stingy landlady

Chapter 64 Building a House (4)

When Guixiang found Guizhi, Guizhi was plucking feathers from a duck with Zhou Niangzi and Zhou Qiong.

As Zhou Niangzi plucked the tiny duck down feathers, she said:

"Ducks have a lot of stubble and are hard to pluck, but these ducks are relatively easy to pluck now! If you happen to encounter a duck molting, it's all stubble!"

Guizhi shook her hands and said, "Ouch! My hands are sore!"

Zhou Qiong said, "Third Miss! I feel like my eyes are blurry!"

Old Zhou sat in the courtyard weaving a basket from willow branches, watching the three of them pluck duck feathers and chatting. He looked up and saw Guixiang enter, put down what he was doing, stood up, bowed, and said:

"The young lady is here!"

Gui Xiang stepped aside, gave a half-bow, and called out, "Grandpa Zhou! I've come to call Gui Zhi home!"

When Zhou Niangzi and Zhou Qiong heard that Guixiang had arrived, they were about to stand up and pay their respects!

Gui Xiang quickly said, "No need for formalities! Just do what you're doing!"

Guizhi sat on a small stool, smiling as she watched Guixiang.

"Big sister! You've come to help us pluck the duck feathers?"

Gui Xiang deliberately put on a stern face and said:

"You're so lucky! If you want to eat duck meat, you have to pluck the duck feathers!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Get up and wash your hands! Dad sent me to call you home! Uncle Liu is here!"

Guizhi stood up abruptly, nearly falling because she lost her balance. Guixiang quickly reached out to support her.

"Why are you in such a hurry? You're all flustered! Doesn't it hurt if you fall?"

"Hehe! My leg went numb! Big sister! I really didn't mean to!" Guizhi said with a forced smile.

Madam Zhou also stood up, stretched her arms and legs, and said:

"Young Miss! Third Miss, please go back first! After the duck is gutted, have Xiao Qiong deliver it over!"

Guizhi washed her hands, casually shook off the water, and said:

"Then I won't do any work and will just wait to eat! Big sister! Grandpa Zhou, Aunt Zhou! I'm going back now!"

Gui Xiang walked towards the vegetable garden, talking as she went:

"I'll go pick some vegetables first! I don't know if Uncle Liu is eating at our house! You go back first!"

Guizhi skipped and hopped her way home.

A horse-drawn carriage was parked in front of his house, and the coachman was grooming the horse on the ground!

Guizhi glanced at it; it was unfamiliar. She walked straight to her own yard.

Upon entering the room, one could see Foreman Liu sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) drinking water, while Dazhu was carefully examining the contract! A pile of gifts were laid out on the kang.

There were two bolts of fabric, both made of silk, one red and one pink, which looked perfect for a little girl.

There were four kinds of snacks, and judging from the different packaging, they must be different flavors! There was also a big bag of candy on the kang (a heated brick bed), and Siya was eating one of them.

"Hello, Uncle Liu!" Guizhi greeted him as she entered the house.

Foreman Liu smiled and said to Guizhi, "Third Miss is back! Have you finished plucking the duck feathers?"

"Okay! That's about it! Uncle Liu, have dinner here tonight before you leave!"

"Thank you so much, Miss! I have something to attend to, I'll come back for dinner another day! Will there still be duck meat then?"

Foreman Liu teased Guizhi.

Guizhi nodded, "Yes, we bought dozens of ducks! After we slaughter these ducks, we'll catch another twenty or thirty ducklings to raise."

Dazhu looked up and asked, "Guizhi! Not selling the ducks? Are you going to kill them all and eat them yourselves?"

Guizhi smiled and said:

"Dad! Don't sell! It's not worth it to buy meat! One duck is a very good meal for our whole family! Buying meat would cost a lot of money!"

Dazhu laughed and said, "Oh! Our little money-grubber has changed his ways!"

