Chapter 120

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Today Li Xiulan was planting vegetables in the vegetable garden at home; ever since finishing Liu Dabiao's house in Shuikou Village, she and her husband planned to rest a few days before looking for new projects.

Now they had already helped someone build a building, which counted as having a "resume," so they no longer worried about failing to get projects.

"Mom, someone's looking for you!"

Just then, Wang Xiaohua came running into the vegetable garden with quick little steps and shouted.

"Who's looking for me?"

Li Xiulan straightened her waist and asked.

"Don't know, don't recognize them!"

Wang Xiaohua said so.

Li Xiulan hurriedly put down her hoe, then went to the well and drew a bucket of water, washed her hands and feet clean, and only then went back home.

Returning home, she saw only that two people had come.

One of them was none other than Liu Dabiao's wife Zhang Xiudi; the other was a strange man.

"Xiulan, this is my older brother, he's called Zhang Liangang; he also wants to build a new house. I think you and your husband have good skills and your labor rates are reasonable, so I brought him to find you!"

Li Xiulan looked at Zhang Liangang, a man in his forties, with an honest and weathered face.

"Hello hello, come in and drink tea! We'll chat slowly while drinking tea!"

Li Xiulan warmly greeted the two siblings Zhang Liangang and Zhang Xiudi.

"Where's your husband? He's not home?"

Zhang Liangang entered the living room, didn't see the man of the house, and casually asked this one sentence.

"He went outside; if there's anything just tell me — back when we took on Sister-in-law Xiudi's house, I was the one who made the decision to accept it!"

Li Xiulan brewed tea water and gave it to Zhang Liangang and Zhang Xiudi.

Zhang Liangang nodded:

"Oh oh, like that, then it's easy to talk. I want to build a two-story house, about 130 square meters; don't know what the budget would be?"

Li Xiulan then said:

"Sister-in-law Xiudi's house, one story, also about 130 square meters; how much did it cost in total again?"

Zhang Xiudi then told the truth:

"Labor cost over four thousand, nearly four thousand five; material cost over ten thousand, nearly twenty thousand! That doesn't even count renovation! Just the shell!"

Li Xiulan slowly nodded:

"Material prices have risen fiercely now! Before when I built this house of mine, material cost was only five or six thousand... now building a one-story building, labor plus materials, the budget will probably be at least twenty-five thousand; for two stories, it'd be fifty thousand!"

Zhang Liangang immediately exclaimed in surprise:

"That expensive! Can't it be cheaper?"

Li Xiulan smiled:

"The labor price I give is already the lowest in the whole industry; me and my husband together, one day is only thirty-five yuan; if you hired someone else, a Big Worker alone gets thirty yuan a day. Actually labor doesn't cost much; the main thing is materials — material prices change every day now!"

Zhang Xiudi chimed in:

"Right right, material prices have indeed risen fiercely now!"

Li Xiulan then said to Zhang Liangang:

"If you're going to build a house, it's best to buy all the materials at once; that can save quite a bit of money. Otherwise, buying while building, if materials go up later, you'll waste a lot of extra money."

Zhang Liangang, however, said:

"I only have forty-some thousand in savings right now; if I spend it all on materials, what about your labor fees?"

Li Xiulan then said:

"How about you just build one story first, and when you have money later, build the second story?"

Zhang Liangang, however, said:

"I still want to do two stories at once; doing it in fits and starts is no good. How do you settle your labor fees?"

Li Xiulan was afraid in her heart that Zhang Liangang wouldn't be able to pay the labor fees, so she said:

"At least settle once every half year."

Zhang Liangang looked worried and gloomy:

"Can't we settle after everything's completely done?"

"This... not too good..." Li Xiulan refused tactfully.

Zhang Xiudi, however, said:

"Xiulan, wasn't mine also settled only after it was all done? You can rest assured; this is my older brother, his character is very good, he won't owe you labor fees. When it's all done we'll settle together, absolutely not a single cent less for you!"

