The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 44

Xu Ran, Foreman Li, and Xu An resumed their conversation while dining. Xu Ran didn't understand a lot of stuff about house construction, so he asked Foreman Li, who had been doing it for a long time. He knew everything there was to know about building and could answer all of Xu Ran's questions. Xu Ran was also very satisfied with him and thought that if he farmed out the work of building a house to him, he shouldn't have any problems.

However, Xu Ran was not sure how much it would cost to build a house per day.

Foreman Li said, "If you don't have free food and lodging for us, it would cost twenty coppers per day to build a house in the town. If you have free food but no lodging, it will cost you fifteen coppers a day. If you have free food and lodging, it will only cost ten coppers a day. Usually, we'll live in a tent built by ourselves. Although the conditions are primitive, it can also mean big savings to us."

Xu Ran understood this kind of life; it was not easy to earn money for he had also been a corporate slave back in modern times.

He asked Foreman Li, "How many people do you have in your construction team?"

"A score, and there are some Ge'ers who simply do some light work and help in the preparation of meals. Typically, they do not receive any wages. Only the most charitable of people would give them a dozen coppers more than they need to pay the bill."

Xu Ran nodded and asked Foreman Li, "Mr. Li, if you build the house for me, I'll simply feed you for free. My house isn't large enough to fit all of you in. How much money will you need on a daily basis?"

Foreman Li thought it over and said, "There are fifteen coppers in all. My men find it difficult to leave home and earn some money. We also hope that now that we've been displaced, we'll be able to get more people back home for the Spring Festival next year. As a result, we returned home shortly after the Spring Festival this year."

"Alright, Mr. Li, I'll entrust the construction of my home to you. You are free to purchase as many bricks and tiles as you desire. You do, after all, have connections in this field. In the mountain behind here, you can directly cut down trees for wood if you need it. Finally, as long as I'm happy with the home, I'll pay you an additional fifty taels of silver for your hard work. How do you think about it?"

For these people, fifty taels of silver was not a small amount, since anyone could be given more than one tael of silver as a bonus pay. Foreman Li was overjoyed to the point of jumping up..

However, Xu Ran's words were still hypothetical and had not been decided at all, so no matter how excited Foreman Li was, he still had to disguise his delight.

The courtyard that was going to be built was so large that the planning alone would take at least four or five months. The labor cost would be five or six hundred taels of silver, apart from everything else. It will also be more costly due to the expense of other construction materials. The more Xu Ran thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.

Everyone at the table could tell Xu Ran was worried about money, including Foreman Li. After all, a family in rural areas couldn't even afford to build a house worth 500 taels of silver, let alone a more expensive one.

Foreman Li promptly comforted Xu Ran, "Xu Ran, don't worry! We're all experienced. We will finish the house for you as soon as the bricks, tiles, and wood are sufficient. And it won't set you back more than a thousand taels of silver."

'Less than 1,000 taels of silver?, How about 999 exactly?' It hadn't comforted Xu Ran to hear his words at all.

However, he couldn't reveal his dissatisfaction in front of so many people. He could only nod, "Then would you mind doing me a favor in due course, Foreman Li? If you agree to the business, we'll find the village head as a witness this afternoon and then sign an agreement so that both sides can be relieved."