Stepping out of his uncle’s house, Ge Xiaotian took a deep breath and waved his fists with enthusiasm.
“Success!”
Uncle Ge couldn’t possibly pay the money on the spot. Since the contract only covered labor and not materials, there was no need for a down payment. After both parties agreed on the terms, the payment of 8,000 yuan would be settled in one go after the new house was inspected.
In fact, Ge Xiaotian initially planned to ask for 5,000 yuan, but he didn’t expect Uncle Ge’s estimate to be a bit high, so he might as well raise the price.
However, even with the higher price, considering the daily income of the strong men, this would still be considered a loss.
But taking on Uncle Ge’s project was never about making money – it was about setting an example: Ge Xiaotian is not a slacker; not only is he capable, but he also does an excellent job!
Most of the houses in the village were rammed earth houses. In recent years, many villagers had gone out to work and returned with some extra money. Who wouldn’t want to build a new house?
As long as the labor was cheap, the construction was beautiful, and the process was quick and stable, people would naturally come knocking on their doors.
A brand-new construction team would need to meet four criteria to get work: scale, quality, reputation, and speed! All were indispensable!
••••••
The next day, Ge Xiaotian didn’t continue buying meat to treat the farmers.
After asking the strong men about their job-seeking experiences, he already knew:
Six brick kilns needed twenty-two people.
Two cement factories needed seven people.
The sand field needed two people.
The coal ball factory needed three people••••••
The grain depot••••••
In general, fifty strong men could saturate the demand for temporary workers in the surrounding towns.
Ge Xiaotian planned to wait until the construction site at his uncle’s house got on track before setting up a new base in a town thirty miles away.
The top priority was to get all the necessary tools for the construction site.
Iron shovels, iron hoes, and iron hammers didn’t need to be bought; borrowing a few from the village would suffice.
Trowels, tile knives, scraper knives, triangle trowels, small scraping knives••••••
Measuring tapes, spirit levels, chalk lines, mud basins••••••
Purchasing screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers••••••
Purchasing safety helmets, rubber hoses, water pipes, ropes••••••
Unfortunately, the labor protection store didn’t have that many camouflage suits, so they had to pre-order two hundred sets, agreeing to pick up and pay for the goods in two days.
They also bought cloth shoes, toiletries, and daily necessities for the strong men••••••
After all the shopping, they spent all 2,600 yuan, and still needed more.
In the evening, when the strong men returned, unexpectedly, they brought back 3,000 yuan!
Awesome!
Buying vegetables, cooking••••••
So unpalatable••••••
••••••
Over the next two days, Ge Xiaotian continued to prepare.
He contacted carpenters, electricians, ramming machines, and four-wheeler teams, and rented water pumps.
When no one was at home, he stole big hammers, iron hoes, and crowbars, and borrowed a series of tools like iron shovels from neighbors.
He checked out nearby internet and mobile phone stores, and suddenly realized that not only was there no Unicom, but even China Mobile hadn’t been separated yet.
I asked about the Nokia 6110, and the price was similar to the model, while the 8810 was even more expensive. As for Motorola, it’s truly the big brother, with all models starting with the number ten thousand. And what about Amoi? It hasn’t even appeared yet…
Alright, let’s go for the fighter jet of mobile phones, model 818, just released two months ago.
I must get this thing; otherwise, how am I going to keep in touch with everyone?
After a satisfying meal, I calculated the expenses. In four days, the strong men earned a total of 9,800 yuan. They spent 4,100 yuan on purchasing materials, 900 yuan on food, car rentals, and hiring carpenters, and the rest on buying mobile phones and getting new numbers. Anyway, there’s still 1,200 yuan left in my pocket.
Uncle Si’s 8,000 yuan hasn’t arrived yet, but I’ve already spent 8,000 yuan of my own…
However, these tools are long-term investments. It’s always hard at the beginning, but I’ll definitely make a profit in the end.
I’ll hang a few banners, buy some firecrackers, get a few boxes of thunder bombs, and five big barrels of mineral water.
Everything is ready, and we’ll start tomorrow!
*****
October 21st, sunny weather, everything is going well!
