Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 883 Snakes have their paths, and rats have theirs!
The next morning around nine o'clock, Jia Dongming finished his work and rode his bicycle back to Tongluoguxiang.

Following his memory, Jia Dongming rode his bicycle to a courtyard house. Looking at the tightly closed gate, he knocked and called out, "Is Master Lei home?"

"Who is it! They're here! They're here!" Not long after Jia Dongming's shout, a middle-aged man's voice answered from inside the courtyard, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Crench!"

As the door opened, the previously closed door was flung open from the inside. The middle-aged man, seeing Jia Dongming standing in the doorway, showed a surprised expression and asked curiously, "Director Jia! What brings you here? Please come in!"

Upon hearing Master Lei's words, Jia Dongming smiled and said to Master Lei, "Little Master Lei! I came here mainly to ask you something, so I won't come in and sit down."

The middle-aged man in front of him was Master Lei's son, which was why Jia Dongming called him Little Master Lei. Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, the man immediately asked Jia Dongming curiously, "Director Jia! What brings you here?"

Upon hearing Master Lei's question, Jia Dongming smiled and said to him, "Master Lei! I wonder if you still remember the villa that you and your father helped me build back then?"

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's question, Master Lei nodded subconsciously and replied with a puzzled look, "Director Jia! Of course I remember. Could there be something wrong with the house we helped you repair? That shouldn't be the case."

Upon hearing Master Lei's words, Jia Dongming immediately realized that his purpose had been misunderstood, and quickly explained with a smile, "Master Lei! It's not that there's a problem with the house, but now that our children are all grown up, the rooms in the house are becoming insufficient. So I'd like to build a few more rooms in my villa, and that's why I came to ask you if you would take on this job?"

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's explanation, Master Lei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Considering the current situation, Master Lei reminded Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! If you're only building one house, it shouldn't be a big problem. But if you're building several houses, I reckon the neighborhood committee definitely won't agree."

Upon hearing Xiao Lei's reminder, Jia Dongming smiled and said to him, "Xiao Lei! The reason why the neighborhood committee doesn't allow private houses to be built is because those illegally built houses are all built on public land. My family's villa is my private property, so it's impossible for it to occupy public land. Even if the neighborhood committee knows, they probably won't say anything."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's words, and considering the nature of Jia Dongming's courtyard and Jia Dongming's identity, Master Lei immediately smiled and said to Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! I'm willing to take on the work at your place. When are you free? I'd like to go with you to take a look."

Upon hearing what Master Lei said, Jia Dongming immediately smiled and said to Master Lei, "Master Lei! There's no time like the present. If you have some free time now, let's go to my house for a visit."

Twenty minutes later, Jia Dongming led Master Lei to the courtyard house. Considering that building a house was against regulations, Jia Dongming didn't lead Master Lei through the main gate, but instead went directly into his own courtyard through a side gate. Master Lei looked at the courtyard he hadn't visited in over a decade, quickly decided on the exact location for the house, and asked Jia Dongming with a smile, "Director Jia! Are you planning on a brick house? Or will you build it in the style of your courtyard?"

When Jia Dongming heard Xiao Lei's question, he smiled and said to Xiao Lei, "Xiao Lei! All the houses in my yard are wooden houses. If I build a brick house alone, it will look out of place when people walk in from the outside. So I want to build a few wooden houses in the style of my yard."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's reply, Master Lei immediately said to Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! If you want to build a wooden house according to the style of your courtyard, I think you can use this door as the center and build two rooms on each side of the door. Also, you can enlarge this small door and change it from a single door to a double door."

Master Lei paused slightly after saying this, and then said to Jia Dongming, "However, things are different now than they were back then. Those old materials are hard to find now, so if you plan to build a new house, you can only use new timber, and the cost will be much higher than that of a brick house."

Upon hearing Master Lei's words, Jia Dongming replied with a smile, "Master Lei! If we can find old materials, we should try to use them. If we really can't find any, then we can only use new materials. Also, please make the ceiling height of this house as high as possible for me. Inside, just like my old house, we can divide it into two floors. That way, when the children get married in the future, we won't have to worry about our grandchildren not having a place to live."

When Master Lei heard Jia Dongming's request, he nodded subconsciously and replied, "Director Jia! If you want to use old materials, I can only do my best to find them for you. However, old materials are more expensive than new materials, and the cost of building the house will probably be more than double the original cost."

Upon hearing Master Lei's reminder, and thinking about the future prices of those old timbers, Jia Dongming smiled and said to Master Lei, "Master Lei! As long as you can help me find old timbers of Phoebe zhennan, sandalwood, rosewood, red sandalwood, and ironwood, price is not a problem."

Upon hearing Jia Dongming's reply and seeing his nonchalant expression, Master Lei subconsciously nodded and replied, "Okay! Director Jia! I'll go ask around first, and I'll come back to you with the results."

Upon hearing Master Lei's reply, Jia Dongming thought of the Jia family's old house and said with a smile, "Master Lei! My nephew is getting married soon. I want to finish building the house before his wedding, and then renovate the old house to make it my nephew's wedding home. When do you think we can start construction?"

It's said that snakes have their paths and rats have theirs; everyone has their own way of doing things. Although Master Lei said that old materials are hard to find, it's a very easy task for professional craftsmen like them. After hearing Jia Dongming's words, Master Lei calculated in his mind for a while and then said to Jia Dongming, "Director Jia! I'll go home now and draw up the house plans for you. I'll bring them over for you to take a look this evening. If it's approved, we can start construction within three days, and it will be completed in two months at the latest."

Upon hearing the timeframe given by Master Lei, Jia Dongming smiled and said to Master Lei, "Master Lei! Let's proceed according to your plan. When the time comes, you can also calculate the cost of building the house. I'll pay you half upfront, and the rest will be settled in full after the house is built."

(End of this chapter)