"I know you used to be a contractor, and I'd like to hear your opinion."

"Buddy, thanks for your trust. I'm just a not-so-successful contractor.

Though my business isn't great, I've been in construction for over twenty years, so I do have experience in this field.

You picked the right person."

Luke snapped his fingers, "Come on, let's chat over drinks."

Luke led him to the lawn, where there was a bottle of whiskey and four boxes of freshly packed takeout.

Peanuts, cold cucumber salad, fried fish, marinated beef.

Luke took out two plastic cups from the takeout bag, poured two cups of whiskey, and pointed to the four boxes of snacks on the ground, "These are Chinese dishes for drinking, try them."

"Any drink will do." John took the cup and clinked glasses with Luke.

Luke pulled up the house materials he had chosen on his phone and handed it to John beside him, "This is the house style I've chosen; two floors above ground, one below, swimming pool included, along with clearing and demolishing construction waste."

John took the phone and looked through the materials for a while, "Not bad, very beautiful house. I used to be involved in building similar houses, but I was only responsible for a part of the project.

I haven't been in touch with the industry for two years, and labor and material prices will fluctuate. I cannot give an exact contract price, but based on my years of experience, estimating 1.47 million sounds reasonable.

Have you contacted other contractors?"

"No, I've only contacted one, recommended by my father.

This isn't a small amount of money, so I feel a bit uneasy." Luke picked up a piece of marinated beef.

John continued, "Actually, the most important things in building a house yourself are two points: first, quality, second, price.

So, I have two suggestions for you.

The first suggestion is to find another contractor and inquire about prices, even if it's not the same house style, a similar one works.

Having a comparison can more accurately judge the recent market price.

The second is to hire me as a supervisor.

Although I'm not a successful contractor, I've been in the industry for many years, I know which brands and qualities of construction materials are better, and I know whether their construction is careful and up to standard.

It's best to write these into the contract."

"Good idea. What's your supervision fee?"

"I don't need to be here every day; just come to check when a certain phase of the project is completed. Let them know there's someone knowledgeable watching them, and they wouldn't dare cut corners.

As for the reward, just invite me for a drink each time, whiskey like this is fine."

"Deal!"

Luke stretched out his right hand for a handshake-clap, "By the way, what's bringing out the tendency of a drunkard in you, what's going on?"

John sighed, "My son got married!"

"What!" Luke showed a surprised expression.

"That's right, last night my son called and said he officially got married to his girlfriend, my expression was just like yours now."

Luke felt awkward, like how he treated John as a friend, and John suddenly told him his son got married!

John shrugged, "I suddenly felt much older."

Luke saw that the other party didn't seem to be joking, "How old is your son?"

"Still in college, his girlfriend, no, his wife now, is also his classmate."

"You married quite early."

"That was a surprise, my ex-girlfriend got pregnant with my child, so I dropped out; I don't like the construction industry, but I needed to raise a kid.

Last year, my son brought his girlfriend over to see me, and at that time, he hinted at similar ideas.

I keep advising him not to rush; marriage is happiness but also a responsibility.

I support them in dating, support them being together, but marrying can wait until graduation.

I thought they listened."

John sighed and took another sip of whiskey.

Luke took a sip too, "Maybe things aren't as bad as you think, why not consider the positive side."

"I'm not worried about them getting married; I'm afraid they might have children.

Really scared.

At their current age, they're simply not capable of raising a child. I don't want him to be like me...

To drop out midway due to family and responsibility and have to take on a job he doesn't like.

I don't want him to repeat my life," John said helplessly.

Luke didn't know how to comfort him either. He felt John's worries weren't unfounded; some children say they hate certain behaviors of their parents, but grow up to mimic them.

From John's character, you could see his son is likely a responsible person too, and if pregnancy really happened, dropping out to raise a family might really occur.

John, as the grandfather, would also face a dilemma.

If he doesn't help, his son's studies will be ruined, and the future will be affected.

If he helps, he himself doesn't have the capacity either, and it would be very tough.

The two drank until late before leaving.

The next day, Luke contacted another contractor, and the other party was efficient, sending someone for an on-site inspection by afternoon.

Luke also picked a similar house style from their company, and they quoted a contract price of 1.55 million, Luke tried his best to press down the price and only managed to negotiate to 1.5 million US dollars.

Thinking about it, the Zhang brothers still offered a cheaper price.

Luke also got a rough idea of the market price for contract pricing.

However, Luke still didn't immediately sign with the Zhang brothers; he planned to keep them waiting, maybe the price could be lowered a bit more.

Additionally, Luke arranged with Walker to set off for treasure hunting tomorrow, intending to finalize the contract with the contractor after returning from the hunt.

One, he would ask John to help inspect.

Secondly, he currently only had ten thousand US dollars in hand, barely enough to pay the contract deposit, which was far off from the contract price over 1.4 million.

Luke hopes this treasure hunt adventure can earn him more money, giving him confidence to sign the construction contract, so that the house can be built sooner.

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