106: Building a house in Vietnam is quite troublesome

Although he was called a construction boss, he was actually just a contractor, with a fixed team of over ten people under him.

This boss's name was quite distinctive: Ho Anh Tuan.

When Ho Anh Tuan stood before Li Qinghe, Li Qinghe tried to examine the dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man from various aesthetic angles, but he couldn't find a single trace of anything related to handsomeness.

Ho Anh Tuan was at most 1.6 meters tall, completely dark, wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and a pair of black leather sandals.

Apparently to show respect, he also loosely wore a black tie around his neck, with a fawning smile on his face.

Ho Anh Tuan

"Old Hu, this is Boss Li. He wants to build a house in the countryside..."

"Old Hu, you just finished building my house. It's because I trust the quality of your work that I recommended you to Boss Li..."

Nguyen Phuc Hung, as the introducer, introduced Li Qinghe to Ho Anh Tuan, and specifically instructed Ho Anh Tuan that Boss Li was a wealthy big boss, and that he must use sufficient labor and materials when building the house, so as not to lose face for Xiangyang County people.

Ho Anh Tuan could sense from Nguyen Phuc Hung's attitude his emphasis on this young man, Li Qinghe.

To be a friend so highly regarded by Boss Ruan, it seemed this was another big business opportunity.

At the same time, he secretly reminded himself not to offend Boss Ruan just to earn a little more.

He had been actively looking for work recently, so while grateful, he also patted his chest, guaranteeing that he would use the best workers and personally supervise to ensure every step of the process was perfect.

"Boss Hu, how about this? If it's convenient today, come with me to An Lac Commune."

After a brief chat with Ho Anh Tuan, Li Qinghe decided to trust Nguyen Phuc Hung's recommendation.

He had sought him out on a whim, and Nguyen Phuc Hung couldn't have set up a scam so quickly.

Moreover, if these two truly tried to scam him, Li Qinghe was willing to pay several times the price to make them regret ever coming into this world.

He just didn't know how many procedures Tran Thi Bao Anh had completed in a single morning, with money paving the way.

Ho Anh Tuan was also eager to start working, so upon hearing Li Qinghe's invitation, he eagerly responded that he was free and could leave immediately.

"Boss Ruan, thank you for your recommendation. Next time I'm here, we must have a drink together."

Li Qinghe stepped forward and shook Nguyen Phuc Hung's hand to express his gratitude.

"Boss Li, I originally wanted to invite you for lunch, but seeing that you're in a hurry to build the house, we'll get together next time."

Nguyen Phuc Hung understood Li Qinghe's eagerness to return to the countryside.

Which big boss would spend too much time at his woman's home?

It was, of course, better to get the house building done early. With a full contract for labor and materials, building a house would be considered a proper affair.

So he smiled as he saw Li Qinghe and Nguyen Thi Linh into the car.

Ho Anh Tuan drove a dilapidated Toyota minivan. Such vehicles in Vietnam's rural areas are typically used as passenger minibuses, with luggage racks on the roof often carrying a lot of baggage.

For a contractor like Ho Anh Tuan, when there was a project, one vehicle could fit all dozen or so people from his team.

Whether they sat comfortably or not was unknown; it was common for twenty people to be crammed into a minivan.

Seeing Li Qinghe's red Wrangler, Ho Anh Tuan's level of respect increased further.

Bosses who typically like to drive off-road vehicles also tend to have a wilder temperament. They might seem harmless normally, but once provoked, they could react quite violently.

The two cars drove back to An Lac Commune, one after the other. Not long after they parked in front of the tin house, Tran Thi Bao Anh also rode back furiously on her new motorcycle.

When Nguyen Thi Linh called her, she had just finished getting the last stamp at the village committee office.

Hearing that Nguyen Thi Linh and the others were back, she also hurried back.

"A-He, you've really gone to so much trouble."

Seeing Li Qinghe standing in front of the tin house with Ho Anh Tuan, talking about something.

Tran Thi Bao Anh walked up somewhat excitedly and took Li Qinghe's hand.

