and Master Mo to imitate the structure of Suzhou classical gardens, with some modern and practical designs. The old man praised it and said that he wanted to come in to see it more when it is completed next week."
"Okay." Chen Xingling was very generous and said straightforwardly: "If he likes to watch it, let him watch it. If it has a good reputation, it may even have an advertising effect."
Ma Dali wiped the glass bottle and asked suspiciously: "Advertisement? Advertisement of what?"
Chen Xingling thought about it and told him the idea that had been brewing in his mind recently.
"There are still quite a lot of people building houses in suburban areas. You can see people building houses almost every day. I have asked around, and most of them hire some craftsmen or carpenters to help, along with their own family members or relatives and friends. Most of them don't have any designs, just build one floor after another, and make sure the house is spacious and bright. Sometimes some technical work cannot be done, and construction has to be stopped for a month or two to wait for the craftsmen or carpenters."
Ma Dali nodded: "Architectural technology has a long history, and the craftsmen have passed it down from generation to generation, and it is not all in vain. If everyone can do it, how will the craftsmen make a living, right?"
"Of course." Chen Xingling rolled his eyes and asked with a smile, "If we set up a construction team, we could have our own construction team from the foundation to the completion, including firewood, sandstone, and cleaning - I wonder if there will be any business?"
Ma Dali was stunned for a second, then his eyes lit up.
"Well, of course there is! There are a lot of people building houses, so it's impossible for them to do everything by themselves. They must hire professional craftsmen!"
Chen Xingling lowered his voice, "My brother and his friends have a tractor and go into the mountains from time to time. They are familiar with the villagers in the mountains and can buy very cheap firewood at a favorable price. We will also charge the same price as they sell on the market. Sand, gravel and cement can also be cheaper if we buy more. After adding the cost to the labor wages, there should still be a profit."
"Of course there is." Ma Dali said familiarly, "For example, for your small garden, if you only buy firewood and sand and gravel yourself, you can save a lot of money."
"It's worth considering." Chen Xingling raised his eyebrows and asked with a grin, "How about it? Are you interested in starting a business together?"
Forehead?
Ma Dali became stiff and smiled awkwardly.
"Well... I don't have much capital on hand. I might even have trouble paying for my living expenses."
Chen Xingling took the initiative to say: "If you don't have money for living expenses, then you should think of ways to make money. It's not easy to lead a construction team, and I certainly can't do it alone. You are different. You can do carpentry work, and you can also lay walls and bricks. You are half a master. If you are interested, I will pay and you will do the work, and we will share the money."
Ma Dali was indeed very interested. He hesitated, "I used to sell things at the docks and was arrested several times. In fact, I really like doing business. I can earn more than working, but I just haven't had the opportunity. I asked around and found that the tuition for the teacher training program at Chongqing University is only 20 yuan a year, not more than 1,000 yuan as everyone initially guessed."
"Really?!" Chen Xingling asked in surprise, "So little?"
Ma Dali nodded and answered: "The government pays for most of the expenses. We only need to pay dormitory management fees and some tuition fees. Food expenses and meal tickets are also subsidized every month, so I don't have to worry too much about living expenses in the future. But I can't just take care of myself, I have two younger sisters at home to support."
Chen Xingling immediately understood the implication of his words.
"Okay, let's discuss this after I finish this."
Ma Dali agreed immediately.
After a while, Ma Dali took Chen Xingling back to the first floor of Linjiang on his bicycle and carried her upstairs.
It was already past eight o'clock in the evening. Ying and Gu Miao were waiting at the door, eating melon seeds.
"What's going on?! Hu Zi's mom, where on earth have you been? Aqi has been out looking for you several times! He hasn't even had dinner yet! Little Hu Zi was yelling that he wanted to look for you, so A Xuan had to take him out to help look for you! What's wrong with you?"
Chen Xingling was too lazy to explain too much to her and replied, "I sprained my foot while working. This is my classmate Ma Dali. He is helping in the garden and also helping to keep watch over there."
Ma Dali didn't even bother to wipe the sweat off his face. He just smiled innocently and greeted them warmly.
Ying said "oh" twice and invited him perfunctorily: "Come in and have some water."
“No.” Ma Dali declined: “I still need to keep watch over the garden, I can’t leave for too long. Auntie, sister, you help Lingling in. I’ll leave first, bye!”
After saying this, he hurried downstairs. He seemed to remember something and turned around to remind her, "Lingling, you can only soak your sprained area in hot water. Don't use cold water."
"Hey!" Chen Xingling thanked him: "Goodbye, see you tomorrow."
Then she limped into the house.
Xiaoying followed him into the house and shouted, "Ah Miao! Ah Miao! Don't stand outside, go find your big brother and Xiao Huzi and bring them back! It's already late at night!"
Gu Miao leaned lazily against the door railing and continued to crack melon seeds.
"Isn't that necessary? If they can't find anyone, they will naturally come back. I told them a long time ago, where can such a big person be left? Yucheng is her old nest!"
Ying exclaimed, "Ah!" and teased, "Aren't you afraid that she will be abducted?"
Chen Xingling rolled his eyes secretly and limped back to his room.
After a while, she took a change of clothes and went to take a shower.
As soon as I finished washing and opened the door, I saw my son waiting at the door with red eyes.
"Mom!" Little Tiger pouted and asked aggrievedly, "Why...why don't you go home? Dad and I are very worried about you."
Chen Xingling rubbed his hair with concern and explained, "Mom sprained her ankle and couldn't come back. In the end, it was Uncle Ma who brought Mom back."
Xiao Huzi immediately became anxious and hurriedly held her hand.
"Mom, I'll help you! I'll help you!"
Chen Xingling looked at his chubby little hands and couldn't help but smile.
At this time, Gu Xuan came over with an expressionless face.
"Sister-in-law, are you okay?"
Chen Xingling was a little surprised and replied, "It's okay. Sorry to bother you."
Gu Xuan shook his head coldly and went back to his room.
Then, Chen Xingling used his son's chubby shoulders to move back to the room step by step.
"Yinmo, where's your father? Hasn't he come back yet?"
Little Tiger shook his head: "Dad couldn't find Mom and was scared. He came back twice and found that Mom hadn't come back yet, so he went out to look for her again."
After hearing this, Chen Xingling felt both moved and guilty.
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