In the early morning, just as the sky turns slightly bright.
On the dirt road crossing Ge Village, the sound of whistles suddenly echoes through the air.
“One, two, one, one, two, one, one, two, three, four…”
Seventy-six strong men dressed in camouflage and wearing yellow safety helmets march in neat steps towards Uncle Ge’s house under Ge Xiao Tian’s command.
Five vehicles loaded with tools follow closely behind.
The grand scene is blood-boiling.
Hearing the commotion, the villagers who just got up all rush out of their courtyards and gather on both sides of the road to watch the excitement.
Ge Xiao Tian smiles brightly and waves his hand.
“What is Er Leng Zi up to?”
“Where did all these soldiers come from?”
“They’re not soldiers; they’re… I’ve seen this kind of construction team in big cities before. They build skyscrapers!”
“Wow… Uncle Ge couldn’t find enough people to build his house, so he spent money to hire them?”
“No way, you can’t just hire this kind of construction team with money!”
“Could it be that Er Leng Zi invited them?”
“It’s possible. A few months ago, he even invited a big boss to invest in our village!”
“Tsk, but it wasn’t successful!”
“But he’s still a well-informed person!”
“What’s with the banner? Da Mao, help me read it!”
“Hard work creates wealth; safety brings happiness! Complete a project, expand a market, make friends, and create a top-notch brand! I’m Ge Xiao Tian, Construction Team’s phone number 137••••••qq6666••••••”
“Wow, Ge Er Leng Zi actually bought a high-end phone?”
“What high-end phone? His is called a mobile phone and is probably more expensive than those!”
“Ge Er Leng Zi is on the path to success!”
Standing in the crowd, Comrade Ge Feng had the urge to drag a certain little beast over and give him a good thrashing. However, seeing such a massive scene, his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Surprise? Worry? Pride?
Very torn indeed.
••••••
Three days ago, after discussing the house construction with Ge Xiao Tian, Ge Lao Si had been feeling unreliable, so much so that he had been suffering from insomnia for the past few nights.
Who is Ge Xiao Tian?
A well-known local ruffian in the village, known far and wide.
He used to be quite capable when he was in school, but in recent years, what has he done that’s reassuring?
He’s simply done everything evil!
Asking him to help build the house?
Isn’t he just going to waste all the newly bought materials?
No, don’t just give it to me in secret!
Fortunately, there hadn’t been any movement in the past three days.
Crouching in the outhouse, Ge Lao Si pondered as he smoked a pen. Today, he had to find his brother Ge Feng to have a good talk and ask him to dissuade Ge Xiao Tian from his idea.
He suddenly realized that as long as Ge Xiao Tian didn’t help build the house, finding a bricklayer didn’t seem to be a difficult task••••••
One, two, one!
One, two, one!
One, two, three, four••••••
Boom, boom, boom!
What’s going on?
What happened?
Before Ge Lao Si could even stand up, Si Shen’s heart-wrenching scream came:
“Old man, it’s not good! Ge Er Leng Zi is coming to demolish the house!!!”
Crash, crash, crash!
As Ge Lao Si hurriedly pulled up his pants and ran out of the outhouse, firecrackers were going off in the yard, thunder roaring, and green figures everywhere.
Not only that, the alley was boiling with people, as if something amazing had happened!
“I didn’t commit a crime!!!”
Upon seeing several burly men in camouflage approaching, Old Ge quickly raised his hands. His pants, which he hadn’t fastened properly, immediately fell down.
“Hey, Uncle Four, is it your lucky year?”
“Little Tian?”
“Uncle Four, have you cleared out the house yet? We’re starting the demolition today!”
“Huh?” Old Ge was dumbfounded.
From a distance, the strong men in camouflage had already rushed into the rammed earth house and moved out many items that couldn’t be moved before.
Soon, the strong men climbed onto the roof, smashing, prying, digging…
In just a short while, the rammed earth house that had been lived in for twenty years came crashing down…
Old Ge felt like he was in a dream, his mind foggy. How did everything happen so fast?
“Uh-oh, not good! Uncle Four fainted!”
