343 "Blackmail"

"Hello, Professor. Please include the backyard when we carry out the repair work. Thank you for your hard work," Xia Zhe said with a smile.

These historical buildings all had blueprints that were ready to be used for construction purposes. These historical buildings all had specific measurements, so there was no need to redraw the building plan. They could start work right away and add whatever was needed as they progressed.

The professor from the architecture department was about 40 years old and his surname was Zhu.

Professor Zhu looked at the house in front and the wreckage in the backyard with a look of regret.

"Don't worry, it's not hard work. I'll try my best with the repairs," Professor Zhu said in a kindly manner.

Qiao Mei looked at the extent of work required and felt a little worried. She asked softly, "Professor, how much do you think this will cost?"

"If we want to use all original materials, the material cost will be about 1,000 dollars," Professor Zhu said.

It turned out that the quality of the antique bricks used in the original construction was thousands of times better than ordinary bricks. These bricks would remain in good condition even after thousands of years. Professor Zhu had checked through the house and felt that the bricks here could still be used for at least another 300 years. As for the side which had collapsed, the whole place had to be rebuilt. The most difficult part would be to find the timber to construct the house beams. In fact, the 1,000 dollars he mentioned would all be spent on the timber.

"Then how about the labor cost?" Qiao Mei asked as she looked at Professor Zhu.

Professor Zhu was stunned for a moment before looking at Xia Wen and said, "Oh, you didn't tell them."

Xia Wen smiled and said, "Professor Zhu is my friend. He's here to help this time, so there's no fee."

Qiao Mei felt that it was inappropriate. It did not make sense for such a large project to be free of charge.

"How can there be no fees? The weather is so warm now, and this isn't about building one or two rooms. We have to rely on Professor Zhu to repair almost the entire building. It's definitely not right not to charge us any fees," Qiao Mei said.

Qiao Mei did not know how to explain her current thoughts. She did not know if the current law allowed professors to take on jobs on their own. She did not know if they could do these things and how much money they should make.

Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe, feeling at a loss. The money for the construction work would not come from the Xia family, as the Cao family would definitely need to bear the cost. However, since the builders were hired by the Xia family, they would feel like they were doing a favor for the Xia family. She could not let that happen, as the Cao family must be the one to pay the price.

Xia Zhe understood what Qiao Mei meant and patted the back of her hand to reassure her.

"I don't think 1,000 dollars is enough for so many bricks and tiles, right?" Xia Zhe deliberately said loudly in the direction of the backyard.

Xia Wen understood immediately and shouted along, "That's right! We're only talking about the money for the bricks and tiles just now! We haven't discussed the rest!"

"Sigh, this house should have been usable for hundreds of years, but now it needs to be rebuilt after getting messed up. It definitely needs to be reinstated to exactly how it was before. Professor Zhu, what do you think?" Qiao Mei looked at Teacher Zhu playfully and blinked.

Professor Zhu also understood what was going on. He adjusted his glasses and said, "I think it will cost about 1,500 dollars for it to be exactly the same as before."

"Ah? I would think 1,500 dollars isn't enough, Professor Zhu? You still haven't said anything about the house beams and the rest of the details. I think we haven't taken all these into account," Xia Wen said as he looked at Teacher Zhu.

Professor Zhu hurriedly said, "That's right, that's right. It will probably cost at least 2,000 dollars."

Professor Zhu felt a little guilty and whispered, "There would still be a lot of money left over from 2,000 dollars. The extra money would even be enough to repair the front courtyard. I think that's enough..."

Qiao Mei grinned at Professor Zhu's cautious manner. She could tell at a glance that Professor Zhu was an honest person who seldom told lies.

Professor Zhu was trembling in fear by then. He nervously took off his glasses and wiped the sweat off his face.

Xia Wen felt that 2,000 dollars was still not enough. He reached out and took Professor Zhu's glasses to wipe it for him and said, "I think 2,000 dollars is still not enough. Back then, the roof was actually painted by a master artist. The painting materials used were top-quality, and they were all natural materials like cinnabar, gold foil and turquoise, among others. If we're going to restore it to its original condition, it should cost at least 20,000 dollars, right?"

Xia Zhe looked at Xia Wen seriously and nodded. "Indeed, I would say 20,000 dollars is a conservative estimate. It's just the cost of materials and does not include the labor fee yet. Altogether, it should cost at least 23,000 dollars."