noffsinger Chapter 475: Chief Wu's Thoughts
Chapter 475: Chief Wu's Thoughts
On the way to Wu Lichang's house, Lu Tianming was carefully thinking about what he was going to say.
Today, of course, it is not just about eating.
There are three things in total that require the help of Village Chief Wu.
Firstly, everyone in the team needs to build a house, which is an urgent matter.
If you want to build the house quickly, it would be best to hire craftsmen from outside who are responsible for building houses, or ask the villagers of Baoshan Town to come and help.
They had just arrived, so whether they wanted to hire craftsmen or find villagers, they needed help from Village Chief Wu.
As for wages, he only knew the prices when he was in Yidu County.
But now that I have come to Baoshan Town, I still have to find Village Chief Wu to ask about the wages for building a house here.
The second is the issue of rice cultivation.
When they went to the fields in the morning, they found that the rice seedlings had grown as tall as their forearms.
If they want to harvest this crop of rice, they have to plant the rice quickly.
But the people in the team were all from the north, and they had been growing wheat all their lives and had never grown rice.
Nowadays, Baoshan Town is all about growing rice, and they have to find local experienced people to learn from.
The third is the issue of silkworm breeding.
Nowadays, the entire Baoshan Town makes money by raising silkworms, reeling silk and weaving silk.
The people in the team wanted to settle down here, so they had to start raising silkworms and reeling silk.
But all these jobs require someone to learn them.
But this matter is not urgent. I have to build the house and plant the crops in the fields before I can consider raising silkworms.
After figuring things out, Lu Tianming and Yao Xiancheng also arrived at Wu Lichang's house.
The gate of the yard was open. Lu Tianming stood at the gate and shouted according to the custom of the villagers.
"Brother Wu, I'm Lu Tianming. Are you home?"
Soon, the door was pushed open and Village Chief Wu came out with a smile.
"Brother Lu, Brother Yao, you are here, come in quickly, come in quickly!"
As he said that, he led the two of them into the house.
In the room, Wu Lichang's eldest son Wu Yuanming and second son Wu Zhongming also stood up to greet the two men.
After both sides exchanged some pleasantries and sat down, Wu Yuanming's wife brought tea.
Lu Tianming took a sip and thought the tea tasted good, so he took this opportunity to say:
"Brother Wu, your tea is really good. It smells elegant and fragrant, and has a sweet aftertaste.
I used to be a tea lover, but I had never tasted tea with this flavor.
Is there anything particular about this tea?"
When Wu Lichang heard him say this, he felt a little proud. After taking a sip of tea, he said:
"Brother Lu is very eloquent, but this tea is not available on the market, but is a craft passed down from my eldest daughter-in-law's family.
What you may not know is that in addition to mulberry trees, there are also many tea trees on our treasure mountain.
This tea was picked by my eldest daughter-in-law from the mountains and made by hand."
Lu Tianming didn't expect that this tea was made by them. He took another sip of tea, savored the flavor carefully, and praised it very much.
He took the opportunity to start chatting over tea, and after he finished speaking, he made Wu the head of the village feel a little flattered.
The two of them became closer in both words and deeds, which was a good start.
Soon, Wu Lichang's wife led her daughter-in-law to serve the dishes. There were four dishes in total on the table, including two meat dishes.
This is considered a very good meal in a famine year like today.
Coupled with the good wine that Lu Tianming brought, Village Chief Wu became happier and happier as he drank.
At this moment, he had forgotten about asking about the details of Lu Tianming and his group. He just focused on pulling people to drink and had a great time.
Seeing that the atmosphere was almost right, Lu Tianming planned to bring up a few things he wanted to say.
"Brother Wu, I see that your house is very impressive. I wonder where did you hire the workers?"
When Village Chief Wu heard him bragging about the house he was proud of, his face became even more arrogant.
"Haha, Brother Lu has a good eye. I hired the best craftsmen in Yining County to build my house.
Speaking of which, although my blue brick and tile house is not the best, it is very sturdy.
The craftsmen who built it at the time all said that this house could be lived in for a hundred years without any problem.”
After chatting for so long, Lu Tianming had some understanding of the character of Wu Lichang. He knew that he liked to hear good words, so he continued:
"Yes, when I came here with Lord Xu, I saw your big blue brick and tile house from afar.
This house is the best in the area for dozens of miles!"
When Village Chief Wu heard him praise his own house as he wished, he was even happier and smiled with his big yellow teeth.
Seeing this, Lu Tianming took the opportunity to say:
"Brother Wu, we are new here and we are anxious to build a house to live in.
As you know, building a house requires a lot of people and it will take some time to complete.
Now the rice in the fields needs to be planted urgently, and the house needs to be built urgently as well.
I have a humble request and would like to trouble you to ask around in the village.
We will pay the labor and see if there is anyone in the village willing to help build the house."
Captain Wu, who was a little dizzy from drinking, suddenly came to his senses after hearing the serious matter.
"Brother Lu, what kind of house are you planning to build?
Also, if you hire someone to work, what kind of compensation do you plan to give them?"
Lu Tianming had already asked the people in the team before coming, and now he said directly:
“Most of us plan to build half-brick and half-mud houses, and only a few plan to build blue brick houses.
As for the wages for hiring people, we are new here and are not very clear about it.
I have to ask you, what is the general salary for hiring people to build houses here?"
When Village Chief Wu heard that some of them were planning to build a large house made of blue bricks and tiles, his eyes became a little unclear.
You know, among the dozen or so villages nearby, his family is the only one that has a big blue brick and tile house.
If you tell others about it, it will be quite prestigious.
The reason why his eldest son was able to marry a daughter-in-law who knew how to make tea was also closely related to this large blue brick and tile house.
If they cover it up, then...
But he still hadn't figured out the details yet. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“Brother Lu, building a house in our village is easy in other places, but we still need to hire skilled craftsmen to lay the foundation, put up the beams, and hang the roof.
After all, building a house is no small matter, it will be passed down for several generations once it is built!
For example, the ordinary half-brick and half-mud houses built in the village were usually built by a team of craftsmen hired from Lunpi Town.
But if you want to build a big house with blue bricks and tiles, you have to ask the Sanqing troupe from Yining County.
This house of mine was built by the Sanqing Team.
There is just one thing: the Sanqing Troupe is well-known throughout Yining County for their excellent craftsmanship.
The county lords all hired this team to renovate their mansions.
And if you want to treat me, you must queue up.
When I was building this house, I waited for more than four months to hire the Sanqing Troupe."
As he spoke, Wu Lichang said with a serious look:
"You have come at a perfect time, as the rice seedlings have just been planted.
We should hurry up to open up the land and plant rice seedlings so that we can harvest the crops in time.
But it’s not okay to live without a house. If you come home tired after a day’s work and then sleep on the open ground, it will be a torture!
In my opinion, you might as well build a half-brick, half-mud house. This kind of house is not only for the team in Lunpi Town, but there are people in our village who can build it."