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Soon, the two followed Li Yutong and Li Bing to the Reception Room, where they saw a middle-aged man in his forties sitting quietly in a guest chair on the left.
This man had a standard square face, and his expression was somewhat wooden and lacking in humor. However, upon closer inspection, he gave the impression of being a straightforward and honest person.
"Are you Master Luo?" Ziyan smiled and asked him first.
"Yes, yes, I am indeed." Master Luo immediately stood up from his chair and deeply bowed to Ziyan and the Demon Prince. However, his expression remained somewhat stiff.
"Hehe, it's fine. Master Luo, please sit down and talk." After saying this, Ziyan sat down on the long redwood bench with the Demon Prince.
Then she nodded towards Master Luo and said, "Please have some tea!"
"Yes, yes, thank you, Princess." As soon as Master Luo finished speaking, Ziyan could no longer sit still. What Princess? This young lady has not yet married this Monster!
"Ahem! Master Luo, you can just call me Miss Zi. We are not yet married." Ziyan cleared her throat twice to cover her momentary embarrassment and then explained to Master Luo.
"Uh? Oh, yes, yes, I apologize. I hope Miss Zi can forgive me." Master Luo was clearly startled, and the teacup in his hand trembled slightly.
At this moment, he was most worried that he might inadvertently offend this young lady and the Prince, which could lead to big trouble for him.
"Hehe! It's fine; Master Luo need not blame yourself. Isn't it said that ignorance is no crime?" Ziyan noticed his inner tension and smiled calmly.
"Yes, Miss Zi is indeed discerning; she must be someone who achieves great things," Master Luo forced himself to flatter Ziyan.
"Alright, let's not talk too much. Here are the design blueprints for the small Yard I drew. Can you see if you can build according to these?" As Ziyan spoke, she signaled to a servant holding the blueprints.
The servant immediately handed Ziyan's sketches to Master Luo. Then Master Luo carefully picked up the design blueprints with his slightly trembling hands due to nervousness and began to examine them one by one earnestly.
Then, lost in contemplation, Ziyan noticed the serious and focused expression on Master Luo's face. She exchanged a glance with the Demon Prince, and the two of them calmly sipped their tea.
After a long while, Master Luo slowly raised his head, nodded, and spoke: "It can definitely be done. However, the foundation of such a house must be dug deeper and more solidly than that of an ordinary residence to withstand the tests of various natural environments over the years."
It seemed that he truly was the best craftsman in the city. Ziyan understood that to build higher, one must dig deeper for the foundation. Moreover, she had incorporated elements from the basic structure of earthquake-resistant houses rebuilt after an earthquake in a certain place in the Twenty-First Century.
However, not everyone in this ancient time would understand this principle. Otherwise, why were all normal yards in this era generally only one story high? Two or three stories were built only by top craftsmen, and even then, no one dared to build higher!
"Well then, I will trouble Master Luo to accompany me to the yard to confirm the specific location for the house!" Ziyan said excitedly as she prepared to call Master Luo and others to go out and mark the land. "Hmm! Alright, Miss Zi, please lead the way," Master Luo nodded as he stood up and gestured for Ziyan to go ahead.
Thus, Ziyan and the Demon Prince stood up again and walked towards the east side of the main residence.
A few minutes later, as they passed by a low house, Ziyan pointed out that a small courtyard could be built there. Master Luo immediately nodded in agreement: "Mm-hmm!"
After crossing the low house, they arrived at the original Peach Orchard. Here, most of the Peach Trees had already been transplanted by those skilled subordinates, leaving only a small patch visible in the distance.
Ziyan silently nodded in satisfaction; efficiency like this was essential for success.
However, suddenly, Ziyan's eyes brightened as inspiration struck her!
A greater business opportunity appeared in her mind. It seemed that all residential buildings in this era were still primarily single-story structures with a retro style.
In the future, she could promote these small villas she designed! How could the profits be bad? In the Twenty-First Century, weren't most of China's richest people developers?
She could also develop her own little villas in ancient times—small villas that she personally designed to be both retro and practical like modern ones.
Thinking of this, a brilliant smile spread across Ziyan's face. She then looked at Master Luo and asked, "If we build five small villas now, how many people do you have under you? How long will it take to complete?"
