In this way, Sunday came. The meeting time agreed with Luvia and Iluna was in the afternoon, so in the morning Shade went out after washing his clothes. According to the business card given by Priest August, he found someone who could maintain the house.
The decoration team inspected the specific damage on the third floor of their home.
Because the stairs were broken, they had to use a telescopic metal ladder to move between the second and third floors.
In recent months, only Mia has been to the third floor. Today, Shade entered the third floor of his home for the first time. As the workers climbed up the metal ladder, they saw a dark corridor, the entire structure of the third floor and
The second floor is almost identical, with two rooms next to the corridor.
The entire floor was dilapidated and damp. There was a layer of dust on the floor, leaving a footprint when you step on it. There were mold spots everywhere on the ceiling and walls. But at least the church had cleaned the place very well before cutting off the stairs on the third floor many years ago.
Although you can use [Blood Echo] to see some blood stains, at least there is no garbage here, so there are no rats. Even similar to the situation in the basement, first floor, and second floor, in a space like the third floor that has been abandoned for many years,
Surprisingly, there were no spiders or spider webs to be seen. Shade opened the two rotten doors on the third floor and even climbed up to the attic with the help of workers. There was some leakage in the attic roof, but there was no trace of insects.
This is quite novel.
Many owners of this house died here. As far as Shade knew, many famous accidents had occurred on the third floor. The decoration team who came to inspect the damage to the house knew that someone had been at No. 6 St. Teresa Square.
Missing from the third floor.
The accident was a hot topic in the Tobesk tabloids many years ago.
After the preliminary inspection, they returned to the second floor to discuss the matter. The manager of the construction team, who looked very experienced and had dark red skin, gave his opinion:
"The damage to the building itself is somewhat serious. In addition to minor problems such as floors, walls and windows, the more serious problem is the roof. The roof and floor need to be re-made with waterproof layers. In addition, if you need to connect steam pipes and gas pipes,
We need to contact the gas company and steam company to lay the pipelines inside the wall. I just saw cracks in the wall of the corridor on the third floor. This also needs to be inspected and reinforced."
This sounds like a lot of trouble.
"Can you help contact me regarding gas pipelines and steam pipelines?"
Shade asked.
"certainly."
"In addition to the maintenance of the third floor, please also include helping me paint the basement, the next room on the second floor and the entire wall of the first floor. Also include the maintenance of the outer walls of the house. Also include the renovation of the chimney and fireplace. Please give me a specific
Just quote me and tell me the construction period.”
The middle-aged man in overalls thought for a moment:
"While the third floor is being repaired, it is best not to live in the second floor of the house. If the first floor also needs to be painted, we recommend that you choose a room that will not be painted for the time being. You can live there, otherwise you will definitely not be able to stand the smell of the paint. If you want
As soon as possible, we can start construction tomorrow, but you will have to pay more to shorten the construction period."
This request was quite reasonable. Xia De held the cat and thought for a moment:
"The floors and paint are all made of the best materials. I will live here for a long time... What if I ask for it to be completed within a week?"
The professional manager of the construction team took a notebook and did some calculations, then got up and went outside, asking the workers who were inspecting the third floor to go to the first floor and basement to measure the area of the wall.
This kind of professionalism made Shade very fond of him.
Finally, the two of them returned to the second floor again and calculated the specific expenses in the study room:
"You were introduced by Priest Augustus. We charge you the lowest fee. This includes material fees, construction fees, gas and steam pipe laying fees, and the fee for the city center house maintenance permit application. This is not cheap. You can directly
To be able to see the Yodel Palace, construction work in nearby blocks requires application...a total of 200 pounds."
Although Shade could afford the money, he still frowned:
"Sir, this money is enough to buy a house with a garden in a remote area of the city."
"I know this is a lot, but there is also a lot of construction that needs to be done. The cost of maintaining the house not only includes construction costs, but also adds to the specific value of the house."
The manager patiently explained:
"What is the normal valuation of houses in nearby neighborhoods, Mr. Hamilton, you know it yourself. I have helped you get the lowest price within a reasonable range. We also want to erase the increase based on the value of the house, but the industry
The association will not agree."
"Industry Association?"
Xia De wondered again, and the middle-aged manager continued to explain. It could be seen that he was not very satisfied either:
"It is a federation of the construction industry. Its main responsibility is to introduce business, but it will also supervise the quotation of every business in the city to prevent the fluctuation of industry charging standards caused by malicious price increases and price cuts. The original intention of this organization's existence
It’s good, but it also means that our charging level cannot be too much lower than that of our peers, otherwise we will be squeezed out by our peers in the future.”
