Chapter 80: House Expenses

Chapter 80: House Expenses

He looked at the small yard in front of him with doubt: "Little Song's wife, do you have such a large piece of land?"

"Yes! How about this! Uncle, let's take the blueprint over and talk while we look at it." Shen Xia suggested.

"Okay." Uncle nodded.

Third Uncle narrowed his eyes and looked at the drawing carefully, feeling amazed.

He wondered how much money the Song family had made to build such a magnificent courtyard! It was like a paradise on earth!

He had lived for so many years and had seen countless courtyard buildings, but he had never seen such an exquisite design.

I'm afraid I'll never expect to live in a yard like this in my lifetime.

Of course, although my uncle lived for decades, he only wandered around this county town and at most went to the provincial capital.

The most luxurious courtyard I have ever seen is the landlord’s house.

In fact, Shen Xia didn’t know what they were thinking, otherwise she would have said that painting is painting and reality is reality.

To grow the plants like the one in the picture, it will take several years.

The five of them reached the wasteland next door in minutes.

My uncle was surprised: "This piece of land?"

"Yes, my uncle is what you think." Shen Xia nodded.

"That's enough, only the land is a bit big. Does the house need to be divided into separate layouts?" asked my uncle.

"No, this piece of land connected to the old house is divided into two. The house is built on the right side, and the left side is left empty for now, and will be used for other things later."

"The main body of the house you painted will cost a lot of money! How much money do you have?" my uncle asked worriedly. Can you come up with so much money?

"Less than three hundred taels?" Shen Xia spoke slowly.

The third uncle and the great uncle were both stunned: "What?"

Shen Xia looked at the expressions of the two and quickly explained: "It's like this. We are supplying goods to Tian Xin Zhai and have a fixed business every month, so we thought that repairing the house would not be completed in one or two days."

"We can pay you as we repair it! As long as the money keeps coming in."

"In fact, I originally thought of building the main courtyard first, and then building the rest after I saved enough money. But then I thought that since one courtyard would cost a lot of money and the other courtyard would cost a lot of money, it would be better to build them all at once."

"Here's my plan. The main courtyard only costs a few hundred taels. The money I have is definitely enough to buy the materials. I'll pay the workers after the main structure is finished. It will take two months by then, and I'll already have the money."

After hearing Shen Xia's plan, my uncle and third uncle both breathed a sigh of approval, saying that the idea did make some sense.

Indeed, if they are built separately, it will add a lot of trouble.

The uncle nodded slightly, indicating that he agreed with her opinion, and then said softly: "Well, what you said makes sense. Then I will take a closer look at the blueprint of the main courtyard."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Xia gently handed the exterior picture of the main courtyard and the interior floor plan to his uncle.

My uncle took the blueprint, studied the outline, and murmured softly, "This is a two-entry courtyard..."

Shen Xia nodded and replied, "Yes, that's right."

Then, my uncle turned his eyes to the floor plan and saw that the lines on it were clear and the layout, size and purpose of each room were marked in detail, making it easy to see at a glance.

Shen Xia was obviously very careful and meticulous when drawing, giving people an intuitive and clear understanding of the structure and function of the entire courtyard.

After my uncle finished looking at it, he asked Shen Xia to show the small courtyard at the back to them.

After looking at the small courtyard, my uncle was confused. What kind of courtyard was this? The first entrance didn’t look like a first entrance, and the second entrance didn’t look like a second entrance, but the design was convenient and practical.

The yard is not big, but it has everything.

"Do we need to design a kitchen for this small courtyard?" asked my uncle doubtfully.

"Well, yes. It may not be used in the future, but since we are repairing it, let's repair it together!" Shen Xia said.

My uncle nodded.

"Uncle, you are very knowledgeable. Can you give me an estimate of the cost of this yard?"

"Use blue bricks, what about wood?" asked my uncle.

"Well, blue bricks, and any durable wood will do."

"The materials for the main courtyard cost about 200 taels, and the workers' wages are half of that. The materials for the small courtyard at the back cost more than 100 taels. All the courtyards together cost about 1,500 taels, not counting the furniture in your house and the construction of the courtyards."

My great uncle had built many yards in the county before, so he could tell at a glance how much a yard would cost.

"Okay, thank you uncle, we will repair the yard first, and we will talk about the garden later." Shen Xia said.

Several people planned the location of each courtyard and discussed for half an hour.

Seeing that it was almost dark, he returned to the yard.

Let my fourth brother draft an agreement.

Shen Xia and her great uncle both signed their names. Looking at the name on the agreement, Qian Zhengyi, it turned out that her great uncle's name was Qian Zhengyi. This name was quite special.

After signing, Shen Xia gave two hundred and fifty taels first, leaving a few dozen taels as reserve.

My uncle watched as Shen Xia readily gave him two hundred and fifty taels of silver. He was so overwhelmed with trust that he didn't know what to say.

So he suggested, "Let's buy materials. Do you want to go with me, eldest brother or fourth brother?"

Song Jiang listened to his uncle's words and looked at Shen Xia, as if asking for her advice.

"No need, let my uncle arrange it. My eldest brother and fourth brother have their own things to do." Shen Xia refused directly. She knew what her uncle meant by asking them to go together.

It is to let us have an idea of ​​how much the materials cost.

After hearing Shen Xia's refusal, my uncle couldn't help but look at her more. This well-mannered person, it would be a great blessing for any family to marry such a daughter-in-law.

Shen Xia suddenly thought: "Yes, uncle, do you know anyone who can dig a well? We want to dig a well in the yard."

"Yes, how deep do you want to dig? Normally it's three taels of silver, and if it's deeper, it'll cost five taels of silver."

"Okay, then let's bet on five taels of silver!" Shen Xia thought that there would be a lot of people in his family in the future, so it would be better to bet deeper.

"Okay, I'll have someone come tomorrow, and I'll have someone deliver the materials as soon as possible. I'll have my son arrange for someone to lay the foundation tomorrow."

"Okay, by the way, Third Uncle, please remember how much the wages are per day,"

"Do you provide lunch?" asked my uncle, because the wages are different if lunch is provided or not.

Shen Xia took a look at the dilapidated house and said, "No, it's too small."

"Okay, that's thirty cents a day, and Master Mu's is fifty cents a day." replied my uncle.

"Well, sure. We can have a meal when the beam is raised." Shen Xia said, because raising the beam was a big deal at this time.

"By the way, Third Uncle, there are people in my village who need help. When the time comes, you can talk to them about the wages. Although they are not professionals, you can just let them do odd jobs. It's up to you to decide!"

"Then tell them the wages based on their abilities. Please write it down and I will pay them later." Shen Xia said to his great uncle.