"Is this it? It will indeed take quite some time, as there are only five or six masters in the hands of the common people. The other Masons are all from the hometown of Murakami, totaling about twenty people," Master Luo replied truthfully.
"Then, if that's the case, won't it take a long time to build the five small courtyards? No, I can't wait that long with Prince. How about this: whether it's the master or the Masons, we will provide our own workers. Master Luo can have as many people as you need; you will have full authority to command and lead them. We will give you two months, and within those two months, you must help us complete all five small courtyards."
At this point, Ziyan looked at Master Luo again and then asked, "How does that sound?"
"Well, that is feasible, but—?" Master Luo hesitated for a moment.
"As for the money? That's easy to negotiate. I assure you that Prince Xuan and I will not shortchange our subjects. Once the work is completed, I will definitely reward you generously!" Ziyan noticed Master Luo's little calculations and confidently promised.
In business dealings, Ziyan certainly understood Master Luo's thoughts.
"Okay! Then everything will be done according to what the lady and the prince want," Master Luo said, having received the answer he wanted, and immediately patted his chest in agreement.
"Great! Now it's up to Master Luo. Let me give you a good number: if you complete the work perfectly within two months and pass inspection, aside from your rightful wages, I will additionally reward you with 2000 taels of Silver. Do you think that's enough?"
Even the most honest and upright person wouldn't complain about receiving more silver! So when Ziyan reached the final stage of negotiations and offered him a huge 'incentive'—the 2000 taels of Silver—she was confident that this craftsman named Luo would work hard for her. As they say, with great rewards come great efforts; even for these generous sums of silver, he would have to do his best!
Wow! That was like 2000 big silvers falling from the sky. Upon hearing that number, Master Luo nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.
Having worked as a mason for most of his life, he had never earned such a large sum before; how could he not feel dizzy?
Once he clearly realized that he had indeed heard such a number just now, he nodded vigorously and replied, "No, no, no, it won't take that much. I thank Miss Zi and Prince Xuan; I will definitely do my utmost to build these small courtyards well."
Ziyan knew that Master Luo was shocked by the 2000 taels of Silver, so she asked, "Well then, Master Luo can weigh it himself. I'll give you time to consider; when you're ready to discuss how much reward you want, just let me know."
Fearing he might get scared again later on, Ziyan took a step back to let him choose. At the same time, she seriously added, "But one thing is certain: quality must be guaranteed."
"Well, this is natural. I, as a commoner, will guarantee with my life that if there are any quality issues, Miss Zi and the prince can deal with it as they see fit." Master Luo replied with a sense of relief, nodding earnestly and confidently.
Heh heh, this is exactly what I was waiting to hear. Ziyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; with this statement, Master Luo would surely take responsibility and get to work sincerely.
"Great! Let's do it this way. You can plan the next steps together with Li Yu and Li Bing. As for how many people you need and what materials to purchase, you can leave all those tedious matters to them."
Ziyan thought for a moment and felt there were still some things that needed to be clarified, so she continued to instruct, "The New Year is coming soon. If you want to take a break then, feel free to do so for a few days. Also, make sure to choose the best quality materials for me, understood?"
"Yes, yes, understood. Since the prince and Miss Zi are eager to start construction as soon as possible, taking a break during the Spring Festival is just a small matter for me! We can rest next year instead. Hehehe!" After expressing himself, Master Luo finally chuckled a few times in a silly manner.
"Alright! It's settled then! You all go discuss it now; I will take my leave with the prince." Ziyan felt quite at ease; since this was something they were willing to do, it would be inappropriate for her to insist they take a few days off—it would only make her seem pretentious.
With that, Ziyan linked arms with her Demon Prince, leisurely making their way back along the original path toward the main residence.
Just as the two reached the front door of the main residence and were about to step inside, an extremely displeased voice came from behind them: "You two shameless lovers actually took Auntie away and left us behind."
Who else could it be? It was easy to guess that this speaker must be the once high-and-mighty Princess.
At the same time, the group of servants following Ziyan and Demon Prince were all stunned into silence upon hearing such vulgar words.
Thus, Ziyan and Demon Prince turned around simultaneously, both glaring disapprovingly at the incomprehensible Princess Ling Yuer.
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