Li Xiulan hesitated a bit.

Building a two-story building, that would take nearly a year's time!

That is to say, if they settled only after completion, she and her husband would have no income at all for nearly a year!

But thinking about it, she and her husband were still novices, couldn't be picky; a project came to them on its own initiative, and it was introduced by an acquaintance, counted as relatively reliable and guaranteed, so in the end she agreed:

"Alright then, we'll settle together after it's done."

Just like that, Li Xiulan took on Zhang Liangang's project.

When Wang Zhanggen came back at noon to eat, Li Xiulan told him about this matter.

Wang Changgen's reaction to this was very calm:

"Hmm, since you've taken the job, just go do it!"

He now discovered that doing masonry at home was actually no more tiring than working outside.

The most important thing was freedom.

If he wanted to work he'd go work; if he didn't want to work he'd take a day off, and no one would say anything about it.

Moreover, back at home, it was usually Li Xiulan who cooked the rice and dishes.

He was like a grandpa, able to lie comfortably.

So he naturally gradually stopped arguing with Li Xiulan.

But it was merely not arguing.

As for the relationship between the two of them, wanting to restore it to the former intimacy was already impossible.

They didn't even speak much, didn't communicate much, merely maintaining calm.

For example, right now while eating lunch, Wang Changgen only buried his head eating rice, not saying a single sentence.

Li Xiulan also buried her head eating rice, also not saying a single sentence.

Wang Changgen finished eating, put down his bowl and chopsticks, stood up and left.

He didn't even give a greeting.

Right at this moment, Liang Yuanchao arrived!

"Uncle Yuanchao, how come you're here?"

Wang Changgen had just walked to the door when he ran into Liang Yuanchao face to face.

"Haven't eaten lunch? Why not come in and eat a bowl?"

Wang Changgen's attitude toward Liang Yuanchao was much more enthusiastic than his attitude toward Li Xiulan.

"No need, no need, I've already eaten. I just came to tell you one thing."

Liang Yuanchao smiled politely.

"What thing?"

Wang Changgen asked.

Liang Yuanchao then said:

"I plan to participate in this year's Village Committee Secretary election. Next month the election starts. At that time, I'll have to trouble you to cast a vote for me..."

"Didn't you just voluntarily resign not long ago? How come you're running again?"

Li Xiulan, still eating at the table, suddenly said this one sentence.

Liang Yuanchao then said:

"I actually don't want to either. It's just that Zhang Zhongtian, that kid, is too unscrupulous. I can't just watch him harm our Shanggou Village!"

Li Xiulan said: "I think Uncle Zhongtian is pretty good. How does he harm our Shanggou Village?"

Liang Yuanchao wanted to say he was corrupt, but then thought about it — he himself had no solid evidence. Badmouthing him behind his back would instead make him look like a petty person, so in the end he said:

"This matter is hard to explain clearly to you. How about this: when the election comes, whoever you think is good, you vote for them. Vote entirely by conscience, okay?"

Wang Changgen hurriedly agreed:

"Okay, okay!"

After Liang Yuanchao left, Li Xiulan couldn't help muttering:

"When the time comes, don't vote for him. He doesn't know how to get things done, rigid to a fault. Before, with the demolition compensation, it dragged on for a long time before he gave us the money. Look at Zhang Zhongtian — how capable he is at getting things done. When I had a conflict with Yang Xiaocai, I didn't even tell him, and he proactively went to help me resolve it. Now that's a good village official!"

Wang Changgen, however, frowned slightly:

"I heard Zhang Zhongtian raked in quite a few benefits during this demolition. Don't know if it's true or false."

Li Xiulan said:

"Who cares if he raked in benefits or not? As long as whoever treats us well, whoever can help us solve problems, we vote for them!

Besides, not long ago Zhang Zhongtian even sent us oil and cigarettes. This time Liang Yuanchao came over, he didn't have a shred of sincerity!"