Chapter 84: Heaven
No matter how busy they are at work every day, the Chinese police officers will take time to visit Li De’s home which is under construction.
Although that was Li De's home, in the eyes of the Chinese police, it was hope.
The hope of settling down in Cape Town and giving his family a good life.
For this reason, many Chinese police officers would even go to the construction site to help when they were off duty. Seeing Li De's home being built bit by bit, the Chinese police officers were happy. In the future, their homes would also be built bit by bit in the same way. Today's Li De will be them tomorrow.
The progress was indeed fast. Even if Rock didn't emphasize it, Christian didn't dare to be lazy. More than a dozen workers were urged by Christian like spinning tops and had no time to stop. After Li De's house was completed, there would be more houses waiting for Christian and his team. If it weren't for Rock's requirements for quality, Christian wouldn't have been able to find too many qualified construction workers at once. He wanted to start work on multiple construction sites at the same time.
Unlike Anton and Luo Yi who have become police chiefs, Li De is still a police officer and does not have much savings. Including the bonuses during this period, all of Li De's money added up to less than 100 pounds.
This amount of money is definitely not enough to buy a house, but it is enough to build a house. All the building materials that Li De needed to build the house were purchased by Rock. Rock did not look for those big building materials suppliers, but only for small builders, and tried his best to choose Boers, so Rock could get very high discounts, and the quality was absolutely guaranteed. No one dared to cheat with Rock.
Although Li De has not yet started a family and does not have high requirements for the house, Li De still followed Rock's advice and chose to use white marble for the foundation of the house. Building a house on such a marble base can be used for dozens or even hundreds of years as long as it is carefully maintained.
Li De did not have too high requirements for the wood used to build the house. The main materials were eucalyptus and pine trees, which are abundant in Cape Town. They are cheap and of reliable quality. Although the built house is not as sturdy and durable as those made entirely of marble, it has the advantage of a short construction period and low cost, which is also acceptable.
The construction speed of a wooden structure house is indeed fast. The wood is simply processed and spliced together with mortise and tenon structures, and then reinforced with steel nails. It can be assembled to any length you want. When several "walls" assembled in this way are combined together, the overall structure of the house is completed. People who are more particular will also paint the outside of the walls. Li De chose white. After painting, it looks no different from a marble building from a distance.
The interior decoration was even easier, as there were also professional workers in this area. After Li De decided on the wallpaper and floor, he handed it all over to the workers. In less than ten days, a house was built.
"This house is so beautiful! If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have been so anxious and would have built one myself." Anton felt a little regretful after visiting Li De's house.
It is indeed beautiful. All the exterior walls are white, including the steps and porch in front of the door. The workers' craftsmanship is very good. The gaps between the wood joints are all covered with paint. The whole house looks integrated, brand new inside and out. Such a house has exceeded Anton's understanding of a house. In Rock's words, it is a "fairy tale world."
The decoration in the room is also eye-catching. The beige wallpaper and dark brown floor complement each other. There are several fabric sofas placed randomly in the living room, which is full of a warm family atmosphere. There are not many other furniture in the bedroom except a bed and a wardrobe. Even the bedding has not been bought yet. The room is filled with the fresh smell of logs, and the floor is so clean that people can't bear to step on it. Everyone wants such a house, even Henry is amazed.
"Reed, go buy two shotguns and hang them on the wall as decorations. Also buy a vase and some decorative paintings. Your house is missing a hostess." Rock was busy giving advice. Of course, the purpose of buying shotguns is not just decoration. It can protect the family and cultivate the martial spirit of the family members. As for decorative paintings, they are everywhere, as long as they are not the kind of naked women posing in a coquettish manner.
Well, it should be described as "body art", but from the perspective of traditional Chinese people, it is immoral and I guess Li De may not be able to accept it.
"Hehe, I'll buy it later." Li De has been sleepwalking since he entered the room, and now Li De has not accepted this fact.
"Reed, good luck guy!"
"Reed, how much did it cost to build the house?"
"It's a lot. I don't think a hundred pounds will be enough."
More Chinese policemen couldn't wait. Li De's house had been completed and Luo Yi's house was almost built. More Chinese were calculating their property and were willing to sell everything they had to build their houses.
"It cost less than eighty pounds, mainly because of the money I put in. The stones and wood used to build the house didn't cost much, otherwise one hundred pounds would definitely not be enough." Reed told the truth, his gratitude to Rock beyond words.
In fact, compared with building materials, the most expensive part of building a house is labor. But who can blame the Boers for their cheap wages now? A dozen workers, 5 pence per day, is only three or four shillings a day. If Reed puts on his police uniform and walks around the dock , he can get more than that in tribute. It is so easy to settle down in Cape Town, but all the Chinese policemen have never thought about it before.
"Boss, once Mr. Luo's house is finished, I can start mine as well, right?" The impatient Chinese policemen have already started queuing up. It is better to act sooner rather than later. Who knows if the price of construction materials will go up tomorrow? As for whether the money is enough?
That's not a problem. There are so many Chinese police officers, and it will always be enough if we gather them together. With Rock here, why should we be afraid of not making money?
"If you want to build a house, line up here in Reed. Don't worry about not having a place. There are plenty of places here on Mill Street." Rock no longer has to go to great lengths to tempt the Chinese police officers to become naturalized citizens. After returning from Kimberley, almost all of the second batch of Chinese police officers have completed their naturalization. More Chinese police officers have sent telegrams to their hometowns, hoping that their families can immigrate to Cape Town as soon as possible. It would be so nice for the family to be reunited in Cape Town, with no worries about food and clothing, which is a thousand times better than staying in the Qing Dynasty and suffering from hunger and cold.
In fact, they have not yet realized that what is more unbearable than starving and freezing is the war in the next few decades. They would rather be dogs in peacetime than people in troubled times. Just look at how the Boers are living now, and you will know how the Chinese in the Qing Dynasty will live in the next few decades. Compared with the Qing Dynasty, Cape Town can really be regarded as a paradise.
