When Tao Ren and others heard what Su Li said, their hearts instantly rose. This was competition!
Although they are skilled bricklayers, if the boss finds someone cheaper, they will have to lower their price.
But the brothers who came out with him knew that this was a big order, and they had already negotiated the price, hoping to make some money. Moreover, the price they negotiated was also a fair price. After all, at that time there were very few bricklayers in Jingdian who knew how to build brick houses, so most of them were adobe houses!
Tao Ren thought about it and said firmly: "If we want to build mud houses and thatched houses, we have to build them ourselves. They are all off-the-shelf materials, so the price is cheaper. We can get one dollar a day, including food. We work overtime, but..." Tao Ren was also nervous when he talked about the price. After all, he and his brothers could make a lot of money by building these two houses, but now the family said they wanted to hire other people. In this case, Tao Ren was worried that he and his brothers would be replaced.
Su Li and Xie Zhenghe looked at Tao Ren's hesitant expression, suspecting that he would be expensive. They both looked at him seriously.
"But building a brick and tile house is a huge undertaking. It takes several days just to lay the foundation. It is really a delicate job, so the wages are about eight taels a day. Of course, we don't have to provide meals. We brothers can take care of it ourselves."
Tao Ren felt a little nervous when he said this price. There are very few people who build brick and tile houses in the countryside, and most of them work in the city. However, city people look down on people from the countryside and will bargain again and again.
Sometimes they are in a hurry to make money but too lazy to do anything, so they usually compromise. After working hard for a month or two, they will be cursed by those people when they get their wages.
Therefore, they are now feeling uneasy in their hearts. They are all men, and they are afraid of being forced to lower the price when facing Su Li, a woman. However, they also have some hope in their hearts. The bowl of ginger tea in the morning always makes them feel that this woman is easy to talk to, and she should not curse before starting work.
The people behind Tao Ren looked at Su Li and Xie Zhenghe without saying a word, and their breathing became much lighter. They were defeated in this one move. If this job could be completed before the winter, every family could have a warm and happy New Year, buy some cloth and make two cotton-padded clothes, and the children could buy some candies to sweeten their mouths, and even buy more meat and eat bigger chunks.
If not.
No...then we can only lower the price.
Su Li and Xie Zhenghe looked at each other, and Xie Zhenghe nodded slightly.
"Eight taels of silver, no food included..." Su Li muttered slowly.
Tao Ren and the others' hearts were lifted as they listened to Su Li's voice, their palms sweating with nervousness.
Su Li looked at the men in front of her, smiled and said gently: "Shi, let's take this price."
Seeing everyone's happy faces, he continued, "As for the construction period, I won't rush. I will focus on building my eldest brother's house first, but I will guarantee the quality. If the quality is not up to standard, I will deduct the wages."
Tao Ren quickly said, "Don't worry about this. The quality will definitely be well controlled, and we brothers will not delay the construction period. You can ask someone to look after it."
Tao Ren spoke frankly, and his brothers nodded in agreement. It would take at least a month to complete the two houses, so they could take home 140 yuan in the winter. What a wonderful year they had!
I'll go home tonight and tell my wife and kids about this good news. They'll be happy for days. Hehe...
Su Li looked at everyone and smiled, "The residential land over there is about 10 mu, and each is 4.8 mu. You can work without worry. The people in our village and my brother from my mother's side will not interfere with you. They will all listen to you. We will also provide a meal at noon, and you can eat together. You are away from home working for our family, so we have to let you have a hot meal, right? As for how good the food is, I can't guarantee it, but we will definitely make sure everyone is full!"
Tao Ren and the others were stunned: "How can this be possible? We brothers can just make our own food. You don't have to arrange meals for us."
"Don't worry, we will pay you as usual. We won't deduct food expenses or default on our debts. Our two production teams don't want to be separated, and you were introduced by our village chief. It's reasonable that we should provide you with a meal. Besides, how can you have the energy to work if you don't have enough food? Let's not argue about this. Come with my eldest brother to look at the homestead!"
"Why!"
Xie Zhenghe had no objection to Su Li's decision, but he was thinking silently that his third wife had not yet asked for the money for the red bricks for building his house, so he would have to pay for the worker's meal.
Tao Ren and others thanked Su Li profusely. Who wouldn't like such a family? They don't bargain for wages, don't rush the construction period, and even provide meals for the workers.
For such a good family, they will try their best to control the quality and make sure the house is built beautifully so that the owner cannot find any faults.
The group happily followed Xie Zhenghe away.
Su Li didn't think that she was looking for trouble by taking care of one more meal. If they ate by themselves, they would mostly bring some baked pancakes from home and have it as lunch with some hot water during the lunch break.
But these are two houses, a huge project. If people eat this much for a long time, their stomachs will be damaged, and the houses may not be built very well.
Besides, with my brother around, I definitely have to cook. Instead of that, it would be better for everyone to eat together, with a big pot of food and steamed buns, all hot and tasty. Isn't that just right?
A man who takes favors from others will be lenient; a man who eats from others will be grateful.
This requires you to work very hard.
In the evening, Su Li discussed with Xie Zhenghe again. The workers recruited in the village and laborers like her brother from her mother's side could be paid a few dollars a day. They would help with the work and be provided with a meal. Xia Xiuzhi's younger brother Xia Zhi could also come over. They were all family members, and there was no reason not to let her family members make money.
Then there was the issue of cooking. Su Li was too busy, Xia Xiuzhi had to take care of Xiao An and a few pigs, and Xie Li had to go to work at the brown sugar factory. There was no one to cook at home, so Xie Zhenghe suggested that Pan Yumei help with lunch.
Su Li nodded after thinking about it, and then continued, "There are also two girls from my eldest brother's family, Su Lan and Su Fang, who can come to help. It just so happens that last time mother said that she wanted to match Xia Zhi and Su Lan together. Then they can work together and get to know each other in plenty of time."
Xia Xiuzhi was very happy to hear Su Li say this. This allowed her brother to make money and find a wife at the same time. If he liked her, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
"Okay! I don't care whether the boy gets paid or not, just give him food."
"That's not right. Not to mention Xia Zhi, even Sister Yumei and Su Lan and Su Fang need to be paid a few dollars a day." Su Li said.
When Xie Zhenghe heard that Pan Yumei had to be paid, he said hurriedly, "How can that be? Yumei doesn't want to be paid."
Su Li covered her mouth and smiled, "Brother, what are you talking about? Sister Yumei and I haven't got married yet. How can we not give her money when she earns it herself? It takes a long time to prepare a meal for so many people. Give her money. You must give her money. Brother, before you start working, take Sister Yumei to visit the county town. I have been talking about it for so many days, but I haven't seen you take action."
"Yes, bring Lai Fu, Xiang Zhi and Xiang Lan with you when the time comes, and spend more time with Sister Yu Mei. This way they will have a good relationship and live happily in the future."
Xie Qi was sewing shoe soles with a basket in her hands. She watched her two daughters-in-law making fun of her eldest son, and she laughed along with them.
Xie Zhenghe felt uncomfortable: "Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow."
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