Although no brick kilns or bricklayers could be found in the western territories, fortunately, there were still a good number of carpenters.
In virtually every village, there were people skilled in carpentry, yet in Ireya’s domain, the common people had a poor perception of the lizard people.
Many of them had relatives or friends who had died at the hands of the lizard people and harbored both hatred and fear towards these raiders living in the swamps.
Even though Li Yu had already requested that the lizard people remove the giant lizard skull that could be worn on the body, making them appear no different from ordinary humans, the mont they heard about working in the lands where the lizard people lived, not a single person was willing to respond, even though Li Yu was willing to offer double the pay.
Eventually, Li Yu could only bring in five carpenters from the neighboring Black Stone City, along with their assistants, totaling twelve people.
After a series of tests, Li Yu retained two carpenters who were skilled and honest enough, along with three of their assistants. The others were given a stipend and sent back by Ireya’s people.
Li Yu hoped that those two carpenters and their assistants would stay permanently.
At any ti, talent was the scarcest resource, especially those with specialized skills.
The lizard people, seeing the mastery of carpentry evident everywhere, enthusiastically participated in building tree houses together; anyone could lend a hand, following a wild route. However, the end products were always a bit unruly and aside from tree houses and so commonly used wooden tools, they could produce nothing else.
There was still much to improve upon to et Li Yu’s expectations.
In contrast, the two carpenters were much more reliable. One of them was a human, just over forty, who had honed his skills from early exposure due to his father being a carpenter.
The other was a Half-Beast, precisely one hundred years old and in the pri of his strength, capable of doing the work of two n.
Both had participated in castle construction, mainly responsible for building the outer scaffolding, various temporary work sheds, and arch supports strong enough to support arches; the human had even overseen the repair of bridges, and crafting various kinds of furniture was no problem at all for him.
The tools they carried were also very comprehensive, with hamrs, axes, saws, and chisels all well-packaged.
Li Yu used the old thod again, using money to encourage them.
He offered them double their usual inco, and for every five days worked they could rest for two days, in exchange for their permanent settlent on this land.
Both were visibly moved.
The Half-Beast carpenter, nicknad Nine-fingers, quickly agreed. The middle-aged man, however, showed so hesitation.
Black Stone City and Green Field were not far apart, and he was sowhat aware of the occurrences here; despite assurances from a person nad rlin that the lizard people’s crisis had been properly resolved.
No one would burst from the marshes to rampage nearby, but when it ca to his and his family’s safety, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Beyond that, another matter also concerned him—this land had no followers of the Silver Moon Goddess, inhabited entirely by heathens who worshipped a strange deity known as Saturday.
This greatly unsettled the middle-aged carpenter.
Li Yu understood this anxiety, so he went onto Taobao and spent fifty-five yuan to buy a wood plane, gifting it to the middle-aged carpenter as a housewarming present.
The latter was soon deeply shocked by this small tool that could easily smooth the surface of wood, becoming completely fascinated. He held it day and night, wanting to plane sothing wherever he went.
Ultimately, he too agreed to stay.
Together with the three assistants the two had brought, there were now five carpenters in the domain. Li Yu also assigned fifty lizard people to assist them, forming five small carpentry squads.
anwhile, Li Yu’s contacted designer also sent over the completed design drawings.
Having worked as a designer for many years, he had never received such an unusual order.
The client had started by insisting on brick-and-wood structures, not wanting to use the popular reinforced concrete as materials, which was acceptable. After all, purely wooden houses were still being built these days, and though brick-and-wood were becoming rarer, it wasn’t too outrageous.
But the subsequent requirents truly shocked him—the client actually didn’t want him to design for electricity or running water, nor did he need a bathroom or bath, but the kitchen needed a chimney which also had to connect to the bedroom’s heating bed.
The designer exclaid feeling like it was a flashback to his childhood, wondering if he had encountered a fellow countryman. Wasn’t this design just like the large heated beds from his hotown in the northeast?
Feeling a surge of enthusiasm, and out of professional habit, he couldn’t help but ask further, "Boss, what are you planning to do for the toilet then?"
Li Yu replied, "I’m planning to build an outhouse outside, um, the kind that can be shared by a dozen or so households."
The designer, reliving mories of his childhood, imdiately understood, "A dry latrine! Then boss, don’t bother looking elsewhere. I’ll send you a design for the dry latrine directly; they’re quite common. Consider it a gift between friends. But are you sure you really don’t want water and electricity?"
Dry latrines and heated beds were still fairly common in rural areas today, but places without water and electricity were rare these days, especially electricity, which had reached many remote mountain areas.
Li Yu did not explain further but continued to type, "No need, just send the design drawings for review. If there’s no issue, I’ll contact you again for designing a public bathhouse later."
Although the designer still had many questions, he sent the first draft of the design sche to Li Yu two days later. After reviewing, Li Yu requested several modifications.
The designer made the revisions accordingly, and a day later, Li Yu ca back with a few more queries, but this ti not for modifications. Most were related to specific construction details, so even quite naive.
The designer patiently answered, and Li Yu finally expressed his satisfaction.
Soon after, the designer sent over the complete design package, including land size, building area, cost estimation, construction paraters, and various architectural and structural drawings as well as plumbing drawings.
Li Yu promptly paid the balance.
Overall, it was a transaction that left both sides satisfied. Although the designer felt the client’s requirents were a bit strange, he didn’t dwell too much on it.
At that ti, he had no idea that this was just the beginning of a long collaboration with the client, who would ask for even more bizarre designs each ti.
And soon, what he considered his rather mundane designs would beco wildly popular across the Bratis Continent, revered by countless stonecutters and carpenters, and even sparking a significant artistic movent.
But of course, that’s a story for another day.
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