Siheyuan: Game of Red Dust

Chapter 98 Master Lei, Gold Brick
Li Weidong rode his bicycle to Niu Ye's house.

As soon as he entered the door, Li Weidong shouted:

"Master Niu, are you at home?"

"Yes, come in."

Li Weidong walked in and saw Uncle Niu drinking tea in the pavilion again.

"Uncle Niu, you look so excited!" said Li Weidong.

"Brother, here you are. Hi, what are you doing?" said Uncle Niu, pouring a cup of tea for Li Weidong.

"Uncle Niu, do you know anyone who can renovate a house? I want to renovate the courtyard house I bought." Li Weidong asked after sitting down and drinking a sip of tea.

"There really is one. He is the successor of Yangshi Lei, but in his words, he is not cheap." said Uncle Niu.

"It's not cheap, but it's okay as long as the craftsmanship is good. Uncle Niu, how about you help me ask?" Li Weidong said.

"Okay, I'll come to you later. When are you planning to repair it?" asked Uncle Niu.

"Xiaolin and the others are already cleaning up in the yard. If it's convenient, you can take him over to see the yard. I have prepared the design drawings. You can take them to show the master." Li Weidong took out the design drawings from his briefcase and handed them to Grandpa Niu, saying.

Niu Ye took the design, took a look at it, gave Li Weidong a thumbs up, then put the design on the table and said to Li Weidong:

"Okay, brother, then you go back first. I'll go find him right away and bring him to your yard in a while."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Niu." Li Weidong said politely.

"Hey, let's not talk about this, brothers." Uncle Niu waved his hand and said.

Li Weidong stood up, said hello to Mr. Niu, and left. However, he did not return to the courtyard. Instead, he went to Qianmen Street, said goodbye to Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru, and brought them to the courtyard.

After entering the yard, Xu Huizhen held her daughter and Chen Xueru and went to find Zhou Xiaolin and the others. Li Weidong walked around the courtyard to see if there were any old items. After walking around, he found that there were no special old items. Most of them had a little space to expand, the energy required, but not much.

After Li Weidong absorbed the energy from the old objects, he went to find Zhou Xiaolin and the others to help them clean up the yard.

After a while, Mr. Niu brought a middle-aged man to the door, and Li Weidong hurried to greet him.

"Brother, this is Master Lei, the successor of Yangshi Lei. He is very good at repairing ancient buildings." Uncle Niu introduced to Li Weidong.

"Master Lei, I'm Li Weidong." Li Weidong also extended his hand enthusiastically and shook hands with Master Lei.

Master Lei also extended his hand, shook hands with Li Weidong, and then said:

"Boss, Master Niu showed me the blueprints of your design. Let me take a look at the house first to see if there's anything that needs to be changed."

Li Weidong took Master Lei and Master Niu and started looking at the houses from the front yard. Master Lei looked very carefully, and he went into every house to check. When they finished, it was already an hour later.

"Boss, I've checked it out. There's nothing wrong with the house. There are a few minor flaws in a few places, but they can be simply repaired when the time comes. The layout will be renovated according to the blueprint you drew.

"I see there are quite a few bathrooms on your drawings. Let's run the sewage underground and build a septic tank. This is too far from the public toilet over there, and it wouldn't be worth going through, so just build a septic tank," Master Lei said to Li Lidong.

Li Weidong pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, Master Lei, I'll do as you say."

Master Lei then asked, "Does the boss have any other requests?"

"By the way, Master Lei, I want to take some measures to keep warm. After all, winter is coming. In my previous house, I laid some iron pipes underground, and then used hot water to circulate through the pipes for heating, and then laid a layer of wooden flooring on top. Do you think it will work for this yard?" Li Weidong asked.

"Boss, to be honest, I have never seen you do it this way, but I feel it is very troublesome, especially when doing repairs. After all, the water here is full of dirt, and it must be cleared. When you clear it, you can only lift up the wooden floor, which is equivalent to doing it all over again, which is very troublesome. Also, wooden flooring is very susceptible to moisture, and it will rot once it gets damp. If you want to pave the floor, it is best not to use wooden flooring." Master Lei said.

"Okay, then Master Lei, do you have any suggestions?" Li Weidong asked.

"For heating in a courtyard house, people usually use a fireplace. Although it is a bit big and heavy, it is still very effective for heating," suggested Master Lei.

"Okay, Master Lei, do you have that fireplace?" Li Weidong asked.

Master Lei said, "Boss, we don't have that. You can go to the Trust Store and see if they have it."

"Okay, thank you Master Lei." Li Weidong said.

At this time, Master Lei suddenly said, "Boss, do you want some gold bricks?"

"Do you have gold bricks? How much are they?" Li Weidong asked.

"I don't have it, but my friend does. I feel it would be better to pave the floor with gold bricks. As for the price, since you are Mr. Niu's friend, it's 25 cents or 1 yuan. Usually we sell them for 50 cents outside." Master Lei said.

"Master Lei, if I want to pave the entire yard, how many pieces do you think it will take?" Li Weidong asked.

"For the entire store, I didn't calculate the exact amount, but it would probably cost about fourteen or five hundred gold bricks," said Master Lei.

Li Weidong pondered for a moment and said to Master Lei, "Master Lei, I'd like to pave the entire yard. Take a look. How much would it cost to repair it and lay the gold bricks?"

"Boss, your design drawing says that this wall should be covered with wood. What kind of wood should we choose?" asked Master Lei.

"Redwood, Master Lei, can you get it?" Li Weidong said
"No problem, please wait a moment, I'll calculate it." Master Lei said.

Li Weidong nodded.

After a while, Master Lei figured it out.

"Boss, I roughly calculated that it would cost about 3000 yuan. Among them, the gold bricks account for 1000 yuan and the mahogany is also calculated at 1000 yuan. The remaining 1000 yuan is the repair cost. If it is not enough by then, I will tell you again." Master Lei said.

Li Weidong nodded, and after a rough calculation in his mind, he realized that the price was about right. He then said, "No problem, Master Lei, let's make it a deal. When you start work, I'll give you the money. I don't have it with me now."

"There is nothing to do now, we can start work in the afternoon. Your yard can be completed in about ten days." Master Lei said.

"Okay, Master Lei, please start work as soon as possible. I will go back at noon and bring you the money. By the way, Master Lei, you have to find a way to eat by yourselves. I will give you some extra money and food coupons when the time comes." Li Weidong said.

"Okay, boss, I'll go back and prepare first, and we'll come over in the afternoon." Master Lei said.

Li Weidong saw Master Lei off and then went into the courtyard with Uncle Niu.

"Uncle Niu, thank you for your help." Li Weidong said politely.

"Hey, let's not talk about this, brothers. By the way, Weidong, when are you going to collect those antiques? The man who sold your house last time has been asking me about this. He is getting rid of these antiques and it seems that he is going to go to one of his relatives for help." Uncle Niu said politely, and then asked.

Li Weidong thought for a moment and said to Uncle Niu, "Uncle Niu, wait until my house is renovated. I have no place to put it now! Talk to him. It won't be long anyway."

"Okay, I'll talk to him later. It won't take a few days." said Uncle Niu.

Li Weidong chatted with Niu Ye for a while, and then Niu Ye said goodbye and left.

Li Weidong and Zhou Xiaolin discussed the house renovations, though he didn't mention how much it cost, as that would have been heartbreaking. Then he went to withdraw some money and bought them some food on the way, which they ate there for lunch.

(End of this chapter)