"Aunt Bao Anh, we are family. Family doesn't speak in two tongues. A Ling also hopes that life at home will be prosperous."

Li Qinghe smiled, letting her hold his hand. The calluses on her palm and her slightly rough skin testified to the years she had toiled.

"Who is this boss?"

Tran Thi Bao Anh suddenly realized she was holding Li Qinghe's hand tightly, and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly changed the subject, asking about Ho Anh Tuan's identity.

"Aunt Bao Anh, this is Boss Hu, the most reliable construction boss in Xiangyang County."

Li Qinghe didn't hesitate to praise Ho Anh Tuan.

"Oh, no, no, Boss Li, you flatter me. I just have a small reputation, nothing worth mentioning."

Ho Anh Tuan, who knows where he picked up his education, used Chinese idioms quite skillfully.

"Boss Hu, I'll be relying on you for the house in the future."

Tran Thi Bao Anh thought Li Qinghe had already settled the deal with Ho Anh Tuan, directly designating him as the boss to build their house.

"It is Boss Li who is giving us a living."

With Nguyen Phuc Hung's groundwork, Ho Anh Tuan humbly expressed his gratitude to Li Qinghe.

After a brief chat, Ho Anh Tuan stated that he needed to measure the land first and then arrange the house design based on the land's area.

He humbly asked Li Qinghe what style of house he wanted.

Li Qinghe thought about the houses he had seen along the way and casually said to build a Vietnamese-style villa, but with good security measures.

Although showing wealth, it shouldn't be so ostentatious as to be unacceptable, especially since Nguyen Thi Linh and Nguyen Thi Thuy would not be living at home in the future.

Nguyen Tan Minh would also most likely not be home for extended periods.

Therefore, building a house with a style similar to its surroundings would help it blend into the environment.

Li Qinghe's original intention was to build a five-story house, but Tran Thi Bao Anh, who was beside him, said that the house didn't need to be too tall. Too many rooms would be too empty, and two stories would be enough for the family.

Finally, at Ho Anh Tuan's suggestion, they chose a two-and-a-half-story design, which was a design derived to avoid the number three.

Above the complete two stories was a slightly shorter attic, making it look like three stories but not quite.

Having built houses for so many years, Ho Anh Tuan's phone contained complete design drawings for various styles of houses.

Especially since Li Qinghe didn't require any special design, his only request was a Vietnamese-style house with high security.

This only required using high-security building materials for the walls, main gate, and windows.

Li Qinghe, with Tran Thi Bao Anh and Nguyen Thi Linh, immediately settled on a design on site.

While Ho Anh Tuan measured the data, he communicated with Tran Thi Bao Anh about various construction procedures.

Li Qinghe found that although Ho Anh Tuan was unremarkable in appearance, he was truly knowledgeable about all aspects of the house-building process.

From their conversation, Li Qinghe learned that the procedures for building a self-built house in Vietnam were quite troublesome.

First, one had to go to the village committee to fill out a homestead application form, then go to the town to handle planning approval and determine the boundaries of the homestead.

The town also had to review and evaluate the foundation laid for the homestead to be built. Only after approval could subsequent construction proceed... Listening to their conversation, Li Qinghe also understood that Ho Anh Tuan was intentionally demonstrating his professionalism.

"Boss Hu, you can bring out the contract to sign. Also, I'll trouble you to assist with some other procedures. This fifty million vietnamese dong is for your tea."

Li Qinghe directly placed a stack of banknotes in Ho Anh Tuan's hand.

Hearing Li Qinghe agree to hire his construction team, and on a full contract for labor and materials, Ho Anh Tuan beamed with joy and pulled out a standard contract from his car.

Li Qinghe briefly glanced at it, found no issues, and signed it on the spot, transferring 1 billion vietnamese dong as a down payment to Ho Anh Tuan's bank account.

As soon as Li Qinghe finished the transfer, he heard a clear voice calling Nguyen Thi Linh: "A Ling, I need to talk to you."

He turned his head and saw it was Nguyen Thi Trinh, whom he had seen that morning.