A man in his thirties, looking refined, walked over holding a cup of tea. He playfully scolded the builder, Liu, "Wife, you've been tricking people again."
Then, he respectfully handed the tea to Julie and said, "Sorry, this is all I have. Please enjoy."
After thanking him, Julie took a sip of the tea.
It was barley tea... the finest tea leaves.
It seemed like Liu's life wasn't that great.
When she entered, she noticed the old-fashioned setup of the house, which clearly showed that Liu was skilled and had taste. However, the house seemed a bit old.
In theory, craftsmen in this era should be able to make a decent living from their skills, so Liu shouldn't be in such a situation.
But Julie wasn't someone who poked her nose into others' business, so she didn't ask any questions.
She got straight to the point: "I want you to help me build a house. I drew the design myself. Do you think it's possible?" She had already thought about using bamboo for the pipes on her way here.
She handed Liu the design plans from her sleeve.
Liu, whose name was Liu Ying, loved architecture and design. However, she had a bit of a stubborn personality. When building a house, everything had to be done her way.
Before starting, there could be discussions and exchanges of ideas, but once the construction began, everything—steps, processes—had to be according to her plan.
She hated it when the clients were vague, saying they would handle the details. But once construction started, they would begin to nitpick and make complaints, which made her really angry.
Some clients were even worse—they had agreed on ten taels of silver, but later only gave her five, claiming she didn't do a good job.
Why not mention the issue before starting?
Only after the house was done did they express dissatisfaction?
In the end, Liu Ying had no choice but to pay her workers with her own share of the payment.
After all, which craftsman didn't have a team?
She would never let her workers go unpaid, even if she had to get by on less herself.
The worst part was when people spread rumors that her work wasn't good, and asked for even more money. Now, nobody dared to hire her for construction anymore.
The people she felt most sorry for were her two husbands and children, who suffered along with her.
As Liu Ying looked at the design Julie had drawn, she was amazed in some places and confused in others. Julie explained the design and the style and effects she wanted, which made Liu Ying understand right away.
When Liu Ying heard that Julie wanted a toilet built, she thought it was quite a novel idea.
Though she had never built one before, she knew that if the flushing and drainage issues were solved, the rest wouldn't be a problem.
Liu Ying accepted the job, but hesitated for a moment before carefully asking, "Will you find your own workers, or would you like to use mine? Would you like a half-package or a full package?" Of course, she hoped Julie would use her workers, but she couldn't pressure her.
Julie had done the math on her way here and figured that a full package would be cheaper, as the materials would be provided and there wouldn't be any issues like cutting corners or using bad materials.
People in this dynasty were still very straightforward, and the prices weren't high. The workers only earned a small fee for their labor, and if you didn't provide lunch, they brought their own, which cost just 17 wen per person per day.
Since the price wasn't high, and there were no risks of poor-quality work, there was no reason to complicate things.
"Full package, with your people. How much, and when can work begin?" Julie asked all her questions in one go.
Liu Ying had never encountered such a straightforward client before, who didn't haggle or drag things out.
She felt a little nervous, worried that if the price was too high, Julie would leave. But if it was too low, she wouldn't be able to explain it to her workers, who had been with her for years and were loyal.
Thinking it over, Liu Ying decided that if necessary, she could take a little less for herself, but she couldn't let the client walk away.
"Well, for a full package, here's the deal: If you want to build a brick and tile house, the materials will need blue bricks. Based on the area in your design, we'd need at least 10,000 bricks. The roof will be made of ceramic tiles, and the wood will be fine—no problem, we'll go to the back mountain to cut it. As for labor, without meals, it's 17 wen per person per day; with meals, it's 15 wen per person. There are also some other minor costs. In total, the estimated price would be around 160 taels." She glanced at Julie after speaking.
Seeing that her expression didn't change, Liu Ying secretly relaxed, relieved that she hadn't gotten angry.
Although the price sounded high, the materials were top quality, and this was a big project that would take at least a month to complete.
Some outsiders might think she was overcharging, but what they didn't realize was that if you wanted comfort, you had to pay for the best materials. Not including meals, and without the client sourcing workers, everything cost money.