The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 749 Singapore's Booming Real Estate Market

"Uncle Dayou, come on, let's go inside and get to work."

The worker next to him, A-Qiang, handed him a bottle of water. It was a pineapple-flavored salt soda provided by the company. Although it was a little warm, it was thirst-quenching.

Lin Dayou took it, nodded gratefully, and carefully placed the glass bottle in his handbag.

After going to Southeast Asia, he realized that there were so many different kinds and flavors of water in the world.

The group filed into the newly topped-out building.

Although it hasn't been renovated yet, the building already exudes an imposing presence.

Seven stories high, with gray-white cement exterior walls and neatly arranged window openings, resembling giant beehives.

This is the type of tenement building that Zhang Chi promoted under the Nanhua Construction Group, drawing on his experience from later generations.

The main feature is that all prefabricated components are manufactured in the factory and can be quickly assembled at the construction site.

"Have you heard?" A-Qiang said mysteriously while helping Lin Dayou move timber, "This building is a supporting residential community for Nanhua Fisheries Company."

It is said that as long as you work for a fishing company for a full year and are rated as an outstanding employee, you will be eligible for an internal quota to buy a house at a low price.

Even if you don't buy, the rent is very cheap.

"The rent is cheap?" Lin Dayou paused, his eyes widening as he used the plane.

He's still living in that damn pigsty.

Although he had earned wages, he wanted to move to a better place, but found that he couldn't rent one at all.

There are too many people in Singapore now.

Every day, ships bring in tens of thousands of new passengers from the country, as well as Malay laborers pouring in from the Malay Peninsula.

The entire city is like an inflated balloon, with housing prices and rents skyrocketing.

That heartless landlord raised the rent again last week, saying it was "the way things are".

Lin Da nodded and started planering again, sending sawdust flying everywhere.

"That's what you call... supply and demand. More people than houses, so naturally it's expensive."

"Uncle Dayou, you're talking like a shrewd old man now, just like the class monitor." Aqiang chuckled.

"That's right, you're never too old to learn," Lin Dayou said with a hint of pride.

At this moment, another worker, Lao Zhang, who was plastering, chimed in: "Look, this building is seven stories now, but it will definitely get taller and taller in the future."

I heard from the engineer with glasses that they plan to build a dozen or even twenty more stories in the future.

They also need to install one of those iron cages called 'elevators,' which can swiftly send people straight up!

"Twenty-something floors? That would be enough to shatter the sky!" Ah Qiang exclaimed in astonishment.

Lin Dayou didn't speak. He stood on the balcony where the windows hadn't been installed yet, looking at the dense scaffolding in the distance, but in his mind he was imagining what the building would look like when it was fully renovated.

The long corridor, somewhat like a school dormitory, is clean and bright.

Each floor has a shared kitchen and toilet, so there's no need to go to that stinky dry toilet anymore.

Most importantly, I heard that every room will have electricity, and the kitchen and toilet will be equipped with running water.

Tap water.

For a former farmer like him who had drunk well water and river water all his life in his hometown, having water flowing out as soon as he turned on the tap was like living the life of a god.

There are also electric lights; they light up with the pull of a cord, and you no longer have to smell the pungent smoke of kerosene lamps.

If you could live in a house like that, even if it's just one room and you have to share a kitchen with others, it would be like your ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

"If only our construction company could get apartments like these too," Lin Dayou muttered to himself.

"There definitely will be." Old Zhang threw the mortar into the bucket. "We build houses, how can we build houses without a place to live?"

I heard that the big boss of our Nanhua Group, that big boss named Zhang... Zhang something, values ​​us workers the most.

He once said that every builder of Southeast Asia should have a place to live.

"Everyone should have a place to live..." Lin Dayou savored these words, feeling a warmth in his heart.

There really is hope in Southeast Asia.

……

As we finished work in the evening, the setting sun bathed the entire construction site in a golden-red hue.

Lin Dayou packed up his tools and was about to go to the cafeteria to get food when he suddenly heard someone calling him.

"Brother Lin."

