Chapter 32: The Most Beautiful House in the Village

If Li Xian had said this a month ago, the Wang brothers would have walked away immediately. However, after making a fortune selling walnut shells, and especially after learning that Li Xian could sell coffins to those high-ranking officials whose names alone could scare people, the Wang brothers only had one word in mind when it came to Li Xian's ideas:

**Respect!** 

Even though four out of the six brothers didn't know how to write the word "respect."

Now that Li Xian mentioned finding a way to make money, everyone was excited and eagerly waiting for him to teach them.

Seeing the eager looks on their faces, Li Xian secretly smiled. He scribbled on the paper, using simple language that the Wang brothers could understand, and explained several common wall decoration methods from the future that were relatively simple to implement.

The concept wasn't difficult; it was essentially like putting together a puzzle. Although the Wang brothers had limited education, they were not stupid. In less than an hour, they had grasped the basics.

But looking at such a simple concept that even a five-year-old could understand, the Wang brothers couldn't help but feel confused.

Where's the money-making idea? 

Could this small trick of "painting" on walls with cement and tiles really make money?

Noticing their doubt, Li Xian smiled and nodded.

"Don't underestimate this. I won't say you'll get rich, but if you seize the opportunity, it's more than enough for you brothers to earn dowries!"

Upon hearing this, the brothers became so excited that their breathing became heavy. The most exaggerated reaction came from the fifth brother, whose pants even formed a little tent…

The next morning, the masons arrived as scheduled.

To give his elder brother and sister-in-law a surprise, Li Xian playfully sent them off to work in the fields, asking them to wait until the evening to see the result.

Li Qing's house was just a basic brick structure, with nothing covering the red bricks that were exposed outside, making it look quite primitive.

But at that time, all the houses in the area looked like this. The quality of a household's living condition was reflected in the size and number of rooms.

Even the masons helping with the work found Li Xian's idea of applying cement and tiles to the house's walls quite novel.

Following Li Xian's instructions, the workers mixed the cement without adding sand and then started laying the tiles according to Li Xian's plan.

The work wasn't particularly technical, but Li Xian certainly wasn't going to make his money-making idea too easy to copy. To prevent that, he designed a color pattern for Li Qing's house.

The outer walls were laid with blue bathroom tiles as the base, followed by a gradient transition with white and blue mosaic tiles. Above that, pure white bathroom tiles were arranged in a staggered pattern resembling the character "臣."

With four masons and the six Wang brothers, who quickly learned how to mix cement and plaster walls, the work progressed rapidly.

With enough cement and plenty of hands, it only took a day for the two brick houses of Li Qing to be half completed.

While the work was in progress, the neighbors didn't pay much attention. But when one of the houses was finished and the overall effect of the exterior walls began to show, it caused quite a stir!

By around 4 PM, the scorching sun had turned a light shade of gold.

Li Qing's house, once bare with exposed red bricks, had undergone a complete transformation. The blue and white exterior, with a gradient from light to dark, looked especially refreshing. Even though the cement on the tiles hadn't been cleaned yet, the shiny surface under the sunlight made it stand out from the surrounding plain red-brick houses, making it look absolutely impressive!

By this time, there were already thirty to forty people gathered around the house. Neighbors and those who had come to see the spectacle marveled at the shiny new house.

They never imagined that a simple brick house could look so grand!

Just as people started inquiring about the cost of hiring a mason to achieve such an effect, Li Xian, with a simple smile, hung a sign on the wall that read, **"If satisfied with the wall effect, interested in similar renovations, please find Li Xian at the east end."**

After the first house was completed today, Li Xian did some calculations. The cost of cement and tiles came to less than 400 yuan. Around sixty boxes of mosaics and bathroom tiles were used. The floor of the house hadn't been paved yet, but it was estimated that about fifteen boxes of non-slip tiles would be needed.

This was just for one house.

Based on this standard, if this new trend in home decoration spread quickly, the tile factory's inventory would have no trouble selling out.

But Li Xian wasn't content with just making money from selling tiles—the profit margin was too thin.

Including the cost of labor, Li Xian quoted a price of 7 yuan per square meter to those who inquired.

This price clearly wasn't affordable for everyone. The surface area of a single room's walls was about 150 square meters, so the total cost would be around 1,000 yuan!

At that moment, a piercing scream came from outside the crowd.

"My home? Is this my home?! My heavens!"

Wang Feng and Li Qing had returned.

Seeing their house completely transformed, looking like a palace, Wang Feng was overwhelmed!

Li Xian had to spend quite a bit of effort calming Wang Feng and Li Qing down.

The couple was like lottery winners who couldn't believe their luck, circling the house again and again, as if they wanted to imprint every tile into their memory.

"Enough, sister-in-law. You can clean the cement off the walls tomorrow," Li Xian said helplessly as he saw Wang Feng fetching water and a ladder, ready to start cleaning the walls.

"No way! This wall is too beautiful to have any dirt on it!" Wang Feng said, holding a rag, with a big smile on her face.

Li Xian quickly pulled her back. "Sister-in-law, listen to me. Now that the house is done, I need you to help me with something."

"Help you with something?" Wang Feng put down the rag. "Xian, if you want me to have a baby for you, I'll jump on the bed right now!"

"Stop with that nonsense!" Li Qing, feeling the comment was inappropriate, scolded her.

Seeing Wang Feng's gaunt figure, Li Xian shivered.

"The baby-making is for you and my brother to figure out," he coughed twice. "But sister-in-law, for the next few days, I need you to drop everything else. Just go around visiting, bring the newlywed wives in the forest area over to see our house."

"That's it?" Wang Feng was stunned.

That's easy!

Not having to do any work, just showing off the house, visiting neighbors, and chatting... it was like a dream come true for her!

Without hesitation, Wang Feng agreed wholeheartedly.