Guizhi said in a serious tone:

"Dad! The ducks we raise ourselves are delicious and we don't have to spend money to buy them! Anyway, there are a lot of us, and we need to have meat every now and then to improve our lives! If we slaughter a couple of ducks every few days, both sides can have meat! We don't have to spend money to buy meat, so it saves money!"

After listening to Guizhi's words, Foreman Liu said to Dazhu:

"Master! Your third young lady is quite the accountant! She gets to eat meat without spending a penny. I wish I could do that too! Maybe I should go and catch some ducks to raise?"

Guizhi did the math for him: "Uncle Liu! Raising them is different from raising them! If you raise them, you'll need someone to feed them, clean them, and buy the feed! The cost will be too high! I don't think it's worth it!"

We raise them as a sideline. We don't have to spend money to pick wild vegetables for the kids, we don't have to spend money to feed the pigs swill, and we don't have to spend money to get rice bran from the mill. We mix all of these together to feed the chickens and ducks, and they grow big and fat!

Isn't it cheaper than buying meat?

Dazhu curled up the corners of his mouth and said, "You little rascal!"

Foreman Liu laughed so hard he almost fell over:

"Third Miss! You truly are a master of accounting! Amazing!"

Guizhi turned to Dazhu and asked, "Father! How did you find the contract?"

Dazhu handed the few pages of paper in his hand to Guizhi.

"I've taken a look, and there's nothing seriously wrong! You can take another look!"

Guizhi read it line by line! It seems that Foreman Liu really wants to close this deal with Guizhi's family! It's written very realistically!

The contract included provisions for building a clean room and two outhouses free of charge. It also stipulated that the Guizhi family could only use the blueprints for their own house construction and were not allowed to divulge them to anyone else!

It even stated that if it was convenient for both parties, their construction team would be the first choice for Guizhi's family to build their next house! The breach of contract was also mentioned, mainly targeting Dazhu's family, with the penalty for breach of contract doubling!

Guizhi thought for a moment. It was just building a toilet; only she and Dazhu knew the specific methods. No one else knew, but…

"Uncle Liu! Only my dad and I in my family know about these blueprints! But it's different for Uncle Liu! If they slip out of Uncle Liu's group, it can't be blamed on us!"

Foreman Liu nodded:

"Don't worry! My construction team are all obedient and hardworking. They'll do whatever I tell them to do! They also can't find suitable people. Besides, I signed the contract this afternoon and will go straight to the prefectural city! My family has a large construction team there!"

Those powerful and wealthy families all prefer to hire my family's construction team; they're good at their work and keep their mouths shut!

Guizhi thought for a moment and said to Dazhu, "Father! I have no objections!"

Dazhu didn't have anything to change, saying:

"Then let's sign it! The sooner we sign the contract, the sooner Brother Liu can set off! Otherwise, it will be dark by the time we reach the prefectural city!"

When Li took out the pen and ink, Dazhu was dumbfounded, and Guizhi also chuckled awkwardly:

"Uncle Liu! None of us can write!"

Foreman Liu exclaimed in surprise:

"You can recognize characters but can't write them?"

"At first, I was only thinking about not being scammed! Brushes, ink, paper and inkstones are so expensive, we can't afford them and we don't need them!"

I never thought it would actually come in handy!

Dazhu explained awkwardly.

Guizhi quickly said, "Uncle Liu! Please help us write our names, and we'll put our fingerprints on them!"

Foreman Liu said helplessly:

"Boss! You should practice your handwriting from now on! At least you should be able to write your own name!"

After both parties signed and sealed the contract, Foreman Liu carefully put away the contract and blueprints. Then he pulled a package from beside him and pushed it in front of Dazhu!

"Master! Please count them! They are all ten-tael silver ingots, thirty in total!"

Dazhu reached out to examine it and bit it with his teeth. He said to Foreman Liu:

"Brother Liu! Then I'll gladly accept your offer!"