Seeing that Shade didn't understand any of this, Father Augustus stopped and looked out the window with Shade in the corridor at the morning view of Dawn Square:
"Xia De, you obviously can't stay at home all day to supervise the construction workers. Although the construction team I recommended to you is very reliable and will not cause you any trouble, how will you deal with problems during the construction process? Ask them to report once a day? Moreover, are you really comfortable with a group of strangers staying in your home?"
"this... ... "
The old priest patted Shad on the shoulder:
"Ha, young people are really unreliable. So, I will send you a supervisor from the church as your representative to assist you in handling matters during the house repair and construction process."
"So how do I pay people? Daily or weekly?"
Shade asked immediately.
"salary?"
Father Augustus looked at him curiously:
“Why should I be paid?”
"Um?"
"Most of the time the church helps believers without asking for any salary. Let alone just being a supervisor, even if you want to find someone to help you with exorcism, or want to participate in a church-organized believer gathering, or help you preside over a wedding or funeral, will the church charge you any money?"
In fact, we still collect some, but it’s very little.
"Hamilton of Regede, you are a core believer of the Dawn Church in the Tobesk Diocese. There is no need to talk about money for this matter."
The priest concluded the conversation and led Shad to find someone to help. The young priests and nuns passing by in the corridor would greet the respectful priest Augustus, who was very popular in the parish.
"However, your house is a haunted house registered by the church after all. If any problems arise in the future, it is best not to deal with it 'on your own' but ask the church to handle it."
He reread some of the words, and Shade nodded to show that he understood:
"But, if I live here for a few years without incident, then number six can no longer be called a haunted house, right?"
"It's hard to say."
The priest is not optimistic:
"You see, the former detective Sparrow Hamilton also lived there for three years before something bad happened. So if you want to prove that your house is not a haunted house, you must at least live there longer than Detective Sparrow and be able to move out in good health."
Xia De calculated that he had lived in No. 6 for only two months. If he wanted to sell the house at the price of the neighbors' normal houses, he would have to live there until the summer of 1856 in the Common Calendar.
"But I have great confidence in you. The current situation is a process of rapid appreciation of your wealth. This is more reliable than any investment. Even the most profitable investment project rumored by the nobles, such as participating in the adventure group exploring the New World, will not have such a rich return as the real estate in Saint Teresa Square."
Father Augustus smiled and said, and the stranger agreed:
"Yes, I forgot. Not only the house, but the property at No. 6 is also mine... As expected, no matter where you are or what era you are in, real estate is the most valuable investment."
“It’s not easy for young people to realize this.”
The priest said, stroking his chin.
Because they don't have a house in their hometown, outsiders have no experience in building maintenance and decoration.
He thought it was a simple matter, just signing a formal contract and meeting with the supervisor sent by the church. Unexpectedly, after the construction started, he had to make decisions on all matters, big and small, about the layout of the house, because in addition to renovation, he also wanted to carry out decoration.
In addition, the team of horse-drawn trucks sent by Miss Carina that afternoon blocked half of St. Teresa's Square and almost caused traffic chaos in the surrounding blocks.
Xia De didn't expect that the maid would get so many furniture for him. He just wanted a simple wardrobe, bed and table, but he didn't expect that the maid was so meticulous that she even selected the style of curtains, the style of gas lamps and the paintings on the wall.
The furniture will first be transported to the basement and will be arranged after decoration.
In addition to the furniture transport team, Miss Carina also came up with a sudden idea to find a bricklayer to redecorate the decorative walls and fireplace of Shad's house, and sent the manor's carpenter to build shelves and a small number of non-ready-made furniture for Shad.
So the bricklayers and carpenters who were responsible for maintaining the noble manors, together with the decoration team recommended by the Augustus priest invited by Shad, and the pipe planners from the gas and steam companies, came together to agree on a new house decoration plan.
Of course, this is without any extra charge, after all, Xia De paid a premium in the first place.
Because of these complicated and messy things, Shad spent the whole day on Monday at home with the cat busy, without any leisure time. This was even more tiring than going to Coldwater Harbor for adventure, because at least he could have some leisure time.
Fortunately, the house renovation documents were approved. I don’t know who helped Xia De to make a call at the city hall, and all the documents were stamped and archived within one day.
When everyone left No. 6 in the evening, the specific renovation and maintenance plan was completed. After that, we just need to follow the plan. As long as there is no heavy rain that affects the waterproofing of the roof, it is expected that the project will be completed within this week. At that time, all the rooms in No. 6 Saint Teresa Square will be open to Shade.
Although such a large-scale renovation did not cost the Shard any extra money, it attracted the attention of the neighbors. Although there is no neighborhood mutual aid committee in St. Teresa's Square, the renovation of the block requires the consent of the neighbors because of the possible long-term noise and the coming and going of strangers.
So in the evening, Shad visited his neighbors with his opinion letter. And because of Shad's unusual working hours, it was the first time he met his neighbors.
The couple who lived at No. 5 St. Teresa’s Square were a couple in their fifties, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who had three small dogs at home. They politely invited Shade to have a cup of tea, and after knowing that it was just a simple decoration, they signed their names on the document.
The two knew Detective Sparrow, who had lived here for three years, but it was from Shade that they heard that Detective Sparrow had passed away. After all, when the detective was alive, he didn't have a very close relationship with the neighbors.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the former is a retired civil servant of the Kingdom, and used to work as a secretary in the Kingdom's Ministry of Finance. The framed medals on the wall are all honors he has won. Just the ones that Shade recognizes are the "Delarion Iris Knight Medal", "St. George Loyalty Medal" and "Kingdom Special Contribution Medal". In Delarion's five-level medal system, both of these are third-level medals, and the latter is a second-level medal. This means that Mr. Smith was definitely not an ordinary department secretary before his retirement.
Mrs. Smith is an employee of the non-profit charity department of the city of Tobesk, a volunteer worker who only receives minimum wage.
Their two children also live in Tobysk, but have started their own families and only visit occasionally.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith knew about "Rejade's Hamilton", praised his loyalty, and wanted to invite Shad to stay for dinner, but Shad declined.
From the conversation, Xia De also learned that the two old men had seen him before but had never spoken to him, so they naturally accepted his taking over the detective agency.
Fortunately, Detective Sparrow did not let the original owner Shad contact too many people, otherwise someone would definitely realize that Shad Hamilton's facial shape and temperament had changed so much in just a few months.