A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

Perhaps it's because the young son is quite handsome and has a kind face.

After watching for a while, until most of the cargo had been unloaded, she straightened up, dusted off her hands (which weren't actually dust), and smiled at Yunzhu, saying, "Let's go, we've seen enough of the excitement, it's time to get down to business."

After crossing the bridge, the master and servant strolled around for about half an hour before arriving at the house they had bought but had not yet set foot in.

It looks much the same as before, except that the weeds that were once quite lush have turned yellow and withered over time, making it look even more dilapidated.

The windows of the three main rooms were rotten, the doors were hanging precariously, and most of the roof had collapsed. It was clear that they were dangerous buildings. Chen Wanxing felt that there was little value in repairing them, and leaving them would only pose a hidden danger.

She walked around the house once and then she had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

Chen Wanxing did not plan to invest heavily in renovations immediately. Since there was no clear purpose for it at the moment, he would just do the most basic work.

"This house is beyond saving."

She dusted off her hands and made a decisive decision.

"Why not tear it down completely, pick out all the usable bricks, and stack them neatly? Then clear out the broken tiles and rotten wood."

She then pointed to the courtyard wall, which was drafty and had even collapsed in several sections, and said, "Use these old bricks, mix them with new ash, and build these four courtyard walls solidly, making them as tall as a person and a half. Then, cover the top with tiles to ensure that cats and dogs cannot get in."

As for the yard, it's good that it's been cleared out and leveled. A blank expanse of land is actually cleaner, making it convenient to build whatever we want in the future or next spring.

Yunzhu never offered any opinions on what she said, always just nodding in agreement.

The young lady is right, she is absolutely right, we will listen to her.

Chen Wanxing originally wanted to directly instruct Yunzhu to find someone, but he swallowed the words back.

Yunzhu is still young and inexperienced. She may not understand the intricacies of finding craftsmen, negotiating wages, and supervising the work, and could easily be fooled.

"Forget it, it's better if I go to the Craftsmen's Guild myself to handle this matter."

The master and servant then turned back, inquiring along the way, and found the artisan guild in the prefectural city.

It was an inconspicuous little courtyard made of blue bricks, with the door wide open, from which the faint sounds of abacuses and the loud, boisterous conversations of craftsmen could be heard.

Chen Wanxing straightened her clothes and stepped inside. Inside, several craftsmen dressed in short clothes and covered in mortar were talking to a man who looked like a manager.

Upon seeing her enter, a young and beautiful girl accompanied by a maid, everyone stopped talking and turned their gazes toward her.

The steward, being a man of wide experience, did not show any disrespect because she was a woman. He politely stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "Young lady, what brings you here?"

Chen Wanxing curtsied and said, "Greetings, Manager. I have an old house in the east of the city. I would like to hire someone to demolish the main house and then repair and reinforce the courtyard wall with the old bricks from the demolished house. That is why I have come to your guild to hire a few skilled craftsmen at reasonable prices."

The steward wasn't displeased to hear it was such miscellaneous work; he simply nodded and asked carefully, "How big is your courtyard, young lady? How many rooms are in the main house? Are there any specific requirements for the courtyard walls?"

Chen Wanxing answered each question, stating that as long as the wall was one and a half times the height of a person and was sturdy and solid, it would be fine.

After a moment's thought, the foreman said, "This job, young lady, requires an experienced master craftsman to oversee the demolition and bricklaying to prevent the wall from collapsing and injuring someone or wasting materials."

In that case, I'll arrange for two experienced bricklayers to take you under my wing, with a daily wage of fifty copper coins. As for manual labor, it's currently the off-season for farming, and the docks are full of strong laborers from villages outside the city looking for work. The wages are cheap, and people are willing to work.

The girl told the two foremen to go to the dock with her and say that they could hire as many people as needed, and they would be paid daily at twenty coins a day. This way, they could save money and get the work done faster.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wanxing realized that the arrangement was indeed reasonable and thoughtful. It ensured that the technical aspects would not go wrong and saved on manpower costs, which showed that the person in charge of the guild was a practical person.

She immediately nodded in agreement: "As the manager suggests. Are there any chefs available now?"

"Please have a seat, young lady. I'll go and fetch someone right away."

The manager was efficient and soon brought over two honest-looking bricklayers. They agreed that work would begin the next day, wages would be paid daily, and lunch would be provided.

The matter was handled smoothly, and Chen Wanxing was satisfied. He thanked the steward, made an appointment with the two masters to meet in Baishi Lane early the next morning, and then left with Yunzhu.

The next morning, the air was still filled with the cool dew.

After the two bricklayers, surnamed Zhao and Sun, arrived, Chen Wanxing led them to select workers as agreed.

Originally, Chen Wanxing planned to pick up a child at whichever dock he came across on the way to the house in the east of the city, but for some reason, the faces of the father and son from yesterday suddenly appeared in his mind.

Since they needed to hire people anyway, it didn't matter where they went. Chen Wanxing paused, changed course, and took the same route as yesterday.

I just don't know if the two of them are still at that dock today.

The dock now presents a completely different scene from what I saw yesterday afternoon.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and water vapor lingered on the river surface. On the dock, a large group of able-bodied young men were gathered in the open space.

Most of them were dressed in short browns, their clothes worn and old. Some squatted on the ground silently smoking their pipes, some chatted in groups of three or five, and many more craned their necks, searching with anticipation for any employer who might bring them work.

When Chen Wanxing led the two masters to the dock, they immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Her gaze swept calmly across the crowd. She quickly noticed the father and son standing on the outer edge.

Chen Wanxing stopped a short distance away and said to the two masters, "Master Zhao, Master Sun, you are good at recruiting people. Just pick four or five honest and hardworking ones."

"Don't worry, young lady, leave it to us." Master Zhao replied, and together with Master Sun, they walked into the group of laborers with their usual steps.

They didn't shout anything, but instead looked around first.

Master Sun whispered, "Old Zhao, look at those guys, they're big and strong, they must be very powerful."

Master Zhao shook his head slightly, his gaze becoming even more shrewd: "Strength is certainly good, but the homeowner isn't going to build a rammed earth wall. Demolishing a house and removing bricks is delicate work; you can't just rely on brute force and act recklessly, wasting materials and causing even more trouble. We need to find those who look steady and have some finesse."

The two men spoke in hushed tones as they moved through the crowd. They would stop every now and then, randomly pointing out someone and asking, "Have you ever demolished an old house before? Have you ever carried bricks?"

Sometimes, they would ask the other person to hold out their hand so they could see the roughness and location of calluses on their palms. This would give them a general idea of ​​whether the person often did heavy or rough work and what their strength habits were.

Their voices weren't loud, but they carried the authority of seasoned masters. The laborers who were asked answered earnestly, hoping to be selected.

Chen Wanxing watched quietly, finding the selection process quite interesting; it was a kind of work-related skill she wasn't familiar with.