Shade opened his mouth and was stunned for a moment before nodding. He didn't expect to encounter such a thing again:
"Then can I ask, what is the premium of 200 pounds?"
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, poured the water from the tea cup on the coffee table, and wrote a few numbers with his hand. Thinking about it this way, Xia De's premium was actually only about 30%. He didn't expect that before he bought it,
In the case of furniture, just decorating a house is so expensive.
The manager was still explaining to Shade:
"Repairing a house can, after all, increase the overall value of the building. Therefore, the wealth growth that different house constructions can bring to the house owners is also different. This is also a reasonable explanation for the premium based on the value of the house... Let's do it this way
, you pay us 200 pounds, and after checking the business with the federation, we will return part of it to you. But you cannot return the whole amount, five percent, this is already the limit."
This should be a preferential treatment for the sake of Priest Augustus.
"But in this case, can the accounting problem be solved?"
Xia De asked again, and then the middle-aged man smiled:
"You don't have to worry about this. The accounting firm we outsourced is very professional. But if work starts tomorrow, I suggest you arrange a place for yourself on the first floor as soon as possible and lock the door on the second floor.
Door to prevent the construction from affecting your property. Oh, Monday is mainly for reassessment of the overall damage to the building and construction marking, so you can just move to the first floor before Tuesday."
This is a very reasonable suggestion. After all, Shade and Cat cannot lay the floor directly on the first floor.
"But why not? Is there any difference between sleeping on the floor and sleeping on a bed?"
Shade asked himself in his mind, and then felt the cat's little claws picking at him. When he lowered his head, the cat was looking at him with dissatisfied eyes:
"Okay, I will let you sleep on the bed."
Orange cat Xiao Mia has very high requirements for quality of life.
When he met Luvia and Iluna in the afternoon, Shade told them that he wanted to repair the third floor of the house and complained about the high cost of house repairs.
Iluna was surprised that Shade was so rich, while Luvia looked up:
"In this way, all the rooms in No. 6 will be open."
"Is such that."
"What are you going to do with so much space? After the repairs on the third floor, you have two more empty rooms and an attic. Plus your empty first floor and room 2 on the second floor, your home will be overwhelmingly large.
Most of the space is currently idle."
"I plan to seal up the windows of the room upstairs next to the stairs and decorate it into a darkroom for daily thaumaturgy and incantation practice, and to have free space for use when rituals need to be arranged. As for the other rooms...
...It is currently vacant, but sooner or later there will be a chance to use it.”
Luvia smiled and did not comment on Shade's thoughts. Iluna wanted to say something, but after looking at the cat lying on Shade's lap, she did not speak in the end.
"Xia De, why do you look so white?"
Iluna raised a new topic:
"Your skin seems to have improved a lot. Are you using any cosmetics recently? I remember you mentioned that you have a friend who is good at mixing potions."
"Then let me tell the story of what happened in Coldwater Port."
Shade said with a smile, opened his arms and stretched back, so the cat that was originally lying on his lap also stood up, lowered its upper body, raised its buttocks and stretched out.
The summer sunshine penetrates the city fog and shines into the room from the window. Shade is ready to tell a story:
"This story may be a bit long."
"It's okay, we have time."
The seventeen-year-old girl in a skirt said, looking at the female fortune teller again:
"Let's start now."
Shade nodded, comforted the orange cat, and began to tell about the terrible things that happened in the seaport city; Luvia leaned back slightly on the sofa with a teacup in her hands, and Iluna touched her chin with her hand.
, the seventeen-year-old girl looked at Shade's face very intently.
The afternoon sun shone through the mist above Tobesk and shone on their faces. Everyone's face seemed to be glowing. But the brightest thing was actually the orange fur on Mia's body. This orange and white
The cat lay on Shade's lap and took a nap, its fur shining in the sun.
The Coldwater Port incident is over for the time being, and it will take Darkness more than half a month to reach Tobesk. The remaining half of the Flower Moon is really a leisurely time for Shade.
His story really lasted the whole afternoon. Most of the whole pot of black tea was consumed by Shade. The girls also tasted the cookies that Shade brought out and occasionally asked questions about details.
And Shade told almost everything except the secrets of the witch Miss Aurora and Dorothy and Lesia. He did not admit to Miss Carina that he was a "god caller", but he told the two
The girl with brown hair did not hide it.
In Iluna's eyes, the previous half month was just a short leisurely summer time after she returned to Tobesk from the Holy See. She did not expect that Shade would experience such a complex and wonderful adventure during this period of time.
story.
"This is just like those legendary stories. While the brave are taking risks, ordinary people only see ordinary time... Shade, compared to you, I don't look like the chosen one at all.
"
This should be regarded as a seventeen-year-old girl praising Shade.