Chapter 146: Lingering Fear
The pace of building a house for Zhou Qian wasn’t as urgent as when it was for Huai Yu.
After all, Zhou Qian was in the hospital, while she had been homeless at the time.
However, the more relaxed the situation, the more meticulous Liang Zhu’s requests became.
For example, Huai Yu had been quietly watching for over an hour. Not only had they finished the foundation, leveled the yard, and tilled up an acre of vegetable garden, but they had even dug a well near the house.
The well was 1.5 meters in diameter and 25 meters deep.
If an ordinary person were digging it without machinery, it would have taken quite a bit of time. But with the aid of Earth-based abilities, Liang Zhu simply waved her hand, and the deep, wet soil combined with the dry upper layers was lifted up as if the earth itself had pushed it up.
The well wasn’t even tiled yet, and the soil layers were already compacted tightly by the power of the ability.
Huai Yu stood beside and looked at the well. The yellow, muddy water was already starting to collect at the bottom, indicating that it would indeed yield water.
As for the house—although it was just a foundation now, it already seemed quite spacious. Looking at Liang Zhu’s design plans, the two-bedroom, one-living room house would have an area of 80 square meters.
It didn’t sound large, but the specifications were for a farmhouse courtyard, where miscellaneous items would be stored in a shed, and the kitchen and bathroom were situated on either side of the house, not included in the total area.
Huai Yu instantly felt envious.
Even the septic tank beneath the bathroom was neatly square-shaped!
While Liang Zhu and the others were checking the quality again, Huai Yu couldn’t help but ask in curiosity, “Liang Zhu, how much will you charge for all this work?”
Liang Zhu held out her hand, “500 points for the well, 300 points for the two-bedroom, one-living room—since this is just the foundation!”
“The kitchen and bathroom are 100 points—since the kitchen only needs a foundation and leveled land, but the bathroom needs a fairly large square-shaped septic tank.”
“Levelling the yard is 100 points—see how I’ve leveled this yard! Even though it’s just mud, the stones have all been brought to the top, and the soil underneath is compacted tightly. Even if it rains heavily, it won’t easily turn into a muddy mess…”
She couldn’t help but boast again, “Wow! My ability is really smooth now!”
And then she continued to praise the vegetable garden, “Tilling an acre of land costs 80 points, see how finely the soil has been broken up? If needed, I can even create ridges and dig furrows!”
Liang Zhu went on calculating happily, “I’ve worked with the defense army before, so this job is being offered at an 8% discount—totaling 860 points.”
She then pointed to the two people next to her who were checking data, “It works out just right for the three of us to split it. The designer gets 2, the quality checker gets 2, and I get 6.”
She then patted Huai Yu on the shoulder and whispered, “I told you about the military academy before. You should think about it again!”
“Wood-based abilities can get a lot of development. If you train well, you could enter the Agricultural Bureau and help farms boost their vegetable growth, or even start a small business selling vegetables and fruits. You can still make a lot of money.”
“Look at me—just half a day’s work and I’ve earned over 500 points!”
She chuckled, “That’s the saying, ‘A horse won’t grow fat without night grass, and a person won’t get rich without side gigs!’”
Huai Yu: …Okay, I know you scored over 300 points on your mock exam.
However, now that her savings were nearing 10,000 points, Huai Yu calculated it carefully and had to admit, “It’s not that expensive.”
“It’s alright,” Liang Zhu didn’t keep embellishing, instead telling her honestly: “But it still depends on whether you can get more jobs.”
“There are many people in the construction bureau, but the pricing isn’t uniform, and my after-sales service and quality are the best.”
“So I’m getting more jobs now.”
“Huai Yu, if you want to develop your ability and take private jobs, I suggest you find a reliable person to help you calculate.”
“There’s a lot to consider when setting the price.”
“For example, not long ago, when Flower City just opened, a small worker could be hired for 10 points a day, with meals included for up to 15 points.”
“If you want to make a project like this one, you could hire a few more people for three to five days, and it would be about the same.”
“So we keep the price just a little higher than hiring workers—about one-third more. That way, we won’t get complaints about worker pay, and we can quickly get jobs from those who are in a rush to build.”
She looked at Huai Yu, “If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to the construction bureau and find me!”
Huai Yu instinctively turned her head and looked in the direction of her home.
Liang Zhu: …
“Forget it, forget it,” she immediately became awkward and discouraged.
“The location is too close to the Rose Corridor; I’m afraid to go. You should just hire workers instead.”
Huai Yu remembered what the small worker had said when she had looked for help on the roadside:
“As long as it’s not near the Rose Corridor, anywhere else is fine.”
She instantly fell silent.
Fortunately, she didn’t need any extensions added to her house right now, so after some hesitation, she finally let it go.
Now there was only one question left, “Who’s paying for the 800 points—the Defense Army or Zhou Qian personally?”
She leaned towards the Defense Army and asked.
The person was stunned, then replied, “Of course, Zhou Qian is paying personally.”
“He’s covering the points for this job, as well as the labor costs for the house construction. But all the materials, living supplies, and vegetable seeds, etc., are provided by us.”
“This is part of the Defense Army’s welfare policy written in the terms.”
“It’s a pity. If he had chosen to work at the military academy, he would have received a dormitory from the school in addition to his salary every month.”
The person sighed as they spoke, seemingly unsure why Zhou Qian had given up that opportunity.
Huai Yu thought for a moment but quickly figured it out—civilian positions require 10 kilometers of running every day, and Zhou Qian’s body was in poor condition. What if he had to set an example as an instructor?
It was too tough! Better not go!
She had the skills and the points to support herself!
But the welfare from the Defense Army in terms of house-building was really great—she had only realized it when building her own house. Nowadays, labor costs were not that high, but the quick-drying new materials for building houses were expensive.
For example, her 50-square-meter house had material costs that amounted to 3,000 points. If she hadn’t been homeless and someone else hadn’t offered to pay, Zhou Qian would’ve likely used traditional materials and built it slowly.
But now that Zhou Qian had retired after his injury, the Defense Army’s benefits quickly caught up.
Huai Yu calculated again. 800 points, plus labor costs for building the house—altogether, it would cost about 1,000 points. Zhou Qian should be able to afford that!
Now she just needed to help him stock up on some food and seedlings!
Also, the cost of the prosthesis should be covered by the Defense Army, right? What about maintenance and medication? Since everyone was so poor now, would they still cover those for free?
She was lost in thought, while on the other side, Liang Zhu wiped the small bead of sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh, “Finally done.”
Sigh! The sweat wasn’t from exhaustion, but from anxiety, fearing the Rose Corridor would get upset—Who would understand? When the Rose Corridor silently wiped out a group of escapees who had committed serious crimes, she had been holding a bowl and staring at the big screen, turning to vomit.
Since then, she had been terrified.
Next time there’s a job this close, even if it’s through a familiar connection, she definitely won’t take it casually!
