The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 169 - 166: Want to Build a House

Chapter 169: Chapter 166: Want to Build a House

Auntie and her husband set off for Yangjiang on the fourth day of their vacation.

Lu Jingqiu and Jiang Nanzhou had been to the house once, and inside, a young man had already started painting.

The brick-laid kitchen cabinets were beginning to take shape.

Carpenter Uncle had come over once, saw that the painting was nearly finished, and had already started moving lumber into the yard.

Only then did Lu Jingqiu learn that Jiang Nanzhou had also contracted Carpenter Uncle to make the door frames.

She secretly asked the price and found out how much money he had spent, "We don’t have to make door frames."

Jiang Nanzhou said, "That uncle said it would look better with them, and I knew you would definitely like it."

Lu Jingqiu definitely liked it, but their investment in this house had gone up by dozens of yuan.

Although it hurt to spend more, Lu Jingqiu was still very happy.

Not only had there been definite progress on the new house, but even the old courtyard at her second cousin’s had been successfully negotiated for her – six hundred yuan, and Lu Jingqiu had specifically arranged to transfer the ownership today.

When she got the property deed, Lu Jingqiu couldn’t help but grin ear to ear right there on the street.

She even went out of her way to go look at the house, which seemed like it would collapse with just a push.

Though it was a hutong inside, it was street-facing and also very close to Fish Tail Street. After thinking it over for a long time when she got back, she drew a blueprint of a new house for that courtyard.

Yes, she planned to rebuild a new house, to go without a courtyard and instead construct two street-facing storefronts.

And it would be two stories tall, with the first floor serving as the storefront and the second floor housing two rooms and a bathroom, suitable for living in, convenient for future tenants.

Lu Jingqiu waited until evening to meet her second cousin and showed him the drawing, "Second cousin, how much do you think it would cost me to build a two-story brick storefront?"

"Qiuqiu, when did you start thinking about building a house?" Holding the drawing, Yang Mingchao looked at the adjacent buildings and road, the very residence he had secured for her, "Is this the house you bought today?"

"Yeah, that house really can’t be kept. I plan to rebuild two units."

"Two units? This is clearly a two-story building."

"Right, I’m not planning to live in it myself; it’s for renting out to businesses for use, like a restaurant, clothing store, or an appliance shop. The bottom can be a counter, and family can live upstairs."

"Aiyo, Qiuqiu, the location is good for a storefront, but building a house costs quite a bit, you know. The key point is, we’re only renting out houses for five to ten yuan a month now. It’ll take you decades to recoup the rent."

Lu Jingqiu hadn’t really considered this problem but upon hearing her second cousin say this, she realized it was indeed the case for the next few years, but she believed that within a few years the rent for storefronts would definitely increase, "Second cousin, storefronts are a little more expensive than houses for living, but I still want to give it a try."

Seeing her determination, Yang Mingchao said, "Finding someone to build the house is easy, but the materials are not so easy to get for most people. But who is your second cousin? Just wait, I’ll come up with a solution for you."

"Second cousin, I need to know how much this two-story building will cost, so I can be prepared."

Now Yang Mingchao was in a bind, "I don’t have a clue either. I’ve never built a house. I only know bricks are two cents and seven mills each."

Lu Jingqiu hurriedly said, "I know about cement, twenty-one yuan a ton." Jiang Nanzhou had bought it for their new house and told her about it.

"Oh, you got your cement cheaply, Qiuqiu."

"It was Nanzhou who found it. I’ll ask her some other time."

"Yes, ask around more. Reinforced steel bars are not easy to come by, but they are a must for building a house."

"Yeah, there’s no rush. I need to find someone to demolish the buildings in that courtyard first, to see how many of the bricks can be reused."

At the mention, Yang Mingchao became distracted by his cousin’s sidetrack, almost forgetting the purpose of his visit today, "Qiuqiu, the television sets we brought back this time are selling well, and so are the wristwatches. We’ve gotten a lot of money back. However, right now, Gao Da and I don’t have the chance to make another trip down there, but I do have an opportunity to head north in the next few days. What do you think we should take from here that would sell best up north?"

"Grains. We have the South-to-North grain transfer. Our rice, bamboo shoots, and rice noodles, as well as electric wires. Our Wujiao Chemical Plant is nationwide famous. Many cities need electric wires now."

"You’re right. If we can get electric wires, I heard they come from the factory at one yuan per meter and sell for one yuan and sixty-eight cents. If sold in the north, they could go for two yuan per meter. Rice... that’s not so easy to handle, but I’ll ask Xiao Xue sometime to see whether he has any. I’m not bringing much cargo this time, but I won’t be able to fit much either."