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Chapter 41: Worth a Day of Hard Labor for a Tasty Meal
Chapter 41: Worth a Day of Hard Labor for a Tasty Meal
The Brick and Tile Factory.
Deng Shirong explained his purpose, "I plan to build a large brick and tile house, with a floor area of about 580 square meters. I need a lot of blue bricks and tiles. Could you tell me the prices for your blue bricks and tiles?"
This was a big order, and Deng Changbao instantly perked up, warmly inviting him, "Uncle Jiu, come sit over here. We have a pipe here; you can smoke a couple of puffs. I’ll give you the best price for the blue bricks and tiles."
Deng Shirong nodded and followed Deng Changbao to the factory to sit down and smoke.
While Deng Shirong was smoking, Deng Changbao introduced, "Uncle Jiu, I usually sell blue bricks for about five to six cents each. Since you need such a large quantity, I’ll give you the cheapest price at four and a half cents each. How does that sound?"
Deng Shirong exhaled the smoke and said, "Four and a half cents each is fine, but I need the best quality blue bricks."
Deng Changbao grinned, "Of course, the blue bricks for Uncle Jiu will definitely be the best quality."
Deng Shirong said, "I’ll order 35,000 blue bricks first, and if I need more, I’ll order more later. How much for the tiles?"
Deng Changbao replied, "Uncle Jiu, I usually sell small blue tiles for one and a half to two cents each. I’ll give you one and a half cents each."
Deng Shirong nodded, "I’ll order 90,000 small blue tiles first, and if I need more, I’ll order more later."
Deng Changbao smiled, "No problem. I have a kiln of blue bricks that needs to be fired. When do you need them?"
Deng Shirong said, "I’ll start digging the foundation on the 16th and lay the bricks on the 21st. Whenever your kiln is ready, just deliver the bricks."
Deng Changbao agreed, "Alright, but firing the blue bricks takes a long time. It will likely be ready by the end of the month. As soon as the kiln is open, I’ll deliver the bricks to you."
Deng Shirong smiled, "End of the month is fine. I’ll use stones for the foundation, and by the time the foundation is done, your kiln should be ready."
Deng Changbao breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as it doesn’t delay your construction."
They then discussed some details, and Deng Shirong emphasized the need for phased payments and the possibility of delayed payments. Deng Changbao readily agreed.
After all, in Deng Changbao’s eyes, Uncle Jiu was not only highly respected in the Deng clan of Bangjie Brigade but also one of the owners of the brick and tile factory. The money would definitely be paid, and as long as it didn’t affect the factory’s operations, a slight delay wasn’t a problem.
After finalizing the deal, Deng Shirong left the brick and tile factory and went to Shuangwang to inquire about buying cement.
If Deng Shirong wanted to build a modern building, he would need a lot of cement. However, he chose to build a large brick and tile house, which required much less cement. Cement was only needed for the foundation; once the walls were above ground, he would use lime instead of cement.
This wasn’t because lime was better than cement, but because Deng Shirong didn’t plan to paint the exterior walls. For aesthetics, blue bricks with white lime were a perfect match, whereas using cement would make the exterior less attractive.
...
Building a house, whether now or in the future, is a very complicated task.
Over the next few days, Deng Shirong was busy organizing people to go to the stone mountain to gather stones and transport them back with ox carts. He also organized people to go to the river to collect sand and to prepare the lime pit, soaking the lime in advance.
Stones and sand were free, but they required ample labor to gather and transport.
It was currently the busiest time of the year for the villagers, as everyone was busy planting rice seedlings. For anyone else in the village, gathering enough hands to help with such tasks would be a challenging feat.
Fortunately, Deng Shirong still had considerable influence in the village. After spreading the word, more than a dozen able-bodied men came to lend a hand.
This was already quite impressive, given that they were volunteering their time without any pay, leaving their own work to help Deng Shirong. Naturally, he couldn’t let them go unrewarded.
Paying them wages was out of the question. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it, but he couldn’t set a precedent. Whenever a family built a house, everyone in the village would help out. If Deng Shirong started paying wages, others would expect the same treatment when it was their turn to build.
To avoid this awkward situation, Deng Shirong focused on providing the best possible meals.
From the day the young men started helping, Deng Shirong went all out to prepare delicious meals for them. His system space was stocked with hundreds of pounds of pork, including various cuts like pork belly, and he also had the village children help catch fish, eels, snails, and frogs. With his exceptional cooking skills and generous use of oil, the dishes he prepared were nothing short of mouthwatering, and the young men almost swallowed their tongues in delight.
To say it bluntly, they had never tasted such delicious meals in their lives!
Deng Shirong’s culinary skills were impeccable. He made sure to prepare at least three meat dishes for each meal, but the portions were just right—enough to satisfy the young men without leaving them feeling overly full. The combination with the side dishes made for a perfectly satisfying meal.
As a result, the young men worked with renewed vigor, constantly transporting stones and sand back to the site.
Word of Deng Shirong’s delicious meals spread quickly throughout Naye Village, and even to neighboring villages. In the future, food enthusiasts would drive for miles just to taste a single dish. But in this era, where meat was a rare treat, the desire for good food was far more intense. For the villagers, the chance to enjoy a delicious meal made a day of hard labor well worth it.
Thus, more young men spontaneously came to offer their help. If it weren’t for the crucial time of planting rice seedlings, even more would have joined.
Deng Shirong welcomed all of them, knowing that providing meals in exchange for their labor was a fantastic deal.
While the work at Deng Shirong’s place was in full swing, the first batch of goods from the pottery factory was successfully fired. Without wasting a moment, Deng YunGui arranged for a truck to load the goods and set off with Deng YunTai to sell them in Hepu County.
Following Deng Shirong’s advice, they planned to visit Beihai after selling the goods to explore the market there and see if the prices were better than in Hepu. Even if the prices were the same, it was essential to diversify their market. With the factory producing a steady stream of goods, relying solely on the Hepu market could lead to problems if sales were slow.
Having multiple markets to sell to would mitigate this risk.
Ladies and gentlemen, the book is now off the recommendation list. Whether it has a chance to turn things around depends on all of you. I hope you will continue to read and support it. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)
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