The voice was clear and crisp, with a familiar Cantonese accent.

Lin Dayou turned around and laughed.

It's Ah Xiu.

Ah Xiu has changed after a month apart.

Although she was still wearing her signature red headscarf, she had changed into uniform gray work clothes with the words "Nanhua Architecture" printed on her chest.

He no longer carried a shoulder pole, but instead held a small shovel specifically for filling creases, and had a tool bag hanging from his waist, looking quite professional.

"Ah Xiu, you're here too?" Lin Dayou walked over with a pleasant surprise.

“Yes, I’ve been recruited too.” Ah Xiu wiped the dust off her face and smiled, revealing a set of white teeth. “Now I’m a full-time employee of the assembly team, and I’m specifically responsible for filling the gaps and waterproofing these precast slabs.”

"You're not going to be a porter anymore?"

"I'm not doing it anymore." Ah Xiu patted the tool bag at her waist. "That's too tiring and doesn't require any skills."

The foreman said that from now on, all the buildings will be prefabricated like this, so we'll have to learn the skills.

I now earn 45 Nanyang dollars a month, which is much better than carrying loads on a shoulder pole before. It's also more stable; I don't have to rely on the weather for my livelihood.

"45 yuan? That's quite a lot." Lin Dayou was genuinely happy for her.

You know, these days, those odd jobs outside can only earn a maximum of 30 yuan a month, even if they work themselves to the bone.

Lin Dayou, a carpenter, is currently in charge of interior decoration, which is considered a skilled trade, and he earns 65 Nanyang dollars a month.

A monthly salary of 55 Nanyang dollars was equivalent to several hundred thousand French francs in the Republic of China era. Lin Dayou estimated that this was about the same salary a county leader in a Zhongshan suit and glasses would receive.

"And," Ah Xiu lowered her voice, her eyes shining, "the company said that once this batch of buildings is completed, the next batch will be dormitories for our construction company's employees."

It's also one of those tenement buildings.

Excellent employees will be given priority in allocation, and the rent will be minimal.

"Really?!" Lin Dayou was so excited he almost jumped up. "We can stay here too?"

"Of course, if we don't live in the building we built, who will?" Ah Xiu said proudly. "I've already thought it through. Once we get our apartments, I'll bring my younger sister from our hometown over."

It's hot here, but as long as you're willing to work hard, life is a hundred times better than back home.

The two stood in the sunset, looking at the newly topped-out building behind them, as if looking at their own child.

"By the way, Brother Lin, where's your Xiaoshan? I haven't seen him." Ah Xiu suddenly asked.

When his son was mentioned, Lin Dayou's smile deepened, even carrying a hint of pride:

"That kid was lucky."

I asked someone to send him to one of Sanbaotang's subsidiaries, where he became an apprentice in a machinery factory.

It's supposed to be a work-study program, with work in the morning and classes in the afternoon. What are we learning... mechanical drawing?

Anyway, I couldn't understand it, but they provided food and lodging, and I got a few dollars of pocket money each month.

“Studying is good,” Ah Xiu said enviously. “Only by studying can one achieve great things.”

If Xiaoshan becomes an engineer someday, he won't have to suffer from sunburn like us. He'll be a high-class person sitting in an office with a fan blowing on him!

"Hey, what's so great about him? As long as he doesn't go astray and can learn a skill to support himself, I'll be content."

Lin Dayou was modest on the surface, but he was secretly overjoyed.

That's all there is to his life; he's destined to be a hard worker.

But the son is different.

In Southeast Asia, as long as you're willing to learn, there are plenty of opportunities.

"Alright, that's enough. The cafeteria's so popular today, they're practically fighting over braised pork. If you're late, there won't even be any soup left." Ah Xiu waved her hand. "See you later, Brother Lin!"

"See you later!"

Watching Ah Xiu's brisk back, Lin Dayou touched the wages he had just received in his pocket.

The brand-new banknotes smelled pleasantly of ink.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was setting, and the evening glow filled the sky.

The sky in Southeast Asia is so blue.

This life has real promise.